Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Bistro Dinner

Mmm. The other night, we had a fancy schmancy dinner right here at home. Well, fancy except for the screw-top bottle of Merlot that I used. But I digress... I was craving some red meat, so it was time for a steak dinner. Being rather chilly for outdoor grilling, I got the bright idea to sear the steaks on my cast iron skillet. The result was a quick & easy gourmet meal (20 minutes from start to finish for the steak & sauce).

Bistro Steak with Mushroom Sauce

  • 2 flank steaks
  • olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • 3-4 baby portobello mushrooms, cleaned & sliced
  • 1 shallot, thinly sliced
  • red wine
  • 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
  • butter

Preheat cast iron skillet until it registers 450 degrees (or drops of water disappear immediately on contact). Rub steaks with olive oil and salt & pepper to taste. Cook 4-5 minutes per side for medium rare, turning once.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, saute the shallots with olive oil until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add mushrooms and butter and saute an additional 3-4 minutes, until mushrooms soften. Add a splash of red wine and saute until the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add parsley. Serve steaks with a small dollop of butter and then top with mushroom sauce. We enjoyed ours with sauteed green beans and oven-baked fries.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Sounds yummy. I learned recently on rouxbe that there are some who recommend cooking steak by repeatedly flipping (every minute) rather than only flipping once. I'll try tonight and let you know how this turns out.

When I pan fry meat (as you did), I like to make sauce in the same pan, so I can benefit from the drippings and stuck-on bits in the pan. After the steak is done (and while it's taking a 5-10 minute rest), I make sauce very much as you did, but in the same pan, scooping up the bits from the bottom when I deglaze with the red wine.

dlee said...

Mmm. Never heard of the turning repeatedly thing. How did that go?

I'm still getting used to the whole cast-iron skillet thing -- for reason, I have the idea in my head that it's only good for cooking at very high temps, so it would never occur to me to make a sauce in it. One less pot to wash, though!