This recipe combines flavors from two of our all-time favorite restaurants: Benihana in Short Hills, New Jersey, and Le Recamier in Paris.

While hanger steak is just starting to really gain a cult following here, it's always had a place on menus across Europe as an affordable, meaty, flavorful cut of beef. In France, seared onglet is usually slathered in buttery, brown, slow-cooked shallots and hidden beneath a jumble of slender, crispy, perfectly salted fries. To mess with this combination of flavors and textures would be considered a heinous act across the Atlantic. But in the States we have more flexibility with the garnishes.

And that's where Benihana fits in. When we went to Benihana as kids, we always ordered zucchini and onions, which we loved to watch the chefs prepare tableside at super-fast speed. In our version we use mushrooms in place of the zucchini, but combined with the lightly browned onions, they bring back happy Benihana memories. If you'd like a more Parisian experience, feel free to garnish the steak with Shallot Confit and French Fries instead of the mushrooms and pan-roasted potatoes.

Potatoes

• 1 1/2 pounds medium white potatoes, scrubbed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• Perfect Sauté Seasoning or salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mushrooms and Onions

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 onions, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rings
• 3/4 pound cremini mushrooms, wiped clean, trimmed, and sliced
• Perfect Sauté Seasoning or salt and freshly ground white or black pepper
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (optional)

Steak

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 (7-ounce) hanger steaks
• Salt and freshly ground white or black pepper

Directions
1 To make the potatoes: Put the potatoes in a large pot and add salted water to cover. Bring to a boil. Cook the potatoes until just barely tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and cool. Slice the potatoes into 1/4-inch-thick matchsticks.

2 Preheat the oven to 450˚F.

3 To crisp the potatoes, in a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter with the oil. Add the potatoes to the hot skillet and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown all over, about 10 minutes. Toss the potatoes with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, the parsley, and the seasoning. Cover to keep warm, or transfer to a platter and tent with foil.

4 Meanwhile, prepare the mushrooms and onions: In a skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they are browned and tender, 7 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle with seasoning and parsley, if using, and cover to keep warm.

5 To cook the steak: Heat the oil in a cast-iron pan over high heat until very, very hot, at least 5 solid minutes. Sprinkle the steaks all over with the seasoning. Sear the steaks in the pan until well browned on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the steaks to the oven and roast until desired doneness is reached, about 3 more minutes for rare (115°F on an instant-read thermometer) and 5 for medium-rare (120°F on an instant-read thermometer). Transfer to serving plates, tent with foil, and let rest for at least 3 minutes before serving with the potatoes, mushrooms, and onions.

Serves 4

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Excerpted from Bromberg Bros. Blue Ribbon Cookbook by Bruce Bromberg, Eric Bromberg, and Melissa Clark; Photographs by Quentin Bacon Copyright © 2010 by Bruce Bromberg, Eric Bromberg, and Melissa Clark; Photographs by Quentin Bacon. Excerpted by permission of Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.