Steak and Mushrooms Florentine

Steak and Mushrooms Florentine

(c) Dorine Houston, 2007, 2008 

It's your mother's birthday, and you want to make her something she'll really enjoy.  She loves steak.  She'd prefer to eat nothing but steak and potatoes, and only eats vegetables, as she says "for conscience's sake".  Two vegetables that are near the top of her list of preferred ones are spinach and mushrooms, so you start thinking about what to do with these ingredients to make her birthday dinner memorable.  Florentine!  It's obvious!  A creamy Florentine sauce with mushrooms will make one steak-loving mother very happy! 

If you want the surface of the steaks to be nicely caramelized, do not use a non-stick skillet; use a plain stainless steel one.  Things simply do not caramelize decently in non-stick.  Cast iron would be good for the steak, but not good at all for the sauce, which you will be cooking with the pan drippings. 

2 New York strip steaks
1 T./15ml butter 
1 T./15ml olive oil
4 shallots, finely minced 
8-10 crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced 
2 tsp./10ml all-purpose flour 
1 cup/240ml full-bodied dry red wine, preferably Italian such as Barolo or Chianti 
1 bunch spinach, thoroughly washed and tough stems removed 
6 leaves fresh Genoa basil, chiffonade 
1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves stripped off 
1/2 tsp./2.5ml fresh Italian oregano, minced 
4 gratings from a whole nutmeg 
1 cup/240ml light cream (or half-and-half) 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed skillet with the oil.  Pat the steaks dry and add to the sizzling fat.  Cook three minutes on one side then peek to see if it has caramelized.  After it is well browned, turn the steaks over and brown on the other side.  Continue cooking to somewhat under the desired degree of doneness (it will cook more later, and you don’t want it to get overcooked).  Remove to a platter and tent with foil to keep warm. 

Add the shallots to the pan and cook, stirring, until limp.  Add the mushrooms and additional butter if needed; cook until tender.  Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, until thoroughly absorbed by the fat and starting to brown. 

Add the wine and bring to a simmer.  Whisk to bring up all the good brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  While the wine is simmering, put the spinach, with only the water from washing clinging to the eaves, into a saucepan and cover.  Cook on medium high for 2-3 minutes, until wilted and tender but still bright green.  Remove to a cutting board and chop.  Add to the wine mixture in the skillet.  Add the basil, thyme and oregano.  Cook, stirring, for a minute.  Stir in the nutmeg.  Stir in the cream.  Taste  and add salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Return the steaks to the pan along with the juices that accumulated on the plate.  Stir the juices through the sauce and heat until the steak is hot through.  Garnish each serving if you like with a radish rose and 2 carrot curls. 

Serve with mashed potatoes.  To make a festive dinner for a birthday, start with a cup of vegetable beef soup garnished with a splash of dry sherry and a dollop of sour cream.  Beverages during the meal should be the same wine used in the sauce and well chilled seltzer water garnished with lemon wedges.  After the steak course, serve a small mixed green salad with oil and vinegar and some crumbled blue cheese.  Follow with cake, ice cream, fresh strawberries and some thoroughly chilled asta spumanti.  End with some espresso and Sambuca. 

If this dinner doesn't make you your mother's favorite, it’s hopeless!