Sandi's Black Pepper Cube Steaks & Mushroom Cream Sauce

Recipe from: Sandi (recipezaar.com)

FOR THE MEAT
*4 cube steaks
*3-4 Tbl. cracked black pepper (Per recipe: use McCormick's Cracked Black Pepper or equivalent, regular black pepper is NOT workable here)
*1 Tbl. kosher salt
*1 Tbl. olive oil
*1 Tbl. soft butter

FOR THE CREAM SAUCE
*8 oz. Cremini mushrooms, sliced (the Italian brown ones, or use small portabellas)
*1 shallot, peeled & minced
*2 garlic cloves, peeled & minced
*1 Tbl. basil, chopped (fresh only or it won't taste the same)
*1 c. heavy cream
*2 Tbl. soft unsalted butter

Season both sides of the steaks with kosher salt & cracked black pepper. Heat the oil & 1 Tbl. of butter in a large skillet over med-high heat. Sauté steaks for 4 min., then turn & finish cooking for 3 more min. or until done to your liking. Move steaks to a plate & cover with foil.
Melt the remaining 2 Tbl. of butter in the skillet over med-high heat & loosen any stuck bits of meat with a spatula. When hot, add the shallots & mushrooms, with a loose attempt to keep them in a single layer as much as possible. Don’t stir for the first 2 minutes to give them a chance to caramelize on one side, then stir periodically for another 1-2 min. until mushrooms are deep golden brown. Add the minced garlic & sauté until it becomes soft, about 1 min. Add cream & steak juice from the cube steak plate & reduce the mixture by one-third. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Finally, add basil; stir briefly, then plate the steaks with a generous portion of sauce on top.