Steak with Woody's Marinade

Our first meal at home as husband and wife!

Charles and I returned home late last Thursday and were so excited to spend Friday together.  I think that spending a weekday off in your home city can be the best because you can go to places that are normally packed on weekend and get in much more easily!  We spent the morning unpacking gifts and then spent the afternoon at our favorite taco place Big Star.

Saturday we decided to have a low key night at home.  Peapod delivered groceries on Saturday morning - so I was able to cook again!  I must admit that I did miss cooking a little.  I can't remember the last time I went 2 weeks+ without cooking anything.

I decided to cook a meal based on Charles's favorite foods, it was the least I could do after he planned such an incredible honeymoon.  Although this meal looks like it may have taken a while, I made it in under an hour (minus the time the steak marinated).

I am pleased to tell everyone that many wedding gifts contributed to making and serving this meal.  Thank you to: The Corgans/Pelleritos for the grill pan, Hanley for the steak knives, the Olcotts for the wine glasses, Helen and Dom for the bakeware, and the Blairs for the meat tenderizer!

Credit goes out to Woody whose marinade recipe I used!

For the Steak You Will Need:
Steak
Red Wine
Worcestershire Sauce
Soy Sauce
Olive Oil

Step 1:
Combine equal parts wine, worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce in a glass pan and let marinate for at least 3 hours.

Step 2:
Drizzle a little olive oil onto a grill pan (or any pan).  Heat the pan over high heat.  Then remove the steak from the marinade and generously coat with salt and pepper.

Step 3:
Add the steak to the pan and cook for about 4 minutes a side, until the steak had browned and there are strong grill marks.

Step 4:
At this point the steak will be rare.  To cook the steak more, put under the broiler in the oven, and cook for about 10-15 minutes more for medium temperature steak.

Steak and Eggs

What do you do with leftover steak and mashed potatoes?  Make steak and eggs for breakfast!  I used the mashed potatoes to make potato pancakes, and I reheated the steak.  I paired it with a couple poached eggs, and it was quite the filling breakfast!

Steak Marinade

Friday night I made steak and potatoes for dinner.  I made a simple 3 ingredient marinade and let the steak marinate for an hour before broiling.  It was a quick meal for a lazy Friday night.  I cooked so much steak that we had steak and eggs for breakfast the next day.

You will need:
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/3 cup Worcestershire Sauce
3 tablespoons Mustard

Let marinate for an hour and then generously sprinkle salt and pepper over the steak.  Then either broil or grill.

Shepard's Pie

I had lots of leftover baked potato after I made the Buffalo Chicken Baked Potatoes - since I had to scoop out some of the middle of potato.  This inspired me to make Shepard's Pie.  My fiance is British, so he has had a lot of Shepard's Pie.  He thought that his was a very classy Shepard's Pie since I used sirloin instead of ground beef.

You will need:
1 pound Sirloin
2 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Butter
1 cup Flour
Salt
Pepper
1 cup chopped Carrot
1 cup chopped Onion
1 small can of Corn
1 cup Red Wine
1 cup Beef Broth
4 medium Potatoes
1/4 cup Fat Free Sour Cream
1/4 cup 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese
3 tablespoons Chicken Broth

Step 1:
Chop the sirloin into 1 inch pieces.  Pour the flour into a bowl and then season with salt and pepper.  Then toss the meat in the seasoned flour.  In a large pot, melt 1 the butter and add 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Brown the dredged meat in small batches adding more butter and oil if necessary.  

Step 2:
Once all the meat is browned, set it aside.  Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the same pot and add the onions.  Once the onions have browned return the meat to the pot.  Stir in the broth and wine.  Heat until just boiling, then add the carrots and corn.  Let simmer for 2 hours.


Step 3:
As the meat simmers, boil the potatoes in a pot until soft.  Then drain, and add the sour cream, cream cheese and chicken broth.  Either combine and mash with a mixer or a fork.


Step 4:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Then pour the beef and vegetable mixture into a glass pie pan.  Top with the potatoes.  Evenly spread the potatoes out over the top.  Then bake for 30-40 minutes until hot and browned on top.

Steak with a Mustard Glaze

Steak is a great quick dinner.  It only takes about 10-15 minutes to prepare, and can be paired with a variety of rubs and sauces.  I like the combination of steak and mustard so I glazed with mustard.

Sirloin Steak
1 cup Red Wine
1/2 cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard (I used whole seed mustard)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Step 1:
Combine the wine, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce.  Marinate the steak in the mixture for 20 minutes to an hour.

Step 2:
Preheat the broiler.  Generously salt and pepper the steak.  Then sear in a large skillet over high heat for about 2 minutes a side.

Step 3:
Place the steak on a baking sheet and spoon a layer of mustard on top.  Cook under the broiler for about 3 minutes, then flip over and coat with mustard again.  Cook for another 2-3 minutes then check the temperature with a meat thermometer.  A medium rare steak will be 135 degrees.

Beef Tenderloin with a Mushroom Red Wine Reduction Sauce

I am still in Maine celebrating the holidays, and I decided to take advantage of the opportunity for my Mom to share her recipes.  This recipe is what we had for Christmas dinner and it was very delicious.

You will need:
3 pounds center cut beef tenderloin
1 tablespoon koser salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
3 cloves pressed garlic
1 tablespoon tarragon
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoon butter

The sauce:
1 pound of mushrooms
1 small chopped white onion
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoon of butter
1 1/2 cups red wine (we used Sryah)
1/2 cup cream (we used whipping cream)
1 tablespoon tarragon
salt and pepper to taste

Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Heat a large oven safe skillet over medium high heat.  Make a paste out of the salt, pepper, garlic, and tarragon and rub all over the meat.

Step 2:
Add the oil and butter to the skillet.  Add the beef and brown on all sides.

Step 3:
Place the skillet in the oven.  Roast until a meat thermometer reads 120 degrees for rare or 125 degrees for medium rare.  It takes about 25 minutes to cook the meat to rare, and 30 minutes to cook it to medium rare.

Step 4:

Transfer the roast to a cutting board, tent with aluminum foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Step 5:
Once the roast is in the oven, begin making the sauce.  In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of butter and the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute until soft.  Add the mushrooms and brown on both sides.  Add the red wine and let it reduce for five minutes.  Then add 1 tablespoon butter, the cream and tarragon.  Keep warm until the roast is ready.

Sirloin Tips

I hosted Sunday Night Dinner this week, and this recipe was a big hit when I made it last year so I decided to make it again.  This recipe was given to me by my mother who made this frequently when I was growing up.  I love this recipe because it is very delicious but also practical.  It tastes better when you make it the night before - and I like to make the meal the night before when I am hosting a larger group.  Another great thing about Sirloin Tips is that it will freeze very well.

My sister and I make this recipe frequently.  We live in cities and sometimes have trouble finding some of the ingredients because we go to smaller grocery stores.  We have found that you can use Tri Tips if you cannot find Sirloin Tips, and that beef broth can be used instead of beef consommé.  Feel free to add more of the vegetables if you have a favorite - I usually double the amount of mushrooms.


Serves: 6
Active Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 3 hours

2 tablespoons butter 
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds beef sirloin tips (or tri tips) cut into 1 inch cubes
2 peppers (red, green, orange or yellow) chopped, into 1/2 pieces (if you chop this too small the peppers will disappear into the sauce)
1 onion
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
1 can beef consommé, 10 oz (or beef broth)
1 cup red wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Flour for dredging, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 tablespoon dried tarragon 


Step 1:
Melt butter with olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the peppers.  When it starts to soften, add the onion, when soft, add the mushrooms and garlic.  Remove and reserve for later.  


Step 2:
Toss the meat in the seasoned flour.  In a large pot, brown the dredged meat in small batches adding more butter and oil if necessary.  


Step 3:
Once all the meat is browned return it all to the pot.  Stir in the consommé, wine and soy sauce.  Return the sauteed vegetables.  Add the tarragon and heat until boiling. 


Step 4:
Cover and reduce the heat so that the mixture simmers slowly for about 2-3 hours, or until the meat is tender.  If the sauce needs to be thickened, add a mixture of 2 tablespoons cornstarch that has been combined with ¼ cup of water.  Add, stir constantly until boiling and cook for 1 minute.  Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, or egg noodles. 


*** For best results – prepare the night before, and cook for only 1 hour.  Refrigerate overnight. The next day, spoon off any fat that has settled at the top.  Then simmer for 2 hours.

Steak with a Red Wine Reduction and Mushrooms

This a simple steak recipe.  I do not have a grill so I sear the steak in a pan and then put it under the broiler.  Overall this only takes about 15-20 minutes to make.

You will need:

Steak (I used Sirloin)

Mushrooms

2 tablespoons Butter

1/2 cup Red Wine

1/4 cup Beef Broth

Salt and pepper

Step 1:

Generously salt and pepper your steak.

Step 2:

Turn your oven on to broil. Then heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a frying pan over high heat. Once the pan is hot add the steak. Sear each side for about 2-3 minutes. Then put the steak on a baking sheet and into the oven. Cook for 5-15 minutes more depending on how well done you like your steak and how thick your steak is.

Step 3:

Add the butter to the same pan you used to sear the steak.  Then add the mushrooms and saute until browned.  Then add the wine and broth to the mushrooms.  Keep over medium to high heat so that the sauce bubbles steadily and reduces.

Step 4:

Once the steak is cooked remove it from the oven and let it sit for 2 minutes.  This will lock the juices into the steak.  Pour the sauce and mushrooms over the steak and enjoy!

Steak Tacos

The five food groups taste so much better when you take them out of the pyramid and put them in a taco.  You can add whatever you like into a taco.  Tonight I made steak tacos with carmelized onions and mushrooms.  I am sure I will be posting about other taco combinations in the future.

Charles loved these tacos, especially the mushrooms.  He told me that we eat mushrooms all the time and that these mushrooms are the best.  Charles also made a great suggestion that next time I add peppers.

This recipe can also be made with chicken instead of beef.

You will need:
1.5 pounds Sirloin Steak
Taco Seasoning Sauce - I highly recommend Frontera Grill's Roasted Tomato and Chipotle sauce which is available at Whole Foods.  For those of you who can't find this - find a sauce not a seasoning packet.
Soft Tortillas either corn or flour
1 large Yellow Onion
8 oz Mushrooms
Queso Fresco (or Monterey Jack)
Low fat or fat free Sour Cream
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
Serves 3
Total Prep and Cook time 1 hour

Step 1:
Put 1/4 cup of the seasoning sauce aside.  Use the rest of the sauce to marinate the steak. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.  You could marinate all day if you like.

Step 2:
While the meat marinates cut the onion in half vertically and the chop from top to bottom so that the result is big round pieces of onion. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan and add the onion. Stir frequently for about 15 minutes until the onion has absorbed all the oil and has caramelized. The onion will be golden brown.

Step 3:
Turn your oven on to broil. Then heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a frying pan over high heat. Once the pan is hot add the steak. Sear each side for about 2-3 minutes. Then put the steak on a baking sheet, spoon the leftover marinate on top of the steak and put it into the oven. Cook for 10-15 minutes more depending on how well done you like your steak and how thick your steak is.  I used a massive 1.6 pound steak and it was about 2 1/2 inches thick - I cooked it for 20 minutes in the oven and it was perfectly medium.

Step 4:
While the steak is in the oven, add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon oil olive to the pan you used to sear the steak. Do not wash the pan first (unless it is just too messy), the steak juices will lend flavor to the mushrooms. Melt the butter, add the 1/4 cup of the marinate that you set aside and then add the mushrooms. Sauté for 6 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed.

Step 5:
Take the steak out of the oven and slice it into long strips. Then assemble your tacos adding the onions, mushrooms, cheese and sour cream.