So, after conferring with Chris, I've decided the following will be my format: Post the recipes -> Post any differences I made, things I didn't like, or places I screwed up -> Post my pictures, with captions. Anything I cook without first referencing a recipe I post in detail, step by step.
Pan Seared Top Sirloin with Pan Gravy, Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Mushrooms, Baked Potatoes.
I started the potatoes first, set the timer for a half hour. At the half hour mark I put in the brussel sprouts and mushrooms. When I put them in, I started everything for the steak.
- Approximately half a white onion.
- 1 garlic clove
- Half a stick of butter
- 2 Sirloin Steaks
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Beef Broth
- Dry Cooking Sherry
- Salt
- Pepper
- Dry mustard (optional)
Before you do anything, put your largest frying pan on the stove. Turn the burner to medium high, and let it warm up.
Salt and pepper your steak on both sides. I used dry mustard powder to add a little bit of flavor, but I'm not sure it added anything.
Start with your onion. Chop that puppy up! You want it to be fairly well chopped, but not iddy biddy pieces. For the garlic, just slice it up fairly evenly. Not see-through, but not huge chunks, either.
Put the butter in the pan and wait for it to melt. If it starts to bubble a lot, turn the heat down a little. Some bubbling is okay, but you don't want it to burn. If it turns brown, that's way too much heat, and it won't taste good.
When the butter is melted, toss the onions in. Spread them out so they're evenly on the bottom of the pan.
When they start looking a little soft, toss the garlic in.
When you start to smell the garlic (it shouldn't take long), move everything to the very edges of the pan and put in your steaks.
At some point, before you flip the steaks, you should give both of them a splash or two of that Worcestershire Sauce. This stuff is the essence of wonderful tasting beef, and I damn near always use it on my beef.
Let it cook in the middle of the pan for about 5 minutes. VERY IMPORTANT: Don't fuss with your steak! Leave it alone and let it cook for God's sake. If you keep fussing, it won't cook evenly, and you won't get those wonderful charred bits that have all kinds of flavor.
This part is totally optional, but I like to crowd my steaks with the onion and garlic. I don't know if it does anything or not, but I like to think that the aromatics infuse themselves somehow into the meat. I only leave them there for one flip (about 5 minutes). Any longer and they'll start to burn and become little bits of charcoal.. Not tasty.
Cooktime for the steaks (at least for me) wound up to be something like this:
When they're done, they should look deliciously brown with tasty crusty bits on both sides. The onions and garlic will probably be browning at this point, that's fine.
If you timed everything right, the potatoes should have been done by now.
When you remove the steaks, pour in enough beef broth to cover the bottom of the pan. Using a spatula (preferably wood), scrape all the little black bits off the bottom of the pan and stir around. Add a splash or two of the sherry, and stir occasionally.
Season to taste. When the liquid in the pan reduces by about half, remove from heat and put into the gravy vessel of your choice.
Pull out the brussel sprouts when they're done.
Prepare your potato to your desired taste. Unfortunately for Chris, we didn't have any sour cream. :(
Steak: Omg delicious. It came out somewhere between Medium and Medium Rare. Steak isn't worth eating without any red in it. :P
Potatoes: Also delicious. The fake bacon bits I used had turned stale on me, so while that was a little distracting, there was enough potato to hide it.
Brussel Sprouts: I made a mistake with these. The rack was in the top slot, and I was preoccupied and busy and totally forgot to move the rack to the middle, where it should have been to cook these correctly. So while the outside was perfect, there was a tiny core that, while warm, was not the deliciously cooked vegetable I was aiming for.
Mushrooms: My bad. The recipe I normally use involves a 400 degree oven for 30 min.. The brussel sprouts and potatoes require a 350 degree oven.. It didn't work out. They tasted a little funny and didn't have the texture I was looking for. *sigh* Oh well. I learned.
We had Mexican bottled Pepsi to drink with dinner as a treat... Also delicious. Overall, we were both incredibly pleased with dinner. :)
