Steak Tips with Red Wine Sauce & Mock Mashed Potatoes Using Celery Root

Usually when I try a new recipe it takes me about an hour to create it. Well, this recipe was a HUGE exception and took about exactly 30 minutes. I finished this very quickly along with making Mock Mashed Potatoes using celery root again. The celery root was a huge hit with Mike the last time I made it so I decided to make it again. I mentioned to him about making it again and his eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning. That always makes me feel good. 

Tonight's dinner came out awesome but the sauce caramelized a bit too much because I think I cooked it too long and I left out the butter in the recipe. Thanks to the oil, I really did not think I needed it and felt it made it a bit lower fat. I may make more sauce for the leftovers because the sauce was so good but will just double the beef broth. I also left out the thyme by accident. When I make this sauce again, I will be sure to include that even though I'm going to be using only 1/8 of a TSP. For the sauce, I highly recommend making double the amount the original recipe calls for. It's that good!

I found the recipe for the Steak from the cooking magazine Cook's Country. It was the February/March 2013 issue. 

I found the recipe for the Celery Root at: www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/celery_root_mash/

Steak Tips with Red Wine Sauce
Ingredients:

• About 1.5 pounds of beef top sirloin steak
• Salt and pepper
• 1 TBS vegetable oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup red wine (I used a Pinot Noir by the brand Yellow Tail -- The original recipe calls for using a good quality medium bodied wine, such as a Cotes du Rhone or Pinot Noir. I live on a budget, so I got the cheap stuff and it was fine)
• 1 TSP packed brown sugar (I used a Splenda blend)
• 1/2 cup beef broth (I recommend doubling this to get more sauce)
• Optional: 1/4 TSP fresh and minced thyme or 1/8 TSP dried thyme

Directions: 

1. Pat steaks dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. 
2. Cut the steak into strips and half if you got the same cut of meat I got. 
3. Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. 
4. Add steak tips and cook until well browned all over and meat registers a 125 degrees (for medium rare), 5 to 7 minutes. 
5. Once cooked transfer to plate and tent loosely with aluminum foil. 
6. Reduce the pan to medium heat. 
7. Add the shallot and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. 
8. Add the wine and sugar and simmer until nearly evaporated, about 3 minutes. 
9. Add beef broth and any accumulated steak juice from the plate and simmer for about 3 minutes but NOT any longer than that. 
10. Optional: Off heat, whisk in thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return steak tips to skillet and toss with sauce. 

Mock Mashed Potatoes 
Using Celery Root
Ingredients:

• 2 Pounds celery root
• 1/4 cup milk or 1/2 cup cream (I recommend cream, it will be thicker while milk can be too runny.)
• 3 TBS unsalted butter
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• Optional: A pinch of dried rosemary & a pinch of garlic powder

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a simmer. 1 TBS of salt for every 2 quarts of water. 
2. While waiting for the water to boil peel the celery roots with a knife. 
3. Cut the celery roots into 1-inch pieces 
4. Boil for 25-30 minutes, until soft. 
5. Drain the celery roots, return them to the pot to the stove top on low. 
6. Let the celery roots steam for a minute or so, shaking the pan a bit to prevent sticking. 
7. The original recipe calls for adding the milk or cream, butter, and salt and mash with a potato masher until smooth. I don't have a potato masher so I cooked it for about 35 minutes and was able to smash it with a fork easily.  
8. Optional and a new twist I did tonight: Mixed in a pinch of Rosemary and Garlic Powder.