Day 4- Bleu Cheese Encrusted Steaks w/ Mashed Cauliflower

 So far I have been able to stick with the resolution. Of course, it’s only day 5; but did you know that while only 40% of people make a new year’s resolution… nearly 25% of those people break that resolution by the end of the first week of January?!

I’m fried already from my return to work. I spent last evening working at the bakery to prepare for a food demo and gluten free fair at the Canton(CT) Shop Rite on this Saturday.  (Make sure you stop by and say ,“hello”!) Tonight is my family night, so I thought I would cook them a delicious “healthy” meal and then relax with my 3 adorable boys. Yes, my hubby is pretty stinkin’ cute too!

Knowing that Justin thoroughly enjoys ANYTHING with bleu cheese, I decided to make bleu cheese encrusted steaks. We do not eat a significant amount of red meat- in fact I went almost 7 years without eating any red meat (due to lack of desire, not anything ethical) up until I was trying to get pregnant with my oldest (Isaac) because I needed more iron in my diet. I do have to admit that this recipe was adapted from another recipe online, but I have definitely “made it my own”. I carried through with a little more seasoning and bleu cheese and skipped out on some of the original seasoning that I don’t care for. Yes, bleu cheese is often considered a “gluten” product, because many times the mold is started on bread before being transferred to the cheese. There is no way of tracing your bleu cheese’s origin, but I have not, as of yet, had a reaction to crumbled bleu cheese. If you ARE concerned about gluten and don’t think you want to risk it- try gorgonzola, I bet it would taste good as well!

As for the side dish with this meal, instead of mashed potatoes, which… while delicious… are fairly empty carbs- I made mashed cauliflower. I added butter and a little emilk to them to get them to mash well- but if your diet restricts those items they are easy to replace or omit altogether. Of course, if you can’t have dairy, you probably won’t want to coat your steak in it either :)

Onward to the day 4 recipe…

Blue Cheese encrusted Steak w/ mashed cauliflower

Serves 6 (CoF, SF, GF [cheese dependent], NF, EF)

1/3 Cup bleu cheese crumbles (sub in gorgonzola if you can’t tolerate bleu cheese, I bet it would still be yummy)

½ cup plain bread crumbs (I used Gillian’s GF breadcrumbs it doesn’t have to be any special brand, just check for other allergens as needed)

Steak of choice (I used 6 small {RE:cheap} medium- thick marinating steak…. That I didn’t obviously marinate)

½ tsp marjoram + a pinch to season the steaks

½ tsp parsley + a pinch to season the steaks

Pinch of Garlic powder (to season steaks)

Cheap steaks.. but they tasted pretty good!

Splash of wine

1 cup organic veggie broth (I used Kitchen Basics)

1 teaspoon minced garlic 

½ medium onion (chopped)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. spray pan (or coat) with olive oil; set aside.

Combine bleu cheese, bread crumbs, herbs, and 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil; set aside.

 

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a sauté pan and heat over medium heat.

Season steaks with salt and pepper, garlic powder, a little parsley and marjoram.

Sear steaks for one to two minutes per side, not cooked through.

Remove pan from heat and transfer steaks into prepared baking dish.

Finish cooking steaks in the preheated oven until cooked to your desired level of pink. I originally undercooked ours, but we like ours well done- for that I would recommend about 8-10 minutes in the oven- otherwise, keep an eye on them.

Return pan to stove and deglaze with wine by scraping bits from bottom of pan. Add broth, onion, minced garlic, salt and pepper and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until liquid is reduced and sauce thickens slightly.

Serve the steak with the sauce drizzled over it.

I served this with mashed cauliflower (cooked like mashed potatoes) and a small salad.

My family did enjoy this meal; Justin even went for a second helping. Isaac has always been a little averse to steak or, “chewy meats”, but he really liked the mashed cauliflower and he is my bizarre little 3 year old who likes salad. Henri enjoyed his bananas and pears, since we haven’t introduced meats yet and he’ll already be gassy enough with the cauliflower I ate (and will pass along in his evening “cocktail”). Tomorrow, I’ll be posting a butternut squash soup recipe that starts with a potential baby food recipe, so it will truly be a family meal!

Let me know how you enjoyed your steaks!?

Naturally,

Raych