Quick Meal: Bacon Wrapped Filet and Balsamic Green Beans

I don't think people believe me when I say an elegant and delicious meal can take only a few minutes to prepare and just a few ingredients.

This dish was two slices of thick cut bacon, one thick cut prime filet crushed black peppercorns, salt, olive oil, fresh green beans and Balsamic vinegar. It was all cooked using one pan on my stove top....and just as delicious as it looks. 

Using a mortar and pestle I ground the pepper corns and kosher salt together and coated both sides of the meat, pressing the peppercorns in like I would for steak au poivre. The steak was then wrapped in the bacon and secured with toothpicks. I heated a small amount of olive oil in my non-stick grill pan on medium-high heat and seared the steak on both sides. Then I turned down the heat and covered the pan, and continued cooking the steak 2-3 minutes on each side (I like mine medium rare to medium). I removed steak from pan to let rest and added the green beans into the pan. I sauteed them a few minutes and then added about 2 tablespoons of the Balsamic vinegar, tossing the green beans to ensure they were coated. I cooked them another few minutes and served them along side the steak.

Served with wine and crusty bread....better than a steakhouse I say!

Steal of the Week: Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops

I mentioned that I would be working with an incredible 18-year aged balsamic vinegar this weekend so I went on a hunt for a recipe that heavily features the ingredient. Then I remembered that back when my husband and I were dating, I had made him a beautiful and tasty balsamic pork chop dish for a night I wanted to impress him by cooking for him (Guess it worked!). Therefore, I was delighted to find the recipe again (originally from Gourmet 2006) on Epicurious.com. Their recipe for balsamic-glazed pork chops was exactly how I remembered it!
Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops

• 4 (3/4-inch-thick) center-cut pork chops (about 2 lb total)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 oz small shallots (about 8), quartered and peeled, leaving root ends intact
• 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Balsamic-Glazed-Pork-Chops-233982#ixzz1SMdQdAED

Pat pork dry and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook pork (in 2 batches if necessary) along with shallots, turning pork over once and stirring shallots occasionally, until pork is browned and shallots are golden brown and tender, about 5 minutes total. Transfer pork with tongs to a plate (here's what mine looked like:)

and add vinegar, sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to shallots in skillet. Cook, stirring until sugar is dissolved and liquid is thickened slightly, about 1 minute.

Reduce heat to moderate, then return pork along with any juices accumulated on plate to skillet and turn 2 or 3 times to coat with sauce. Cook, turning over once, until pork is just cooked through, about 3 minutes total. Transfer pork to a platter and boil sauce until thickened and syrupy, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour sauce over pork.

Times like these make me wish there was a scratch and sniff for food pictures! The flavor is so incredible for such simple ingredients. My only slight misstep was I may have cooked the pork a little longer than I should have, not getting the true pink center I would usually want but they were still moist and delicious. I decided to continue to keep it simple and just served them with brown rice and edamame:

Definitely a dish that will impress!