Today my very sweet hubby surprised me with lunch from the Cheesecake Factory Bakery Cafe from MacArthur Center. He brought me the Asian Chicken Flatbread Salad *my favorite*... just when I thought I was over my obsession of learning how to make that dough! So delicious :o)
He got the Sante Fe Chick-en(hyphenation intentional ;o) ) Flatbread Salad for himself. Apparently it was the salad 'du jour' because three other people behind him were ordering the exact same salad. I'm including photos of both salads as a tribute to his thoughtfulness :o) I *think* there might be something there! Flatbread, romaine lettuce, black beans, corn, tomatoes, jalapeños, a special blend of spices and cheese and *wait for it*...corn tortilla strips :o) Sound yummy? I think so and so did he :o) Poor MiLou, no scraps for him :o(
After such a large lunch, I was not very hungry come dinner time. I did have some heavy whipping cream left *thanks leene* from the strawberry waffle breakfast. I also had a steak in the freezer that needed to be used along with some mushrooms. Are you following me so far???
A long long time ago... (back you sci fi fans!) I tried a recipe from one of those recipe cards (Great American Recipes) you get in the mail. (They were actually my first cookbook, collectively) LOL. I found a recipe for CReaMY MuSHRooM STeaKS and have repeated it several times since, always with great results. Now I realize that some of you DON'T. DO. FUNGUS! Please bear with me :o) and believe me, it pains me more that you DON'T eat 'shrooms :o)
The sauce is very delicious and MAKE the steak. I love this with a creamy buttered noodle. Tonight I used Farafalle. You can prepare the steaks any way you like then you can simmer them in the sauce briefly just before serving. The recipe calls for sirloin steaks and a bit of butter to pan fry them. Be sure to allow the steaks to come to room temperature before cooking.
For the sauce:
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced or quartered
1 T butter
2 T chopped onion
2 T flour
1 1/2 c. half and half or mix whipping cream with whole milk, equal portions of each
1 t soy sauce
1 t grated onion
salt and pepper to taste.
First, saute mushrooms in the tablespoon of butter until they are lightly brown. Second, add onions and saute until translucent and sprinkle with flour stirring to blend well. Add half and half, stirring a little here and there and simmer until it thickens slightly. Third, add soy sauce, grated onions and s&p to taste.
You have options at this point. You can grill the steaks, pan fry them or broil (watch carefully) and then very briefly introduce them into the lightly simmering sauce. Do not boil them in the sauce. You can use excess sauce over your noodles too, if you so chose.
We divided this plate three ways and everyone was satisfied :o) Once you make this, maybe you'll get a little twinkle in YOUR eye when you see steak, mushrooms and cream :o)
