As I promised in my review of The Complete 15 Minute Gourmet cookbook, I have two more recipes to post. Today I’m sharing a wonderful steak entree that the book suggests cooking in the skillet, but you can also make this on the grill. Cooking it in the skillet keep the juices in the pan and the brown bits from the pan add to the flavor of the mushroom sauce. We had it for dinner last week and everyone enjoyed it. Of course, I was the only one who would eat the mushrooms. :)

This recipe shouts gourmet but it’s really easy to put together and perfect if you have guests. I love mushrooms, but no one else does, so I didn’t top the steak with the mushrooms, just served them on the side. This recipe is on page 200.

Pepper-Crusted Sirloin with Sangiovese-Mushroom Sauce
adapted from The Complete 15-Minute Gourmet

For the meat:

1 tbsp mixed whole peppercorns (such as black, pink and white), coarsely crushed
24 ounces (1″ thick) boneless beef top sirloin, cut into 4 pieces
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp unsalted butter

For the sauce:

2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup onion, 1/4 inch slices
1 8 oz pkg sliced cremini mushrooms (couldn’t find so I bought basic white mushrooms)
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp of dried thyme leaves
3/4 cup Sangiovese, or other medium bodied high acid red wine (couldn’t find so substituted a basic red wine)
1 tsp cornstarch
salt to taste
coarsely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley for garnish (optional) (skipped)

Press the crushed peppercorns into the top and bottom of the steaks; sprinkle with salt.

To cook the steaks, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the steaks; cook, turning once, for 9-11 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Set the pan aside, do not rinse or wash.

While the steaks are cooking, prepare the sauce. Melt the butter in another large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, mushrooms, and thyme. Cook, stirring frequently, for 4 minutes or until mushrooms and onions are tender. Reduce the heat to medium.

Stir together the wine and cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth. Stir into the onions and mushrooms. Stir constantly for one minute, or until slightly thickened (mine took several minutes). pour the mushroom mixture into the steak drippings in the other skillet; stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen all the browned bits of meat. Season with salt.

Serve the steaks topped with the sauce and garnish with parsley (I served them on the side because of my mushroom hating family).

Here a great tip from the book about mushrooms:

Mushrooms keep best with good air circulation. if they are sealed in plastic wrap, remove the plastic and place the mushrooms in a paper bag before refrigerating. Do not wash before storing. Before using mushrooms, simply brush with a mushroom brush or wipe with a moist paper towel. If you rinse them, do it very quickly; because mushrooms are very absorbent, they should not be allowed to soak in water. They also should be cooked quickly,; because mushrooms are 90% water, they easily become overcooked and mushy.