Steak with Merlot and Mushrooms

Okay... funny story. I had to go to the liquor store. (That's it; that's the funny story.) Talk about a fish out of water... I needed to get merlot for this recipe, and the nice man at the register took me right over to a multitude of mini-bottle 4-packs. Thank goodness the ones I bought were labeled "merlot," or this recipe could have been a disaster. I was trying to plan the fate of the other three mini-bottles just in case this recipe was an "epic fail" (to quote my favorite Harry Potter fan). Turns out, I'll be saving them for the next three times I make this dish. Like I stated on Facebook tonight, "How do you know if a recipe is good? No leftovers."

Truth be known, this recipe is the reason I felt so compelled to drive to Grand Forks on Saturday just to purchase an oval 6-quart Crock Pot -- which is metallic red, by the way. I was a little leery to try another recipe with red wine, however. I had tried one in the past that called for something ridiculous like half a bottle; it was fairly inedible, at least for my family's palette. This one, though... this one is a keeper. You have to try it. Heck, I can even supply you with a mini-bottle of merlot. =)

Steak with Merlot and Mushrooms

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. coarsely ground black pepper

1/2 t. dried thyme

1/4 t. garlic powder

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pound flank steak

1 red onion, thinly sliced

2/3 c. beef broth

1/3 c. merlot (or other red wine)

1/4 c. tomato paste

2 t. olive oil

1 (8 oz.) package sliced cremini mushrooms

1 (8 oz.) package sliced white mushrooms

1 T. flour

Preheat broiler. Mix salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic powder in a small dish. Rub the spice mixture all over both sides of the steak. Broil the steak five minutes on each side (5 inches from the heat). Break onion slices apart in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with steak. In a small bowl, whisk broth, wine, and tomato paste* until smooth; pour over steak. Cover and cook until fork tender, 4-6 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. About 35 minutes before cooking time is up, heat oil in a large skillet. Add mushrooms and saute until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and cook 1 minute more. Stir mushrooms into slow cooker. (I removed the steak first, stirred in the mushrooms, and replaced it.) Cover and cook on high for 25 minutes. Transfer steak to cutting board. Cut steak across grain into 12 slices. Serve with sauce.

*Note: I used the whole little can of tomato paste simply because I don't know what to do with any leftovers. I just added a little "splash" more of the merlot and the stock so that it didn't get too thick. ((I tried a sip of the merlot just for fun. It made my mouth crawl inside of itself and my cheek-bones hurt. I dumped the rest down the drain.))

Yield: 4 servings [3 slices of steak with 2/3 c. sauce] (8P+)