Steak Diane

Steak Diane

I have a high tolerance for kitsch. Goofy, silly TV -- a guilty pleasure. Especially on Food Network, which is perfect for the quick hits of entertainment that is all I can fit into my life. But even I can't take much of Paula Deen. The over-the-top syrupy, exaggerated accent; silly childish way she almost flirts with her sons, the contrived laugh and dull comments.

So it's quite surprising that I'd have caught a few minutes of Paula Deen making a steak recipe that I thought looked simple and appealing enough to try. Apparently "Steak Diane" is a well-known method that she simplified and adapted, and it's perfect for her since it involves a load of butter.

She calls for "beef tenderloin," which I asked for at Whole Foods, and was horrified to find that it cost $24.99 a pound! Not for my hapless experiments, thank you! I made do with a much more reasonably priced Angus Beef Tenderloin Filet at Trader Joes, for $10.99 a pound.

The recipe is very simple and doesn't call for any weird ingredients or steps or anything. That's my kind of recipe. It was quick and easy to prepare and cook, and the result looked great. Nice. Is it too much to ask that it taste good too?

I was stunned with result. YUM!!! The mushroom sauce is absolutely fabulous, flavorful from the worcestershire sauce, but not overwhelmed by it. I used flat-leafed Italian parsley (that's just what I had) and I thought it added tremendously to the appearance of the sauce. The meat itself....cooked in a butter bath, you pretty much can't go wrong with that, at least until it hits your arteries.

I served it with haricots verts and a potato medley (both TJ's freezer items). My husband liked it enough to eat more than half of what I served him, and my pickier son had all his steak (neither kid would have anything to do with the mushroom sauce). Still, in my house, that makes for a smash hit.


Maybe I just need to set up my TV's closed-captioning so that I can stand to watch -- without listening to -- Paula Deen again, because this has skyrocketed to my new favorite steak recipe. Maybe those deep-fried butter-laden Southerners know something about food after all!