Be My Valentine Steaks with Beurre Rouge Sauce and Roasted Mushrooms

Cutting meat into different shapes is a fun idea if you want to ramp up the theme of the holiday, especially when they are cute hearts for your Valentine. These steaks are fun and easy to make. You can use this technique with chicken, pork chops, or fish too. If using chicken make sure you butterfly big pieces or pound it a little to get a uniform cut. You can also use a dry rub to season them or you can marinate them in a vinaigrette of your choice. The later is a good choice if you have a tough cut of meat.

If you don’t have a cutter in the shape you want you can always freehand your cuts or use a piece of wax or parchment paper and cut out a shape and use that as your guide.

The ingredients list below really depends on how many steaks you want to make. It also depends how big (wide and long) the steaks are…you may be able to get 2 nice sized hearts out of one piece of steak or just one…it’s all variable, use your judgement 🙂 .

Before cooking your steak, make sure you prep, marinate, and place mushrooms in the oven so everything can be done around the same time. The sauce can be made right after starting to cook your steaks. To complete your meal, serve with a heart-shaped Greek village salad.

You will need:

For steaks:

• 2 to 4 steaks of your choice (strip, sirloin, ribeye, etc), no more than 1 inch thick
• Steak seasoning of your choice (or just salt and pepper), or some of your favorite bottled vinaigrette
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• A heart cookie cutter to fit your steak (or other shape of choice)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

For roasted mushrooms:

• 6-8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme, stem removed
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 ounce of beef, chicken or vegetable broth

For beurre rouge sauce:

• 6 ounces red wine
• 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoon shallots, finely chopped
• 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon flour (optional)

Steps:

For steaks:

1. Freeze your steaks in a single layer for 1 to 2 hours before cutting into the shape you want.
2. Remove steak from freezer and lay cookie cutter on steak and press into meat to make an outline, remove cutter.
3. Slowly, with a sharp pairing knife, cut around the shapes outline all the way down until you have hit the bottom side of the steak and you can pull the shape out easily. Remove shape and set aside. Do the same with the other cuts. You can cut up the leftover scrapes of steak into cubes, or thin slices, and freeze to eat another time with pepper and onions or in a stir fry. You can also use a smaller heart cutter that fits some of the scraps you have to make heart steak bites 🙂 .
4. Season steaks with your choice of seasoning. If you don’t have tender cuts of steak you can put them into a brine (or favorite vinaigrette) to tenderize them a few hours before cooking.
5. Remove steaks from frig 20 minutes before cooking to bring to room temperature, make sure you pat them dry before cooking.
6. If you are using a dry rub on steaks then season them and put in frig and removel 20 minutes before you are ready to cook them so they can come to room temperature.
7. Heat your pan, I like using a cast iron pan, but any will work. Add 2 tablespoons each of butter and olive oil to pan until sizzling has seized (the butter’s liquid sizzles out)
8. Add as many pieces of steak to pan where there is an inch or two around each steak piece, do not crowd it…you want to sear the steaks not steam.
9. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side, depending on what temperature you want your steaks and how thick they are, then turn and add the crushed garlic and rosemary to pan where most of the fat is pooling. You should have at least a couple of tablespoons of fat still in pan. If not, add a little more olive oil and another pat of butter.
10. Baste the steaks with the rosemary garlic flavored oil/butter. It imparts a wonderful flavor.
11. Remove steaks when they are at the temperature you prefer and let rest for 5 minutes before eating.

For roasted mushrooms:

1. Add all ingredients to small oven safe dish and stir to combine.
2. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes to marinate.
3. Roast in 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes, give it a stir and roast another 10 minutes.
4. Remove mushrooms and let rest for a few minutes before serving.

For beurre rouge sauce:

1. Add wine, vinegar, and shallots to sauce pan until it comes to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced by over half and syrupy.
2. Turn heat to low and whisk cold butter, one piece at a time, into sauce until it emulsifies.
3. If your sauce breaks, you can add 1/2 tablespoon of flour into it and whisk well until incorporated then add a little more wine to bring it together, if needed.

Kali Orexi!