Grilled Steaks with Spiced Mushrooms in Olive Oil

Happy Hearts Day!!!

Hubby and I usually do not celebrate Valentine's Day in a restaurant. Aside from being so ridiculously expensive, the restaurants oftentimes prepare a set menu, lacking in quality. Because the restaurants are full, we do not get the quiet intimate ambience that we prefer. So, I would usually surprise Hubby with a home-cooked valentine dinner, prepared with much love. Of course he knows that I would prepare something special (since I have been doing it for the past 13 years!) This year, I am making it simple because we will have another valentine dinner tomorrow with the Couples@Work Fellowship at the church gardens. There would only be a three-course dinner tonight. A Salad, a Steak and a Chocolate dessert. Hmm... maybe, I will add a warm soup.

Hubby loves a nice juicy steak and chocolates. We usually do not indulge in steaks because of the calories and the cholesterol. Most of our home-cooked meals comprise of vegetables and seafood or chicken. So, this steak is a real treat. I bought some Angus beef from Santis' Deli for the steak. The steak itself is simple to prepare because the beef is already flavorful. I just sprinkled both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper. Then added some olive oil. Let it sit for a while as I prepare the mushrooms.

2 T garlic, chopped
2 T onions, chopped
2 T red bell pepper, chopped
6 T olive oil
1 can button mushrooms, halved
1 t paprika
1 t cayenne pepper
1 t S & B japanese chili powder
2 T cooking wine
salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute garlic, onions, bell pepper in olive oil.

2. Add button mushrooms, paprika, cayenne pepper, and japanese chili powder. Stir for a while to blend.

3. Add the cooking wine and let the wine evaporate.

4. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside while grilling the steaks.

5. Prepare the grill and make it really hot. Sear one side for 2 min or more, depending on how well-done you like your steak. Then flip to the other side.

6. Place cooked steak on a serving plate, top with the spiced mushrooms. Drizzle more olive oil on top. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

I use my trusty stove-top grill for this dish. It gives the seared black lines without the toxic carbon residue. Of course, other gourmets and foodies will protest that the flavor and grilled aroma will be lost in this process. Honestly, I do not know for sure. I have not tried using the real hot coal grills. Maybe one day, I should.

I prefer my olive oil not cooked. If I have a dish that needs olive oil, I would usually use a little for the cooking and then drizzle the dish straight from the bottle when serving. I started doing this when I read from somewhere that olive oil should not reach boiling point or its molecules and the good healthy fats associated with olive oils will break down and be rendered useless.

Here is the picture of the steaks in their raw form :



Do you see anything wrong with the meat? Sigh! I did not know! I suppose I am not really a gourmet person yet. Just trying hard to recreate "professional" dishes at home, through experiments and the traditional trial and error. I thought those lovely lines were marbling! After all, this is Angus Beef! They turned out to be ligaments! Oh well, the meat parts were tender and soft, however, the ligament parts were inedible! GRRR!