Classic and elegant, Steak Diane, with its brandy mushroom sauce never seems to go out of style. This version, simplified for the home cook, takes about 25 minutes to prepare. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes or roasted new potatoes and green beans almondine.

Read ALL of the directions and have all ingredients assembled and read before beginning this recipe.

Serves 2

For the Sauce:
2/3 cup low sodium beef stock (broth), reduced to 1/3 cup*
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Dash or 2 of hot sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons brandy or Cognac
1/3 cup heavy cream

For the Meat:
4 filet mignon or beef tenderloin medallions, about 1/4 inch thick and approximately 3 ounces each
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup shallots, thinly sliced
1 medium clove of garlic, minced
1/4 pound mushroom caps, thinly sliced (remove stems before slicing and reserve stems for another use)

For the Finish:
2 teaspoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
2 teaspoons green onions, finely chopped

Reduce the beef stock to 1/3 cup in a saucepan over medium heat. In a small bowl, whisk together the beef stock, Worcestershire, hot sauce, Dijon mustard, and brandy.

Set the oven to 200°F. Place a heatproof platter in the oven to warm.

Season the beef medallions with salt and pepper on both sides.

Heat the oil and the butter in a 10 inch heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat and cook, turning once for a total of about 1-1/2 minutes cooking time for medium-rare. Transfer meat to warm heatproof platter and keep warm in the oven.

Cook the shallots in the meat skillet over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes, then add mushrooms and garlic and continue cooking until the shallots are golden, about 2 – 3 additional minutes. Turn up the heat to medium high and stir in the stock mixture and any meat juices that have accumulated on the meat platter. Bring the sauce a boil and boil, stirring, for about 3 minutes or until the sauce has been reduced in half.

Return the heat to medium low and stir the heavy cream into the stock mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2 - 3 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly. Return the warm meat and any accumulated juices to the pan, turning the meat over to coat with the sauce. Add 1/2 of the parsley and 1/2 of the green onions.

To serve, place 2 medallions on each dinner plate, add sauce and sprinkle with the remaining parsley and green onions. Serve immediately.

Cook’s Notes:
*You can reduce the stock in advance and store in the refrigerator until use. It is important to use low sodium stock or broth when making a reduction sauce. When reduced, regular broth is extremely salty.

In this recipe, it is essential that you have all of your ingredients ready before you begin cooking the meat. Timing is everything. Have your entire meal ready so that you can devote all of your attention to cooking the meat.

When serving your meal in courses, serve the appetizer course and the soup or salad course, then prepare the meat. Any side dishes that part of the entrée course should be prepared and held warm, until the meat is cooked. Plate the meat, add the side dishes, garnish and serve.