Before giving up red meat at the age of 11, my all-time favorite meal was my grandmother’s steak. Served with mashed potatoes & gravy [of course], it was my meal of choice for birthdays & special occasions. You can imagine the confusion my going [semi] vegetarian caused when my grandmother was left with no ideas of what to serve me. Little did she know, it was only the beginning.

Nowadays, I rarely crave red meat.  It’s been so long since I’ve had the genuine article that it’s never that hard to resist.  However, when the Omnivore ordered a vegan beef medallion dish in NYC that tasted just like real steak [more on that later], I was inspired to whip up something similar here at home. Serendipitously, right around the same time, a link to this recipe showed up on my tumblr feed.

The search was over! [with amazing results]:

juicy, tender...mushrooms?

Ingredients

2 whole portobello mushrooms
1/2 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup mock beef broth [made from Better Than Bouillon's No Beef Base]
3 tbsp basalmic vinegar [we used 2 tbsp balsamic glaze and it worked great]
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp thyme

Remove stems & gills from mushrooms and set aside.
Line a large frying pan with a thin layer of broth.
Add onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes over high heat.
Add balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, & spices and reduce heat to medium.
Add mushrooms, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Gently flip mushrooms over and cook for 5 minutes more, adding more broth as needed to prevent sticking or burning.
Plate mushrooms and spoon leftover juices on top. Enjoy.