Recipe - Sauteed Sirloin and Mushrooms

One side effect of having a really nice kitchen is that I'm interested in cooking again, and not just because Jason guilt trips me into not going out as often as I'd like. After several years of getting rid of cookbooks left and right, I went out and bought two new cookbooks in the past two weeks. Okay, they were cooking magazines, but the that's the same idea, right?

We've tried more new recipes in the past two weeks than we have in the past six months, with varying results. Some were really good, some have been crossed out in Sharpie and labelled 'Bland' or 'Not worth the effort.' And then there's tonight's meal, which Jason and I both agreed was really, really good. We had the steaks with green beans and a can of Pillsbury Grands biscuits (yeah, I know - I can make better biscuits than those, but not when I've got to chip snow off the driveway for 45 minutes to help get Jason's car unstuck from where he lodged it when he got home). The whole meal was on the table in less than 30 minutes, including the time to prep the green beans.

Sauteed Sirloin and Mushrooms
from Better Homes and Gardens Big Book of 30-Minute Dinners (2000, Meredith Corporation)

1 to 1.5 pounds boneless beef sirloin steak, cut 1/2" thick
3/4 teaspoon herb pepper or 1/4 teaspoon garlic pepper
1 Tablespoon margarine or butter
3/4 cup beef broth
1 Tablespoon hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, or Worcestershire sauce
1 small onion, cut into very thing wedges
4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

1. Cut steak into 4 serving-size pieces. Sprinkle with herb pepper or garlic pepper. In a 10-inch skillet cook steak in hot margarine or butter over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or to desired doneness, turning once. Remove steak from skillet. Keep steak warm.
2. For mushroom glaze, carefully add beef broth and hoisin (or teriyaki or Worcestershire sauce) to skillet. Cook and stir until bubbly, scraping brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in onion wedges and sliced mushrooms. Cook over medium-high heat about 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender and the glaze is reduced by half its volume (to 1 cup). Transfer warm steaks to dinner plates and spoon glaze over.

Makes 4 servings.

I used Penzey's Chicago Steak seasoning, a cast iron skillet, and hoisin sauce. This was the best steak I've had in a long time - the sauce totally rocked! You have to try this ... it doesn't taste Asian at all, just really, really good.