With only a few days to go until Valentine’s Day, perhaps like me, you are finalizing your special menu? Hopefully starting with coffee and breakfast in bed as we talked about last week, maybe a heart-shaped pizza or box-o-tacos for lunch, and saving your grand finale for dinner! In my house, you can never go wrong with steak and while we do eat it often, a quick pan sauce is that little something extra that will make the meal feel special. The recipe below is for steak with a pan sauce and roasted broccoli, although you could use almost any vegetable you like. it’s easy and straight forward and most of the details will be in the notes as this recipe is about technique… and love! I would serve this with a starter of shrimp cocktail or even a crab cake to make a modern surf & turf – and of course, don’t forget the champagne!
Steak with Pan Sauce
Prep Time: 20 min
Makes: 2 servings
Ingredients
- 1½ LB STEAK, (SIRLOIN, NEW YORK STRIP OR BONELESS RIBEYE WILL WORK)
- SALT & PEPPER
- 1 TBS OIL
- 1 SMALL SHALLOT, MINCED
- 2 SMALL GARLIC CLOVES, MINCED
- ¼ CUP COLD BUTTER
- ½ CUP CREAM OR WINE
- 2 TBS DIJON MUSTARD
- 2 TBS WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
Directions
- Let steak sit to raise to room temperature. Pat dry with paper towels. Season steak generously with salt and pepper on both sides
- Preheat dry skillet on medium heat, pour 1 TBS oil, swirl around the pan. Lay steak gently into the pan once oil is smoking. Sear on each side for 3-5 mins, depending on how thick the steak is and how well done you like. Remove steaks from pan, set aside
- Turn off heat, let the pan cool a bit. While cooling, peel and finely chop your shallot and garlic cloves. Cut ¼ cup butter into 4-equal sized pads
- Place skillet back over medium-low heat. Place shallot, garlic, and 2 TBS of the butter in skillet. Melt and cook, whisking often until shallot and garlic are tender, about 2-3 minutes
- Add ½ cup cream (or wine) to the pan, using a whisk to deglaze browned bits off the bottom of the pan and into the sauce. Add 2 TBS mustard and 2 TBS Worcestershire sauce, whisk until smoothly incorporated
- Finally, add the last 2 TBS of butter and whisk constantly until sauce is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of your spoon, about 1-2 minutes
- Cut steak against the grain and top with sauce
Notes
- I used 2, boneless ribeye for this particular meal. I love the marbling a ribeye offers. These were not particularly thick steaks so only took about 3-5 mins per side, the thicker the cut, or if more fat/marbling, they may take longer per side
- I always use cast iron pans with steak. It holds heat evenly and cooks quickly, imparting plenty of flavors. Use any low-smoke point oil. Olive oil is not a good option as it burns quickly. I use grapeseed oil but vegetable oil or avocado oil are also good options, they are flavorless and won’t burn quickly
- I used cream to deglaze the pan as I didn’t have any wine open (shocker). If you are serving wine with the meal, feel free to use some of that. One will yield a creamier sauce but both will give flavor and serve their purpose to incorporate fond from the bottom of the pan into the sauce
Roasted Broccoli
Prep Time: 30 min
Makes: 2 servings
Ingredients
- 2 HEADS BROCCOLI, WASHED AND CUT INTO SMALL PIECES
- 1/3 CUP OLIVE OIL
- SALT & PEPPER
- 1 TSP GARLIC POWDER
- RED PEPPER FLAKES (OPTIONAL)
Directions
Notes
- If making this alongside steak, preheat oven and get broccoli in first, while steak is rising to room temperature, before you start cooking steaks
- You may need more or less olive oil. I like mine really coated. I don’t measure it at all, I just pour in a bowl, toss, and coat with more, as needed until all pieces are pretty covered
- I roast at a high temperature for a decent about of time as I really like my broccoli “browned” or caramelized. Browning is simply the natural sugars coming out so color = flavor. For me, they almost look burnt (there’s a thin line) by the time I take them out but they are so tasty!
