steak

Giada de Laurentiis has a cookbook out called My Recipes for La Dolce Vita (ah, the sweet life) and in flipping through it on Amazon, I saw the photo and recipe for Flank Steak with Roasted Grapes and Mushrooms. I could just taste it – steak, sauteed grapes and mushrooms in a brandy wine sauce! It sounded marvelous.

I kept flipping through the recipes (Amazon has a “Look Inside” feature where you can see quite a few of the recipes – just enough to entice you to buy the book) and decided I had to have it. The $25.00 Amazon gift certificate helped make that decision, too.

I made this immediately after receiving the book and wasn’t disappointed. I over-roasted the steak a bit, though, and decided it needed to be made again and next time cook it to just between medium-rare and medium.

There were a few changes for our tastes – no shallot (for Bret, not me – I love ’em), brandy instead of sherry since that’s what I had in the cabinet (from 1998, I think…) and I cut the salt back a bit.

The second time I made this flank steak, it was perfect. Flank steak can be tough and chewy, and admittedly it never gets fall-apart tender, but this was cooked to perfection. Be sure and watch the times on cooking the steak, since the cut is not very thick.

The sauce makes my mouth water and the savory mushrooms combined with the sweet/tart seedless purple grapes are great. It really didn’t take to long to make – about 15 minutes on the steak, including oven time, and about ten minutes on the mushroom/grape sauce. I can see making it with skirt steak, too, and cut down the roasting time.

This Flank Steak with Roasted Grapes and Mushrooms can be made for company, but is also a great go-to for a weeknight dinner. Throw a salad on the side, maybe a few Yukon Golds with butter, and you’ll have a satisfying, delicious meal.

I can’t wait to dig into some more of this cookbook’s recipes. It seems like I’m reviewing a lot of cookbooks lately, but I’ve collected so many over the years, that it’s time to pull them out and get to all those recipes I said I’d get to one day. Yes, I know this is a new one, but I haaaaad to have it! If you collect cookbooks, you know what I mean.

Flank Steak with Roasted Grapes and Mushrooms

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Nice steak dish with mushrooms, sauteed grapes, and a flavorful sauce.  Adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis My Recipes for La Dolce Vita.

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Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pound flank steak
• 1 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 lb assorted wild mushrooms (I used all cremini), sliced 1/4" thick
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1/2 C brandy
• 1 C halved, seedless red grapes
• 1/2 C beef stock
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped (or 1/4 tsp dried thyme)
• 2 tbsp butter

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.  Line a pan with sides with aluminum foil.
2. Heat 2 tbsp. of the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat.  Pat the flank steak dry and sprinkle with 1 1/2 tsp.  of the kosher salt.  Place the steak in the very hot skillet and cook it without moving for 4-5 minutes or until deep golden brown.  Using tongs, carefully flip the steak and sear the other side for an additional 3 minutes.
3. Transfer the steak to the prepared baking sheet.  Take the temperature of the steak at the thickest part.  You can gauge how much longer the steak needs to be roasted (med-rare: 125°; medium 130°). 
4. Place in the oven for 5 minutes and check the temperature again.  Roast until the desired temperature (it will cook a little bit more after taken out of the oven, so don't over roast it).
5. Remove the steak from the oven and place on a cutting board to rest, tented with aluminum foil.
6. Using the same skillet in which the steak was cooked, turn to medium-high heat and add the remaining 2 tbsp. of olive oil.  Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally for 6-7 minutes, until the mushrooms turn to a deep golden brown color.  Add the shallots and the remaining 1/4 tsp. salt.  Stir and cook 2 minutes longer, stirring often.  Stir in the brandy, scraping up any bits (fond) left from the steak cooking, until reduced by half, about 1 minute. 
7. Add the grapes, beef stock, and thyme and cook an additional 2 minutes.  Add the butter and stir until melted and mixed in well.  Taste and salt if needed.  Remove from the heat.
8. Uncover the steak and slice against the grain, about 1/3" thick.  Place the slices on a platter and spoon the mushrooms and sauce over the steak.  Serve immediately.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

The steak cooks more quickly than you'd think, so keep your eye on the temperature.  This is best at a medium to medium-rare.

I used a shallot the first time I made it, then substituted onion powder the second time.  I prefer it with the shallot.

The original recipe used sherry, but we had brandy in the cabinet and it was delicious with it!

I used 1 teaspoon of "Better than Bouillon" beef flavor instead of the beef stock, but use what you have.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 666Total Fat: 36gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 172mgSodium: 1237mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 3gSugar: 9gProtein: 58g

Nutrition Values are Approximate