Steaks with French Onions, Sour Cream Onion Rings & Creamed Spinach

Man oh man, when I found this bundle of recipes in RR's Cookbook I was like, that is like something we would get at a good restaurant. Well, I dove in right after that thought because it just sounded so good. All in all it wasn't that hard to make, well let me back up... when you deep fry anything it's kind of annoying and a lot of work/cleanup. But we do do it from time to time, because it's well freaking delicious right. Who doesn't like fried food!

So let's start off with the beef...

Steaks with French Onions

Serves 2

ingredients

• 2 Tbsp butter

• 1 large onion, very thinly sliced

• 1 bay leaf

• 1/16 tsp ground thyme

• 1 Tbsp flour

• 1/8 cup dry sherry

• 5.25 oz can beef consomme

• 2 steaks (We had rib eye)

• EVOO

• Kosher Salt & Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

directions

1.  In a cast iron skillet, heat the butter over medium-low heat, add the onions, bay, thyme, S&P to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are  caramel in color and are very soft for 40 minutes.

2. Sprinkle the caramelized onions with flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Stir in the sherry & deglaze the pan. Add the consomme and simmer for 5 minutes until very thick. Set aside and keep warm.

3. Heat a charcoal grill to medium high and prepare for grilling steaks.  Pat the meat very dry and season with S&P. Grill until desired doneness. Tent the steaks with foil on a plate to keep warm and let rest until ready to slice and serve. Top each serving with some of the onion gravy.

Now onto the onion rings... I don't know if I am doing something wrong but every time I have to dredge something I always run out of flour. So I made a note about that below - maybe I just use too much or something but I needed way more than what the original recipe called for. Oh well!

Sour Cream Onion Rings 

Serves 2

ingredients

• Canola oil, enough to deep fry 2" deep in a dutch oven
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/8 cup chopped fresh chives
• 1 cup flour, or more for dredging
• 1 medium yellow onion, cut into 1" thick rings

• Kosher Salt & Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

directions

1. Fill a large dutch oven with 2" canola oil. Set a thermometer in to monitor the heat. Bring the temp up to 350º. 

2. Whisk together the sour cream, buttermilk, chives & some S&P. Pour the flour in a shallow dish and season with S&P. Double-coat the onion rings: first in buttermilk, then flour, then repeat.

3. Fry only a few rings at a time to keep the oil at the correct temperature. Drain on paper towels and put on a wire rack over a baking sheet in a low temp oven to keep warm until ready to eat.

And finally onto the Creamed Spinach - holy flavor-town this stuff is good!

Creamed Spinach 

Serves 2

ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tbsp EVOO
• 1 small shallot or 1/4 red onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 scallion, minced
• 1/8 cup dry sherry
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 (6.5 oz) package Boursin cheese (I used garlic and herb), at room temp
• 1 bag spinach, roughly chopped (not too fine)

• Kosher Salt & Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

directions

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter & EVOO. Add the shallot, garlic and scallions and stir for 2 minutes. Add the sherry and stir for 2 more minutes. Add the cream and the nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Cook at a low bubble until reduced, about 5 minutes.

 

2. Stir in the cheese until melted. Add the spinach and wilt. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from Rachael Ray My Year in Meals.