Steak Lionel

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 4 large shell steaks, about 1 1/2 inches thick
• 1/2 lb parma prosciutto
• 1/2 lb aged provolone cheese
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomato pesto (recipe follows)
• toothpick
• 1 cup minced shallot
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 bottle ruby port (must be ruby port, other types of port won't work)
• 1 1/2 cups dry red wine (merlot, zinfandel work well)
• 1 (13 1/2 ounce) can beef broth or 1 (13 1/2 ounce) can beef stock
• 2 -3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 large portabella mushroom caps, sliced into strips
• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 cups packed basil leaves
• 1/3 cup pignolis (pine nuts)
• 1 clove chopped garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese or 1/3 cup romano cheese
• 1/2-3/4 cup reconstituted sun-dried tomato (dried tomatoes soaked 30 minutes in hot water, then drained and patted dry)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 large onions, sliced
• 2 tablespoons golden brown sugar
• 1 cup merlot or 1 cup dry red wine
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar or 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Recipe

• 1 in a 3 or 4 quart saucepan, sautã© the shallots in butter over medium high heat for about 3 minutes.
• 2 add ruby port and dry red wine and boil 5 minutes.
• 3 add beef broth and rosemary and boil until reduced to about 2/3 cup (45 min.- 1 hr).
• 4 strain and set aside.
• 5 slice each steak in the center of one edge to form a large pocket, like a pita bread.
• 6 smear about 2 tb sun dried tomato pesto in each pocket, then stuff with 2 slices of provolone and 3-4 slices prosciutto.
• 7 keep the stuffed steaks together with toothpicks.
• 8 in a small saucepan, over medium heat, sautã© the mushroom slices in 1/2 stick of butter, adding more butter as needed (mushrooms should be cooked through and dark).
• 9 set aside.
• 10 preheat oven to 375.
• 11 place a large pan or dish in the oven large enough to hold the steaks.
• 12 melt 1/4 cup butter in a large skillet and brown steaks on both sides.
• 13 move the steaks to the pan in the oven and cook until desired doneness.
• 14 the skillet should contain brown bits from the meat, which contain a lot of flavor.
• 15 to the skillet from step 5, add strained sauce and cook on low, stirring to get the brown bits up from the bottom of the skillet, 3-4 minutes.
• 16 add mushrooms and cook another 1-2 minutes.
• 17 remove from heat, stir in several tbsp cold butter (adjust texture of sauce), season with salt and pepper.
• 18 to serve, create a bed of merlot caramelized onions (see below) on a plate.
• 19 place steak on the onions and pour sauce over the steak.
• 20 to make sun dried tomato pesto: finely chop basil, pignoli, salt and garlic in a food processor.
• 21 with the processor running, add oil in a slow steady stream.
• 22 add tomatoes to taste (puree until fine).
• 23 transfer to bowl and fold in cheese.
• 24 to make merlot caramelized onions: heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium high heat.
• 25 add onions and cook until deep golden brown, stirring frequently.
• 26 reduce heat to medium, add sugar and sautã© 5 minutes.
• 27 increase heat, add wine and vinegar and boil until almost no liquid remains.
• 28 remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.