Olive Garden’s Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo (Original Post 6/12/11)

Again, this is from the book, Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur and the following paragraph is his and not mine.

Menu Description:

Grilled beef medallions drizzled with balsamic glaze, served over fettuccine tossed with spinach and gorgonzola-Alfredo sauce.

This menu item builds on Olive Garden’s great Alfredo sauce recipe with the addition of gorgonzola cheese. The tangy cheese sauce works well with the sweet-and-sour balsamic reduction that is drizzled over the beef medallions. Find three (3) 6-ounce sirloin steaks (or what ever cut you prefer) and slice each of them into four 1 1/2 ounce fillets. Get pounding with a kitchen mallet and make those steaks about 1/2- inch thick and they will grill up to the same size medallions on the original dish. Between the pounding and the meat tenderizer in the beef seasoning, you will turn even the cheapest cut of beef into a tender morsel. Build your dish as described below and you will have re created the taste and presentation of the original rich, tasty dish.

Balsamic Glaze

Ingredients:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup honey

1 1/2 teaspoons of Knox unflavored gelatin powder

Directions:

Make balsamic glaze by combining balsamic vinegar, honey, and unflavored gelatin in a small sauce pan over low heat. Stir often as mixture comes to a simmer. Turn off heat when mixture begins to boil, then remove it from the heat and cool at room temperature. The glaze will thicken even more as it cools.

Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter

2 cups heavy cream

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese  

1 (12 ounce) box fettuccine pasta

Directions:

Make the Alfredo sauce by melting the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cream, garlic powder, pepper, and cheeses, and simmer over medium/low heat for 10 to 12 minutes until thick. Bring 4 to 6 quarts of water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until done then drain.

Beef Seasoning

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp. meat tenderizer (McCormick brand works well)

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. dried thyme

3(three) 6-ounce sirloin steaks cut each into four 1 1/2 –ounce medallions

4 cups chopped fresh spinach

3 TBS. chopped green onions (about 2 onions)

Directions:

Preheat grill to high. Combine the beef seasoning ingredients. Pound beef medallions to about 1/2 inch thick and sprinkle both sides with seasoning blend. When your grill is hot, cook beef medallions for 2 to 3 minutes per side until cooked to your preference.

Garnish:

Ingredients:

3 TBS crumbled gorgonzola cheese

2 TBS chopped sundried tomatoes

Directions:

Just before serving the dish, add the chopped spinach and chopped green onions to the Alfredo sauce. For each serving toss approximately 1/3 of the fettuccine pasta with about 3/4 cup of the Alfredo sauce in a medium bowl. Spoon onto a serving plate, and then arrange 4 beef medallions on the pasta. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar glaze over each beef medallion. Combine the gorgonzola cheese crumbles with chopped sun-dried tomatoes and sprinkle about 1 1/2 table spoons of this mixture over the beef medallions. Repeat for the remaining servings.

This recipe says it makes 3 servings per recipe, so if you are making it for 4 or more people you will have to double or even triple it depending on how many people you are serving.