It’s warmer today. I shoveled snow and scraped ice off the sidewalk without wearing a coat. And so, I wanted to celebrate this beautiful, sunny day with a simple lunch. The Oscars are on television tonight. I do not want to be cooking, or eating during the presentation, but I do want to be drinking a nice wine.

I pulled this bottle out of the cellar this morning and brought it upstairs, planning on finding a mouth watering French, beef dish to pair with it. But ahh……instead I ended up, at 4:30 this morning, choosing this Steak With Mushrooms recipe from my favorite Italian cookbook, The Silver Spoon.

What I didn’t photograph is the Caesar salad I served along side of the steak. Really great match. All of it. Enjoy!

Bistecche Ai Funghi  (serves 4)

1/4 cup butter

1 shallot, finely chopped

3 2/3 cups sliced mushrooms

5 Tbsp. dry white wine (I added a little extra)

1 Tbsp. tomato paste

3 Tbsp. olive oil

4 thick bread slices, crusts removed (I used a rustic Tuscan bread)

4 tenderloin steaks (mine were so thick, I sliced them in half)

1 sprig fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Salt

Melt half the butter in a large pan, add the shallot, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, mix well, the add the wine and cook until it has evaporated. Mix the tomato paste with 3 Tbsp. warm water, add the mixture to the pan, and season lightly with salt. Cover and cook until the sauce is reduced by half. Heat the oil in a skillet, add the slices of bread, and cook until brown on both sides. Remove with a slotted spatula and drain on paper towels. Melt the remaining butter in a large skillet, add the steaks, and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. Season lightly with salt, place a steak on each side of bread, spoon the mushroom sauce over them, and sprinkle with the parsley.  Note* I removed the mushrooms from the pan and put them aside and cooked the steaks in the same pan to add extra flavor. I also, as I said, cut my tenderloins in half, so I served two steak rounds on each piece of bread.