Cuatro Chicas un Chico

Fabulous Sumptuous Dinner!

It’s been a week since my last post. I have been very busy with house de-cluttering and wrapping gifts for the holidays. We also went to Batangas for the debut of Aldrin’s sister.

Yesterday, we went to the grocery to buy food and other home supplies. While I was there, I decided to cook something special for the night.(yeah, compulsive impulses) I envisioned a plate of cheesy mashed potato, beef steak with warm gravy and for side dish, penne with garlic and bacon bits. And so, that was the menu for last night.

And here are the Ingredients:

Cheesy Mashed Potato

• 1/2 kilo of potatoes, sliced into quarters, boiled for 30 minutes then mashed until free from lumps
• 1/2 cup of cheese
• 1 tbsp of butter
• salt and pepper to taste
• chopped parsley for garnish

Penne with Garlic and Bacon bits

• 200 grams of Penne pasta, cooked Al dente according to package directions
• 4 strips of bacon, chopped, honey-cured bacon is better, its got that sweet taste
• 1/4 cup of garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup of tomatoes, chopped
• salt, pepper and paprika to taste
• parmesan cheese for topping

Beef Steak

• 1/2 kilo of Beef Sirloin, sliced into thin steaks
• salt and pepper for seasoning
• 1 tsp of butter for frying

Steak and Mashed potato gravy

• drippings of the pan-fried steak
• 2 tbsp of white wine or water
• half of beef bullion cube
• 1 tsp of soy sauce
• pepper
• 1 tbsp of cornstarch dissolved in 1 cup of water
• 1 tsp of butter

Procedure:

Mashed potato:

In a bowl, mixed the mashed potato, cheese and butter until free from lumps and the cheese and butter have melted and mixed evenly in the mashed potato. Season with salt and pepper.  Garnish with parsley. Set Aside.

Penne with Garlic and Bacon bits:

In a pan, heat the bacon bits until it has caremelized a bit and the oil has been extracted from the bacon. Add the garlic and tomatoes. Saute for a few minutes. Add the cooked pasta. Mix well. Transfer in a serving dish. Set aside. Top with Parmesan cheese when ready to serve.

Beef Steak:

Over low fire, add the butter and pan fry the steaks in the same pan where you cooked the pasta. Fry each side for 2-3 minutes then turn. Set aside in another serving dish.

Gravy:

In the same pan again, over low heat, add the white wine or water to the drippings from the fried steaks. Add the bullion cube and soy sauce, season with pepper. Add the cornstarch dissolved in water. Simmer for 3 minutes stirring constanly. When the sauce has thickened, add the butter for a more delicious gravy.

Now you are ready to serve this sumptuous feast! In a plate, add a generous serving of the pasta, a big scoop of mashed potato, add a slice or two of the steak. Then pour a ladle of gravy over the steak and mashed potato. Super yummy. For dessert, you can serve a brownie.

For a more exciting gravy, you can add mushroom or corn kernels. I hope you will try these recipes especially for Christmas, it’s something different and is a good alternative to the usual Jamon. It’s also complete meal. Truly filling and for me heavenly.