Whenever people hear the phrase “surf & turf” they can’t help but imagine dollar signs floating around in their head. They might also think of date night, splurging for an occasion, or celebrating a holiday evening considering this isn’t your average weeknight meal for most. Fortunately with this recipe.. it most definitely can be!

A big focus point for this recipe is the steak itself. As you all know, every cut of steak is priced differently, so of course some are way more expensive than others. Since this recipe is meant to be on the cheaper side of the spectrum I chose two New York strip steaks that were on sale at my local supermarket. If the steak you prefer isn’t on sale when you go to purchase your meat, you can get something like a flank steak which will be just as scrumptious after seasoning and cooking it the proper way. If you’re cooking a tougher piece of meat with very little fat you could also marinate it for a few hours to create tons of moisture, and much more flavor than it would have without marinating it.

• My boyfriend and I enjoy our steak to be rare or medium rare.. depending on what type of steak we’re eating, or what kind of mood we are in.
• I poured two tablespoons of vegetable oil, and a pad of butter into a sizzling hot sauté pan. The key to a deliciously cooked steak on the inside, and a nice crispy caramelized crust on the outside is to have your pan really hot from the very beginning. As soon as you start placing your steak on the fat, you should be able to hear a good sizzle taking place.
• Cook the steak on medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes per side, or even longer depending how you like your steak cooked.

Once the steak is to your liking you can remove it from the pan, and turn your heat down to medium!

The recipe:

• Add two tablespoons of butter into the pan along with one small diced onion, half of a red bell pepper, and six sliced mushrooms. Season with sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, and thyme leaves to taste.
• Since you Diamonds are probably wondering about the “surf” part of this dish.. it’s imitation lobster meat! Now I know what you might be thinking.. you want the real thing, BUT I promise you all you will not be missing anything expensive in this dish once you’re indulging in it! The imitation lobster meat is even enjoyable cold, but after you cook it.. something magical happens to it. It really gives you the buttery mouth feel of eating succulent seafood.
• After your vegetables are translucent, pour in one cup of beef stock to deglaze the pan so that you can start to make a sauce for the Cavatappi noodles. Speaking of Cavatappi, boil your pasta al dente (to the tooth) as you create the sauce!
• When the stock is thickened and reduced by half, pour in one pint of heavy cream.
• After letting the heavy cream simmer for five minutes add a whole container of freshly grated parmesan cheese. The cheese will make this sauce extremely creamy and rich! After 10 minutes of letting the sauce get nice and thick, all that’s left to do is toss in some crushed red pepper flakes for a nice dash of heat! I love red pepper on top of all pasta dishes! It does something really special to it.

This is probably the easiest surf & turf dish that you will ever create!

It’s your choice if you wanted to slice the steak against the grain after you’ve let it rest for at least five minutes, or if you wanted to serve it on the side of the pasta. It’ll be delicious either way, and it will absolutely impress whoever you may be cooking for. Speaking of cooking for somebody.. this surf & turf pasta dish couldn’t be anymore perfect! Just because you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg cooking an incredible, beautiful meal for a wonderful date night in, does not mean that it has to be flavorless or boring! Sometimes even when you don’t buy the most expensive thing in the world it may still taste like it, and let me tell you Diamonds.. this luxurious meal tasted like a 50 dollar plate at one of the fanciest steakhouses ever! I think quarantine this last year has made us all realize that you can create anything you want, start new traditions, and most of all.. invent insanely expensive dishes at home that are just as good and won’t break the bank! Maybe even a little bit better. 😉

XOXO