Thanks to my generous grandparents (most notably my gourmet cook grandfather) I grew up eating steak every Saturday night. Consequently, I always considered the delicious cut of meat to be a weekend treat. But, these days steak is affordable enough (depending on the cut) and recipes are plentiful enough to create amazingly tasty meaty dishes in the middle of the week.
The following steak recipes are simple enough to prepare even on a night when you get home from the office later than expected. The first one, which features beef tenderloin steaks swimming in a creamy mushroom sauce, can be made in a single pan.
The other steak recipe is for a refreshing salad that would be perfect on a warm summer night. Not only is it hearty enough to act as a main dish it is also loaded with healthy ingredients.
SAUCY STEAKS
Ingredients:
4 beef tenderloin steaks
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 cup butter
8oz. mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots or red onion
1/4 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoon Beef Stock
2 teaspoons chopped parsley or chives
Directions:
Drizzle the olive oil over steaks and season each with salt and pepper.
Grill steaks to desired doneness.
Remove steaks, place on a plate and cover with foil.
Melt butter in a large pan.
Add mushrooms and shallots.
Cook on medium heat for a few minutes until mushrooms start to soften.
Add water, cream, and beef broth. Simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes until sauce thickens a bit. Add parsley.
Serve sauce over steaks.
MEXICAN STEAK SALAD
Ingredients:
1 pound beef top round steak, cut 1-inch thick
1 can (5-1/2 ounces) spicy 100% vegetable juice
8 cups mixed greens or 1 package (10 ounces) romaine and leaf lettuce mixture
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup cucumber, cut in half lengthwise, then into thin slices
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
Salt and pepper
Tortilla Chips
Ingredients for Dressing:
1 can (5-1/2 ounces) spicy 100% vegetable juice
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Directions:
Place steak and 1 can vegetable juice in Ziploc bag.
Close bag securely and marinate in refrigerator 2-6 hours (if using top round steak marinate no less than 6 hours, preferably overnight).
Combine dressing ingredients; refrigerate.
Combine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and 1 cup green bell pepper; refrigerate.
Remove steak from marinade; discard marinade.
Place steak on medium-hot grill and cook 16 to 18 minutes for medium rare doneness.
Let steak rest 10 minutes before carving.
Carve steak across the grain into thin slices.
Season with salt and pepper, as desired.
Add steak to salad mixture. Drizzle with dressing and top with tortilla chips.
Makes 4 servings.
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