Beef

For the past five Decembers, I have had an absolutely wonderful time writing some kind of holiday recipe article for a local area magazine I contribute to. The articles usually involve multiple dishes and a whole lot of photography. Since The deadline is in November, a few times my daughter Jennifer was home for Thanksgiving and assisted me with the cooking and snapping of pictures. We always start out calmly and neatly, but by the end of the day it all somehow gets away from us and the kitchen starts to look like something exploded in it! The ultimate time was when I was featuring each writers favorite seasonal recipe. Jenny and I began the task of making around 15 different items such as cookies in the shape of bows, stuffing spiked with sherry and the best pull apart caramel nut rolls we ever experienced. We worked all day and into the early evening and by the time we were done, every pan let alone ounce of flour had been used!

This year I was asked to highlight traditional Hanukkah recipes. My Jewish friends happily gave me some of their family favorites. I have to say, everything was delicious! The fried potato pancakes and jelly doughnuts celebrate the miracle of The Festival of light; a single cruse of oil lasted for eight nights in a temple reclaimed by faithful Jews. The cookies are made from a fabulous cream cheese dough and the vegetable dish is now a new favorite in our family. But the best has got to be the beef brisket! The left overs make wonderful filling for street tacos or, with BBQ sauce, a great sandwich!

For a short time this fall, a very nice friend hired me to cook a couple dinners a week for their family. I needed to supplement my daughter Allison’s meager earnings as an English teacher in Spain, so she could afford a plane ticket to come home for Christmas. It was a fun experience; my friend would text me what she was craving for dinner. I’d scramble around to find recipes and run to the grocery store to get the ingredients. One day she wanted, “Pieces of steak in a mushroom sauce that could be put over mashed potatoes”, and this recipe was born. Since then, we have had it at our house several times and it’s always a hit. The trick is to make sure the whisk is employed. If it is diligently used and a little elbow grease is applied, the luxurious velvety mushroom sauce is well worth the effort!

Ingredients for Four Servings:

1 1/2 pound sirloin tip roast

1 carton of mushrooms

1 shallot

1 garlic clove

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup flour

2 cups beef broth

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash, rinse, and slice mushrooms. Cut meat into 2 inch wide strips and set it aside.

Peel and chop shallot. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in skillet and saute mushrooms and shallot until tender. Peel and mince garlic clove. Add to mushroom mixture and saute for 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the mixture into a baking dish, leaving the pan drippings still in the skillet.

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter to the same pan. Allow butter to melt, then over medium heat, brown both sides of the meat pieces. It will have to be done in two batches so the pan isn’t too crowded and the meat strips have a chance to brown – about three to four minutes a side. When the meat is done, add to the mushrooms in the baking dish.

Put the skillet back on the heat and pour the 1/2 cup of wine in. Bring the wine up to a boil and scrape up the fond from the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat down to medium.

Sprinkle the flour over the wine and whisk it in; it will be thick and pasty. Then, a bit at a time, gradually add the beef broth while whisking constantly until the liquid is smooth. Add in the salt, pepper, and thyme. Keeping it over medium heat and whisking often, cook until the mixture thickens up. This will take about 5 minutes. Pour the sauce over the meat and mushrooms in the baking dish and give it a stir. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or wide noodles.