Basic Steak With Morel Sauce Food

MOREL SAUCE

Steps:

• Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; saute until onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, and set aside.
• In the same skillet, melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat. Add morels, and season with salt and pepper. Saute until morels are soft and their released juices have reduced so they just cover bottom of pan, about 20 minutes.
• Return onion mixture to skillet. Add wine, and cook until it has reduced by half, about 7 minutes. Add chicken stock and cream; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is bubbling and starts to thicken, 18 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and stir in dill just before serving.

MOREL SAUCE

Steps:

• Place butter and minced shallot in a 1-quart sauce pot over medium heat. Cook until translucent. Add morels and a pinch of salt. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add white wine and reduce by two-thirds. Add heavy cream, turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm until ready to serve with chicken breasts.

CREAMY MOREL MUSHROOM SAUCE

Steps:

• Soak the dried morel mushrooms in the red wine just long enough to rehydrate them, about 20-30 minutes is usually sufficient. (I use a plastic container with a lid for this step. That way, I can tilt the container occasionally or shake it around a bit, to be sure all the mushrooms are adequately rehydrating.).
• After the mushrooms are rehydrated, place them in a colander and rinse with cool water to remove any grit from the mushrooms. Leave the colander in the sink to allow the excess water to drain from the colander.
• Finely mince the rehydrated mushrooms; set aside.
• In a large skillet, saute the minced shallots in butter just until they are clear, about 3-4 minutes. Add the minced mushrooms and beef base, and stir well. While stirring, add the cream and pepper, continuing to stir constantly until the sauce is thickened.
• Spoon the sauce over grilled steaks (especially New York or Sirloin), veal, lamb, grilled chicken breasts, or pasta.
• NOTE: For the wine, it doesn't really matter what kind of red wine you use. The wine is just to rehydrate the mushrooms, not to really flavor the sauce. So feel free to use whatever red wine you have on hand. I have used a lot of different red wines for this sauce, and they all seem to work just fine. But I probably use merlot and cabernet the most. But if a different variety of red wine is your favorite, then by all means use it. That way, if you use a wine you actually enjoy drinking, then it's more likely you'll enjoy using it in this recipe.

BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH MORELS AND TARRAGON-MARSALA SAUCE

Steps:

• If using dried morels, place in 2-cup measuring cup. Add enough hot water to reach 1 1/2-cup mark; let soak until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup soaking liquid. Cut morels in half if large.
• Meanwhile, sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add steaks and cook to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer steaks to plates.
• Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to skillet; add morels and green onions and sauté until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Add cream, 1 tablespoon tarragon, Marsala, and reserved 1/2 cup morel soaking liquid or beef broth; simmer until thickened to light sauce consistency, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over steaks, sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon tarragon, and serve.