Monday, August 3, 2009

Take That Rachel Ray!

Tonight's dinner was simply a tribute to good shopping. We raced in the house after an afternoon of "cash for clunkers" negotiations at a local car dealer (they've worked on Ford commercials -- give them the "partner" price . . . what price would get to to close the deal right now . . . buy American, it means so much -- yada yada yada). Straight in the door I stared heating a cast iron pan and turned the oven to 450º. James put the "girls" up and I fed the dogs and our wonder cat, Scout. By then the pan was piping hot and I poured in a little olive oil and in went the seasoned steaks. I seared them for about 2 minutes on all sides (edges too), while the first side seared I trimmed the asparagus and tossed it with olive oil, salt and pepper on a baking sheet and popped it into the heating oven. Next, potatoes went into the microwave (shudder I do sometimes use the microwave, melting chocolate, baking potatoes . . . ) to cook through. Back to the steaks -- I added a pat of butter to the pan and a couple handfuls of chopped mushrooms. A dash of chicken broth as steaks were turned to their last side and the iron pan -- steaks mushrooms and all -- went into the oven with the asparagus to cook through -- for us it was about 10 minutes. After 5 minutes I placed the sliced potatoes -- cut side down -- next to the steak and finished it off in the oven.
And there it is, the 30 minute steak dinner: Pan Roasted Filet Mignon with Sautéed Mushrooms, Marinated Baby Artichokes (I cooked and marinated those on Sunday), Crisped Fingerling Potatoes, and Roasted Asparagus.

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