*SPOILER ALERT*
Are you ready?
Here goes.
Marlboro Man loved this dish.
And I realize this information likely doesn’t mean much to you. But in the life of me, it was a nice little triumph.
This is a variation of my Cajun Chicken Pasta, one of the most man-friendly pastas (and gal-friendly, too!) pastas on my website. I had the idea to make a surf-and-turf version when my beloved and I were watching TV a few nights ago and he saw a commercial for a restaurant chain that featured a pasta with steak and shrimp.
“That looks good,” he said.
I hadn’t really been paying attention to the commercials. I think I was texting my sister something extremely non-cerebral, something along the lines of “Your mom.” But when Marlboro Man said that, my ears perked up. I made him rewind the DVR so I could see what he thought looked good. And now, days later, I can’t even remember what restaurant chain it was. Something along the lines of ApplebeesChilisTGIFridays. All I knew is, my husband had seen a food he liked. And I knew I had to make it happen.
The Cast of Characters! Lots of stuff, but it’s all pretty simple…and—speaking of stocking up—almost all of it was stuff I had on hand. If you keep shrimp in your freezer and can pick up a couple of steaks at the store, you have it made!
I love this Cajun seasoning.
It’s very Cajun seasony.
I used these beautiful beef filets, but any small, roundish steak will do.
Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning on both sides of the steaks.
Rub it in, then set them aside for a bit.
Sprinkle the shree-yump with the spice, too.
Or, if you want to call it shu-ree-yump, that would be okay. But just this once.
Next, get the veggies ready! Lop off the top and bottom of the green bell pepper and violently rip out the seeds.
Cut it in half, and cut the halves into strips.
Do the same with the red bell pepper and shove them over next to the green bell pepper. Think of Christmas. Realize it’s too early to think about Christmas. Remind yourself you’re not that organized. Proceed with the next step.
Slice a red onion in half and peel it. Wonder why they call them red onions when they’re so clearly purple. Get mad. Proceed with the next step.
Admire your scrap pile. Imagine Renoir using it as a model for a still life. Wonder if he liked bell peppers. Proceed with the next step.
Whack three garlic cloves with the knife.
By the way, this is how I shot this photo: I whacked the garlic clove. Then I placed my fist on the knife, securing the garlic clove below it. Then, with my right hand, I snapped a photo. It would have been impossible for me to actually take a photo of the real-time whack.
I just like to provide you with these behind-the-scenes tidbits. But only the second Monday in September.
This is my bracelet. St. Francis helps me cook.
He loved anything with Cajun spice.
Onto the garlic. Mince it up really finely.
Next, slice a couple of tomatoes in half…
Then dice ’em up.
Oh! And throw in some pasta. I used this fun, frilly stuff but you can use linguine, fettuccine, or…well, any ol’ noodles you want.
*Said in Arnold Schwarteznegger-esque voice: I’ll be back.
Now we’re ready to do this thing! First, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Then melt some butter and olive oil in a large (because we’re going to mix up the whole pasta dish in here eventually) skillet over medium-high heat.
When the butter is melted and the oil/butter mixture is hot (and, as you can see, starting to turn color)…
(Turn color? Is that a grammatically legitimate phrase? I know not what I say.)
Throw on the steaks, pressing them into the pan.
Then just sear them on both sides, probably about a good minute per side.
When they’re nice and dark on both sides, remove them to an oven-proof plate or dish and put them in the oven to finish cooking. If you’re starting with thinner steaks, you probably won’t need to put ’em in the oven. Just cook them till medium rare in the skillet, then remove them to a plate and keep them warm.
After the steaks are out, add a little more butter and olive oil to the skillet…
And thu-row in the shu-ree-yump!
Cook them around until they get nice and golden brown in color…
Then throw ’em on a plate and set them aside.
Finally, add a little splash of olive oil. Oh, and if your skillet is really messy like this…well, rejoice. Rejoice, for that is where worlds of flavor reside.
Grammar lesson: Worlds reside. That’s why the sentence above is correct. Some would have said “worlds of flavor resides” because “flavor” is right next to “reside.”
Actually, you know what? Don’t listen to me. I don’t know anything. Okay, thanks.
Instead of listening to me, throw the veggies into the pan.
Stir them around and cook them just for a minute or so.
Then throw in the garlic…
And cook the veggies around for another minute or so.
Remove the veggies and set ’em aside.
And now it’s time to party! Woo-HOOOOOOOOO!
I’m monumentally sorry for that outburst. What I meant was, pour in about a half a cup of white wine. More if you’re a party animal. Less if your husband doesn’t like wine in his food. Please feel very sorry for me.
You can also only use broth if you don’t want to use wine at all, but make sure it’s low-sodium! You don’t want the salt to get out of control.
Use a whisk to scrape the bottom of the pan…
Then pour in some low-sodium chicken broth.
Let this bubble up and cook over medium-high heat for several, several, several, several minutes.
Otherwise known as four minutes.
When it’s nice and reduced and dark and flavorful…
Pour in some heavy cream.
Whisk it all together…
Then let it bubble up and thicken for at least a couple of minutes.
Mince up some parsley. Amen.
Then throw the veggies into the pasta.
Let it bubble up…
Then throw in the parmesan…
The pasta…
And the diced tomatoes. They aren’t cooked, but they’ll heat up when you toss ’em in and they’ll stay together and keep their wits about them.
Toss it all together…
Then throw in the she-ree-yump-uh (I added another syllable)…
Sprinkle in some parsley…
And toss it in, my love.
Sorry I called you my love. I’m always doin’ that.
Meanwhile, the steaks are out of the oven! And they look good enough to scarf down.
To serve it all up, heap a bunch of pasta on a plate…
Then nestle a steak right in the middle.
See that red/pink middle? That’s good stuff right there.
This is one yummy plate of goodness. You know what I would have done differently, though? I would not have tossed the shrimp in with the pasta and sauce. I would have just placed them on top along with the steak. That way, they would have kept their Cajun spice coating and the nice color.
Live and learn. And eat as you live and learn.
Oh, and one other thing.
Marlboro Man inhaled this.
Enjoy, guys!
Here’s the handy dandy printable:
