Steak Diane

Steak Diane from Meat and Two Veg by Fiona Beckett.


What did I make? After a lot of contemplation I decided on steak Diane from your favourite and mine - Meat and Two Veg (again) by Fiona Beckett. Oh by the way, I completely forgot to thank Gayle so much for bringing my attention to this super book. Thanks Gayle :) It may sound bizarre to engage in philosophical debate over a steak, but there was a good reason why I just wasn't sure whether to make this or not. It is because Christopher's brother's ex-girlfriend ("S") would only *ever* order steak Diane from a restaraunt. I think the exact words were "steak Diane with extra cream please." Think Vicky Pollard from Little Britain in a boob tube and you have her! This grey and soggy limp steak would invariably arrive, drenched in cream and brandy. Eugh! Understandably, this put me off from making it myself, but of course I know that there is a world of difference between that which one might begrudgingly accept in a steak and omelette house and that which one makes at home. Anyway, Fiona Beckett told me to "ressurrect it - it's a great steak dish for two" (p18) and I feel almost obliged to listen to the woman who provided the recipe for those sexy, albeit forbidden, sauted potatoes of Monday night fame. Plus, this recipe for steak Diane looks rather different from that perhaps expected. Being a good scholar I researched this dish and it is apparent that there are both cream based and creamless (if that is indeed an adjective) recipes for steak Diane. This is a creamless recipe and also doesn't contain any brandy, but rather Madeira (just lovely!).


Anyway, Fiona says that chips/saute potatoes/baked potatoes and green beans go well with this. I was sold on the green beans (Chris loves them and they are so easy to make) and I decided to opt for the baked potatoes (I honestly don't know if I could womanfully withstand the temptation once again from those rather gorgeous little saute potatoes).



The recipe in its original form serves two, so I applied my advanced degree in Higher Mathematics (joke) to halve recipes for one.



Where did I get the ingredients from? Most of the ingredients I brought from Tescos. Luckily, I didn't have to fork out for a new bottle of Madeira as we already have a bottle at home, left over from Christmas. - Oh the joy of Christmas when I was actually putting conventional food in my mouth and chewing and swallowing! - when I made Simon Hopkinson's roasted goose stuffed with mashed potatoes. For this recipe I also brought some of that foil-packed fresh liquid beef stock that you can sometimes get from the posh section in some supermarkets. Aside from anything else (time/emotional resources), I just do not have the energy required to make my own stock from scratch at the moment. I brought the steak from the butcher where I had *the* most bizarre conversation:


Me: Can I have a thinly sliced sirloin steak about 7 oz please?

Her: I've got some that I sliced earlier, but I think they're all 9oz

Me (Pointing to one): That one looks about 7 oz

Her: Yes, I'm almost sure that they're all 9oz. There may be one 7oz there.

Me (still pointing): I think that one might be 7oz.
Her: No, that's okay. I'll slice you a fresh one. Wooops..I sliced that one too big. Let me check the weight. No, that's 10 oz. I'll slice another one. Oh dear, did a too-small one now. Oooops that's 5oz.
Me: The one over there looks like it may be 7oz
Her (weighs it): Oh yes it is; what do you know?





(Said steak!)


How easy was it to make? Super easy! I started off making the baked potatoes and it is rather a revolutionary cooking method for me, because Fiona takes issue with those huge-beyond-all-senses baked potatoes, and instead instructs us - her willing disciples - to do away with them and instead bake medium/small potatoes for fluffier insides. This may be old news - culinary speaking - for you, but I found it really interesting and if only I had made such small but sensible changes to my diet a few months ago, I may not now be in LighterLife lumpy shake territory! This is what Fiona says about them: "One of my pet moans is why shops sell such enormous baking potatoes. They take an age to cook and make it really hard to get the centre soft and fluffy and the skin nice and crisp. Buy medium-sized ones and have two if you feel short-changed." Indeed Fiona!

Anyway, about 10 minutes before the potatoes were due to come out, I started on the steak, which simply involves bashing the steak around with a rolling pin (just imagine my LighterLife counsellor......!) until flat and then frying it super briefly (1 1/2 mins on one side and 30 seconds on the other). The sauce is made while the steak is resting in the same frying pan and consists of a shallot (and by the way, I am *not* "very finely chopping" a shallot - yawn - that's what the food processor is for dahhhhling), Worcestershire sauce, Madeira, fresh beef stock and red wine vinegar. A sinful amount of butter is then whisked in to make the whole thing more "saucelike."

Right at the end, I cooked the green beans in boiling salted water for a really short time. Even though I didn't eat them (of course), I can't *face* overdone veg. Both my parents and Chris's parents are infamous for boiling vegetables to death and I *hate* the limp, soggy end product so much so that I tend to rebel the opposite way and serve veg so "al dente" that they are practically raw (I am trying to find a happy medium Dr Freud!).

So, there we go; picture the scene - a perfectly done juicy steak with a rich gorgeous smelling sauce, sprinkled with fresh parsely and served with baked potatoes and green beans. (Then picture my LighterLife mushroom soup and cranberry bar!)

(Frying the steak in olive oil and butter)

What did Chris think? He cleared his plate and LOVED it! He loved the steak and said that it was cooked to perfection - slightly pink in the middle, but not raw. I was most intrigued to know what he thought of the sauce - it just smelled so sexy (oh dear, sorry "L" my LighterLife councellor, I *must* stop associating frood with eroticism. It just shouldn't be so damn erotic then!) and he said that it was thick, rich and substantial and tasted meaty and of the shallots and red wine with the real richness and booziness of the Madeira. He said that this was *nothing* like the steak Diane that we have vicariously experienced and that he will definately be eating this again.

He also loved his green beans, which is always good to know and of course the baked potatoes. They did look a bit boring though, just halved and spread with a knob of unsalted butter. In future, I think that I will spread a little creme fraiche over each awaiting half and maybe sprinkle a few snipped chives over (a traditional partnership, but a good one nonetheless).

Chris said that this meal deserved 5/5.





(Making that lovely sauce - Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, shallot, Madeira, beef stock and butter)





Was I tempted to cheat and eat some? Everything looked really good, but as far as temptation goes, baked potatoes seem to be less tempting to me than those sauted numbers! The green beans looked good.....but meh! Not bothered. I was quite keen to try the steak though, but I think that my curiosity was more intellectually driven (i.e. I wanted to know what the sauce tasted like from a culinary perspective) than hunger-based.



(Who am I to resist another picture?)



Did I cheat? No way....My week 4 weigh-in is tomorrow and I'm way to scared to jinx myself! And just to strengthen that concept for myself.....here is a picture of me nearly at my heaviest (taken just 3 days into LighterLife);





(Crap! At least my double chin and hampster cheeks are going...going...gone!)