My Big Kitchen Upgrade: Two Mouth-Watering Recipes for You To Try

During the last few weeks, I’ve been hard at work remodeling our kitchen with some simple DIY upgrades, and brand new pro-grade appliances from Frigidaire Professional. Now that I’ve worked up an appetite, my wife and I put our heads together and came up with two delicious recipes to test out on our new equipment. Read on for the full recipes, and some palette pleasing food photos.

Here’s our new kitchen (can you see why we were excited to cook something in it?):

(Read more about the remodel here, here, and the full reveal here).

I just can’t emphasize enough how much this new, bright, functional space is inspiring us to get into the kitchen. The new Frigidaire Professional appliances are a pleasure to use (learn more about this line of pro-grade appliances here).

Ok, now on to the recipes!

Pan Seared Rib-Eye Steak with Wasabi Cream Sauce

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes (plus 5 minute resting)

This pan-seared steak has a crisp, peppered outer layer with a tender, juicy center. Topped with a creamy wasabi lime sauce, it’s equal parts tasty and memorable. If you measure out the ingredients a day before, it just takes a few minutes behind the stove to make a meal worth sharing with your friends.

Wasabi Lime Sauce

½ Cup Sour Cream

½ Avocado

3 Tbsp. Cilantro

4 Tbsp. Lime Juice (about 2 limes)

½ tsp. Salt

1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 ½ tsp. Wasabi Paste

Pepper to Taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender (we’re using this one). Blend on high until smooth and creamy.  If the sauce is too thick, add additional lime juice and scrape down the sides to get it all fully mixed. Adding additional avocado will thicken the sauce. Keep in mind, the avocado will brown within a day of preparation, so make it fresh for best taste and presentation.

Pan-Seared Steak

1 tsp. Coarse Himalayan Salt

½ tsp. Coarse Black Pepper

3-4 Cloves Garlic

2 tsp. Butter

Rib-Eye Steaks (about 12oz per person)

A bit about pan-searing steak – The key to a great steak on the stove is a blistering hot pan and a bit of preparation. Our new range (this one) has a 18,000 BTU power burner, so it gets really hot, really fast. I like to rinse and dry the steaks fresh out of the refrigerator and then I let them warm to room temperature on the counter for about 30 minutes. I dust the surfaces with coarse pepper, but don’t put any oil or salt on the meat as it sits on the counter. 

Add a thin layer of salt to the cast iron pan and heat up until it just begins to smoke. Add pepper and steak in the pan. The steak should sear within about 30 seconds, then can be flipped to sear the opposite side. Flip 3-4 times per side, once every 30 seconds. Crush the cloves of garlic with your palm and then throw them whole into the pan with the butter. This will cause the pan to smoke, and gives the crust a nice charred flavor (and it looks incredible). When the meat is rare (see here for the FDA’s guide on safe cooking temps for meat) remove and wrap in foil to rest for about 5 minutes. We used our new convection microwave oven set to about 150 degrees to keep the steaks warm while resting. 

We steamed some green beens in our Frigidaire Professional Rice Cooker (it comes with a steaming basket accessory), and then baked some sweet potatoes in our new microwave (using the convection feature) to go along with the spicy, wasabi steak.

Creamy Artichoke Chicken

This bubbling creamy chicken has a great chunky texture and looks amazing fresh out of the oven. Make the topping before the party and 15 minutes is all it takes to go from appetizers to an incredible main dish.

Creamy Artichoke Sauce

1 Cup Artichoke Hearts (chopped)

1/3 Cup Mayonnaise

1 Zest of a Lemon

½ Juice of a lemon

½ Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

4 Cloves Garlic

1 Tbsp. fresh Parsley

½ tsp. Crushed Red Peppers

½ tsp. fresh Rosemary minced

Salt & Pepper to taste

3 Tbsp. Parmesan for topping

 Rosemary Chicken

4 Chicken Breasts

1 Cup Flour

2 tsp. fresh minced Rosemary

Salt & Pepper to taste

Prepare Chicken

Butterfly each chicken breast, then slice even lines across the surface to open up for better tenderness. Pound out the breasts with a meat hammer to make each piece even. Season the chicken with a good layer of salt and pepper. Mix the flour and rosemary together in a large bowl or gallon-sized plastic bag, and toss the chicken to coat well.

Heat the skillet over medium heat (cast iron is my preferred method) and coat pan with about 2 tbsp. olive oil. Add chicken to the hot pan and cook for about 5 minutes until golden brown on each side.

Prepare Artichoke Cream Sauce

While chicken cooks, mix all topping ingredients (mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, parmesan, garlic,  parsley, red peppers, rosemary) together until smooth in the blender. Chop up the hearts into small chunks and combine well in a bowl. Set aside.

Combine

Turn on the oven to broil and let it heat up. While the oven is warming up, transfer the chicken to a baking sheet and spoon a thick layer of sauce over the meat. Add the grated parmesan cheese over the top and put it into the oven. Broiling takes about 2-5 minutes; it’s ready when the tops are browned and bubbling. I used the PowerPlus Temperature Probe feature on the range to set and monitor the temperature and ensure the chicken was cooked through.

If you have a chance to try out these recipes, let me know how they work out for you! Or if you have a suggestion for how to improve them, let me know in the comments!

This post was sponsored by Frigidaire, but all opinions are mine alone. Thanks for supporting the brands that support ManMade.