Tonight's Dinner

Beer-Braised Sirloin Tips With Mushroom Sauce

Mix the mustard, brown sugar, thyme, ginger, paprika, and 1 tsp. salt in a small bowl until well combined.
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves -- crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika (didn't have)

Coat both sides of the steaks with the spice mix.
sirloin tip steaks -- 3/4 to 1 inch thick I used about a lb.

I let these sit in the rub for a couple of hours.

Prepare Mushrooms -
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, preferably a mix of half shiitakes and half cremin
Remove and discard the stems from the shiitakes, if using, and trim the stem ends from the cremini. Wipe all the mushrooms clean and slice them 1/4 inch thick.

Heat Olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the steaks and sear them until nicely browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove the Steaks.

Reduce the heat to medium, add 1 Tbs. of the butter to the pan, and let it melt.
Add the mushrooms, the scallion whites, and 1/4 tsp. salt and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the mushrooms soften and brown, 4 to 6 minutes.


Pour in about a cup of dark beer (I used amber Clausthaler) and 2 tsp. Worcestershire.

Scrape the bottom of the pan with the spoon, raise the heat to medium high, bring to a boil, and cook, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced by half, about 4 minutes.

Return the steaks and any accumulated juices to the pan, cover tightly with a lid or foil, and reduce the heat to a low simmer.

Braise, turning the steaks after 8 minutes, until tender and just cooked through (they should be easy to slice with a paring knife), about 16 minutes total.

Transfer the steaks to a cutting board and slice them thinly. Cut the remaining 1 Tbs. butter into four pieces and swirl them into the sauce. Stir in the scallion greens and taste for seasoning.

Serve the steak slices topped with the sauce. I served them over noodles.



Endive, Stilton, and Bacon Salad


4 bacon slices
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 endives (1 lb), cut into 3/4-inch pieces
2 oz Stilton, crumbled
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves


Cook bacon until crisp and transfer to paper towels to drain. Whisk together oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Add endives, Stilton, and parsley and toss to coat. Crumble bacon over salad.