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ITALIAN RED-WINE STEAK (REPRISE) I threw together an old favorite tonight, and it occurred to me that I hadn't shared this procedure online before. It's a Northern Italian (Piemontese) preparation that works with just about any form of steak; we used it with strip steaks from a local outfit called "Laura's Lean Beef" that promotes beef products bred for minimal fat content. Anyway, it's remarkably simple and tasty: Coat the bottom of a heavy (I use cast-iron) skillet with just enough olive oil to dampen it, and place over high heat with three or four smashed garlic cloves, stirring them around until the garlic starts to sizzle. Then slap in two steaks of your choice and sear them quickly on both sides.
Have ready 2/3 cup of leftover dry red wine, and as soon as the steaks are
seared, start pouring in the wine, 1/3 cup at a time, turning the steaks
periodically and adding more wine, a splash at a time, as the liquid
evaporates. It should take about 7 or 8 minutes to use up all the wine, at
which point the steaks should be mahogany-brown on the outside and medium-rare
in the middle. Move them to a serving plate, and deglaze the pan with a splash
of water, stirring over high heat to incorporate the pan drippings and burnt
fragments.
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