A steakhouse dinner at home is coming your way! For all you Valentine’s Day love bugs out there, you might be looking for dinner plans that are thoughtful but not crazy difficult to plan or make. I have your back! You just need beautiful steaks and 5-ingredients for a sauce (and a bottle of red wine), and you’ll have your significant other swooning!
Steak cut into medallions, thinner pieces of meat, will make cooking steaks on the stove super easy, fast, and juicy. My 5-ingredient pan sauce will basically take you to heaven and back, all in under 30 minutes.
So stuff that giant pink teddy bear and crappy box of pharmacy chocolates back in the closet and get cookin’! You won’t regret it.
My STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO below will help guide you through the recipe. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for recipe videos every week!
Makes: pan-seared steak & sauce for 2 people
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
The Ingredients
2, 8-ounce 1.5-inch-thick tenderloins (tenderloin works best to pan sear! Ask your butcher to cut pieces 1.5 inches thick.)
4 large shallots, chopped
1 cup red wine (cabernet or merlot are the best options! Sub beef broth if you don’t want to use wine.)
6 tablespoons butter
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
Optional: 2 cups sliced baby bella (cremini) mushrooms
The Steps
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
To prepare tenderloins: If your tenderloins are not 1 ½ inches thick, measure and cut them. This is crucial for the steaks to cook according to the directions below! You can always ask your butcher to measure/cut them for you.
Lightly salt and pepper tenderloins on both sides. If you have time, let steaks rest at room temperature for 30 minutes for more even cooking. No worries if not; they will still come out deliciously!
To cook tenderloins: Add 2 tablespoons butter to a large skillet over high heat. Let preheat for a few minutes. Add tenderloins, searing each side for 2 minutes. Both sides should be golden brown. Transfer steaks to a baking sheet and place in oven for 5-9 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to test the center of the thickest part of each steak. They should register 130-135 degrees for medium-rare, or 145 for medium. Let steaks rest for 5 minutes out of the oven before plating.
To make pan sauce: While steaks are in the oven, deglaze pan over high heat with red wine. BE CAREFUL because the pan will steam up and sizzle when the wine hits the pan. Keep pan over high heat and add shallots, mushrooms, 4 tablespoons butter, thyme removed from sprigs, salt and pepper to taste. Stirring often, let sauce reduce while steaks are in the oven and resting (about 10 minutes).
To plate: Plate rested steaks and spoon pan sauce generously over the top. Garnish with fresh thyme.
TIP: for a simple side veggie, add a drizzle of olive oil, hot pepper flakes, and some sliced garlic to a big pot. Wilt down fresh spinach. The perfect side veggie!
The Steps with Video
My STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO below will help guide you through the recipe. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for recipe videos every week!
