re: Cooking a Steak on the Stove

I do steak on the stove all the time, it's a basic technique that is worth mastering, it can be used in many other areas. Start with a nonstick skillet (nonstick is important).

Sautee spices/herbs in oil for a minute or so. I like garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil on medium heat. If you're using garlic, take it out now so you don't burn it. You can use a small amount of onions or shallots. Ginger. Black pepper. Whatever. You'll figure it out with practice.

Put steaks in a skillet. Do not stir it around or flip it, let it cook long and good so you get some char on the bottom. Near the end you can flip if you like to finish it but get that char stuck to the skillet.

Set steaks aside. Now add some beef broth and red wine to the empty skillet. Use a wood spatula to scrape off the flavorful char the steak left behind and mix it with the broth/wine mixture. You can add mushrooms in here also. Reduce until it is thick and barely coats the skillet.

Put steak back in, add a little pasta and stir to pick up the sauce. Serve.

Practice this, you can use this technique on just about anything (well, not ice cream) and it's easy. Play with the herbs and meats. Some people like to use cream for the reduction, for example. But it's a standard technique that is useful all sorts of ways, and is pretty fast. For example, just tonight I realized I'd forgotten to add bacon to my black beans and salsa when the beans were almost done, so I cooked the bacon this way and added. Worked great!