Pan-Seared Steak

My husband has requested that I start making more meat-and-potatoes kind of meals for our carnivore son.  So when I saw the picture that accompanied a recipe I'd long ago ripped out of Everyday Food, I decided that one night this week that would be dinner.

So I bought a nice sirloin steak and read the recipe.  Who knew it could also be called "Pan-Seared Steak for Dummies"?  The very thought of that makes me crack up, as the magazine is a Martha Stewart publication and I kind of think she'd as soon die than have her name attached to anything dumb.  But really, this steak is a snap.  No marinades, no spices.  Just salt, pepper, and some vegetable oil.   

Pan-Seared Steak

2 1-inch-thick sirloin steaks or 4 1-inch-thick strip steaks
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1.  Dry steaks with paper towels.  Rub the meat all over with the oil, salt and pepper. 

2.  Heat a cast-iron skillet or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles when it hits the pan.

3.  Cook steaks in hot skillet 5 minutes.  Flip; cook until medium rare, 5 minutes more.  Cook strip steak in two batches.  
The Verdict:  My husband called this one.  Before it got to the table, my son yelled out "oh yummy!"  Then gobbled up an adult-sized portion of meat.  He also called it "delicious" and at another point said, "yum num num num num." 

Oh yeah, and we liked it, too.

You obviously need to buy a decent steak for this recipe to work.  The heat and the quality of the meat is what makes it good.  I also served this with a mushroom sauce, but really, the sauce was completely unnecessary.  I just love mushrooms with red meat, especially red meat on the rare side.  And, of course, mashed potatoes are a must.  I absolutely adore the instant garlic mashed potatoes from the Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value line.  Cook and mash potatoes?  Pfffft!  What is it, Thanksgiving?

While I made the sauce, I kept the steak tented in tinfoil on an edged cookie sheet in a 250 degree oven.  This also allows the steak to gently cook a bit further. 

So see what I mean?  Steak for dummies.  But if you serve this, only you'll know that because everyone else will think you're brilliant.

Easy Beef Enchiladas

So in my quest for easy recipes, I dug this one up from my friend Carolyn.  She made these for us when my son was first born to freeze, though hers were chicken.  They're a cinch to make, a must for my current 33-week pregnant self.

Easy Beef Enchiladas

2 cups cooked stir fry beef strips
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 8-oz package cream, cubed
1 jar (16 oz) salsa, divided
8 flour tortillas
1 package shredded Mexican cheese blend

1.  Stir beef, bell pepper, cream cheese, and 1/2 cup salsa on low heat until cream cheese is melted.

2.  Spoon 1/3 cup beef mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up.  Place, seam-side down, in a lightly greased baking dish.

3.  Pour remaining salsa down the center of tortillas in baking dish.  Top with cheese.

4.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

The Verdict:  Chicken! Chicken! Chicken!

I love this recipe, but I definitely recommend making it with the chicken.  Chicken will stay a lot more moist, whereas the beef having to go through two cooking times, turns into shoe leather.  And while I'm sure there's some way to cook the beef so that it stays on the medium to medium-well side, I'm thinking that might take work.  And people, we're not into work these days.

Still one of my favorites, though.

Teriyaki Beef with Noodles

I was flipping through The New York Times Cookbook, looking for something new.  I don't know how new it is, exactly, but I stopped on a dime when I saw the recipe for teriyaki beef.  When I was single, I ate Chinese take away at least once a week.  My husband isn't very fond of Chinese food, so these days it's a treat to have it.  I prayed that this teriyaki would be just as good as what comes in the little white take out box.

I was going to serve it with brown rice, but last weekend, I made an impromptu stop into H-Mart. If you aren't familiar with H-Mart, it's a chain of Asian grocery stores here in the U.S.  Very few states and cities have them and we happen to be one of the lucky ones.  The store is humongous, with a produce section that's at least twice the size of a regular market.  An entire wall makes up the fresh fish section.  And then there's just the Asian groceries.  Every noodle known to mankind is available, which is what I picked up: fresh, thick Chinese noodles.  If you don't have these noodles available to you, I think a fresh pasta noodle (think Buitoni) would be OK.  However, you might lose some of the starch which is very important to the dish.  When cooked with other liquids, it creates a wonderful, thick broth.

Teriyaki Beef with Noodles

2 lbs (1/4" thick) sirloin steak
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cup light soy sauce, divided
3/4 cup sherry, divided
1 package fresh Chinese noodles
1 package (12-oz) package sliced white mushrooms
1/4 lb pea pods
2 cups low-sodium beef broth

1.  Cut the steak into thin slices or strips.

2.  Combine the ginger, garlic, onion, sugar, 1 cup of the soy sauce and 1/2 cup sherry and pour mixture over the meat.  Let stand for 1 to 2 hours.

3.  Turn broiler on high and allow time to heat up.  Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the beef broth, the rest of the soy sauce and the rest of the sherry and bring to a boil.  Add the mushrooms and peapods and let cook for approximately 4 minutes. 

4.  Add noodles to broth and vegetables and cook for time expressed on the the package.

5.  After adding noodles to the broth, place meat under the broiler for approximately 2 minutes per side.  Remove from heat.  Serve teriyaki with the noodles hot.

The Verdict:  Not only was the teriyaki as good as what you'd get from Chinese takeout, the noodles were a surprising hit!  I kind of winged the recipe, hoping my son would enjoy them, and it ended up that we all liked them a lot.

The teriyaki can also be grilled and it might even be better that way.  But since we have an enormous amount of snow outside and can barely find our cars, nevermind the grill, we'll be using the broiler.  But however you cook it, the meat has a wonderful flavor.

The gluten in the noodles, like I mention above, creates a lovely, thick beef broth that coats the noodles.  Beware, however, that noodles this glutenous do not make good leftovers.  They begin to break down, creating a slugdy mess.  My son still liked them, but the texture absolutely grossed me out. 

I started the meal with edamame in the shells, sprinkled liberally with salt.  It was fun to peel the beans out of their shells before eating our main course.  It felt like a good night out at a restaurant, minus a tip, a scorpion bowl and fortune cookies.

New York Strip Steaks with Red Wine Sauce

When hunting for a red meat recipe this week, this one from Martha Stewart Living jumped out at me.  Then, after buying the meat and looking at it in the refrigerator, I was nearly salivating.  Not shockingly, I was advised by my obstetrician today to eat more iron because it's slightly low.  So that explains my sudden foray into carnivorousness.

In the same old song and dance I incessantly complain about, you might need to ask your meat department (or your butcher if you have one...flah, flah, flah, you fancy person you) what a New York Strip Steak actually is.  I couldn't find one, but good ol' Martha suggests ordering some from Emeril's Red Marble Steaks website.  That right there tells me it's not going to be in a Styrofoam container next to the cube steak.  I couldn't find anyone to help me and ended up with a New York Sirloin.  I don't know how much of a faux pas it was to just go with a "New York" something-or-other, but that's what I fed my family.  (The recipe says you might also find it as a shell steak.)

New York Strip Steaks with Red Wine Sauce

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 New York strip steaks (10 to 11 oz. each; about 1 inch thick)
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup full-bodied red wine such as Syrah or Cabernet Sauvignon
1/2 cup beef stock
3 tbsp cold butter, cut into pieces
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp Dijon mustard

1.  Heat half the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Season 2 steaks with 3/43 tsp salt and some pepper.  Cook until deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reaches 130 degrees, about 4 minutes per side (for medium-rare).  Transfer to a platter, and tent with foil.  Repeat with remaining oil and steaks.  Let steaks rest in a 250 degree F oven.

2.  Reduce heat to medium, and add wine to skillet.  Cook until almost completely reduced, about five minutes.  Add beef stock, and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 2 1/2 minutes.  Reduce heat to low, and whisk in butter (1 piece at a time) and mustard.  Stir in any juices from the platter, and season with salt and pepper.  Spoon sauce over steaks.

The Verdict:  Score one for Martha Stewart.  This steak is amazing.

I only cooked two small steaks.  While I'm all about meat at the moment, I can't imagine ten thousand pounds of leftover beef.  It was plenty for two adults, one meat-loving boy, and lunch leftovers.  I cooked the same amount of sauce, however, as I am a girl who loves her sauce.

Speaking of which, I think that in a panic that a 1/4 cup of sauce seemed too scant, I didn't let my wine reduce enough.  Don't be stingy like me; let it cook down.  The longer you let it cook, the thicker the sauce gets.  It still tasted great though--the heavy wine taste cooked out and you're left with a slightly sweet, mellow brown sauce that makes the steaks even juicier.

If you aren't into bloody steak, don't add too much cooking time.  It takes time to make the sauce, and the steak continues to cook in the oven.  I gave my steaks an additional two minutes per side and thought the thinner of the two came out of the oven a bit on the overcooked side.  If you're looking for medium or even medium-well, go with six minutes per side and no more.  

Steak, stock, butter, mustard.  Just enough to make a piece of red meat into something this side of gourmet.  Oh, and serve these babies with mashed potatoes.  All that juice gets sopped up like nobody's business. 

Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Gravy

When I went to the grocery store this weekend I looked in vain for top sirloin steak.  After quite a bit of fruitless searching, I had to ask and learned that this grocery store calls it something else.  Every cut of meat has a different name, everywhere I go.  I keep running into this and it's driving me crazy. 

If you can't find top sirloin steak, make sure to ask.  Your reading abilities are probably just fine; it's just called something else.  You know, to make grocery shopping an adventure.

Speaking of something else, this is probably the third "beef-in-sauce-over-noodles" recipes I've done on this blog.  It looked easy, and I highly trust Cooking Light recipes, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Gravy

2 cups uncooked egg noodles
Cooking spray
1 lb top sirloin steak, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp finely chopped shallots
1 (8-oz) package presliced baby bella mushrooms
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp lower-sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp thyme

1.  Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

2.  While noodles cook, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add steak; sauté 5 minutes, browning on all sides.  Remove from pan; cover.

3.  Melt butter in pan over medium-high heat.  Add shallots and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes.  Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds.  Stir in soy sauce.  Sprinkle flour over mushroom mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Gradually add broth, stirring constantly.  Add pepper, salt and thyme.  Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thickened.  Return beef to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.  Serve over cooked noodles.

The Verdict:  Ding, ding, ding!  We have a winner!

My original beef stroganoff recipe, that I used to make often because my husband likes it, is a meal I tolerate.  It involves a can of creamed soup, and if you follow my blog, you know I'm not a fan of "cream of dinner."  I then found a Hungarian Goulash recipe, that while different, was still in the same family of creamy beef over egg noodles.  It was good but not great.  But this--this is phenomenal.  And fairly easy.

It's, well, not to be a simpleton but it's beefy.  The little chunks of steak stay moist and tender and are flavored by a great mushroom gravy.  The tastes are simple: shallot, garlic, pepper and thyme.  But their subtlety works in this recipe.  There's no need for anything bold.

My son was thrilled with it.  "Oooh, noodles!  And meat!" was his reaction.  (Noodles and meat: the top two foods in the Amir food pyramid.)  The husband liked it as well.

Goodbye, cream of dinner and Hungarian goulash...and hello steak tips with peppered mushroom gravy.  We'll be eating you again.

Cozy Cabin Casserole

I recently loaded up on cookbooks and cooking magazines at one of my favorite local haunts.  This included the best of 2010 slow-cooker recipes from Fix-It and Forget-It.  When I got it home I was chagrined to learn that there were tons of dishes featuring "cream of" soups.  I can only name a handful of recipes I like that feature canned soup.  Maybe I've catapulted into being a true food snob, but I just feel like "cream of dinner" is a gyp.

But I marched forward, reading through the recipes and dutifully cutting out those that looked appealing.  One of them was this recipe: Cozy Cabin Casserole.  Since round steak is so cheap, it's nice to have recipes on hand that enhance the tough cut.   I opened up my cans and got slow-cookin'.

Cozy Cabin Casserole

1 lb. lean round steak
2.2-oz. envelope dry beefy onion soup mix
10 3/4-oz can cream of mushroom soup
10 3/4-oz can cream of celery soup
1/2 cup sour cream

1. Layer first 4 ingredients in slow cooker.

2. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour and then on low 4 to 6 hours or until meat is tender.

3.  Stir in sour cream 10 minutes before serving.

The Verdict:  Well, there were many thoughts on this dish...

My son liked it just fine.  He saw meat on his plate as well as potatoes.  (I served it with diced potatoes and onions sautéed in olive oil and seasoned with smoked paprika.)  As our son eats like a middle-aged American man, there were no complaints from him.

My husband said that eating this dish was like a "food adventure."  The sauce was "creamy and wet" and the meat was easy to bite into but "oddly dry" as you began to chew it.  The flavor combinations were strange but there was still something about it he liked.

My first impression was, "Well, I believe this is what prison food looks like."  Brownish, glossy, gloppy.  And the flavor combinations were odd.  Sweet?  Savory?  Sour?  In a subsequent serving as leftovers, I learned that I liked scrambling the meat (which fell apart like hamburger) and putting it over the potatoes.  Well, not liked it as in, "Yum, we're eating this again tomorrow night!" liked.  It was better.

Nope.  This won't be made again anytime soon.  And I'm nervous for Fix-It and Forget-It if they're touting this as one of their "best slow-cooker recipes."  Let's just hope I chose the dud.

Beef Burgundy

My husband's holiday vacation started yesterday and I'm so happy to have him home until 2011. It's been a busy but good year. He ran errands in the morning, including a grocery store run for which I am very grateful. I am especially grateful because it involved purchasing seafood; specifically buying live mussels. It's been cold and a bit blustery here in New England, so it was a good night for Beef Burgundy since we spent the afternoon at home, being cozy.

Beef Burgundy

1 tbsp olive oil

2 lbs boneless beef chuck, trimmed of fat and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks

3 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 onion, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsp tomato paste

salt and pepper

2 cups dry red wine

1 tsp of dried thyme or 4 sprigs of fresh

1 package (10 oz) sliced mushrooms

1 bag frozen peas

1. In a Dutch oven, heat oil on medium-high until hot. Pat beef dry; add to oil, in 2 batches, and cook 5 to 6 minutes per batch or until well browned on all sides. Transfer beef to bowl. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. To drippings in Dutch oven, add carrots, onions, and garlic, and cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are browned and tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour, tomato paste, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper, cook 1 minute, stirring. Add wine and heat to boiling, stirring until browned bits are loosened from bottom of Dutch oven.

3. Return meat and meat juices in bowl to Dutch oven. Add thyme and mushrooms; heat to boiling. Cover and bake for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is fork-tender, stirring once. If using fresh thyme, discard thyme sprigs. Cook peas as label directs; stir into Dutch oven.

The Verdict: Ohhhhh, yes. This is some very, very nice stew! Even our son, who's decided he doesn't like mushrooms anymore, ate mushrooms and declared them good. Magical stuff.

Now, if you're like me and don't own a Dutch oven, no fears. Cook the stew on the stovetop with a large sauce pot, then transfer to an oven-proof dish with a lid. But with a sauce pot being thinner, be careful when you're browning the vegetables as they might burn. Turn down the heat a bit and add a little more olive oil if necessary.

Unfortunately, my husband forgot to pick up frozen peas for me. (But as I've already mentioned, just going to the grocery store and buying seafood was a huge and the pea-less-ness wasn't a big deal.) The peas would have made a good addition as they wine makes the sauce a touch bitter as wine does. The sweetness of the peas would offset that. But speaking of that sauce--it's so incredibly rich and wonderful. It's the best part of the dish.

This does take a good half hour of prep time on top of the hour and a half of cook time. So this is slow cooking, not a choice meal for a busy week night. But if you have the time, give this one a try. Serve it with a crusty bread and smile a lot over how good it is. And if you drink, get a decent bottle of red to put in the stew. You get plenty leftover to enjoy with your meal. Bon appétit!

Spice-Rubbed London Broil

It's been a while since I've prepared a meal with just meat. I thought that this recipe for spice-rubbed London broil sounded really good. I'm not sure of the origins of the recipe; it's on a card that my mother had in her stash. I was just interested to find out what an "Indonesian flavor" on a steak would taste like. And if you're essentially clueless about cuts of meat like I am (oh, how I wish for a short adult education course in butchery!), a London broil might also be sold as sirloin tip or top round.

Spice-Rubbed London Broil

1 1/2 tbsp firmly packed light brown sugar

2 1/2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp olive oil

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1 (3-lb) London broil

1. Preheat broiler to high with the rack approximately 3 inches from the heating element. Line a broiler pan with tin foil. If using an outdoor grill, preheat grill to medium.

2. Take steak out of the refrigerator and set on the counter for 15 minutes before cooking. Rinse under cool water and dry thoroughly on paper towels.

3. Combine the brown sugar, coriander, garlic, olive oil, chili powder, ground ginger, black pepper, and salt in a small bowl and mix well.

4. Rub the brown sugar mixture on both sides of the steak.

5. Broil steak for 3-4 minutes each side for rare, 5-6 minutes for medium, etc. Remove from oven and let steak rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

The Verdict: Good tasting rub but the wrong cut of meat for it.

As I mentioned above, I'm not a butcher. I don't know nearly enough about what cuts of meat are out there and think it's time that I start doing my homework on the subject. London broil, as the price reflects, is a pretty inexpensive cut. And while there's nothing wrong with inexpensive, it generally means tougher. You can generally get around this by slow cooking or marinading, neither of which is called for in this recipe. So my suggestion, at the very least, is to serve this steak as rare as you can stand it.

I'm also learning that you can tenderize a steak by patting it dry then liberally salting it and returning it to the fridge for 3 hours. Then before cooking, wipe the salt off. I have never tried this and am willing to give it a shot. I'll report back the next time I try a cheaper steak.

The rub itself was very tasty. I was worried because the spices are all fairly bold and I thought that it might be too much. Not so. The flavor is actually quite mild and the amount of ingredients called for are just right.

I'm really unsure why every steak recipe I've come across lately calls for such sizable amounts of meat. I understand that feeding just two adults and one toddler warrants a lot less food, however, to cook three pounds of London broil meant buying two steaks. Two large steaks. So keep this in mind if you decide to give this recipe a whirl--it will generously serve four adults. With sides, it might even be more like five or six. Buy accordingly.

Lahana Sarma (Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)

Although this is a Turkish dish, you probably can find an equivalent in most cultures. I remember my mom making this growing up, though I think our stuffed cabbage rolls were topped with tomato sauce.

One difference is the use of dill. Dill is a favorite spice in Turkey. I hardly use fresh herbs in cooking, but this is one I'd suggest making the effort for. Dill is so aromatic and flavorful; a little goes a long way.

Lahana Sarma (Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)

1 large savoy cabbage

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1 small onion, diced

2 tsp chopped dill

1 tsp dried tarragon

1/2 lb ground lamb

1/2 lb ground beef

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook brown rice as directed on package. Set aside and let cool.

2. Remove outer leaves from the cabbage and submerge the rest of the cabbage for 10 minutes in boiling water. Immediately submerge in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.

3. In a large bowl, combine ground meats with onion, dill, tarragon, rice, and salt and pepper. Mix well.

4. Drain cabbage and remove leaves. Flatten the leaves out on a cutting board and remove the tough center ribs. You should have two pieces of cabbage for rolling after doing this.

5. Make small sausage-shapes with the meat mixture and place one on each cabbage leaf. Roll the leaf, folding the ends inside as you work. Place in a large pot and add water; enough to cover cabbage rolls about halfway. Cook on medium until water begins to boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. Cook for approximately 40 minutes, watching to assure that cabbage does not disintegrate. Arrange on a serving dish and serve immediately.

The Verdict: The cabbage rolls end up being a little over two inches long each. It's fun to have a square meal--meat, vegetable and rice--in one little package.

Because I usually use brown rice, I would suggest cooking your rice first if that's your choice as well. This recipe called for soaking the rice for 30 minutes only, which I did, and it didn't cook thoroughly. It might work for white rice, but coarser brown did not.

I would suggest buying a large cabbage so that you have larger leaves to work with. You may not use the entire cabbage, but at least you won't be trying to create cabbage origami with tiny leaves. You can always save the extra cabbage for side dish later in the week. If you find that your cabbage is still raw as you get towards the middle, you may wish to blanch it a second time for a shorter cooking time.

For a different spin, and an extra vegetable, you can top your rolls with a mixture of a can of tomato sauce, a can of diced tomatoes, a tablespoon of sugar and a splash of vinegar. Place the cabbage rolls into a large baking dish, ladle the tomato mixture on the top of each roll, then add water so that it covers the rolls to about halfway up their sides. Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 350 degree oven.

Hungarian Goulash

Surprise, surprise: It's another stew!

I got a new cookbook, a compilation of the best soups and stews from Cuisine at Home, and suffered over which stew to try first. In the end, since Noyan loves beef stroganoff so much, I went with this Hungarian goulash recipe. I'm not exactly sure what I thought the correlation between the two dishes was; I guess I'm copping to my poor sense of geography. Hungary and Russia are separated by about three countries in case you're as geographically challenged as me. They both have beef and sour cream, so maybe that's my common denominator.

Beef Stroganoff

3 lb. boneless chuck roast, cut into 2-inch chunks,

seasoned with salt and pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 cups diced onion

3 tbsp minced garlic

3 tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika

3 cups low-sodium beef broth

1/4 cup tomato paste

3/4 cup sour cream

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

salt to taste

1. Dredge beef in flour, shaking off any excess; sear in oil in batches in a large pot over medium-high heat, adding more oil if necessary. Remove beef from pot; set aside.

2. Sauté onion, garlic, and paprika in the pot for 30 seconds, then deglaze the pot with broth, scraping to loosen any brown bits.

3. Stir in tomato paste and reserved beef; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer stew, covered, until meat is fork-tender, 1-1 1/2 hours.

4. Off heat, finish goulash with sour cream and vinegar, season with salt.

The Verdict: I expected a little more, but it was filling and very rich. I also think it's another one of those recipes that the leftovers taste better than the original serving, as the setting time allows flavors to marry.

So instead of the sweet paprika, I broke out my smoked paprika. I bought some a month or two back and have been looking forward to any opportunity to try it. Let me tell you, the smell it creates while cooking is phenomenal. It smells like dark, rich, smoked peppers. I was disappointed that more of that taste didn't translate into the dish, so I might try a little more the next time I cook this dish. I think I'm going to be doing some freezer cooking in the next few months and this recipe would be great for that purpose.

The suggested side dish for this recipe is buttered egg noodles with peas and dill. That's what I made and I agree that it's perfect. Amir, the two-year-old, ate the noodles with great gusto.

A caveat: Make sure to add the sour cream off the heat. You may even wish to let the stew cool a bit before adding it. The sour cream with curdle otherwise.

Amir and Noyan liked this recipe a lot; I liked it much better than my usual (absolutely unrelated) beef stroganoff recipe. And since I'm the cook, that means we can eat it again.

Marinated Chuck Steak with Mushroom Sauce

I'm all about a cheap cut of meat being turned into something tender and mouth-watering. So when I saw that chuck steak was on sale at Stop and Shop (inexpensive and on sale?), I had to try this Taste of Home recipe out. And when I saw that I had a leftover container of mushrooms, I thought you can't get a better accompaniment to steak than mushrooms sautéed in butter.

Marinated Chuck Steak

1/2 cup red wine vingear

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp onion powder

2 lbs boneless chuck steak

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first seven ingredients. Add the beef; seal bag and turn to coat. Refridgerate for 8 hours or overnight.

2. Drain and discard marinade. Pat dry and let meat start to come to room temperature. Grill steak, covered, over medium heat for 8-10 minutes on each side or until meat reaches desired doness. Otherwise, broil meat on high in the oven. If using an electric oven, set rack to approximately 3 inches from heating element and broil steak on a cooling rack placed on a cookie sheet with rolled sides. Broil for about 6 minutes per side for medium. After grilling or broiling, let meat rest for 10 minutes.

Mushroom Sauce

1 small container sliced white mushrooms

1 tbsp butter

1 shallot, finely diced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half

1 tbsp cornstarch whisked into 3 tbsp fat-free half-and-half

1 tsp Herbes de Provence

1. Heat butter over medium-high heat in a skillet. When foaming, add mushrooms. Cook to golden; add shallots and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Remove from pan and set aside.

2. Add wine and half-and-half to pan and scrape up any bits of mushrooms and shallots left in the pan. Whisk together, then slowly whisk in the half-and-half/cornstarch mixture. Let thicken, about 4-5 minutes. Add mushrooms and shallots back to the pan. Serve over beef.

The Verdict: Everyone's opinion differed.

Amir was no help. I think he liked it a lot; he hadn't napped that day and was exhausted by dinner time. He was literally falling alseep while eating, but wouldn't stop even though I told him he could eat later. (I finally made him get down from the table before he choked, where he promptly crawled up on the couch and fell asleep. At 6:20 p.m.)

Noyan gave it a very good. Not everything gets a "very", so I think he was a fan.

I was not happy with the marinade. There was something too sharp in the meat's flavor and I'm guessing that it was the red wine vinegar. I was, however, blown away with how tender the meat was. It was literally prime rib tender. I ate a few bites and only then remembered the mushroom sauce. Holy smokes! That's some good stuff right there. That seemed to negate that taste I didn't like in the beef and turned the dish into something spectacular.

I served this with carottes glacées (glazed carrots), another Mastering the Art of French Cooking recipe. They make a nice compliment to the steak.