Steak Oscar

I love a good steak, and my favorite steak is a filet...for obvious reasons. It's tender and is the least fatty cut. I hate having to deal with fat on my steak, although, yes...it adds flavor. When Joseph and I go out to a nice restaurant, I like to splurge on a filet every now and then. If they offer it done "Oscar-style", I always get it that way. It is absolutely delicious! In case you don't know what that means, it's just a steak (or anything I guess) topped with crab meat, bearnaise sauce, and asparagus. It's been a while since we had a steak, so we decided to cook some for our first nice meal in the new house. It's sad to say, but ever since we moved in we've pretty much had some Stouffer's meals, spaghetti, or sandwiches. HA! We've been too tired to think about cooking a nice meal. So last night, I whipped us up some steaks done Oscar-style and they did not disappoint!
Here's how it went down......I know the steps look complicated, but they're not, I promise.

Ingredients:
2 filet mignons (appr. 6 oz each) Ours were rather small, but were just enough for us. You can use any steak you want. FYI: you would have enough of the following ingredients for about 4 steaks.
Dale's Seasoning/Marinade (Moore's is good too!)
Olive Oil
1 small tub lump crab meat...this is a little pricey but SOOOO worth it..if you can spring for JUMBO lump crab meat, that's even better! You can find these at the fish counter of your store.
Butter, Lemon, & Paprika for Crab Meat
Asparagus...I used 4 per steak for the picture, but get as much as you want.
1 packet Knorr Bearnaise sauce mix (you'll need milk & butter to whisk in with this)
S & P

Directions:
Prepping steaks:
Marinate steaks in Dale's for about an hour prior to cooking. You can leave them out on the counter while doing this. You don't want to put a steak fresh out of the fridge onto a hot skillet or grill. Sprinkle with a little pepper (& salt if desired, but they'll be pretty salty from the marinade) just before cooking.

While steaks are marinating, prep the asparagus by snapping off the ends...if you bend it gently, it will snap off where it should. No need to get a knife dirty! Rinse off and dry. (These will go in the oven at the same time as the steaks later.)

Bearnaise sauce:
Make sauce as directed on packet, then keep warm until ready to serve. If it gets too thick, just add a tad more milk to thin it back out a little bit. This was my first time using a packet of the sauce and it was really good. You can find it with the other packets of gravy mix, Chili seasoning, etc.

Cooking steaks:
Our favorite way to cook steaks is to sear them in a pan on the stove, then transfer to the oven. It keeps the juices in and is very easy, especially on a rainy day! They also turn out perfect every time this way. You can certainly do them on the grill if you like, it doesn't make a difference for this dish. Your house will smell like steak for a couple of days if you do it inside! HA!
Here's what I do:
Heat olive oil in stainless steel, oven-safe pan on high heat. On a scale of 1-10, I did it at about an 8...it depends on how hot your stove gets. Mine gets really hot! You can test the oil to see if it is hot enough by flicking some tap water into the pan. If it sizzles, it is ready. Place steaks carefully in pan..it will pop at you and it will make a mess...just be prepared! ;) Sear about 4 minutes per side, then transfer to a preheated 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes. NOTE: These times work for a filet of average size and thickness. If you have a thinner steak, cut the cook time down a couple of minutes, unless you like it well-done. If you have a really thick steak, do the opposite. I usually like mine around medium, but right now I have to eat it between med-well and well-done. If you have a good cut and marinate it well, it will still be tender! Don't be afraid to use a little meat thermometer to test the temperature. You can find the different temps for steaks (rare, med. rare, etc.) online.

Put asparagus in at the same time as the steaks. Prior to putting them in, drizzle with a tad bit of olive oil, and sprinkle with some S&P. They will roast in the oven at 400 for 10 minutes along with the steaks. And if you think you don't like asparagus, you should try them this way. I have converted several anti-asparagus people just from cooking them this way. They taste SO much better roasted than they do steamed or boiled! SO. Much. Better.

Crab meat topping:
While steaks/asparagus are cooking, warm crab meat in a small skillet. You don't want to cook it, as it is already cooked. Add a tbsp or two of butter, the juice of about 1/2 a lemon, and a little paprika. You can taste and add more of anything that you need to. You may want to add a little S&P too.

Let steaks rest on a cutting board or plate for several minutes before serving. Don't leave them on the pan, they will get overcooked. This allows the juices to redistribute so you don't lose it all when you cut into it.

To serve:
Place steak on plate and top with 4 pieces of asparagus. I did 2 one way, and 2 perpendicular on top of them...like a checker pattern. Top with a scoop of crab meat, then pour bearnaise sauce over the entire thing. You can use as much or little as you like. Serve with your favorite potato, veggie, etc.

I know my directions were a little sporadic. I was trying to remember the order in which I did everything. It worked really well and things came out done at the same time, so hopefully I remembered correctly! ;-) I hope you're able to try a Steak Oscar yourself. Now that I know how easy it is (of course, I DID use a premixed bearnaise sauce so that helped a lot) I will definitely be making them again soon. It'd be a great dinner if you're having a couple of guests over...not too many...filets aren't cheap!

I hope you're having a terrific Tuesday!! :-)