Inspired Cook Recipes

Steak Recipe with Easy Wine Sauce

rbcynergy — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:49:11 +0000

This is a lovely steak recipe, complete with accompanying wine sauce. It requires few ingredients except a tender piece of steak and your favorite red wine. You can make this sauce without wine as well. Just substitute bouillon for the red wine in the recipe. The butter adds a bit of richness and gloss to the sauce. I wouldn’t spoil it by using margarine in place of the butter but that’s your choice. I really think that there are some recipes that just demand a bit of butter and this is one of them.

Steak with Wine Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons salad oil
2 pounds beef steak, 3/4 to 1 inch thick, cut into 4 steaks, or 4 – 8 ounce steaks
1/2 cup beef bouillon or dry red wine
2 tablespoons softened butter
salt and pepper

Put the first amount of butter and the oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat. When the butter has foamed and the foam then begins to subside, you are ready to cook the steak.

Fry the steaks on one side for 3- 4 minutes. Turn them and brown on the other side for 3 to 4 minutes, depending on desired degree of doneness. Remove the steaks to a hot platter and season them with salt and pepper. Keep them warm while you make the sauce.

Pour the fat from the skillet. Add the dry red wine (or beef bouillon) and cook over high heat. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan and boil until the liquid is reduced almost to a syrup. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until it has melted. Pour the sauce over the steak to serve.

Makes 4 servings

Eggs Benedict

rbcynergy — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:41:11 +0000

Eggs Benedict is possibly my favorite breakfast or brunch recipe.The mix of poached eggs, toasted English muffin and ham is wonderful together.With the addition of hollandaise sauce, it’s all pulled together in one glorious taste sensation. Eggs benedict may seem like a difficult or gourmet breakfast recipe, but it is really quite simple. Just add a few quick ingredients to poached eggs and you are ready to go. Of course you can get a package of powdered hollandaise sauce mix, and it is tasty, but if you want the real thing, look at our recipe for hollandaise sauce. It is not too difficult or time consuming to make it yourself.

Eggs Benedict
4 slices cooked ham, or Canadian bacon
2 English muffins
4 poached eggs
hollandaise sauce

Brown ham slices or Canadian bacon in skillet over medium heat. Split English muffins in half. Toast and butter lightly.
Arrange ham on top of muffins. Top each with a poached egg.

Poach eggs:
To poach eggs, bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Turn the heat to low, gently add the eggs one by one, ensuring the yolks do not break. Let water gently heat the eggs to desired doneness. Gently lift each egg out of the water with a slotted spoon and place on an English muffin half.

Cover it all with hollandaise sauce.

Serve immediately.
Makes 2 breakfast, brunch or luncheon servings.

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Sweet Vinaingrette

rbcynergy — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:20:22 +0000

This is a delightful spinach strawberry salad with that perfect mix of sweet and tart. Almonds and poppy seeds add crunch and taste. Strawberry spinach salad is great to serve for company. It’s a quick and easy recipe to make and looks beautiful on the plate. Plus, spinach is one of the 10 healthiest foods you can eat. That makes it a hit on all levels!

1 pound flat leaf spinach, washed and well dried
3 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
1 pint strawberries, trimmed and quartered or sliced
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Sweet Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Place spinach in large salad bowl (a flatter bowl works best). Arrange kiwi slices and strawberries on top.
Combine all ingredients for salad dressing. Toss dressing with salad just before serving. Sprinkle with toasted almonds. Enjoy this wonderful strawberry spinach salad!
Serves 4

Variation:
Replace the honey in the dressing with Splenda or another sugar substitute and this becomes a great diabetic recipe or low carb recipe.