Rosemary Flank Steak with Red Wine Shallot Sauce on top Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Interview With The Vampire

So we are back again this week with Brad Pitt and meat, didn’t get enough the first go ‘round I guess. I wanted to do a vampire themed Dinner & A Movie as sort of a sister project to my Immortal Autumn fall fashion story on WhatsWear. I thought, what’s more perfect with a bloody vampire movie than a great red wine sauce atop a bloody steak? I found this simple and wonderful recipe on Daily Unadventures in Cooking, one of my favorite food blogs, and it was without a doubt the best steak I’ve made yet. I think it’s the fresh herbs that really make it savory. I also got to use my new potato masher I picked up at a junk store in Salem for $1. No more mashing pathetically with a whisk. So the vampires feast, we feast, and everyone will go home satisfied.

Flank Steak with Red Wine Shallot Sauce

by Daily Unadventures in Cooking

Ingredients:

Flank Steak (we used a little over 1/2 pound for 2 people)
Rosemary or Thyme
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Red Wine Shallot Sauce
½ ounce butter
1.2 cup shallots, sliced
2 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 cup dry red wine
1 bay leaf
2 cup brown veal stock (we used beef stock)
1 ounce butter

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

by Alton Brown

3 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
16 fluid ounces (2 cups) half-and-half
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 ounces grated Parmesan

*We halved this recipe

From Daily Unadventures in Cooking:

To cook the flank steak I marinated it in a little fresh thyme, olive oil and lots of salt and pepper for about an hour then cooked it on our indoor cast iron grill. Make sure you cut the steak thin and on a diagonal as it is a fairly chewy piece of meat – but it makes up for it in flavour!

For the Red Wine Shallot Sauce: Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add shallots and garlic and saute until tender – about 5 minutes. Pour in wine, add bay leaf, and bring to a boil and reduce by half. Add the veal stock and cook until sauce is reduced by 1 3/4 cups, about 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Whisk in remaining butter off of the heat and serve immediately.

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes from Alton Brown:

Peel and dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size. Place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork.

Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water. Mash and add the garlic-cream mixture, salt, and Parmesan; stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens and then serve.

Dinner is served…