Steak Diane

 

Serve with roasted mushrooms

Sauce Base
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 teaspoons tomato paste
2 small onions chopped medium (about 1⅓ cups)
1 medium carrot chopped medium (about ½ cup)
4 medium cloves of garlic peeled
¼ cup water
4 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ cups dry red wine
5¼ cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
8 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves

 

1.   Heat oil and tomato paste in Dutch oven over medium-high heat stirring constantly in all steps of making the sauce base.  Cook about 3 minutes until paste begins to brown.

2.   Add onions, carrot, and garlic and cook about 2 minutes until mixture is reddish brown.

3.   Add 2 tablespoons water and continue to cook until mixture is well browned, about 3 minutes, adding remaining water when needed to prevent scorching.

4.   Add flour and cook 1 minute.

5.   Add wine and, using a heatproof rubber spatula, scrape up browned bits on bottom and sides of pot; bring to boil (mixture will thicken slightly).

6.   Add chicken broth peppercorns, thyme, and bay; bring to boil and cook, uncovered, occasionally scraping bottom and sides of pot with spatula, until reduced to 2½ cups, 35 to 40 minutes.

7.   Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; you should have about 1¼ cups.

 

Steaks
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 strip steaks (about 12 ounces each), trimmed of all excess fat and pounded to even ½-inch thickness
Salt
Ground black pepper

 

1.   Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until smoking.

2.   Meanwhile, season steaks with salt and pepper. Place 2 steaks in skillet and cook until well browned, about 1½ minutes. Flip steaks and cook until well browned on second side, about 1½ minutes longer. Transfer steaks to large -platter and tent with foil. Add 1 tablespoon oil to now-empty skillet and repeat with remaining steaks; transfer second batch of steaks to platter.

 

Sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small shallot minced (about 2 tablespoons)
¼ cup Cognac
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons unsalted butter cold
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons fresh minced chives

 

1.    Off heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and shallots to now-empty skillet; using skillet's residual heat, cook, stirring frequently, until shallots are slightly softened and browned, about 45 seconds.

2.    Add cognac; let stand until cognac warms slightly, about 10 seconds, then set skillet over high heat. Using chimney match, ignite cognac; shake skillet until flames subside, then simmer cognac until reduced to about 1 tablespoon, about 10 seconds.

3.    Add sauce base and mustard; simmer until slightly thickened and reduced to 1 cup, 2 to 3 minutes.

4.    Whisk in butter; off heat, add Worcestershire sauce, any accumulated juices from steaks, and 1 tablespoon chives. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

5.    Set steaks on individual dinner plates, spoon 2 tablespoons sauce over each steak,   sprinkle with chives, and serve immediately, passing remaining sauce separately.