Dish | New York Steak with Mushrooms & Red Wine Sauce + Crusted Butternut Squash

In my last post, I mentioned my love of all things Autumn. We so rarely eat red meat at our house but with the start of the new season and Ryan being consumed by school already, I thought it would be nice to relax and have one of those special occasion kind of nights, just for us.

NEW YORK STEAK WITH MUSHROOM & RED WINE SAUCE

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
Assorted mushrooms, cut into large pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 New York steaks
2 minced garlic cloves
1 sprig rosemary
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

1  |  Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl; set aside.

2  |  Melt 1 tablespoon butter with remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet over medium heat. Season steak with salt and pepper. Add steak, garlic, and rosemary to skillet. Cook about 5-7 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board. Let rest while preparing sauce.

3  |  Discard garlic and rosemary from skillet. Add wine; cook, stirring up bits, until reduced to 1/3 cup, about 3 minutes. Stir in stock; bring to a boil. Simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; Whisk in 1 tablespoon butter. Stir in mushrooms and 1 tablespoon tarragon. Season with salt and pepper.

4  |  Spoon mushroom mixture onto plates. Serve steak over mushrooms.

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CRUSTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH  |  Recipe inspired by Sprouted Kitchen/Plenty by Yotam Otteleghi

1 butternut squash (about 2 lbs.)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 minced garlic clove
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1  |  Preheat oven to 400°F. Peel the squash; Slice it in half length wise and discard the seeds. Cut into 1/4” slices.

2  |  On a baking tray, pile the squash, drizzle the olive oil and the nutmeg and toss everything to coat evenly. All should have a thin coat of oil, amount may vary based on size of the squash. Spread them out in a single layer on the baking tray. In a food processor pulse together the breadcrumbs, parmesan, garlic, both herbs, a few pinches of salt and a lot of fresh black pepper.

3 |  Sprinkle the topping on the squash. Bake for about 25-30 minutes until the tops are browned and the squash is cooked.

Dish | Kebabs with Cilantro-Lime Marinade

We had a BBQ at the house the other night. It was a great bunch of friends, a whole lot of wine, and way too many kebabs! Those who came early got a taste of the sirloin kebabs which I unfortunately did not photograph. I also made my new favorite dish of the summer... Roasted Corn with Manchego & Lime. It's so ridiculously delicious and really complimented the marinade I used on the kebabs. It was an all around success considering we used a propane camping grill on the back deck of our 3rd story flat with little to no light and a good 10 people to feed.

CILANTRO-LIME MARINADE

2/3 cup lime juice, from about 6 limes
2/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
8 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons ginger
1 tablespoon dried red pepper flakes

1  |  Whisk all ingredients in a medium bowl.

KEBABS  |  Recipe inspired by Bon Appétit August 2005

2 pounds chicken, cut into  1 1/2-inch cubes
2 pounds sirloin steak, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
6 plum tomatoes, quartered
2 large peaches with skin, halved, pitted, quartered and cut into 8 sections
24 pearl onions, peeled
2 large red bell peppers, seeded, cut into squares
24 cremini (brown) mushrooms
2 medium zucchini, trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch rounds

1  |  Place chicken and steak in separate medium glass bowls. Add 3/4 cup marinade to each and toss until coated. Chill for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.You can use left over marinade for basting.

2  |  Alternate chicken cubes, tomato halves, peach wedges, and pearl onions on skewers. Alternate steak cubes, bell pepper squares, mushrooms, and zucchini rounds on skewers.

3  |  Prepare barbecue and set at medium-high heat. Grill kebabs until slightly charred and cooked as desired, turning occasionally and basting with remaining marinade, about 8 minutes for chicken and 10 minutes for steak. Transfer kebabs to platter.