Marinated Steak and Roasted Asparagus with Shiitake Mushrooms

Beef tenderloin, roasted asparagus with mushrooms, broccoli with peppers, mashed cauliflower

 It's been years since I had a steak. I bought beef tenderloin, an expensive choice, but I might as well make my re-introduction to steak a class act. So here it is:

"Jo Anne, beefsteak."

"Beefsteak, Jo Anne."

Exeunt to the kitchen. After the introductions, now, how to cook this marvelous meat? This is a Phase One (South Beach Diet) recipe for Marinated London Broil. I made some adjustments to it for herbs I didn't have.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup dry sherry (dry red wine in the original recipe)
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons dried parsley (fresh minced parsley in the original)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (fresh oregano in the original)
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin

Whisk together oil, sherry, garlic, parsley, rosemary, bay leaf, and black pepper in a small bowl. Place the steak in a deep bowl and pour on the marinade. Turn once to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least four hours.

Spray a stove-top grill pan with cooking spray and heat it. Remove the herbs and bay leaf from the steak and put it in the pan.  Grill the steak for 5 minutes on one side then turn it over and grill the second side for an additional 5 minutes. Cut into thin slices across the grain. It came out medium rare, somewhat tasty, and quite chewy. Thai beef isn't particularly tender, which reminds me why I gave up beef in the first place.

Veggies prepared for roasting

I found this on another blog with South Beach Diet-type recipes. I adapted it because I didn't have Spike Seasoning. Unfortunately, it came out mummified as you can see on the plate above! According to the original recipe, the roasting time is less than 20 minutes. That's a pretty big leeway! After five minutes I noticed the asparagus had turned a bright green. I ought not to have taken my eyes off of it.

1 lb asparagus, trimmed
1 lb mushrooms, (I like shiitake) stems trimmed and caps sliced in half
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoning salt (Spike Seasoning in the original recipe)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Combine all ingredients and spread on a single layer in a baking pan. Roast vegetables for 10, not 20 minutes, is my best guestimate.