Dinner Menu: Pan-Fried Steaks, Mushrooms with Thyme, and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

"Any of us would kill a cow, rather than not have beef."

Steak is one of my favorite things on the planet.  After finding this cooking method, I will definitely be making it more often!  This is a great menu for any weekend night.  The dishes complement each other very well.


2 rib-eye steaks, 1.25-1.5 inches thick
1 tablespoon canola oil

Copiously salt and pepper the steaks.  Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat until just smoking.  Add the steaks.  While the meat will give off enough fat to prevent sticking to the pan, the oil will ensure a nicely browned, almost crispy exterior.  (There's something intoxicating about the smell of cooking meat...what?  Is it just me?)

Cook on one side for 5 minutes, then flip.  Cook for 3-4 minutes for rare or 5 minutes for medium.  Remove the steaks from the pan and let them rest for 5 minutes, tented with aluminum foil.  Any more cooking time will make the meat well-done, and we wouldn't want that, now would we?

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1.5 pounds white or cremini mushrooms, quartered
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Heat the butter and oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  While one fat is enough to brown the mushrooms, a combination of butter and oil is preferred.  The butter gives the mushrooms flavor while the oil imparts a higher smoke point.  Add the shallot and cook until soft.

Add the mushrooms and thyme.

Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms release their liquid and are browned, about 10-12 minutes.  Silky with a fantastic concentrated flavor.  The mushroom liquid doubles as a wonderful gravy for the potatoes.

2 heads garlic
2 pounds potatoes
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup half-and-half
1.5 teaspoons table salt

Separate the garlic heads into cloves, but leave them unpeeled.  Roast them in a dry pan over the lowest heat possible for 20-25 minutes until the garlic is soft.  Let them rest for 15 minutes.  Roasting two whole heads of garlic gives the potatoes much greater flavor than most recipes.

Place potatoes in a large saucepan over high heat and cover with 1 inch of water.  Heat until boiling, then turn the heat down to medium-low.  Simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.  Drain in a colander.

Peel the potatoes when they are cool.  Seriously, let them cool.  Hot potatoes hurt.  Mash the potatoes with a ricer, food mill, or fork until smooth.

Crush garlic into potatoes with a ricer, food mill, or garlic press.

Heat the butter and half-and-half until the butter is melted and the half-and-half is warm.  Add to potatoes with salt and freshly ground pepper and mix well.  Fatty = delicious.