Steak Strips With Dumplings -- The Meal That Said Everything He Needed to Hear

The garden prep has started. Mom is out there every afternoon that it doesn't rain, which is most of them. The frost date here is mid-May, so right now everything is seedlings in the kitchen window and small ambitious trays on the porch that she brings inside when the temperature drops. This year she's planting more than usual — potatoes, squash, tomatoes, beans, onions, kale, the usual; and also sweet corn, cantaloupe, something she read about called Armenian cucumber, and a variety of dried chili pepper that I mentioned once in the context of the elk chili. I didn't ask her to grow it. She just absorbed the information and acted on it. That's Colleen Gallagher.

I've been thinking about the farrier accounts and what the pandemic is going to do to them over the coming year. Some of my clients are on the financial edge already — small hobby farms, retirement operations that depend on second income streams that might be disrupted. I've decided not to raise rates this year even though I could. It's not charity exactly. It's investment in relationships that will matter more when things normalize.

Posted an essay this week about the calving season. Specifically about the two-in-the-morning experience — the barn in the dark, the animal under stress, the work that needed doing without time to think about whether you could do it. Someone in the comments said she'd read it three times and it made her think about her own work as a midwife differently. That's not an obvious parallel. I liked it.

Made steak and eggs for Dad on Sunday morning, which is not a common breakfast here but which I knew he wanted without him saying so. He'd mentioned his appetite was good this week, which is the code he uses for feeling well. I cooked two strip steaks in the cast iron, ran them hard on both sides, rested them while I scrambled eggs with chives. He ate the whole thing and read his paper and didn't say much beyond good. That's the review I was looking for.

Dad ate the whole plate that Sunday and said good and went back to his paper, and that was more than enough. There’s a version of cooking that isn’t about impressing anyone—it’s about reading the room and getting it right, and steak is almost always the right answer when someone you love is feeling well enough to eat. Steak Strips With Dumplings is the recipe I’d reach for when I want that same weight and warmth on the plate, the kind of meal that sits with you in a good way and doesn’t ask you to explain yourself.

Steak Strips With Dumplings

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs beef sirloin or strip steak, cut into 1-inch strips
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (optional, for garnish)

Instructions

1. Season the steak. Pat steak strips dry with paper towels and season evenly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Let rest at room temperature for 10 minutes while you prep the remaining ingredients.
2. Sear the steak. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over high heat until just smoking. Add steak strips in a single layer, working in batches if needed, and sear 2–3 minutes per side until deeply browned. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
3. Build the base. Reduce heat to medium. Add sliced onion to the same pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute more.
4. Deglaze and simmer. Pour in beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Return steak strips to the pan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat.
5. Make the dumplings. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add milk and melted butter and stir just until a shaggy dough comes together—do not overmix.
6. Add the dumplings. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the simmering broth to thicken it slightly. Drop dumpling dough by heaping tablespoons onto the surface of the liquid, spacing them evenly. Cover the pan tightly and cook undisturbed for 15 minutes, until dumplings are cooked through and no longer doughy in the center.
7. Finish and serve. Remove lid, garnish with fresh parsley if using, and serve directly from the pan. Spoon broth and steak strips over dumplings in each bowl.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 510 | Protein: 42g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 870mg