Monday, August 18, 2008

Steak Salad with Roasted Redskins & Sauteed Mushrooms

My husband's 4.0 tennis team competed this past weekend in the Midwest Championships down in Indianapolis. Sadly, they were edged out of moving on to National's by the team from Michigan -- but it was really close with many third set tie breakers over the course of three days of matches. This is the third year straight that his team has won the Wisconsin title and I know they really wanted to move on, but it just wasn't in the cards. Next year, boys!

We welcomed him home from Indy with another one of my favorite summer meals, the Blackened Steak Salad. Usually I make this more than once per summer, but for some reason last night was the first time this year....and it is gooo-oooooood! I was contemplating using chicken breasts to save on cost and calories, but tenderloin steaks were on special so I decided to go for it.
The original recipe (on Epicurious.com) calls for dunking the steaks in melted butter, then dusting them in the blackening seasonings, and searing them on a blisteringly hot skillet. Last night I skipped the butter step and just pressed the seasonings on the steaks, and tossed them on a hot grill. This worked well and we of course didn't even miss the butter step, although I wouldn't exactly call them "blackened" -- more like, just "spicy".

Alongside we had my favorite Roasted Potatoes with Garlic (yes, they're from Ina -- did you really have to ask?). I was kind of in a time crunch and didn't have the full hour to roast them, so I cut them into quarters, stuck them in a 9x11 Pyrex with a little water, covered them tightly and microwaved them on hi for about 6 minutes. Then I drained them off really well, and proceeded with the recipe. This worked like a charm and shaved off a good 20 minutes of roasting time.

Another favorite and natural accompaniment are these awesome Sauteed Button Mushrooms. These are incredible with any steak, but are especially good with this salad.

We're off to enjoy a hot, steamy day at the pool. I can't believe summer is dwindling down this quickly. My son starts school next Wednesday, eeeeek!!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, this sounds like the PERFECT meal!! Seriously. So yummy! I'm going to have to try this with my husband. :)

Obsessive Foodie or Food Addict....You Decide said...

OH MY GOSH.....I am so making this.

Aggie said...

Your steak salad looks great! Love the spices...and love the potatoes and mushrooms on the side! My husband isn't so much a salad for a meal person, but I think I can convince him to eat this!! YUM!

Jaime said...

looks like a great salad! i've never had potatoes in a salad before but i bet they're perfect w/the steak :)

Anonymous said...

I love steak salad! This looks wonderful.

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Looks soooo good! I love potatoes that are browned like that.

Prudy said...

I love juicy steak in a salad. Congrats to your husband. He doesn't have to win the Nationals to impress me. :) Thanks for the timesaving tip on the potatoes. I love cheating with the half-microwave half-oven during the hot summer.

Jan said...

I'm sorry your husband's team didn't win, but what a tremendous achievement to get to get so far. As you say, there's always next year.

Your steak salad sounds fab, and those potatoes, I love potatoes with salad. And mushrooms....... It's just too good.

Tina said...

Hi Leah, I work with your mom and she shared your blog with me. I always enjoy it and look forward to your new meals with fantastic pics! Check out my blog too: http://tcountrymousecitymouse.blogspot.com/

Tina

Georgina Ingham | CulinaryTravels said...

That looks so good. My kind of meal, I'm bookmarking the recipe :)

Ziho said...

It looks delicios! mmmm

Unknown said...

I am feeling simply irresistible. When are you inviting me for dinner?

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