RECIPE: London broil worth the splurge

On Sunday mornings, seeing the fat, coupon-stuffed newspaper strewn on the linoleum kitchen floor was a regular thing. Mama was hellbent on refilling the family’s accordion-like coupon caddy that stretched as far as she could stretch a dollar. Thanks to a first-time buyer Fannie Mae incentive, we moved into a big-to-us two-story house, but saving dollars at the Acme was the weekly mission.

Every now and then, London broil would go on sale. We considered it a splurge for supper. As an eager young cook, I took on London broil as one of my specialties. To make it “extra gourmet,” I would excessively shake lemon pepper on each side, then add heavy dashes of Worcestershire sauce until it spilled over the sides and pooled onto the flimsy, aluminum sheet pan purchased at a discount from the Miles Kimball mail-order catalog. Sometimes I would add canned button mushrooms — if I was feeling fancy.

Later in life, I found out London broil was actually a method for cooking steak rather than a particular beef cut. I still delight in making it, but I mix up a homemade, lemon pepper dry rub for deeper flavor and let it rest on the counter before popping it under the broiler. The canned mushrooms have turned into a fresh mushroom pan sauce with rich, red wine. I serve the steak slices in the skillet on top of the sauce just to make it easy. But for the holidays, I present it on a platter with the sauce spooned over.