I am a total meat and potatoes kind of girl. Only last night, I decided to sub-out the potatoes for cauliflower and make a Thomas Keller inspired Cauliflower Gratin. I used Chef Keller’s techniques but with my flavor profile (adding in sage for parsley and substituting Gruyere Cheese for Parmesan).

I made a super easy seared Flank Steak with a Classic Red Wine pan sauce to go along with the gratin.

This is the ultimate, rib sticking, delicious food that I love to both cook and eat!

Seared Flank Steak with a Red Wine Sauce

Prep Time
5 Minutes
Cook Time
20 Minutes
Total Time
25 Minutes
Yield
Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs Flank Steak
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon Shallot (minced)
  • 1/2 Cup Red Wine (I used a Cabernet Sauvignon)
  • 3/4 Cup Low Sodium Beef Broth
  • 2 Sprigs Thyme

Directions

  • Trim your steak of any excess fat and cut into 4 equal sized portions and carefully score each side of the steak in a cross-hatch pattern (this prevents the steak from buckling when it cooks). Heat up a large metal skillet with enough canola oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Season the steak generously on both sides with salt and pepper.
  • Once the pan is smoking hot, place your steak in the pan, presentation side down. Cook for about 4 minutes until you have a nice golden brown crust, turn over and cook another 4-5 minutes or until you've reached your desired doneness.
  • Remove the steak from the pan and allow to rest on a rack for at least 10 minutes - cover with foil to keep hot. You may have to do the steak in batches.
  • Once you've cooked all your steak - dump out the oil in the pan but place the pan back over a medium heat. Add in your shallots and deglaze with the red wine using a spoon to scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine completely (about 3 minutes), then add in your stock and thyme. Cook until the sauce thickens just enough to coat the back of a spoon - 3 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
  • When serving the sauce with the meat, you can either serve it as is (just remove the thyme) or you can strain it - which is what I like to do.

Cauliflower Gratin

Prep Time
50 Minutes
Cook Time
25 Minutes
Total Time
1 Hour 15 Minutes
Yield
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

  • 1 Head Cauliflower
  • 1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
  • 4 T Shallot (minced)
  • 2 T Butter
  • 2 Sprigs Thyme
  • 3 Sage Leaves
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 1 Cup Heavy Cream
  • Pinch Curry Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Prepared Horseradish
  • 1/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese (grated)
  • 2 T Panko Breadcrumbs
  • Pinch Nutmeg

Directions

  • With a pairing knife, remove the florets from the head of cauliflower - making them about 1 inch pieces and not leaving too much stem on them. Save the stems.
  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil - add in your vinegar and 2T of salt. Put your cauliflower florets into the water and blanch for 3 minutes. Remove, drain, and place in an 8x8 baking dish. Set that aside.
  • Now take your reserved stems and combine them with the core of the cauliflower (not the green leaves or any of the rough parts of the core - just the nice white parts). Mince up the core and stems so that you have 1 cup of them. If you don't have a full cup - take some of the florets you blanched to make a cup.
  • In a medium sized saucepan - melt your butter. Add in your shallot and your 1 cup of minced cauliflower. Cook about 5-8 minutes over a medium high heat. Add in your thyme, sage and bay leaf and 2/3 cup of water. Cook until the water has completely evaporated and the cauliflower has cooked through (if the water evaporates before the cauliflower is cooked, add a little more water).
  • Once the cauliflower is cooked, add in your heavy cream and simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat - discard your thyme, sage and bay leaf - and place all the contents of the saucepan in a Vitmix or blender. Blend until smooth about 15 seconds. Add in your pinch of curry, and your horseradish. Process again til smooth - taste and season.
  • Pour this mixture over your cauliflower florets in the 8x8 baking dish (the cream sauce should come up 1/2 way on the florets). Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to a day.
  • Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Take your cauliflower out of the fridge and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese, Panko, and a pinch of nutmeg. Cook for 20 minutes, then brown under the broiler for a few minutes just to crisp it up. Serve hot.