Steak made two ways for weeknight cooking
I would be content to eat chicken breast or vegetable-based
dishes every night of the week, but the men in my life really seem
to crave steak from time to time. I can’t count how many times my
dad has said,
”
Oh, chicken again?
”
with a deflated tone in his voice as he looks at what we are
cooking up in the kitchen.
Steak made two ways for weeknight cooking
I would be content to eat chicken breast or vegetable-based dishes every night of the week, but the men in my life really seem to crave steak from time to time. I can’t count how many times my dad has said, “Oh, chicken again?” with a deflated tone in his voice as he looks at what we are cooking up in the kitchen.
So while we usually make him wait for a good steak until we go out to a restaurant, once in a while we will cook some up at home. We try to make it a compromise by selecting a dish that at least incorporates a lot of vegetables. The Sunday beef for weeknights recipe is perfect because it cooks up quickly and it is easy to keep the beef tender because it is just seared off, removed from the heat, and then later put back in with the vegetables and sauce. The second recipe, saucy pan steak, takes the same method of searing off the meat and then adding it back in after the sauce cooks up.
Instead of cooking up one or two large steaks, we purchased a few small steaks so that I could have my beef cooked to well done while others could have it medium rare. With the saucy pan steak recipe, we actually cooked up a chicken breast, which tasted fine with the ingredients in the sauce.
Sunday beef for weeknights
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
24 ounces beef sirloin, cut into 4 (6-ounce) lean, trimmed steaks
Salt and pepper
1 leek, trimmed
2 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 carrot, 1/2-inch dice
2 ribs celery, from the heart, with greens, chopped
1 lb. small red skinned potatoes, quartered
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 c. dry red wine
2 c. good quality beef stock, from soup aisle
1 rounded tablespoon red currant jelly, optional, grape jelly can be substituted
Crusty bread, to pass at table
Heat a deep, heavy bottomed skillet over high heat, then add 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Season meat with salt and pepper, then caramelize the meat 2 minutes on each side.
Cut leek lengthwise, then cut into 1/2-inch slices across. Wash under running water in colander, separating all of the layers. Drain well.
Remove steaks from pan and reduce heat to medium high. Add butter to the pan and the leeks, garlic, carrot, celery and potatoes. Season vegetables with salt and pepper. Add thyme and bay sprigs. Saute veggies 10 minutes. Add flour, cook 1 minute. Whisk in red wine and reduce 1 minute. Whisk in broth and bring to a bubble. Stir in jelly. Slide meat into pan. If serving immediately, simmer over medium heat 7 to 10 minutes. If this meal is a make-ahead, remove the dish from the stove top at this point. When you reheat, bring sauce to a bubble and simmer 5 to 7 minutes over moderate heat.
Work on other dishes in your menu or dessert with the pockets of time created as veggies and meat cook.
Remove from stove top and serve each steak with lots of veggies and broth in shallow dishes with crusty bread for dipping.
Saucy pan steak
Recipe courtesy of Kraft
2 tsp. olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 portobello mushroom, sliced
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 bone-in beef t-bone steaks (1 lb.), 1/2 inch thick
1 c. beef broth
1/4 c. A.1. Original Steak Sauce
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. flour
1 cup hot mashed potatoes
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions and mushrooms; cook 6 to 8 min. or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from skillet.
Rub pepper onto both sides of steaks. Add to skillet; cook 4 min., turning after 2 min. Meanwhile, whisk together broth, steak sauce, sugar and flour.
Top steaks with cooked vegetables and broth mixture; cover. Cook on medium-low heat 7 to 8 min. or until steaks are medium doneness (160ºF) and sauce is thickened. Serve with potatoes.
