Today I wanted to start a recipe series titled, “Bringing Back Old School Favorites.” I know the title suggests different things to different people. The old school favorites I am referring to are dishes that have been labeled as outdated according to the fine-dining world. Not extinct, but hard to find, that is until recently.
Back in 2013, I watched Chef Emeril Lagasse make a dish called Steak Diane. As he talked about it he explained that this was a dish served tableside in fine dining restaurants in the 50s & 60s. I watched him prepare it. It looked intimidating. You had to set the sauce on fire!
I went to a few fine dining restaurants growing up, for my sixteenth & eighteenth birthdays in NJ. I never got to go to one in “the city,” New York City that is. My father hated the city. I did get to go to a famous one in New Orleans. I was with my parents on a family vacation, we were headed back to NJ from my Aunt’s in TX and stopped in NOLA for a couple days. I was eighteen and could drink legally there! 🍹🍹🍹 That’s another blog post story!
Let me set the stage of “old school” fine dining…these restaurants were called “white tablecloth” restaurants that required men to wear a shirt, tie, and jacket. They offered valet parking. People loved this because they just drove up to the door, put the car in park, and headed straight into the restaurant. The valet driver would give you a tag that matched with your car so it will be easy for them to retrieve after dinner. The valet driver would then park your car and keep an eye on it while you dined, or took it for a spin I am sure if it was a fast car. When he returned your car, you tipped him.
There was a coat check girl when you entered. You gave her your coat and she gave you a tag matching with the one on the hanger of your coat. One of the other duties of the coat check girl was to dig out a tie or jacket to loan a diner who came underdressed. After dinner, when you retrieved your coat, you tipped her. There was no such thing as coats thrown over the back of a chair or an empty chair.
Waiters usually wore black suits or tuxedos. There were waiters and a Maitre d’ or Captain. The waiters were all part of a magical experience for their diners, to treat them to the lap of luxury. The waiters held the chair out for ladies to sit down. They took the orders, made recommendations, and provided table-side service to their tables.
Other waiters served the food, brushed the crumbs away from the table in between courses, and refolded your napkin when you came back from the restroom.
There were water boys who also doubled as busy boys. Their job was you make sure your water glass was never empty and to take away the dirty dishes.
Now the Maitre d’ or the Captain was the head honcho. He took reservations, sat people, opened and poured the wine, oversaw the waitstaff. He also went around and checked in with diners making sure everything was to their liking. He was the guy in charge.
Fine dining restaurants today still have all of those things, but old school dining had tableside service.
Tableside service refers to dishes that were prepared right at your table. Waiters became part of dinner theater, chefs loved it because it took off pressure in the kitchen.
The waiters would wheel up their carts and amaze and dazzle diners with all sorts of magic. They could make an emulsion appear right before their very eyes! They were masters of the art of flambéing and made it look spectacular and dangerous.
Each waiter in a restaurant was given the exact same ingredients on their carts for each of the dishes, but each had their own special way of preparing the dishes. These dishes came together quickly and made with precision.
One of the dishes prepared table side was Steak Diane. What exactly is it beside delicious?
Steak Diane is a tableside flambéed dish. The steak is pounded thin and often brandy, cognac or Madeira is poured over it, as well as a sauce of such ingredients as butter, mushrooms, mustard, shallots, cream, Worchester sauce, and meat stock.
Flambé is a cooking procedure where alcohol is added to a hot pan to create a burst of flames. The word means “flamed” in French. Wikipedia
According to a 1948 citation, the dish was invented at the Drake Room, at 56th Street and Park Avenue in Manhattan’s Drake Hotel, and was named after chef Beniamino Schiavon’s small daughter.
Others say it was supposedly named after the Roman goddess, Diana or Diane. Diana was the Goddess of the Hunt and also the Goddess of the Moon. Steak Diane was originally a way of serving venison.
So why did Steak Diane become an outdated dish and taken off menus? Diners began eating healthier fare and demonizing the saturated fats found in butter and beef.
Restaurants were mandated to install expensive sprinkler systems. Tableside cooking in the dining rooms scared owners they would soak their guests if the sprinkler system went off. Steak Diane’s star began to fade and died a peaceful death around 1979.
The first time I made Steak Diane was in 2014. I was intimated as hell. I looked in all my cookbooks and read how each of them made the dish. They were all similar, but also different from each other. They all flambéed in the recipes. I noticed that recipes I found on the internet didn’t use thinly pounded steak anymore. Steak cuts like flank steak, filet, skirt steak, sirloin, and flat iron steak could be made medium-rare or medium how people like their steaks done now and not well done.
My first try and the recipe went off without a hitch. I put my big girl pants on and pulled off my first flambé! It was as delicious as I imagined Emeril’s was! I shared the dish on my Facebook page and people didn’t know what Steak Diane was, especially the younger generations. Now they did and I thought it was pretty exciting to share this long lost dish.
Since then I’ve made Steak Diane dozens and dozens of times. I actually taught my cooking class how to make it. When I pan seared the steak in my cast iron pan, I thought the fire department would be pulling up any second because the room filled with smoke.
We quickly opened the doors to vent the smoke out. I am sure the place smelled like steak for days! I made the on the spot decision to not ignite the cognac. I showed my class that if they are afraid to set the alcohol on fire, turn off the flame, add the alcohol and turn the flame back on low to cook out the alcohol. It does taste the same, but having it burst into flames is way more fun!
I usually cook alone in my kitchen, but one night Marty walked in just as I ignited the pan. “Holy shit what are you doing? You are going to burn the house down.” I told him, “Settle down there sparky I have this under control.”
I looked online today and found a shit load of Steak Diane recipes. It seems since 2017 the dish is making a comeback. Gordon Ramsey’s recipe uses small sirloin steaks. Guy Fieri uses filet mignon. Emeril uses pounded filet mignon. I just saw that the Cheesecake Factory has Steak Diane on their menu.
I hope you will try my recipe, please don’t flambé if you don’t want to. Don’t be intimidated, it’s only a steak. I like to serve mine with lots of different potato side dishes and a salad.
Steak Diane
1 lb steak of your choice: flat iron, skirt, tenderloin, filets, rib eye etc.
Kosher salt and freshly grated black pepper
4 Tbsp butter divided
4 Tbsp finely minced shallots
3 Tbsp cognac
1 cup beef broth divided
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
Serves 2
It is important to have everything ready for the sauce before you cook the steaks.
Take the steak out 30 minutes before cooking trimming off any excess fat. After the steak has come to room temp season with kosher salt and pepper on both sides.Preheat a large skillet or cast iron pan. Add 2 Tbsp butter and let melt. Once the butter is bubbling, add seasoned steaks and cook. The amount of cook time will be based on the thickness of your steak and how you like it cooked. For example I use flat iron or skirt which are thinner cuts, I cook 3-4 minutes on each side for a perfect medium rare then let rest on a plate. Turn off pan. Thicker cuts may take 7-8 minutes per side again depending on how you like your steak.
After the steak rests a minimum of 5-7 minutes slice thinly according to the cut of your steak. For example my flat iron or skirt steaks are sliced against the grain. Filet mignons should be kept whole. Rib eyes may be kept whole if each person is getting one whole steak or thinly slice if the steak is larger. Arrange on a serving plate.
Turn the skillet back on to low and add the remaining 2 Tbsp butter and shallots. Saute until just translucent, about 1 minute. Increase the heat to high and add cognac carefully and let cook for 30 seconds. If your pan does ignite don’t panic the flame will go away as soon as the alcohol is burned off. If you are really afraid relax. Turn the heat off, add the cognac, then turn to high and cook for 30 seconds. Add ½ beef broth and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits stuck to the pan. Sir in mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Cook stirring often until the liquid is reduced about 2-3 minutes. Add the remaining ½ cup of broth and continue to boil, stirring often until the sauce thickens about 3-4 minutes more. Adjust the seasoning according to your taste.
To serve spoon the sauce over the steak. Serve any leftover sauce tableside.
*If you want to be a hotshot tip the pan to flambé like the old school waiters but be careful!