NATE - The Nate Berkus Show

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Spice up your Valentine's Day with Aarti Sequeira's strip steak and chocolate-ginger pudding pie.

Rags to Riches Steak Dinner: Pan-seared Strip Steak with Black Pepper-Cardamom Butter & Roasted Broccoli
Serves 2 hungry sweethearts

Ingredients: Steak
2 boneless strip steaks, 3/4-inch to 1-inch thick, about 1.5 pounds total
2 teaspoons kosher salt (NOT table salt)
1 tablespoon grapeseed or canola oil

Ingredients: Roasted Broccoli
2 small heads of broccoli
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons Meyer lemon juice (regular lemon is fine too)
Pinch of dried red chile flake (optional)
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts

Ingredients: Black Pepper-Cardamom Butter
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened (ie. at room temp, not melted!)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced finely
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¾ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Small handful fresh cilantro (about 5 sprigs), leaves and soft stems minced finely
A little salt to taste

Directions
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
First, a bit of steak alchemy. This method turns your supermarket steak into the juicy, buttery steak you’d get at a fancy steakhouse. Place steaks on a large plate. Sprinkle each side of each steak with ½ teaspoon of salt (ie. 1 teaspoon of salt per steak). Yup, it seems like a lot. But you won’t be eating all that salt. Don’t worry! Allow the steaks to sit at room temperature for 45 minutes. The steaks will start to sweat, and then it will look like they are flooded with water. What’s happening? The salt has penetrated the meat, which means your steak will be flavoured all the way through. It is also unwinding some of the proteins in the meat, so it will be less chewy, ie. like buttah. The steak will reabsorb some of that moisture, so it will still be juicy.
Meanwhile, prep the broccoli: cut into florets about 2 inches long. Make sure all the florets are about the same size. In a bowl, toss the broccoli with the olive oil, seasoning with a little salt and pepper. Tumble onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pop into the oven and cook 15 to 20 minutes until broccoli is browned and tender. Mmmmm.
Now, make the cardamom butter: place butter in a small bowl. Add garlic, cardamom, black pepper, cilantro and a little salt. Mash together with a fork. Taste for seasonings and set aside. (If you like, you can freeze this butter as a log: place at the bottom of a piece of parchment paper, then roll tightly. Twist the ends like a piece of candy and freeze. When you want to use it, unwrap the roll, and slice off a few coins. Good for a couple of weeks, and great for garlic bread, on corn on the cob, fish, chicken etc).
The broccoli should be cooked by now. Pull it out of the oven, and test it: does a sharp knife go through a stalk easily? Then it’s done. (If not, cook another 5 minutes). Remove, put in a bowl, and toss with lemon juice, red chile flake and pine nuts. Set aside and keep warm until serving time. After the steaks have been sitting for 45 minutes, wash off the salt in cold water, very well. Then, pat dry with paper towels, very well. There shouldn’t be any moisture on the surface of the meat; this means you’ll get a good crust on the steak!
Grab a cast iron skillet – these babies can get hotter than most skillets around, and maintain that heat evenly. If you don’t have one, grab a heavy-bottomed stainless steel skillet. Don’t use a nonstick skillet for this job – you’ll ruin that nonstick coating.
Heat the skillet over high heat until it just starts smoking. This can take a few minutes. Be patient!
Add 1 tablespoon canola oil. Swirl the pan so the surface is evenly coated with oil, then carefully lay down the steaks. Open the windows, turn on the fan or your fancy hood; this may set off your smoke alarm but it will be so worth it! I like to cook my steaks medium-rare, so I cook them about 2 minutes per side. Use an instant-read thermometer to be sure, pulling the steaks when they’re about 5 degrees away from where you like it (they’ll continue to cook even when they aren’t in the pan anymore). Use this chart (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/meat-and-poultry-temperature-guide/index.html) to figure out what temperature denotes your favourite way to eat steak. I pull them when they register 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
Set steaks on plate, tent with foil, and let them rest for 5 minutes.
Serve with a dollop of the black pepper-cardamom butter over the top, and roasted broccoli on the side. Share with your love, and then adjourn to the canoodling portion of the evening.

Come ‘Ere Puddin’ Pie: Chocolate-Ginger Pudding Pie
Serves 2 hungry sweethearts

Ingredients
Crust
15 chocolate wafer cookies
15 gingersnaps
3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted
Generous pinch salt

Filling
2 cups whole milk
3 yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Crust: Crush the cookies in a food processor with the melted butter until almost finely crushed, or in a plastic food storage bag, using a rolling pin). Pour the cookie crumbs into pie dish. Using your hands, smooth out the crumbs to form an even crust on bottom and sides of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely.
Filling: In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together the milk, yolks and vanilla Stir in the sugar, cornstarch, chocolate and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Boil for 1 minute, then immediately remove from heat. Mixture should be very thick! Quickly stir in the ginger, then pour the pudding into the crust. Cover the surface of pie with plastic wrap (to prevent a skin from forming) and chill for 3 hours, until set.
Before serving, whip the cream and sugar together in a small bowl, until soft peaks form. Serve each slice of pie with a dollop of whipped cream, and a light dusting of leftover cookie crumbs, if you have any. Prepare to have poetry written about you.

Recipes courtesy of Aarti Sequeira.