I was therefore inspired to crack open my copy of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" authored by my culinary inspiration, none other than queen Julia Child, to search for dinner plans and settled on pan broiled steak with shallot white wine (or dry vermouth) sauce and garlic mashed potatoes and served with sautéed spinach with a balsamic vinegar reduction.
I began with the mashed potatoes since they will take the longest. Bear in mind that this dish is not for the faint of heart - literally, this dish contains an entire stick of butter.
Purée de Pommes de Terre A L'ail
(Garlic Mashed Potatoes)
6 cloves garlic, pealed but left whole
8 Tbs butter
2 Tbs Flour
1 cup boiling milk
1/4 tbs salt
Pinch of pepper
2 pounds baking potatoes (Idaho), peeled and quartered
3-4 Tbs whipping cream
4 Tbs minced parsley
Begin with a 3-4 cup saucepan and begin melting 2 Tbs butter over low heat, add in garlic cloves and cook covered until they are tender.
Mix in flour and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add in milk and salt and pepper.
Puree the mixture with either an immersion blender, sieve and a spoon or a traditional blender until smooth. Set aside.
Meanwhile, bring a large stock pot to a boil. Salt the water (for that reason no one knows? Does it season the potatoes or pasta? Do we just do it out of habit?) and add in potatoes. Cook until tender and then drain.
Rice or mash the potatoes.
Reheat garlic purée until a film forms on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and add in 4 Tbs of butter and correct seasoning if necessary.
Before serving beat the sauce into the mashed potatoes. Beat in heavy cream in spoonfuls as to not thin out the purée too much. Add parsley.
Next I began the sautéed spinach and balsamic reduction.
Sautéed Spinach
2 Tbs olive oil
6 oz bag of baby spinach
4 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
Heat large skillet on medium heat and add garlic.
Sautée garlic until fragrant and add in spinach (6 oz of spinach may sound like a lot but believe me it isn't).
Wilt spinach until tender.
Balsamic Reduction Sauce
1 cup balsamic vinegar
Bring balsamic vinegar to a boil over medium high heat. Turn to low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until it can coat the back of a spoon (took mine 20 minutes, stupid reduction). Watch it very closely because it can easily burn
And now for the main event: the steak. Allow me to explain that I've never made any meat other than chicken (breasts and drumsticks), seafood (salmon, shrimp and scallops), and bacon and sausage. I have never in my entire 21 years cooked a steak.
Bifteck Sauté Bercy
(Pan-broiled Steak with Shallot and Dry Vermouth Sauce)
1 pound steak (ball tip petite serloin)
5 1/2-6 1/2 Tbs butter
1/2 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs shallot, minced
1/2 cup dry vermouth
Salt and pepper
2-3 Tbs parsley, minced
Heat skillet (I used my trusty cast iron) over medium high heat and add in 1/2 Tbs butter and oil. Once butter ceases to foam, add in steaks and reduce heat so fats are still hot but not burning.
Sautée steak for 3-4 minutes per side or until medium rare (the moment you observe a little pearling of red juice beginning to ooze at the surface of the steak). Trust me you want this steak to be on the rare side.
Remove steak from skillet and season with salt and pepper.
Pour the fat out of the skillet and add in 1 Tbs butter.
Stir in shallots and cook for 1 minute.
Pour the vermouth into the skillet and boil it down quickly, scraping up the tasty beef bits until the liquid reduces to a strip.
Remove from heat and add in remaining butter a Tbs at a time until thickened. Add in salt and pepper to taste and parsley.
This meal was my best. BAR NONE. It was by far my most ambitions and paid off.
PLEASE COOK THIS FOOD! And get a copy of my bible (Mastering the Art of French Cooking). Happy eating, readers!
Bon appetit!
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