What. A. Week. As
you all know from the yummy potato dish that I served as a part of a delightful
"welcome home" meal, Mr. O-P is recovering from hip surgery. I
am recovering from his recovery of hip surgery. I'd forgotten what it is like
to have a newborn in the house, but my guess is that the care, the hours, the
laundry, the crankiness (don't get me started), and feeding schedule are
shockingly similar. Then, as I was just about ready to collapse from the
exhaustion there was a water main break and we were put under a boil order. I
really do wish that I'd have found out about the boil order as soon as it was
put into place, but no. It wasn't until about 6 hours later after I had
happily hydrated myself with six glasses of water that I learned that drinking
the water would be bad. Ten hours later, and for the next three days, my
stomach reminded me of this again and again. Did I mention that, in the midst
of all of this (the very day of his surgery, actually) that we
got a contract on our century home on the St. Louis side of the river after
being on the market for three-and-a-half years? Can you comprehend the
timing? But I digress.
The sun is starting
to peek through the clouds; the dishes that had been stacked in the sink have
been run through the dishwasher. Tainted ice cubes have been dumped and
replenished, I found an app of sleep noises that has allowed me to get five
hours of sleep running, and cooking has commenced. Life is slowly returning to
normal.
I'm refraining from
starting any dish that involves a great deal of time and trouble because I have
little of the former and more than my share of the latter, so simplicity is the
order of the day. This dish is easy, goes together in about thirty
minutes if you do your chopping ahead, and is satisfying and delicious. I
served it over toast points, but for a heartier meal, it is heaven when served
on a bed of Jasmine rice. It can also be made with a variety of mushrooms in
place of the steak for a vegetarian main dish. Versatile!
Sirloin and Mushrooms in Dijon Cream
Sirloin and Mushrooms in Dijon Cream
5 tablespoons butter
1pound sirloin
steak, trimmed, diagonally cut into thin strips*
6 ounces crimini
mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 tablespoon Dijon
mustard
1 tablespoon fresh
ginger, finely diced**
2 tablespoons Dry
Sherry
1 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black
pepper
4 pieces of toast,
cut into triangles
Preheat oven to 375
degrees. Melt the butter in a large skillet and sear the meat on both sides
until nicely browned, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer the steak to an ovenproof
dish and keep warm.
Add sliced mushrooms
to the skillet and sauté in juices for about 3 minutes. Add the mustard, ginger, salt and
pepper. Stir well and cook for 2
additional minutes. Add sherry (bourbon
in a pinch) and cream. Cook at medium
heat until cream reduces slightly and thickens.
Add steak to cream
mixture, stir to coat, and pour back into the ovenproof dish. Cover with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes until
bubbly.
Serves four.
*Freezing the meat
for a while (or, if already frozen, don't allow to thaw completely) makes
slicing a breeze.
**I store fresh
ginger in the freezer. It keeps for a long time, and makes slicing,
chopping, dicing, and grating very easy.
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