Recipe - Beef Roulade and Potato Gnocchi

I made this for dinner tonight for our friends Mindy and Aaron - they come over once a week for dinner and some great television - and it was a huge hit.  So huge, in fact, that I was told to share the recipe with all of you!  I thought for sure there would be some kind of leftovers but we ate every last gnocchi and every single brussels sprout.  Every plate was practically licked clean.  I wouldn't necessarily call it a "simple" meal, but beginners should not feel too daunted by a more complex recipe.  However, this may not be a good week night meal for most families, maybe a better Sunday meal when you'll have more time to cook.  I would definitely all it a "WOW!" meal though, great for entertaining guests.  Also, older kids will love to help you shape the gnocchi!  Sorry the picture is kind of small, my camera died so we used Travis's iPhone.  I'll try to get another close up picture the next time I make this.

Beef Roulade

1 Large steak - I used sirloin but any cut would work except fillet because it is too tender
1/4 cup Alouette Garlic and Herb Cheese Spread
a handful of chopped frozen spinach, thawed
3 Tbsp Blue Cheese - I used gorgonzola
Cooking twine or toothpicks
1 Tbsp Olive Oil, or just enough to cover the bottom of your pan

1 - Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Pound out your steak with a meat mallet until it is a rectangular shape, about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.  The easiest and safest way to do this is to fold large pieces of plastic wrap in half (to make them stick only to themselves, you may need two pieces for each side) and sandwich the meat between them.  This way your mallet stays clean and you won't have bits of raw steak or meat all over your kitchen counters.  Work your way from the center out for the best results.  Season your steak on both sides with salt and pepper.

2 - Spread the Alouette on the steak in an even layer, leaving about 1 inch dry on one of the long sides.  Top with an even layer of spinach and then sprinkle with the blue cheese.  Using the plastic wrap to help you start, tightly roll the steak starting from the non-dry edge until it is a complete log.

3 - Tie the twine around the steak so that it stays rolled up as you cook it.  If you do not have twine, you can use strategically placed toothpicks as pins.  Just remember to pull them all out before slicing!

4 - Sear the outside of the roulade in olive oil over medium heat (reserve this pan to make the sauce, if you choose).  Place on a sheet pan and put into the oven for 5-15 minutes, depending on your desired done-ness.  I put ours in for about 7 minutes for a beautiful medium-rare, leaning towards rare.  Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.

5 - Slice the roulade into 3/4-1 inch slices on a diagonal for the best presentation.  Serve with sauce.


Very Easy Mustard Sauce (not pictured)

1 cup Chicken Stock
2-3 Tbsp Whole Grain Mustard
1 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces 

1 - Pour off any excess olive oil and deglaze the hot pan you've just seared your protein in by adding the chicken stock all at once.  Allow to boil and then scrape the bottom of the pan for all of the delicious drippings.

2 - Whisk in the whole grain mustard and reduce until barely thicker than you want your end sauce to be.  Keep in mind that your sauce will become thicker as it cools.

3 - Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter pieces.  Stir until the butter has melted into the sauce and then keep off of the heat.  If you put it back on the burner after this step, the sauce will "break" and the butter will become separate from the rest of the sauce.  Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary.


Potato Gnocchi

2 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
about 1 cup all purpose flour, and some extra for dusting work surfaces
a handful of parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

1 - Boil the potatoes until completely cooked through.  Quickly rice the potatoes using either a food mill or a mesh strainer and a spoon.  While the potatoes are still hot, add most of the flour, salt, pepper, and cheese.  Begin to mix together, the potatoes should start to come together into a soft but not sticky dough.  Add more flour as necessary and knead on a floured work surface.

2 - Cut the dough into quarters and roll out into a long roll, 3/4 inch in diameter.  Cut the roll into bite-sized pieces (about 1/2-3/4 inch) and shape the gnocchi by pressing and rolling off of the back of a fork.  They should have a small dimple in the back and ridges across the front.  Place the gnocchi on a floured sheet pan.  If you are making these ahead of time, you can refrigerate them at this point for a day or freeze them for up to a week.  Just allow the gnocchi to come up to room temperature before cooking to ensure proper texture.

3 - Briefly boil the gnocchi in a large pot of salted water - as you would for pasta - until they begin to float.  Be careful not to overcook the gnocchi because they will turn into a big pot of potato mush.  You can finish these in any kind of sauce imaginable, I tossed them into a pan with butter until they got a little crispy on the outside, then topped them with more parmesan cheese.  They're also great in soup as dumplings.