Simple and Stunning Steak and Mushrooms

In our household, we mostly eat vegetables and protein. We try to limit our simple carbs but really enjoy them when we do eat them. We keep sugar generally low, have cut out dairy except occasional butter, and try to get our 1 ounce of dark chocolate and 5 ounces of red wine most days. We love how our diet reflects what we value, what our families have passed on to us, what we’ve learned about the foods that make us feel good or remind us of wonderful things. For us, a perfect medium rare steak is a food that hits the protein goal, is a fun occasional indulgence in red meat, and brings a little fancy to our home cooking for a much lower price than ordering a steak out.

We often sous vide our meats because you truly cannot mess it up and everything stays moist and delicious and perfectly cooked, so duh. Still, sometimes we like to use the cast iron and live for the thrill of trying to get the grill just right without a timer, just on instinct.

Here’s the “recipe" for my favorite version: Go to Trader Joe’s and get one package of cremini mushrooms, one package of shiitake mushrooms, butter, a package of rosemary, and two grass-fed organic ribeye steaks for around $30 in total. Put half a stick of butter in your cast iron as it heats up to medium heat. Tear up the mushrooms with your hands and add them directly to the cast iron as you go. Use a spatula to coat the mushrooms evenly in the butter. Once mushrooms are softening, push them to the outside edge of the cast iron and arrange the rosemary sprigs whole on top of them. Place the ribeye in the center of the cast iron, charring on one side for 3-4 minutes. Flip and do the other side for approximately the same amount for medium rare. Voi là!