Talya's Steak with Port & Mushroom Ragout

A TOP FIVE RECIPE & JOHN PROPOSED AGAIN!!

With the New Year I took off from blogging and went to the country. We had a great time with Gwen and Pinky and we celebrated with some really nice wine.  Unfortunately I didn’t worry about what to write when I got back.

However our great friend Marcia Philips asked for more cooking with wine recipes. So I posted on Facebook that I needed wine recipes. About the same time friend and great cook Talya sent me an email asking what she could use as a substitute for tawny port in a recipe she was cooking.

Talya was preparing a steak dish and Google kept sending her to white wine as a substitute. Well your humble servant explained that a tawny port is a red grape port fortified with brandy and is wood aged. They are golden brown with a hint of nutty flavor. It's usually a sweet dessert wine which is why they were sending her to white wines.

Talya & John Boerner

Well she didn’t need an explanation of tawny port, she needed a substitute. And I had an unopened California port, so Gale and I had a glass and I took the rest to Talya. And much to my surprise she sent me the recipe and pictures to use in my blog.  

 

So without further ado here's Talya’s Steak with Port & Mushroom Ragout…according to John a Top Five which is saying a whole lot!!!

Cheers!

Harold 

Steak with Port & Mushroom Ragout

(recipe adapted from Bon Appetit)

THIS will make your eyes roll back in your head. It’s that good.

John proposed to me again. It’s that good.

This recipe is PERFECT for Valentine’s dinner, unless of course you are a vegetarian. In that case, I recommend making the mushroom ragout and serving it over rice.  It’s that good.

And no, ragout is not spaghetti sauce in a jar…According to Webster, ragout is well-seasoned meat and vegetables served in a thick sauce.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter

5 shallots, sliced

1 pound mixed & sliced mushrooms (i.e. shiitake, portabella, oyster, crimini, button)

¾ cup Port

¾ cup canned beef broth

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 ¾ in thick rib-eye steaks or top sirloin, trimmed (I used a 1.5 lb top sirloin)

¼ cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon (must be fresh!)

Parsley

                                    Method

1.  Melt 1 tablespoon butter with vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over high heat. Generously sprinkle steak with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. When skillet is hot, place steak in butter and cook to desired doneness – about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Do not overcook. The meat will continue to cook after removed from heat…Transfer steak to a plate.

2.  Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the same skillet, melt over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until tender, about 3-5 minutes.

3. Add mushrooms and stir until beginning to soften, about 4-5 minutes.

4.  Add Port and broth and bring to boil. Boil until liquid begins to evaporate off and becomes syrupy, about 10 minutes.

5. Add cream and tarragon and stir over medium high heat until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.

6.  Season with salt and pepper, if needed.

7.  Slice steak into strips, spoon mushrooms over and sprinkle with parsley.

                           

   Cheers & Bon Appétit!!

    Talya 

    Be sure to join and follow Talya's very entertaining blog, grace grits and gardening, which is a wonderful read about life and growing up in a small town. She also has a facebook page for Grace Grits and Gardening. And you can follow her each week at lakewood.advocatemag.com where she blogs about the history of Munger Place and East Dallas. 

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