Mom’s Steak Diane
My special dinner request on my birthday growing up. Turns out it also makes for an elegant meal for a Saturday night in, Valentine’s Day or other special occasion.
Serves 4 (you can make the same amount of sauce if you only do 2 steaks, everyone will live)
Ingredients:
4 beef tenderloin steaks, cut 1 to 1-1/4 inches thick
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup chopped sweet or Spanish onion
2 packages (3.5 ounces each) sliced oyster, crimini or shiitake mushrooms (or even morels if you can find them and want to splurge!)
2 tablespoons brandy or cognac
2/3 cup whipping cream or half and half
1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme leaves or 3/4 teaspoon dried
6 ounces egg noodles, cooked and drained, or 2 cups mashed potatoes
Instructions:
Season both sides of steaks evenly with salt and pepper.
Heat 2 tablespoons butter in 10-inch sauté pan or 12-inch skillet over medium-high ehat. Add steaks and sear until beginning to brown and caramelize, about 2 minutes per side (turn heat down if you smell butter browning too fast).
Reduce heat to medium; continue to cook until internal temperature of the steaks reach 125°F for medium rare, about 3 to 5 more minutes, turning once (temperature will continue to rise while resting). Transfer steaks to dish and spread about a tablespoon of mustard on the top of each steak. Add about a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce over the mustard and set aside. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in skillet. Add onions and sauté until soft and beginning to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until tender and liquid has reduced, about 5 minutes.
Add brandy to the skillet. Optional: Carefully ignite using a stick lighter, shaking pan until flames subside (do not do this directly underneath a microwave oven hood the flames can short out the wiring! I learned this the hard way. So you want to remove the pan from the skillet and ignite that way if you have a microwave hood. Or just skip the igniting all together and let the brandy just cook off for a couple minutes).
Reduce heat to low and add cream and thyme. Cook until sauce has thickened, about 3 minutes. Nestle steaks back into the plate, pouring in any juices from the plate. Cook until just heated through, about 2 minutes, turning steaks to coat with the sauce.
Transfer steaks to warm serving plates with the noodles or mashed potatoes. Spoon sauce over steaks and noodles or mashed potatoes. Goes great with a simple salad with Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette or simply roasted asparagus (oil, salt, pepper, 8 minutes at 425°F).