FRIDAY
Tagliata…Grilled Beef with Arugula, Lemon & Parmesan | Strawberry Tart
It is Friday, early evening, and although the sun made an appearance this afternoon after a dose of morning fog it did not get quite as warm as yesterday. From my desk I can see a large group of sailboats beginning to gather in the cove just beyond our deck for the weekly Friday race. Michael and I often enjoy a glass of wine and watch the friendly competition but tonight he is on a plane heading home from Southern California where he has been working this week. He should be home in a couple of hours and I have the pieces of tonight’s dinner prepped and poised for a later evening repast. It is unusual for me to be on my computer at this time of day but I am trying to get a jump ahead of the game, anticipating a very busy day tomorrow. It will be a day full of errands and regrouping, getting Michael ready to leave, before dawn, on Sunday morning for a week of meetings in Europe. Our vacation, which ended less than a week ago, feels like a distant memory.
We really did have such a wonderful time though! I think the best thing about vacation is the time spent together. As the children get older, I have a greater appreciation for how fast time passes in our crazy busy lives. Although I wouldn’t label our trip as restful, by any means, it was so wonderful spending everyday together as opposed to “normal” life when we are pulled in so many different directions, often meeting up at the dinner table at the end of the day. The primary reason for our trip to Montana was for a horse show. Both girls were competing so their time was devoted to their horses at the farm but Michael, Max & I managed to get out and enjoy some boating and hiking in beautiful Big Sky country. Since I have a moment or two before I need to get back to dinner I can share a few highlights…just a few, promise!
This year, The Event at Rebecca Farm marked Madison’s first competition at the CCI 2** level in eventing. The show always begins with dressage on the first day of competition and, after a beautiful warm-up, Maddie entered the arena and her horse, “King” completely “lost the plot” as so aptly reported by Eventing Nation. She spent most of the 7-minute test keeping her horse from jumping out of the arena or bucking her off. She rode like a champ in spite of the stick of dynamite she was sitting on…I spent most of the test with my eyes closed but Eventing Nation was able to get one of the rare shots of her test when all four of the horse’s feet were on the ground…
King redeemed himself {and earned a spot back onto the trailer for the ride home} the following day on cross-country. They both were brilliant together and, while I nervously waited at the finish line listening to her progress around the 9-10 minute course over the loudspeaker, Eventing Nation captured this photo of them on course…
A few rails in stadium on day three still resulted in them moving up from last place after dressage {out of a field of 22} to a 12th place finish!
Meanwhile, Mallory and her pony, competing in the classic format of the Novice 3-Day, rode to an early lead after dressage and that is where they remained for the rest of the competition. Penalty-free rounds in the jumping phases earned this team the blue ribbon {and a lot of “swag”}…
And Max, well he enjoyed a different type of ride on Flathead Lake…
One of my favorite parts of the trip was the day Michael, Max and I headed out to {and way up} Glacier National Park. We made the nerve-racking {for me…which proved quite humorous for the boys} drive on Going-to-the-Sun Road and stopped at this clearing after crossing the Continental Divide…
The running stream from the melting snow-pack was beautiful and the water so incredibly clear {and cold!}…such a relief from the heat waiting for us back at the ranch.
Now back to dinner…
I knew that after a week of business dinners {and getting ready for another week of business travel} Michael would want {and need} a home-cooked meal. He adores steak but I knew because of his later arrival in the evening a large, heavy dinner would not be a good idea. My compromise was a steak salad, one with a few, fresh ingredients as well as a simple preparation. This tagliata was just what we needed.
Because of how few the number of ingredients are, the quality of each is critical to the success of the final dish. Tonight’s salad begins with organic, grass-fed boneless rib-eye steaks cut to order from our local butcher…
Seasoned with rosemary and sage from our garden and fresh garlic from this week’s farmers market {and a bit of salt & pepper}…
Peppery baby arugula dressed simply with some fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper creates a bed for the grilled, sliced, seasoned steak. Fresh shavings of Parmesan cheese finishes the salad…
Cook the steaks on the grill until the desired level of doneness {depending on the cut of meat you have}…we prefer medium-rare meat and then let them rest for 10 minutes before slicing, which translates into grilling to a temperature of 125°F - 130°F and then removing from the grill and letting the meat rest until it reaches a temperature between 135°F - 140°F…
And the final dinner plate … {please forgive the lighting, it was very dark}
Just a note: we added this wonderful balsamic drizzle over the salad as a finishing touch, reducing it down to a syrup with sprigs of rosemary. The finished dish was SPECTACULAR!
Tagliata {adapted from Food & Wine}
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 1½ tablespoons each of chopped , fresh rosemary and sage
- Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 4 boneless, grass-fed rib eye steaks, cut 2 inches thick
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 large handfuls of baby arugula
- 2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 2 cups shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Balsamic reduction to drizzle
- In a bowl, mix the garlic, rosemary, sage, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Rub the mixture all over the steaks and let marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
- Remove the steaks from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, prepare a charcoal grill for moderate heat.
- Generously oil the grill grates. Place the steaks on the grill and cook over moderate heat until browned all over and the internal temperature of the meat reaches 125°F-130°F. Transfer the steaks to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes {meat temperature should have raised to 135°F-140°F for medium rare}, then thinly slice.
- In a large bowl, toss the arugula with the oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Portion the arugula salad onto individual serving plates and top with 3-4 slices of steak, a few Parmesan shavings and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. Serve immediately.
Dessert is not often part of our repertoire but when I saw this strawberry tart at our local bakery this afternoon I couldn’t pass it up…
It screamed to me…”It’s FRIDAY”…so I indulged. Michael and I passed on dessert but the kids devoured the glazed fruit, creamy custard and buttery crust. HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!
