Steak with Mushroom sauce

AAhhh, I am hungry again!

After lying in bed for days on end wondering if I was ever going to feel hungry again or even able to eat a decent meal with a chew factor, I drove myself to the shops on Monday night once Nic came home to watch over the boys (Max got slammed with the flu or what ever they had). While looking around the veggie shop and buying anything that reeked 'healthy', I zipped over to my butcher to see what he had in his window. I was after something red and meaty, something that had a bit more to it than vegemite toast and dry crackers and there it was- a big juicy t-bone steak!

Oh yeah, that is what my heart desires and I knew for a fact that if I brought t-bones home Nic would be my number one fan yet again- hit me Mr. butcher man! With steaks under my arm and veggies pouring out of my cotton shopping bag I was set for a feast.

I wasn't after anything exotic or out there, all I was after was flavour, texture and a little bit of nurturing. On the drive home I decided on dinner- mashed spuds (nurturing), steamed beans (healthy), thick and juicy medium rare t-bone steaks ( flavor/texture combo) with a mushroom sauce (again flavour/texture).

I do love mushrooms and I really love making sauces, so revisiting an old classic is always fun however, because I was at home I didn't have my 8 hour beef stock reduction just waiting patiently in the fridge for me to use, nor did I have an array of liquor to pour into my sauce. What I had in my cupboard was a tin of Gravox (from a previous stint I did with kidspot) shallots, a bit of cream and plenty of parsley. To say it didn't excite me was an understatement! However the end product was pretty bloody good I have to say.

When you have bare bones to work with and your kitchen slave forgets to pop on your beef stock, grab the tin of Gravox you have ben avoiding and give this recipe a whirl, you might be happily surprised with the end results.

Dinner was a hit, the steaks were devoured by us all and requests were made for seconds (alas it was not to be because we are all pigs!) Alex and Max managed to eat the sauce without too many complaints, actually none from Max- Alex was the one with texture issues (seriously I sometimes wish I never explained to him what 'texture' means) and we were all feeling healthier, happier and full of goodness!

Mushroom Sauce

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Salt and pepper

50g butter

2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced (or half a small brown onion)

2 cups button mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

1 tablespoon Gravox granules

½ cup boiling water (or stock)

½ cup thickened cream

¼ cup parsley

Method

Combine Gravox and boiling water, stir to remove lumps and put to the side.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over HIGH heat; once bubbles appear add shallots, mushrooms, salt and pepper.

Stir to combine and sauté until soft (approx 3-4 minutes)

Add garlic, sauté for 1-2 minutes.

Add Gravox mixture followed by cream.

The high temperature will reduce this into a thick sauce in about 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat add parsley and extra juices from your rested steak.

Pour over cooked steaks and serve.