Seared Strip Steak with Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Sweet Potato Wedges & Mushroom Pan Sauce

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Score: 7/10

A classic, appealing steakhouse-style dinner with solid flavor pairings and efficient timing. However, the recipe falls short on fat quantities for both roasting the vegetables and searing the steak, which will negatively impact the cooking process.

Strengths

• Cohesive steakhouse menu with excellent flavor balance.
• Good use of steak resting time to prepare a quick pan sauce.
• Smart incorporation of acid (lemon juice and Dijon) to balance the rich mushroom sauce and steak.

Issues

• high / ingredient_usage: The recipe does not instruct the cook to use any oil when searing the steak. Placing a steak in a hot, dry skillet will cause severe sticking and burning for most home cookware.
• medium / ingredient_usage: Two tablespoons of olive oil is insufficient to properly coat 2 lbs of dense vegetables (sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts). They are likely to burn or dry out instead of caramelizing beautifully.
• medium / cookability: Roasting 2 lbs of bulky vegetables on a single standard sheet pan will likely cause overcrowding, leading to steaming rather than caramelization.
• low / clarity: Step 6 instructs the cook to add mushrooms to the 'dry pan' immediately after removing the steak. The pan will not be dry; it will contain rendered beef fat and fond. This phrasing is confusing.

Suggested fixes

• Add 1 tablespoon of high-heat cooking oil to the ingredients and instruct the cook to heat it in the skillet before adding the steak.
• Increase the olive oil amount to 3 to 4 tablespoons total (about 1.5 to 2 tablespoons per vegetable).
• Recommend using two sheet pans, or explicitly specify an extra-large rimmed baking sheet, to prevent overcrowding the vegetables.
• Change the wording in step 6 from 'dry pan' to 'skillet with the remaining rendered beef fat'.