Just like you and your date, it is the perfect pairing and there is nothing better for a special meal than a juicy, melt-in-your mouth steak, paired with al dente pasta that is smothered in a creamy, cheesy homemade Alfredo sauce. My homemade sauce is easy to cook and with minimal ingredients it will elegantly coat the pasta noodles. I choose the long and wide fettuccine noodle, but there are so many tasty choices: Tagliatelle, linguini, or tubular pastas like penne, cavatappi, or bucatini work nicely too. Your special meal will come together easily, and the presentation is exquisite when you top off your creamy pasta with slices of your favorite steak. Some other date night pasta favorites you’ll love are: Pappardelle Bolognese, Italian Sausage and Peppers, and this Creamy Gnocchi.
Steak: You could use a New York strip steak, filet, ribeye, porterhouse, or even a skirt steak. Any cut of beef that works for your personal preference and your budget. Pasta: I used Fettuccine pasta and like to buy the fresh refrigerated kind but any type goes Parmesan: It’s important to use freshly and finely grated cheese. Parmigiano Reggiano or Parmesan will work well. Pre-grated cheese contains preservatives that keep the cheese shreds from clumping together, because of these preservatives the cheese also does not melt together as well when cooking. Freshly grated parmesan also tastes a lot because it is fresher and creamier. Especially with today’s grocery prices, you get more for your money. An 8oz block shreds more than what is in an 8oz bag. Butter: Unsalted butter is what I prefer. Especially with the saltiness of the fresh Parmesan you do not need a lot of additional salt in general. Heavy cream: Heavy cream is thicker and fattier than regular milk and mixing with the Parmesan cheese creates the creamiest of sauces.
Picking the right cut of beef is always an adventure but there are several great cuts that are tender with plenty of marbling to choose from: Filet Mignon (which I love), Ribeye and T-Bone to just list a few.
Filet Mignon: This lean and delicious cut from the heart of the tenderloin is one of the most desirable cuts of steak. This is what I used in the photos in this post. Ribeye: The ribeye is from the section of beef call the beef rib. It is between the chuck (shoulder) and the loin. This part of the animal collects more intramuscular fat, which creates fantastic marbling unique to the ribeye. T-Bone: The T-Bone steak is easy to spot with the T-shaped bone running through it. This steak is cut from the short loin, and actually has two different steaks attached to the bone. Sirloin: this is a leaner cut of meat, more affordable, but still has a lot of flavor.
