Today is Day of the Mushroom, according to THE NIBBLE website. I’m not sure who declares “food holidays” but hey, what better reason is there to prepare a steak recipe with mushrooms for dinner on a Friday night?
I plan to make Béarnaise Steak with Mushrooms (see recipe below), not only because of the mushrooms but because of the herbed-butter served with the steak. Mixed into soft butter are two spring herbs: chives and tarragon. I pulled out the tarragon from my garden years ago because it grew tall and started taking over everything else but I let my chives come back every year. Just after the snow melts, they are the first green I see in my garden—before anything else starts to bloom.
Here is the section of my garden with the chives plants (under a small lilac tree), just starting to come alive again. I haven't even pulled out all of the fall leaves or cleaned up the garden yet this spring, but the chives are going strong. The smallest chive plant (center front) planted itself—chives tend to do that.
Béarnaise Steak with Mushrooms
(In this recipe, the steak is cooked on a contact grill. If you don't have one (we don't), you can grill the steak on a gas or charcoal grill and fry the mushrooms and onions in a skillet.)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
1 package (8 oz) sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup very thinly sliced red onion (cut in half, then sliced)
1/2 cup zesty Italian dressing
1 1/2-lb beef boneless sirloin steak, about 1 inch thick
1. Heat closed medium-size contact grill for 5 to 10 minutes. In small bowl, mix butter, chives and tarragon. Refrigerate until serving.
2. In medium bowl, mix mushrooms, onion and dressing. With slotted spoon, place mushrooms and onion on grill; reserve dressing in bowl. Close grill. Grill 3 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove from grill; cover to keep warm.
3. Brush both sides of beef steak with dressing from bowl. Place beef on grill. Close grill. Grill 5 to 7 minutes for medium-rare, brushing with dressing once or twice, or grill until desired doneness.
4. To serve, cut beef into serving pieces. Serve with vegetables and butter mixture.
4 servings
I’m attending a conference next week for the International Association of Culinary Professionals in Portland, OR. I’ve asked Assistant Food Editor, Kristen to write blog posts for me next week. Be sure to check out her posts and leave a comment for her in the comments box.
