New York Strip Steak with Brandied Mushrooms and Fresh Thyme

Have you been good? Really, really, good? Do you need to reward yourself for a job well done? Well, here you go. I can think of no better reward than Tyler Florence's Strip Steak with Brandied Mushrooms and Fresh Thyme from Tyler's Ultimate: Brilliant Simple Food to Make Any Time Really, the only thing better than making this to reward yourself, is having someone make it for you.

My only complaint is that it was too good. Yep. Too good. It was so rich and so good, it was almost overwhelming. But I survived. You can find this fabulous recipe online: New York Strip Steak with Brandied Mushrooms and Fresh Thyme and I've also posted it below. You can also find it at Natashya's Living in the Kitchen with Puppies (I love her idea of serving it over the roasted potatoes).

New York Strip Steak with Brandied Mushrooms and Fresh Thyme
Serves 4

4 New York strip steaks, each about 1 1/2 inches thick
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds wild mushrooms, trimmed, brushed clean with a towel and stemmed, caps left whole
Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup heavy cream

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat until smoking. Sprinkle the steaks all over with salt and pepper. Put the steaks in the pan and cook, turning to brown all sides completely, until medium-rare, 8 to 10 minutes depending on how thick the steaks are. Remove the steaks to a platter with tongs and cover loosely with a tent of aluminum foil to keep the meat warm while you make the sauce.

Put the saute pan back over medium-high heat and add 1/4 cup olive oil. When the oil is smoking, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, about 10 minutes, until golden brown. Then add the thyme and garlic, and season well with salt and pepper. Toss a few more times to cook the garlic, then dump the mushrooms out onto a platter. Take the pan off the heat, add the brandy, and cook until almost evaporated. Add the cream and cook that down 2 to 3 minutes until reduced by about one-half and thickened. Return the mushrooms to the pan with whatever juices have collected on the platter and simmer the whole thing another 2 minutes until thickened again. Season with salt and pepper.

Slice the steak thin against the grain. Taste the sauce for salt and pepper and serve.

And, of course, you know what this means....it is my entry for this week's Tyler Florence Fridays. Are you participating?? Well, why not! It's such fun! There are even giveaways! I am now the proud owner of Tyler Florence: Stirring the Pot It just arrived today from Deb in Hawaii! Sorry for the abundance of exclamation points, but I won a cookbook!! Cookbooks make me happy. Especially free ones.