Celebration Worthy

 

Easy "Béarnaise" Sauce

Remember Valentine's Day? Was that only a week ago? Back last week when it was warm? This morning is it 10 degrees here! Glad Daddy-O was cooking on the grill last week and not tonight.

We decided to make our own special meal for Valentine's Day last week. (No long wait. We know the food is good. The service is excellent. ) I went to the store with list in hand. But right at the front of the store was the lady doing the recipe demonstration. I tasted her sample and instantly changed my plan.

Daddy-O raises beef cattle after all. I should plan a steak dinner every now and then. This one was a wonderful combination of flavors that boosted it beyond just grilled steak (which he would be perfectly happy with.) The tasting sample included steak, portabella mushrooms, asparagus and a quick "bearnaise" sauce.

So that is exactly what we cooked for our Valentine meal. I say "we" because Daddy-O grilled the steaks outside, while I cooked the asparagus and sliced portabella mushrooms on the grill pan inside. That just made it easier for us. You could do the entire meal on the outdoor grill or on the stove top grill pan.

The recipe card gave instructions for the entire meal, but it is just a grilled steak and grilled vegetables. I brushed the vegetables with olive oil and sprinkled them with a little kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. About 10 minutes on a hot grill pan was all they needed to cook. Daddy-O grilled NY strip steaks, seasoned only with salt and pepper.

What made this a " special occasion" meal was the sauce. This is not the classic bearnaise sauce—the one that calls for a double boiler and needs close watching. This sauce is just stirred together! But it is so delicious. It was good on the steak and good on the asparagus and good on the mushrooms. Really. You need to try it.

EASY "BÉARNAISE" SAUCE

1  tablespoon fresh tarragon, finely chopped

1 carton lemon Greek yogurt (5 or 6 oz.)

2 tablespoons lemon herb finishing butter

Remove the tarragon leaves from the stems and chop. Whisk together yogurt, herb butter and tarragon. 

Spoon over vegetables or meat. (We liked ours on the side.)

I had never heard of "finishing butter." When they do these recipe demonstrations, all of the ingredients are in a refrigerated case next to the cook station, so I didn't have to search for it. But the food demonstrator told me it is found in the seafood section.

In case you can't find finishing butter, here is a link for recipes to make your own.