Pan-Seared Steak with Mustard Cream Sauce

My friend Jen suggested this recipe to me... Hey Jen! THANKS! This was very yummy!! This recipe is from America's Test Kitchen - pretty much foolproof recipe source if you ask me!

It may not look pretty... and my cuts may be deplorable... but when it tastes this good? Who CARES! :)

Make sure to prepare all of the sauce ingredients before cooking the steaks. Bear in mind that even those tasters who usually prefer rare beef preferred these steaks cooked medium-rare and medium because the texture is firmer and not quite so chewy.

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 boneless shell sirloin steak (top butt) or whole flap meat steak, about 1 pound and 1 1/4 inches thick
Table salt and ground black pepper
1 small shallot , minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 1/2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard

1. Heat oil in heavy-bottomed 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Meanwhile, season both sides of steak with salt and pepper. Place steak in skillet; cook, without moving steak, until well browned, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, flip steak; reduce heat to medium. Cook until well browned on second side and internal temperature registers 125 degrees on instant-read thermometer for medium-rare (about 5 minutes) or 130 degrees for medium (about 6 minutes).

2. Transfer steak to large plate and tent loosely with foil; let rest until internal temperature registers 130 degrees for medium-rare or 135 degrees for medium, 12 to 15 minutes.

3. While steak is resting, pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from now-empty skillet. Return skillet to low heat and add shallot; cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add wine and increase heat to medium-high; simmer rapidly, scraping up browned bits on pan bottom, until liquid is reduced to glaze, about 30 seconds; add broth and simmer until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 3 minutes. Add cream and any meat juices; cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in mustard; season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Using sharp knife, slice steak about 1/4 inch thick against grain on bias. Arrange on platter or on individual plates, and spoon sauce over steak; serve immediately.

Serves 2.

Balsamic Skirt Steak with Polenta and Roasted Tomatoes

This is from my fav recipe source, Everyday Food mag (check it out - its a small reader's digest sized magazine and so so good and easy!). It was an excellent meal!

Serves 4

Total Time 35 Min

2 pints grape tomatoes

6 scallions, white and greens separated and cut into 1 inch pieces (note: next time I wouldnt bother separating but would just roast them all)

2 T olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 cup groupnd cornmeal

1 Tablespoon Butter

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1.5 ponuds skirt steak (cut into pieces as needed to fit in skillet)

1 cup balsamic

1) Preheat over to 400. In a large saucepan, set 4 cups of water to boil. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss tomatoes with scallion whites and 1 T oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast until tomatoes are tender and some skins have split, 12 to 15 min; toss wiht scallion greens.

2) Meanwhile, add 1 tsp salt to boiling water; gradually whisk in cornmeal. Simmer gently over low heat, whicking occassionally, until polenta is thickened and cooked through, about 10 min. Whisk in butter and parmesan and keep over low heat (add more water if needed if too thick before serving)

3) Heat remaining tablespoon oil in a large skillet over high. Season steak with salt and pepper and add to skillet. Cook turning once , 6-8 min total for medium rare. Transfer to a plate, cover loosely with foil and let rest 5-10 min.

4) Add vinegar to skillet and boil on high until reduced to 1/2 cup, 5-7 min. Stir in any juices from the steak. Slice steak and serve with vinegar , polenta, and tomatoes

Beef Barley Soup

I made this soup for part of the Platinum Chef Challenge (post to follow) and thought I was being all creative with it... turns out Beef Barley soup is a common thing... ah well! I made it sans recipe and with some platinum twists and LOVED it. SO good! Ryan had two helpings :) I would make it again, for sure (once the extra servings in the freezer are gone ;) )

Beef Barley Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup pearl barley

Olive oil

1 can chickpeas

Ground Cumin

1 large onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

6 cups stock (I used a combination of beef and chicken - 4 and 2 - have extra on hand to add as needed)

8 ounces butternut in bite sized pieces

about 1.5 to 2 pounds of strips of beef (I forget what cut mine it... bought in bulk and frozen for fajitas)

In a medium stockpot, bring 2.5 cups of water with a pinch of salt to a boil. Add barley, lower heat and simmer stirring occasionally for 45 minutes or until done (tender, most or all water absorbed). Set aside.

In a large stockpot, heat 2 T olive oil over medium high. Add can of drained chickpeas and 1 tablespoon of ground cumin. Cook for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally. When chickpeas start to slightly brown, add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally for another 5 min until onions are soft and browning.

Add Stock. Dump in barley. Add butternut. Lower heat to a slow simmer.

Meanwhile in a large frying pan, heat a tsp or 2 of olive oil over medium high heat. Season beef with kosher salt and cumin. Add beef to hot pan and cook about 15 min, turning. Outside should have a nice crust (not burned) so let it sit to develop and mine was medium. Pull from heat and cut into bite sized pieces (I like bigger chunks of meat myself).

Add pieces of beef to soup, and a bag of baby spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer to soften spinach and serve!

Fajita Night

I decided to do healthy Fajitas tonight. This is an entree that I typically order at mexican restaurants since I like the veggies and meat with guac, minus the tortilla, but I can easily serve Ryan's wth a tortilla.

First, I made some guac.

3 Avocados, pitted and peeled and diced

1 tomato, diced

1 red onion, diced

small handful of cilantro

2 limes, squeezed

Sprinkle of Kosher Salt

Mash together with a fork (I prefer my guac chunky but you certainly could make it smoother if you prefer). It was so good! Ryan isnt a big avocado fan and even he liked it (since they were so flavorful from the limes and cilantro etc).

Next, pico de gallo (funny story: told my mom I was going to make some pico and got the resonse "whattttt?!?!?!?! is that?!?!?!" heh heh heh).

Couple tomatos, diced

1 red onion, diced

generous handful of cilantro

3 (I think) limes, squeezed (to taste)

sprinle of kosher salt

For the Fajitas themselves, I bought some steak at the store (saved by getting a big pack and splitting it, freezing 1/2 for another time). I let the steak sit in the fridge with the juice of 1 lime and a little EVOO. Not sure if that did anything for it really though. Cooked the steak on a really hot pan to get it nice and dark on the outside and medium in the center. Cut cooked beef into bite size chunks.

In a separate pan, I cooked some peppers (green white and orange) and onions with a tiny bit of EVOO in a hot pan till cooked through with some crispy dark edges.

Ryan got a couple whole wheate tortillas to put his together with and I just ate mine on the plate. Really good meal, definitely added to the rotation!