Beef Steak with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Serves 2.

Time requirement: about 20 minutes.

What you will need:

2 small steaks about 6-8 ounces each, about 1-1¼ inch thick. A large New York strip steak cut into two portions can do the job.

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

1 shallot.

8 ounces of button mushrooms.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter.

1 tablespoons neutral oil such as sunflower oil or light olive oil.

¼ cup white wine

½ cup heavy cream. Preferably from a local dairy and not ultrapasteurized.

Warm serving plates.

Optional: parsley for garnish.

Preparation:

Pat dry the meat with paper towels. Trim it of all exterior fat and any visible gristle which is sometimes between the meat and the fat. Sprinkle the steaks with a pinch of salt and pepper on each side. Set the steaks aside.

Peel and chop the shallot: aim for a small dice. Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a clean cloth or paper towels. Quarter the mushrooms.

Place a 12-inch nonstick frypan over a medium high heat. Add the butter and oil. When the fat in the pan is hot, add the quartered mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms for 6 minutes; toss or stir the mushrooms as they cook. Lower the heat to medium low and add the shallot. Cook the shallots with the mushrooms for 2 minutes. Stir them occasional. Watch the heat; the shallots must not burn. Remove the mushrooms and shallots to a plate.

Turn the heat to medium-high. Add the steaks to the pan. For rare steaks cook 2 minutes on each side, and then again for 1 minute on each side. Remove the steaks to a plate and cover with foil. Add the wine to the pan and deglaze the pan with the wine. Return the mushrooms and shallots to the pan along with the cream. Allow the cream and wine to reduce to a thick sauce.

If you like your meat cooked more than rare, return the steaks to the pan to continue to cook in the reducing sauce.

When the time comes, divided the sauce and mushrooms between 2 warm serving plates. Top each plate with a steak. Optional: Garnish with a few parsley leaves for color. Serve it forth.

Alternatives: A veal or pork chop work well too!

Alternatives: You can pork a pork of veal chop the same way.