Penne with Steak

With the days becoming shorter and the nights cooler, perhaps you've been thinking about preparing a little more hearty fare. This recipe for Penne with Steak, adapted from Giada's Family Dinners, is perfect for an autumn evening. It's also a more budget-friendly way to serve a rib eye, New York strip or, my preference, top sirloin. For the sauce, I use only a few tablespoons of olive oil, instead of 1/4 cup, and puree the tomatoes without their juice to maintain their color and flavor.

Penne with Steak

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 to 1 1/2 lbs. rib eye, New York strip or top sirloin
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 cup red wine
2 cups marinara sauce
1 cup low-sodium beef broth
12 oz. penne or other tubular pasta
3 oz. Parmesan cheese, shaved
salt and pepper or grill seasoning to taste

Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high to high heat. Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper or grill seasoning. Sear the steaks until browned but still rare, about 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate to cool completely.

Add the onion and carrots to the same pan and saute over medium heat until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano. Pour in the wine and allow to reduce slightly. Add the marinara and broth, and let mixture simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

In the meantime, cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente (about 1 minute under the minimum recommended cooking time); stir frequently.

Trim the steak of any excess fat and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Drain the pasta. Add the pasta, steak and any accumulated juices from the meat to the sauce, allowing the flavors to come together over medium heat, about 1 minute. Serve with the shaved Parmesan cheese.

Giada's Quick Marinara Sauce

2 28 oz. cans whole plum tomatoes with juice
1 bunch fresh basil, stemmed
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 sweet onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, cooking until very tender, about 12 minutes. Remove the tomatoes from their cans and puree with the basil. Stir in the tomato juice, puree, oregano and sugar and allow sauce to simmer for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving or freezing.

Chocolate Pudding

After a less-than-successful experiment making vanilla pudding with egg yolks (more than a little soupy, but delicious), I wanted to try my hand at a chocolate pudding. This recipe, adapted from the August 2008 issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray, tastes wonderful and has just the right consistency. You could certainly serve it atop the peanut butter cream specified (1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 1/3 cup heavy cream and 1/8 teaspoon salt, combined). Although, I find that this pudding really needs nothing more than a dollop of whipped cream.

Chocolate Pudding

2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

In a medium pan, whisk together the milk, sugar, cocoa powder and cornstarch over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil, continuing to whisk constantly, until nicely thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chopped chocolate (or mini chips) until completely incorporated. Spoon into serving dishes and and refrigerate until set, approximately 2 hours.

Dream Bars

My sister, Liddy, has never met a dream bar she didn't like. I usually make her the standard, 7-layer variety. But for her most recent birthday, I wanted to make her something a little different. I opted for one with hazelnuts and a shortbread crust, adapted from Y'All Come Eat by the Deen Bros. She pronunced them both, well, absolutely dreamy.

7-Layer Magic Cookie Bars

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (6 oz.) butterscotch chips
1 1/3 cups shredded coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees for a glass baking dish).

In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press crumb mixture firmly on the bottom of a 13 by 9 pan, then pour sweetened condensed milk over.

Layer remaining ingredients evenly; press firmly down with fork.

Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Cool. Cut bars and serve. Store covered at room temperature.

Hazelnut Dream Bars

Crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
pinch of salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Filling
2 large eggs
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup shredded coconut
3/4 chopped hazelnuts
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust, pulse together the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Pulse the butter until just combined. Press the dough evenly over the bottom of an ungreased 13 by 9 baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla and baking powder. Stir in the coconut, hazelnuts and chocolate chips. Spread the filling over the crust while still warm. Bake for 20 minutes.