With an abundance of buttery vegetables served atop a high-quality steak, this dish looks as elegant as it tastes. Fortunately, you don't have to tell anyone how easy it is to prepare. What makes this dish special is the aroma of the vegetables and meat. Cook them carefully. For variety, substitute pork loin or chicken for the beef.

1 lb. sirloin beef 3 oz. bacon, cut into small pieces 2 medium potatoes, chopped 12 dried shiitake mushrooms 16 baby onions, peeled 12 white mushrooms 1 clove garlic, unpeeled 4 oz. butter Salt Pepper

・ Place shiitake in bowl of water and soak until soft, approximately one hour. Slice into quarter-inch thick pieces. ・ Cut potatoes into-bite size pieces. Slice bacon into 1/2-inch slices. Cut white mushrooms into quarters. Since you will not parboil the potatoes for this dish, cut them into slightly smaller pieces than you might otherwise.

[1] Heat half the butter in a frying pan on low heat and cook the unpeeled garlic until aroma rises. Add baby onions and bacon. Cover and cook over low heat, occasionally shaking the pan, until the onions are golden. [2] Discard garlic and add potatoes. Raise heat to medium and cook, uncovered, until potatoes turn golden-brown. 　 [3] Add all mushrooms and continue cooking for another minute or two. Add a little oil if the potatoes start to burn. [4] Melt remaining butter in another frying pan on high heat. Cook meat on both sides until browned. Do not season the meat with pepper before cooking or else the meat will taste bitter. [5] Add meat to the pan with the potatoes and mushrooms for a minute to allow the aroma of the mushrooms to flavor the meat. Season with salt and pepper. [6] Slice steak into four pieces. Place each piece on a plate and top with vegetables.