Merry Christmas Eve Eve.

It’s been a pretty rough past few days.  Retail and The Holidays are nothing short of insane.  It’s good to be home.

I hadn’t pulled anything out of the freezer and as I was rummaging, Victor suggested we just head down to the diner.  I decided I would rather cook than leave the house and deal with the general public.  Gives you an idea of what the week has been like.

Besides…  there’s stuff that needs using up before we head to North Jersey tomorrow…

So out came a couple of tenderized steaks.

I mixed up a bit of flour, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper and dredged them and browned them in a bit of butter.  I pulled them out of the skillet and added some fresh mushrooms.  When they were looking nice, I deglazed the pan with a hefty splash of brandy and then added about a cup of beef broth.  I let it simmer a few minutes and added about a quarter-cup of heavy cream. It was the end of the carton…

I thickened it with the seasoned flour, put the steaks back in and let it all simmer while the rice and broccoli cooked.

An easy dinner and I didn’t have to deal with any crowds.

THAT is a Merry Christmas in my book!