I’ve been working 12 hour days lately so I haven’t had the time to cook the meals that I’ve wanted to cook; I haven’t had the time to try new recipes and be creative. All my meals for the past two months have been my favorite repeats that I’ve stored away in my quick, easy and delicious file.

Since things have finally started to ease up, I had a chance to try out a new recipe this weekend. I found this recipe to be a nice breath of fresh air from eating A LOT of chicken and fish.

Adapted from Cuisine for Two Magazine

(yields 2 servings)
Ingredients:

Steaks –
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 steaks (any cut)
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Sauce –
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. tomato paste
1/2 cup port wine
1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. light butter (I like “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Olive Oil Light)

Sides –
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup grape tomatoes
8 cups spinach
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. light butter (I like “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Olive Oil Light)

Directions:
1. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into cubes. Place in pot of water and bring to a rolling boil until sweet potatoes are fork tender.
2. Combine brown sugar, salt, paprika, chili powder, and pepper. Press the spice mixture onto both sides of the steaks.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add steaks and cook to desired doneness (~2 to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare). Remove steaks and keep warm.
4. Do NOT wipe skillet and turn down heat to medium. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
5. Deglaze pan with port wine, scraping up the bits on the bottom. After liquid is reduced by half, stir in broth and Worcestershire, bring to a boil, and simmer for 2 minutes. Whisk in butter, honey and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove sauce and keep warm.
5. Clean out skillet to cook spinach. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and cook until blistered (they will pop and juice will ooze out!). Add spinach and cook until wilted.
6. Drain potatoes and mash while incorporating butter and honey.

The original recipe called for chili-spiced potatoes, but since Henry wanted to be “healthy”, we substituted Yukon gold potatoes, buttermilk and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce with sweet potatoes and honey. I thought this change would work well since the spice rub had brown sugar, but just to make sure, I added some honey to the port sauce to kick the sweetness up a notch.

Bon appetit!