Steak with Crimini Mushrooms and Shallots in a Red Wine Reduction

I may be in the minority here, but I love staying in on Friday nights. Any other night I love meeting friends for dinner and drinks, but Friday nights are all about me. I come home from work, quickly change into my pj’s, and relax for the evening knowing that I have the entire weekend ahead of me.

When having “me time” it is only logical that I have a nice dinner. I often order in sushi, but sometimes I prefer just cooking myself a really nice meal. So that is what I did this past Friday evening. I prepared a steak served with a red wine reduction sauce that included crimini mushrooms and shallots. It was a lovely dinner.

If you would like to treat yourself too, here is how I made it (per serving):

Steak

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 steak filet
• Salt and pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In an oven proof pan over high heat, add olive oil.
3. As pan is heating, salt and pepper steak.
4. Once pan is hot, carefully place the steak into the pan—do not move it around (moving it around makes the steak stick and not brown properly). Let steak brown on each side, about 1-2 minutes each side.
5. Transfer pan to oven. For medium to medium rare, keep in oven about 5-6 minutes.
   Once the steak has reached your desired “doneness,” take it out of oven and let it sit for 5 minutes. You need to let the steak sit to allow the juices to re-distribute. If you cut the steak immediately, all the juices would flow out in the first cut and the rest of the steak would be dry. That would be a bummer.

Sauce

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 7 crimini mushrooms, sliced (See Note 1)
• 1 large shallot, sliced (See Note 2)
• ½ cup red wine (See Note 3)
• ½ tsp dried thyme (or 1 tsp fresh thyme)

1. In a pan over medium heat, add olive oil.
2. Add mushrooms and shallot slices and cook until mushrooms are cooked thoroughly. Mix often to keep shallots from burning.
3. Add wine and thyme, and cook until the wine has reduced by half. This should not take long.
4. Serve sauce poured over steak. Very pretty, isn’t it?

Enjoy your special night!

Notes:

1. Crimini mushrooms are baby portobello’s. Therefore, like Portobello mushrooms criminis are a bit “meatier” in taste than other mushrooms, which is why I chose them for this dish. When cleaning any mushroom, never wash them in water like other vegetables. Mushrooms are like sponges and they will just soak up the water, causing them to be tough when cooked. Therefore, clean mushrooms by wiping them with a damp cloth.
2. What is a shallot? Shallots offer a flavor similar to that of sweet onions with a hint of garlic. Although people often assume they are a part of the onion family, they are actually their own species. Shallots are most commonly used in vinaigrettes and sauces.
3. Keep in mind that when you cook with wine, you are concentrating the flavor. Therefore, always use a wine that you would drink—avoid “cooking wines” found in the grocery store.