Steak with Whiskey Sauce

Some cookbooks are just too good to pass up.  I try to avoid really butter-laden, gluttonous meals, but when the beloved Pioneer Woman's cookbook came out last week, I had to have it.  Her blog is my favorite of all the blogs I read (and there are many), more for her wit and her stunning photography than the recipes themselves.  You see, PW is not afraid of butter.  I'm not either - in fact, I love it - but I use it in moderation because I try to keep my meals on the healthier side.

So tonight I decided to experiment with one of her dishes, and make it a bit more heart healthy.  I changed up a few things,  but the spirit of this dish is still there.  This is a delicious steak with a simple yet unusual sauce.  We don't normally have whiskey in the house, but I'm glad we happened to have some right now, because this is a sauce I plan to make again and again.

I definitely recommend serving this on a bed of sauteed veggies.  We had ours with some baby bok choy, which soaked up some of the extra sauce and made for a nicely rounded meal.

Steak with Whiskey Sauce

adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons diced onion

1/4 cup whiskey

1/4 cup low sodium beef broth (chicken broth will work too)

salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup milk

10 to 12 oz. top sirloin steak, trimmed and cut in half

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon of oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until brown, about 4 minutes.

2.  Turn off the burner when the onion has browned, and add the whiskey.  Stand back just to be on the safe side.  When most of the whiskey has evaporated off, turn on the burner to medium and pour in the broth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3.  Whisk in another 1/2 tablespoon of butter, and allow the mixture to bubble for about 30 seconds.  Reduce heat to low, and whisk in the milk.  Allow to simmer on very low heat while you prepare the steaks.  Stir occasionally.

4.  Melt remaining tablespoon of butter with remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Season both sides of the steak(s) with salt and pepper, then add to the hot skillet.  Cook about 4 minutes per side for medium rare, depending on the thickness of your steak.

5.  Plate the steaks and spoon the sauce over each one.   You might have some leftover sauce.

Enjoy!