pan-fried steak with mushroom brandy cream sauce

Pan-Fried Steak with Mushroom Brandy Cream Sauce

Sure it’s the holiday season, and there are a lot of parties and fancy meals everywhere.  But sometimes (holiday or no) you just want to treat yourself even without a party.  Cooking for one doesn’t have to mean dull and boring.  Pan-fried steak with mushroom brandy cream sauce is rich, creamy, and just slightly indulgent.  The cream is velvety, and the mushrooms add an earthy flavor, while the scallions and garlic bring just a hint of sweetness to the sauce. A funny thing happens to onions and garlic once you sauté them; they transform from spicy to sweet.

All that and it’s still really easy to prepare. You can have a delicious, festive dinner in about twenty minutes.  A big payoff without a lot of work!

I’ve made the sauce with pan-fried steak, but it works just as well with a pork chop or a piece of chicken.  If you make it with a bone-in chicken thigh, start that about 20 minutes before you begin cooking the sauce, as it takes longer to cook than a steak or a pork chop.

If you’re going with the steak, start that at the same time as the sauce. Then take it off the heat and let it rest while you finish preparing the sauce.




I made this with brown jasmine rice and some string beans, but it would work well with potatoes too, or even just some crusty bread to sop up every last bit of the sauce.

Pan-fried Steak with Mushroom Brandy Cream Sauce Substitutions and Variations

  • Use shallots or chopped onions instead of the scallions (I grabbed scallions because I have a pot of them growing in my windowsill)
  • Exchange the brandy for white wine and toss the same sauce with pasta
  • Add nutmeg and serve it over chicken breasts
  • Make more mushrooms and eat them as a side dish

More Steak and Mushroom Recipes

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Soup doesn’t have to hard, or time consuming. This one is ready in minutes, with only six ingredients.

 

cold leftover steak saladCold Leftover Steak Salad with Goat Cheese and Red Wine Vinaigrette

Bright, fresh, crispy, and the perfect way to use up leftover steak. And, you can get your veggie servings in at the same time.

chicken mushroom skillet recipeChicken and Mushroom Skillet Recipe

Perfect for a weeknight, this dish is rich with mushroom flavor. No marinating, and no separate sauce pot either. It creates its own sauce right in the skillet.

 

stovetop coq au vinStovetop Coq au Vin Chicken with Red Wine Sauce

A classic French dish updated for busy modern lives. This version needs only one pot and you can make it right on your stovetop.