Classic Steak Diane with Rondelle Pomme Frittes et Herbes!
Steak Diane? What is Steak Diane? Every chef has an answer to this question these days, but most chefs have the wrong answer. Many chefs add their own personal touch to classic recipes these days, but old school chefs who respect tradition, view that as a weakness. When a chef says “This is how the original Steak Diane is really made,” I usually turn around and walk the other way. I simply get tired of hearing incorrect interpretations of classic recipes. Part of the teaching program at Le Cordon Bleu is to intentionally incorrectly describe a classic recipe or to hand a student a classic recipe that has intentional errors in print. Even the Le Cordon Bleu school textbook has a few critical built in errors. After setting the students up with built in recipe errors, the certified culinary arts educators then lay back and wait for an intelligent student to question whether the recipe is correct! The instructor also patiently observes whether sharp talented students make adjustments to the recipe, in an effort to correct the intentional errors in the recipe. Sometimes, ingredients are intentionally listed as being out of stock in the classroom kitchen and purchasing department. The culinary arts instructor expects the sharper students to select suitable substitutes and alternative ingredients. Sometimes, the instructors expects the students to toss out the recipe all together and select a different recipe that is suitable for the theme of the presentation. About 90% of the students do not catch on to this teaching method while they are attending culinary arts school, because 90% of the students do absolutely no self motivated culinary research outside of school hours. Very few students grasp the intentional error system that is part of the culinary education, till someday after they graduate. Then the thought finally occurs to them, that there was far more to the culinary education at Le Cordon Bleu than what was easily seen on the surface.
After completing a required 6 week externship at a famous historic resort in Death Valley, I chose to do the second required 6 week externship at the Le Cordon Bleu campus Technique Restaurant. The executive chef culinary educator in charge of the restaurant was very adept at teaching culinary arts. He also used the system of intentionally adding errors to printed recipes in the restaurant and he expected student externs to question the flaws and make adjustments to correct the recipes. The Technique Restaurant chef educator and I talked about the intentional recipe error teaching system for about five minutes. The culinary instructor said that I was one of the only students that he has ever seen, who actually caught on to the intentional recipe error teaching system during his entire teaching career. He then stated that I will become a great chef someday, because I have something that many students do not put to use. Intelligence! That of one of the hardest earned, nicest compliments that I have ever had during my career! As soon as the chef instructor finished talking with me, he turned to another student and said “Let me show you how to make Steak Diane the right way!” I just started laughing, because I knew what was coming next! The chef comically winked at me, then he told the student “First you cut 2 fairly thick steaks like this. Then you saute over a low flame, till the steaks become browned to the customer’s desired temperature. Then you add red wine and sauce espagnole and reduce the sauce, till it becomes a medium thick gravy!” I did manage to keep from laughing, while the chef intentionally demonstrated how to make Steak Diane the wrong way! The naive student from then on, cooked Steak Diane the wrong way, till a customer complained about the Steak Diane. Then the chef asked the student if he researched the recipe. That was the moment of truth, when the reality of the importance culinary research sunk into the students life. The student learned something great at that moment. The student learned the importance of self motivated research. Ce est la vie!
Okay! Its time to cut the crap! Will the real Steak Diane please stand up! Steak Diane is both a chef recipe and a maitre d‘ recipe. A chef or maitre d‘ traditionally makes Steak Diane in a dining room saute station or by the table side. Steak Diane is as much of an entertaining show to watch, as it is a great tasting recipe. These are the required ingredients for the original recipe:
Steak Diane Ingredients: - 3 thin boneless trimmed sirloin strip steaks that are pounded thin and flat (2 steaks for a lady’s portion. The steaks should weigh 4 to 5 ounces apiece.) - unseasoned flour for dredging - 6 to 7 pats of unsalted butter (5 pats for the lady’s portion) - sea salt and black pepper for seasoning the steak - 1 tablespoon of finely minced white part of green onion - 4 to 5 ounces of cognac or brandy for flambe and flavor - 1/4 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce - 3/4 cup to 1 cup of clarified rich beef stock or beef consomme - 1 russet potato cut into pont neuf precision cut 1/2”x1/2”x4” for pomme frittes (French Fries) - vegetable frying oil (for the French Fries) - sea salt and white pepper (for the French Fries) - a few pinches of minced Italian parsley
Pomme Frittes for Steak Diane: Prepare 3 small portions of pont neuf size pomme frittes. Heat 4” of vegetable frying oil in a high sided pot to 360 degrees. Deep fry the potatoes, till they are cooked halfway. Remove the blanched pomme frittes from the hot oil. Wait 3 minutes. Place the pomme frittes back in the hot oil. Fry till they become crispy golden brown. Place the pomme frittes on a wire screen rack to drain off any excess oil. Season with sea salt and white pepper. Keep the pomme frittes warm on a stove top, till they are needed
Steak Diane Recipe: Pound the steaks flat with a mallet. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Lightly dredge the steaks in flour. Heat a saute pan over medium/medium high heat. Add the unsalted butter. As soon as the butter foaming subsides, add the steaks. Quickly saute on both sides till brown highlights appear Note: Steak Diane is pounded so thin, that it is not cooked to a customer’s temperature request! Steak Diane traditionally is always fully cooked. If you accept an order for rare or medium rare Steak Diane, you fail! Remove the steaks from the pan. Pour off the excess butter. Return the pan to the heat. Add the green onion Saute till the onion turns clear in color. Return the steaks to the pan. Add the brandy or cognac. Stand back and flambe. Note: Keep some kind of a fire extinguishing material handy. Flambe in an area where there is nothing above that can catch fire. Turn on the fans, so there is adequate ventilation and so the fire alarms do not go off. Do not flambe under a fire sprinkler head, unless you are a member of The 3 Stooges! Dim the lights, so the blue alcohol flames can be seen for safety’s sake. Warn customers to stand clear. Then put on the flambe show! After the flames die down, add the rich clarified beef stock. Flip the steaks once in the sauce, as the sauce simmers. Quickly simmer and reduce the sauce, till it becomes a thin sauce consistency. Place the steaks side by side on a large plate. Spoon the sauce over the steaks. Place a small mound of the pomme frittes on top of each steak. Sprinkle parsley over the Steak Diane. Serve with a sweated large portabella mushroom cap that is trimmed, peeled and fluted. Garnish with an Italian parsley sprig.
As you can see in the photographs above, my presentation only has 2 thin sirloin strip steaks. That is what is known as a ladies portion of Steak Diane, so it is correct. The potatoes were pan fried in the photographs above and that is correct. They were seasoned with herb, because they were served on the side and that is acceptable. The potatoes were cut into a paisan style rondelle shape. That is actually incorrect, but since I chose to serve the potato on the side, so it was okay. The correct potato garnish for Steak Diane is pont neuf pomme frittes. That simply means French Fries that are cut to a 1/2”x1/2”x4” dimension. The French Fries are always cooked in the main kitchen, then they are brought to the table side saute station and kept warm, till they are needed. The French Fries are fried crispy golden brown. A small mound of French Fries is placed on top of each steak! The presentation is then finished with a sprinkle of minced Italian parsley. This is the correct definition of Steak Diane! I did intentionally present the potatoes incorrectly in the Steak Diane that is shown in the photographs above for two reasons. One was to demonstrate the Le Cordon Bleu intentional recipe flaw teaching method. The second reason was because I did not have enough frying oil on hand to make French fries! I had to adjust the recipe for the classic Steak Diane potato garnish. If this recipe adjustment was done at the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts School, I would have received an “A” grade for making an acceptable adjustment to the potato garnish out of necessity. The rest of the plate is correct, because it is a 2 steak lady’s portion. Men get 3 steaks. Thats not fare! I am jealous! Ha Ha ha! For table side and open kitchen Steak Diane, a technique of using a straight tine carving fork to pick up the flattened steak and dredge the steak in flour is used. The fork it used to dredge the steak and the fork is used to roll the steak around the fork tines. Then the fork is used to unravel and roll the steak open and flat in the saute pan. That is how to use a carving for for this style of open view saute cooking. I posted a few pictures of this technique above. The brandy or cognac flambe is dramatic and the lights should be dimmed when the alcohol flambe work is done, so the flames can be seen by customer and for safety’s sake. Alcohol flames cannot be seen in bright light and that can be dangerous. Flambe is required for Steak Diane, because the flames singe the edges of the steak to create more flavor. A generous amount of brandy or cognac is used, because this liquor’s flavor is the key flavor of the sauce. Minced shallot or minced green onion? Minced green onion is correct. Only a tiny amount of worcestershire sauce is needed, or the entire plate of food will taste like worcestershire sauce. Who is Steak Diane named after? The goddess of the hunt, Diane! This recipe is appropriately named, especially when considering the combination of the ingredients and dramatic cooking special effects. Meat and potatoes. Fried potatoes at that! Green onions from a field. Quick high temperature saute sizzling sounds! Flames! The aroma of brandy from grapes and the mouth watering smell of fire singed meat! Rich beef stock made from the bones of beef. This is most definitely the goddess of the hunt, Diane’s recipe! ... Shawna
How many of you were brave enough to make weight loss your New Year's Resolution Plan? Really? That many?
So, try it I did. I took a box of the Oatmeal Raisin MMM Muffins flavor to work for a few days. I liked that the pouch is a measuring cup for the water. 
Just a two minute zap in the office microwave, and a splash of low-fat milk, and I had a healthy snack during my break. I liked it.
The idea hit me, when I saw fresh blueberries at my market. Scones. We love them, freshly baked from the oven. They're delicious with a fresh cup of coffee. But, some scone recipes have a whole stick of butter. Sometimes they have heavy cream added. Just two days into January, I figured that most people are trying to shed the glasses of eggnog and plates of cookies that were meant for Santa. 
I used 1-1/2 cups unbleached self-rising flour and 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (recommended: King Arthur Flour brand). I added one packet of the Organic Raw multigrain hot cereal with flax (1/2 cup), a pinch of coarse salt and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and whisked it all together, to combine. NOTE: As a substitute for 1 cup of self-rising flour, place 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a measuring cup. Add all-purpose flour to measure 1 cup.
Here's a great baker's tip for cutting butter into dry ingredients-- grate the butter! I added 1/2 stick of butter (4 oz.).With my fingers, I combined the butter and dry ingredients, until it was coarse and crumbly (do not over mix, or you will have very tough scones). You want to leave bits of butter in the dough, so that you will have tender and flaky scones.
For the wet ingredients, I combined 2 eggs, 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk*, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 cup pure Maple Syrup (don't use pancake syrup). 
I then added the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and folded it together until it began to be evenly wet. I then added 6 oz. of fresh blueberries, folding them very gently so I wouldn't have squished berries and blue dough. No worries, if the dough isn't quite combined.
Dump the dough onto a very lightly floured surface. Press into a circle, and using a sharp knife (I use a bench scraper tool), cut the circle into eight wedges.
Place the wedges on a parchment lined (or Silpat mat, or a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray), leaving a few inches in between each wedge. 
Remember how I said I try to practice "moderation"? This is how I do it, with many baked goods-- I freeze them, in individual servings. Last night, wrapped each frozen (unbaked) scone in plastic wrap and put them in a zip-loc bag. 
This morning, I preheated the oven to 400F and set two of these scones on the same parchment lined baking sheet that I used to freeze these. I crossed my fingers, and hoped that the scones would rise beautifully, smell great and -- most importantly-- they would taste good.
As these baked, I could smell the aroma of cinnamon wafting from the kitchen. After 21 minutes, they had risen as I had hoped and they were ready.
I decided to make a quick Maple Glaze by using a heaping tablespoon of powdered sugar, and a generous teaspoon of pure maple syrup. I added a tiny splash of low-fat milk and whisked it until smooth.
I like to set a cooling rack over my sink (it fits perfectly) when drizzling glazes. It makes cleanup super easy. If you glaze the scones while they are hot (which I did with the first one), the glaze will be absorbed into the scone. If you wait until the scone is cooled, then the glaze will harden. Your choice. OPTION: You could brush a little milk on an unbaked scone, and sprinkle it with coarse sugar, for a crunchy texture. 
My twenty-something year old son, who is one of my most honest critics, spotted Scone #2, as he came into the kitchen for his coffee. "What's that?" he asked, hoping it had his name on it. Mr. I-Love-Sugar happily trotted off with it and his coffee. His bedroom door opened, a few minutes later, telling me these were really, REALLY good. 
For home, I prefer the plain Organic Raw, so that I can add my own fresh fruit and pure maple syrup, rather than sugar. For work, I liked mmm... Muffins® the best. I was able to find the oatmeal at my local grocery store, and each packet averaged 25 cents per serving! Please visit their website, for more information and to find a place that sells it near you. 