Valentine's Day Steak Dinner

Valentine's Day dinner, I always look forward to it. We don't do anything crazy, but I like planning a nice date night in. The last few years we've had lamb. This year we decided to change it up and have steak. Radical, I know. 

I had seen this recipe on Pinterest a few weeks ago and it called to me. Steak, bacon, cheese, butter, cream, what's not to love? Well, to be honest, the calorie content. At nearly 1,500 calories a serving this doesn't exactly fit in the diet. 

So, I played with the recipe a little. My adapted version? Right around 800 calories per serving. Much better. 

This was really good. Like really good. I'm definitely keeping this recipe around for the next special occasion. 

Steak, Gruyere Noodles, and Asparagus

From: Zestuous

Servings: 2

Time: about 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2-3 tablespoons shallots
1 bunch asparagus spears
2 ozs. Gruyère cheese 1 oz gruyere cheese, shredded
1 lb. beef tenderloin 1/2 lb beef tenderloin
4-6 slices bacon 4 slices of bacon
1 ¼ tsp. kosher salt
1 T. plus ¼ tsp. course ground black pepper
4 ozs. thin spaghetti noodles 2 oz angel hair noodles
6 T. butter 3 Tbsp butter
2 T. olive oil 1 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup cream 1/4 cup cream
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
2 T. cognac 1 Tbsp cognac

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring pot of water to a boil. Cut steaks into 4 pieces, wrap with bacon and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut the woody ends off asparagus. 

Add noodles to the boiling water and cook. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a cast iron pan. Add steak and sear on both sides. (About 5 minutes a side.)

Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a large skillet. Add asparagus and 1 tbsp shallots, toss to coat in butter. Put the meat in the oven and let cook for 5 more minutes.

Drain noodles and return to pot. Add shredded cheese, 1 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp cream, and 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper. Toss to melt all ingredients and evenly coat the noodles in the sauce.

Season asparagus with salt and pepper and toss to ensure even cooking.

Remove meat from oven and put back on a medium burner. Remove meat from pan and keep warm. Add shallots to hot pan and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add cognac to pan and cook for 1 minute. Add 2 tbsp cream and cook for about 1 minute or until sauce has thickened slightly. 

Put half the asparagus, noodles and steaks on two plates. Drizzle steaks with the shallot/cognac/cream sauce. Enjoy!