Duxe Luxe

Rummaging around in the crisper drawer, I found a bag of aging mushrooms, a few green onions and a handful of nice shallots to go with our London broil, so I asked My Beloved if he'd like duxelles with his steak.

"What's duxelles?" he asked.

After nearly 10 years of marriage and 13 years together, I was surprised he had never had them. They are easy to make and really enhance with their buttery richness a lean cut of beef like London broil.

I minced one green onion, two large shallots and about 10 small, fresh mushrooms (you can use just about any proportions that you like) and sauteed in generous butter first the shallot and green onion until soft, adding the mushrooms later. The mushroom mixture cooked together for about 10 minutes on medium heat, until the water released by the mushrooms had evaporated and the mushrooms were a little browned/caramelized, then added a splash of red wine.*

The wine had been a gift from one of My Beloved's sales managers and all-around nice guy, Jim, whom we invited for dinner last week. Jim brought this wine, an "Au Bon Climat" 2006 Pinot Noir, as a hostess gift and it was simply delicious, lighter and clearer than many pinots and very tasty. We drank all but about half a cup of the wine - too little for a glass and much too nice to throw away, so it made a super addition to my version of Sauce Duxelles. After reducing the wine by half, I added just a teaspoonful of creme fraiche to the sauce, stirred it in and drizzled some of the sauce over the rare steak.

Served alongside some Swiss chard that had been butter steamed with more shallots, it made a feast fit for a king or, more properly, for the Marquis d'Uxelles for whom the sauce was named.

*You can freeze duxelles, too, so I sometimes make a big batch when mushrooms are on special and freeze them in small packages for quick use later.