Theater Steak

Whenever I go home my mom usually has a small pile of various things in my bedroom. This pile consists of items that she feels need to be brought to my attention. The pile is never the same; sometimes there are small gifts from neighborhood folks (this happened a lot recently with the wedding), items she's uncovered while cleaning the house that are mine and she'd like to see if I want to have it with me here, and there's also some newspaper clippings of sorts to share articles that I'd be interested in. Most recently in this pile was a section of the paper -- specifically the "Life" section from the N&O -- and this recipe caught my eye! She shared it for some other article but I read the whole section and saved it so I could make that recipe. I'm sure I would've tried the recipe had it not had such an interesting write up.

The recipe is called Theater Steak. The premise of the dish is simple: "a one-dish steak dinner that ... ensured a theater-goer made his curtain call on time." I highly recommend reading the article. And then making the dish!! You can read the article here. The author alludes to the simplicity of the dish and how she challenges herself to follow the recipe as is without making substitutions or altering the cooking method and I followed her lead. The dish turns out amazing. When we returned home with my pile of things (newspaper included) my mom also sent back some of her tasty homemade sourdough bread. I used her bread for the "thick slice of good-quality bread" the recipe calls for -- thanks Mom!

You'll see we served the recipe on our china for a fancy meal. This wasn't one of our anniversary meals. This was a celebratory meal for Patrick's recent promotion at work! He is such a hard worker and a devoted employee (he's working from home this evening as I edit/draft this post) who truly loves what he does. I'm glad he was recognized in this way and that his company sees him as an asset!

Theater Steak with Mushrooms, Onions & Grilled Bread Adapted from The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook | published on www.thekitchn.com
Serves 2

Ingredients
2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil, such as canola or safflower
2 (8-ounce) beef filets, preferably 1 1/2-inches thick, at room temperature
1/4 cup chicken stock or white wine
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 pound mixed mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 large onion, sliced into half moons
4 thick slices good-quality bread
1 cup spicy greens, such as arugula or watercress
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions
   Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.
   Heat two tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high to high heat. Pat the filets very dry and season the side facing up generously with salt and pepper. When the oil is shimmering, place the filets, seasoned side down, in the skillet. Season the top with additional salt and pepper.
   Cook the steaks without disturbing until a deep golden brown crust has formed, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip the steaks and allow to cook for another minute or so. Place the steaks on the baking sheet (they should still be on the rare side, about 120°F on an instant read thermometer) and transfer to the oven.
   Return the skillet to high heat. Add the stock or wine and swirl to remove any caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan. Lower heat to medium and add 2 tablespoons butter. Add the mushrooms and onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook the mushroom mixture, stirring frequently, until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
   Remove steaks from the oven and check their temperature: if they have reached 130°F remove them from the baking sheet and set aside to rest; if not, return them, along with the mushroom mixture, to the oven.
   Melt the remaining two tablespoons butter in the skillet. Add the bread and cook until toasted and golden brown on each side. Remove the steaks and mushroom mixture from the oven. Place about 1/4 cup greens over each piece of bread, followed by 1/4 of the mushroom mixture. Thinly slice the steaks lengthwise and arrange over the bread; pour any juices from the cutting board over the top.