74: Filet Mignon / "Cranberry Molasses" / Brussels Sprouts / Sweet Potato "Crustless Pie"

I had no intention of being creative with this dinner, but I am happy with some of the elements turned out tonight. The “cranberry molasses” doesn’t include cranberry at all, but I did use a hearty dry red wine with good acidity and tannins to balance semi-sweet marsala wine. It sure tasted like a cranberry sauce with that sweet and tart flavor. The “crustless pie” part of the sweet potato comes from accidentally using too much maple syrup and cinnamon. The puree comes out a little sweeter than I originally wanted to make it. Plus, there was no crust for what would’ve been a nice base for a sweet potato pie. I threw in the brussels sprouts to balance the sweet in the dish with something nutty and earthy. Add the main attraction of this dinner, filet mignon, and any steak lover will love this dinner. It’s a bit hands on, but I was able to get it done in an hour.

Ingredients and Directions:

2 filet mignons

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 shallot, diced

1 garlic clove, diced

10 brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise

2-3 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Healthy pinch of ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/2 semi-sweet marsala wine

1/4 cup water

Olive oil

Salt + pepper

My new method of explaining directions is to break down each element of the dish to let you be creative with the timing. Tonight I will recite the steps I took as I went along to hopefully get you done with this dinner in an hour as I was able to do.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees before doing anything. Now start peeling your sweet potato, and chop the sweet potato. Fill a pot with water, salt and sweet potato and bring to a boil. Now you can get started on the rest of the prep. The oven should be close, if not done, preheating by this point. Be ready because this is where it gets really hands on.

After sweet potato are fork ready, place sweet potato, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and cinnamon in a food processor. Puree until smooth. Add a little water if needed to this puree. Return to pot to keep warm.

Heat a dry cast iron plate over high heat for 3 minutes. Start 2 smaller pans on medium heat with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil – 1 pan for brussels sprouts, 1 pan for sauce. Sear steaks for 3 minutes per side of the steaks to lock in the juices. While steaks are searing, add brussels sprouts, pinch of shallots and garlic with salt and pepper to one of the pans. Roast these on low. Also while steaks are searing, sauté remaining shallots and garlic in the other pan, stirring often as to not cause them to burn or stick.

Add steaks to oven and cook for 8 minutes for medium rare, 10 minutes for medium, and well… shame on you if you’re cooking good meat past medium. Just kidding. Add wine to pan with shallots and garlic and reduce by half over high heat, about 4-5 minutes. Now add the marsala wine and reduce by half, about another 4 minutes. Remove steaks from oven and transfer to a plate to rest for 5 minutes. Add the 1/4 cup of water to the sauce and continue to reduce. Keep an eye on the sauce, though, because you don’t want it to burn. You do want it to be reduced down pretty much all the way. Reduce heat if needed. Plate steaks and pour whatever juices accumulated from the steaks resting into the sauce and stir. Spoon sauce over steaks, serve vegetables however you wish.

Enjoy!!

70: Rosemary Flat Iron Steak / Tomato Mushroom Risotto

I ended up with about a cup of leftover sauce from the Tuscan Veal Stew the other night, and I didn’t want such a flavorful sauce to go to waste. I had a couple flat iron steaks I needed to use, and found a cup of dry risotto in the cupboard. I also had two cups of chicken broth, so I came up with this dinner. I love nights when all I have to do is look through what I have and can come up with something blog-worthy.

Ingredients and Directions:

2 flat iron steaks

1 cup dry risotto

1/4 cup shallots, diced

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup leftover sauce (you’ll have to improvise here)

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup wild mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

Olive oil

Butter

Salt + pepper

Risotto—Bring leftover sauce and stock to a low simmer in a pan. Meanwhile, sauté mushrooms in olive oil with a little butter, salt and pepper. Turn off heat on mushrooms and set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and butter in a pot over medium heat for a few minutes. Sweat shallots in this mixture for 3-4 minutes, and then add the risotto to the pot. Sauté for a few more minutes or until risotto is light golden brown. Turn heat to medium high, and add stock a 1/4 cup at a time, stirring continuously. You know you need to add more stock when the mixture in the pot seems dry, meaning the risotto has soaked up all the liquid, usually about 5 minutes. The whole process will take about 30 minutes. You must stir continuously, or your risotto will not come out nice. Stir in mushrooms and cheese for one minute before serving.

Steaks—Heat a dry pan on medium high heat for 3-5 minutes. Dredge steaks through a mixture of salt, pepper, and rosemary. Press the seasoning into the steaks. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and let warm for 1-2 minutes. Sear steaks on each side for 3 minutes per side for medium rare, depending on thickness. Our steaks were just over half an inch thick, so they didn’t need to cook long. Plate steaks up against risotto mound on plate.

Enjoy!!

66: Open Faced Ribeye Steak / Hand Whipped Potatoes / Tri Color Bell Pepper Relish / Lemon Chive Butter Sauce

Steak is so good, but sometimes I feel like the presentation can be boring. I try to spice it up a little with a different presentation. Ribeye is the steak lover’s steak. It is cut from the top of the rib primal and boneless. Because of excellent marbling in the meat of this cut it is loaded with flavor and remains tender during cooking. Caution: Do not cook this cut of meat past medium-rare. When you go to take that first bite, close your eyes and roll back in your seat. Yeah, it's like that.

Ingredients and Directions:

One 12 oz ribeye, cut into two pieces

1 cup total of chopped bell pepper – 1/3 cup red, yellow, and green bell pepper each

1 large red potato, chopped, skin on

1/3 stick of butter

2-3 tablespoons of chives, minced

Zest of one half of a lemon

Juice of one half lemon

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Steak—Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season the steaks well with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a cast iron plate on the stove over high heat for 3-5 minutes (Don’t worry – it’s a good thing if it starts smoking.) Add a tablespoon of oil to the cast iron plate, let warm for a minute or so. Now brown steaks on each side for 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer plate to oven for 8 minutes for medium rare. Remove from oven, let rest for 5 minutes before slicing the steaks lengthwise for an open faced look.

Potatoes—Boil cubed potatoes in a pot of well salted water until until fork tender, 15-20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Add the cream, garlic, and salt and pepper. Mash with a fork really well. Don’t worry if they feel stiff. They will become creamier as they sit in the pot, covered, while you finish up everything else.

Bell Pepper Relish/Lemon Chive Sauce—Melt 1/3 of a stick of butter with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over low heat. Add bell pepper with salt and pepper, lemon, and chives after butter is completely melted. Turn heat to medium, wait 2 minutes, and sauté veggies for 3-4 minutes. Plate veggies and spoon remaining sauce over everything.

Enjoy!!

51: Grill Action -- Herb-Roasted Filet Mignon / Corn Stuffed Artichoke with Bacon

Thank you, Mother Nature, for not raining while I ran the Capitol Hill Classic this morning and grilling this evening. Tonight’s dinner is mostly grilled, except for the artichoke. The coals impart a subtle smokiness to the meal, and the red wine is a nice addition to dinner.

Herb crusted filet mignon pairs well with a grilled corn stuffed artichoke. The stuffing is made complete with green bell pepper, onion, and the artichoke heart. The meal takes a little patience as it’s about an hour from start to finish with a lot of moving parts.

We drank a tempranillo cut in half with grenache that is simultaneously full bodied, jammy, and earthy. It goes very well with grill flavor.

Ingredients and Directions:

1 lb filet mignon, 2 filets

1 tablespoon each fresh rosemary and sage, minced

2 whole artichokes

2 medium ears of corn

1/4 quarter of a green bell pepper, diced

1/3 of an small onion, diced

2 pieces of bacon

Garlic powder

Salt and pepper

1/4 stick butter

Half a lemon

Peel most of the husk of corn off, but leave a layer or two on for cooking. Soak corn in a bowl of water for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, start the charcoal, and prep the artichoke. With the artichoke, chop off stem and thorny parts of leaves. Additionally, chop an inch or so off of top of artichoke. Add a couple inches of water, salt, pepper, and sliced lemon (helps prevent discoloration) to a pot; boil. Add artichokes standing right side up, cover tightly and steam for 35-40 minutes.

The coals should be ready now, so add the corn to the grill. Turn every 10 minutes, should be done in about 30 minutes – it will be burnt looking and ashy. While corn cooks and artichoke steams, press herbs, garlic powder, salt, and pepper into both sides of each steak. Set aside for later.

Remove corn and artichoke from respective cooking devices, let cool. Start bacon. Remove husk and silk from corn, wash under warm water to remove excess silk and ash, and then shave corn kernels off ears of corn. Also,lightly push artichoke leaves down, but do so with caution because you don’t want the artichoke leaves to fall off right now. Drain bacon and wrap in paper towels, crumble when cool. Reserve a few tablespoons worth of bacon fat and add 1/4 stick of butter. Also add your steak to grill at this point. When butter and bacon grease is sizzling, about 3-4 minutes, add bell pepper and onion. Sauté for a few minutes, add salt and pepper, and then add shaved corn to the mixture. Sauté for a few minutes until warm. Add salt and pepper to taste, and spoon into artichokes. Garnish with bacon. Don’t forget about your steaks. Cook until desired temperature.

Enjoy!

46: Flat Iron Steak / Caramelized Fennel & Bell Pepper Relish / Green Beans / Crispy "Bacon Fat" Potato Spheres

Oh, yes, indeed – another fine steak dinner! A perfect plate of food has three successful elements in color, taste, and texture. Keep these three things in mind when cooking, and you should be able to produce amazing plates of food all the time.  Does this dinner live up to that billing? Try the preparation, and let me know!

My good friend Jen was in town from Chicago, and she asked me to cook her some of the food she has seen in my tweets and Facebook posts. I tweet the photos and blog titles after each meal, and it’s usually a couple days before I get around to posting the recipe. I thought about the vegetables I had in my refrigerator, and then we picked up the meat from the butcher.

Getting a good cut of meat is always important to having a great steak dinner. While I usually go for the filet mignon, I opted for flat iron steak this time for its deep, rich flavor and tenderness like the filet mignon cut. To complement the flavor, I topped the steak with a relish of caramelized red bell pepper and fennel to bring out a little sweetness. I added lightly sautéed green beans and crispy potato spheres cooked in bacon fat for texture and to round out the flavor profile of the plate.

We drank GD Vajra’s Langhe Rosso (Italy, 2007) with dinner. GD Vajra’s wines are top notch.

Ingredients and Directions:

2 half pound filets of flat iron steak (aka top blade steak)

1 smallish-medium potato, sliced into 8 spheres

1 medium bell pepper - seeded, cored, ribbed, and then diced

1 small fennel bulb, sliced lengthwise and diced

10 green beans

Salt and pepper

Garlic powder

Olive oil

Bacon fat (can sub olive oil)
Balsamic Vinegar

Minced rosemary and sage for garnish

Boil the potatoes in well salted water until they are almost easily pierced with a fork, drain and set aisde. While potatoes are boiling, preheat broiler and dust steaks with salt, pepper, and garlic powder on both sides, and use your press seasonings into each side.

Here’s where things get tricky because your task will be to cook everything at the same time from here on out. I will separate the remaining steps to make it easier. Add salt and pepper to each pan from here on out, except for the cast iron plate because you already seasoned the meat.

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of bacon fat in a 10” pan over medium-low heat. Heat an additional 2 tablespoons of oil in another 10” pan over medium-low heat as well.

Place potatoes in bacon fat in a single layer, turn once after 7 minutes. Add diced fennel and bell pepper to the other pan, stirring occasionally. Stick a cast iron plate under the broiler for 10 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to another pan over medium heat two minutes prior to the 10 minute cooking time of cast iron plate.

Remove cast iron plate from broiler (careful, it’s hot!), place the steaks on them, and put them back in the broiler for 5 minutes. Add green beans to the last pan now as well, stirring occasionally. You can add a little garlic powder to the beans if you like.

Raise heat on potatoes and relish to medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar to fennel and bell pepper relish. Potatoes are done when they have a nice golden brown edge, about 2-3 minutes. Similarly, the relish is done when they take on a slightly charred look, about 3-4 minutes.

Turn off heat on all the pans, remove steaks from the broiler and cast iron plate to cool on a cutting board while you plate the potatoes and green beans. Add your steak to the plate, top with relish, and garnish the whole plate with herbs.

Enjoy!

36: Elk "Steak" / Relish of Leeks, Wild Mushrooms & Zucchini / Sweet Potato Fries

My plan was to make elk burgers with an onion and roasted garlic mayonnaise, but I didn’t have enough garlic, onion, or buns. Instead I made “steaks” from ground elk with a relish of leeks, wild mushrooms, and zucchini, topped with aged white cheddar, made complete with sweet potato fries – all ingredients I already had in my refrigerator.

Elk is low in fat, calories, and cholesterol, while being high in protein and richer in flavor than beef. The texture is also heartier than beef. I’m happy to see different meats I cook are so popular on this blog. A quick peek at the Popular Posts section on the right side of this blog reveals that the veal chops and goat recipe are very popular. In fact, both recipes have been on the top since I posted them – that’s out of over 30 meals I’ve posted on here.

These elk “steaks” were admittedly pretty big once they cooked. I should’ve made three patties, but I went with two because we were pretty hungry. I was thinking they would shrink down a little when cooked, but they actually plumped up. The savory “steak” is a nice contrast with the heavenly sweetness of sweet potato – one of my favorite vegetables, along with kale.

By the way, I get all my “exotic” meats through my farm club, Arganica Farm Club. Check your local farmer’s market as well. Try these elk meatballs braised in red wine sauce as well.

Ingredients and Directions:

1 lb ground elk, room temperature (or actual elk steaks if you can find them)

1 leek, diced

1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced for fries

1/2 cup wild mushrooms, diced (I used creminis and shiitakes)

1/4 cup zucchini, diced

2 slices aged white cheddar, room temperature

1 tbs each of basil, mint, and parsley

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine elk and herbs with about a tablespoon each of salt and pepper, and use your hands to mix together well. Form patties as big or as small as you like. Arrange sweet potatoes in an oven safe dish with a light coat of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, turning once halfway through the cooking process.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add leeks to the pan and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add oil to a cast iron plate over medium high heat while the leeks are cooking. Add mushrooms and zucchini to leeks, reduce heat to low, season, and sauté for the duration you cook the elk, stirring occasionally and adjusting seasoning as you like. Add elk to the cast iron plate, and cook to desired doneness. I cooked the elk for about 7-8 minutes on each side, plus 2 minutes in the oven to melt the cheese on top, giving it a nice medium profile. Fries should be done at the same time you are ready to transfer elk to melt the cheese. Remove fries to cool while melting cheese in the oven. Add vegetable relish to your steak when cheese is melted to your liking.

Enjoy!

28: Filet Mignon / Swiss Chard / Roasted Beet Puree / Rosemary Balsamic Sauce

Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m not one to celebrate Hallmark Holidays, but I did cook this nice steak dinner for my valentine. This is a beautiful dish, with the steak being the bold centerpiece of the meal. I must admit that this dish is on the lighter side. You could easily include a starch here, like roasted potatoes, to make it more filling, especially if you don’t have fancy chocolate to eat after it like we did. Swiss chard has been a regular vegetable in my refrigerator for the past month, and I had a bunch of red beets that needed to be cooked. Truth be told, I wasn’t thrilled with the beet puree, but adding water to the food processor helps bring out some sweetness in them. This would be a perfect warm weather meal. Swiss chard not your thing? You could substitute spinach or arugula. I also made a rosemary olive oil/balsamic sauce to complement the meat.

Get a good cut of beef from a butcher if you can. It will make all the difference. I used filet mignon and ribeye would probably go well with this recipe. A nice hearty red wine would go well with this dinner.

Ingredients and Directions:

1 lb filet mignon

4 swiss chard leaves, roughly chopped and stems discarded

1 lb of beets

1 large clove of garlic, minced

¼ cup chopped rosemary

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap beets, unpeeled, in aluminum foil, and roast them in the oven for an hour. You know they are done when a knife easily pierces the skin. Open up the foil and let them cool for 10 minutes when they are done. Don’t turn off the oven because you will need it for the steak. Peel them, and puree to desired consistency in a food processor. Keep warm.

While your beets are roasting in the oven, you can make the rosemary sauce. Heat ½ cup of oil with ¼ cup chopped rosemary (save a pinch or two for garnish) over medium heat. The oil will simmer with the rosemary in it after a few minutes. Turn off heat and let the oil cool for 10 minutes. Strain oil through a sieve into a bowl, discarding rosemary. Let the oil completely cool now. Add in a couple tablespoons of balsamic when the oil is cool, whisk, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Heat a little oil over high heat on a cast iron skillet or some other oven proof dish. Sear the steak on one side only for 3 minutes. Flip over steak, and add to the oven for 7-8 minutes. Let meat rest for 5 minutes afterward. While meat is resting, wilt your leafy greens in a pan. Slice steak crosswise in thin pieces. Assemble the dish, drizzle sauce over meat, and garnish with rosemary.

Enjoy!

16: Filet Mignon / Mushroom Provencal / Fennel & Leek Puree

This recipe speaks for itself. There is something wrong with your taste buds if this doesn’t look or sound delicious. Many moving parts to this recipe, but it’s mightily delicious!

Ingredients and Directions:

-2 filet mignon steaks (don’t use a substitute!)

-1 package mushrooms, sliced

-3 minced garlic cloves, separated

-handful of bread crumbs

-grated parmesan

-parsley

-juice of half a small lemon

-half a fennel bulb, diced

-one stalk leeks, sliced

-half and half

-salt and pepper to taste

The key here is to make sure everything done at the same time. The directions will be separated for each part of the dish, and you can get creative on how you time everything.

Rub steaks with a generous amount of salt and pepper on each side. Cook your meat to desired doneness over olive oil. Generally, per one inch of steak, 4-5 minutes on each side is rare-to-medium rare on medium heat.

For the puree, sauté your fennel and leeks over medium heat until they are soft but not mushy, about 10 minutes.  In a blender or food processor, add mixture, half and half, half of the garlic, salt, and pepper, and puree until smooth. Set aside.

For the provencal, roast mushrooms in olive oil and remaining garlic. Add the lemon juice and let cook for about, oh, about 7 minutes or so.  When cooked, sprinkle with bread crumbs, cheese, salt, and pepper, and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Serve it all, garnish and enjoy!!

5: Balsamic-Herbed Filet Mignon w/ Garlic Bacon Red Potatoes & Steamed Brussel Sprouts

A few notes about this recipe: Few precise measurements were used, giving you the freedom to use as much or as little of the ingredients/seasonings as you want here. The timing of everything is the trickiest part of this meal. Amber dealt solely with the potatoes while I cooked the steaks and brussels sprouts. You will either need one really focused person or two people to prepare this mouth-watering steak dinner.

Steak is the quintessential American centerpiece of a fine meal. My girlfriend and I just spent a few days in West Virginia, and subsequently Virginia Wine Country, and we were treated to American cooking as fresh as possible and from the soul. It is with this inspiration that I cooked dinner tonight.

We went to Eastern Market to buy freshly butchered Black Angus Filet Mignon, brussels sprouts, and potatoes. The mashed potatoes were made from scratch and the steak was marinated in balsamic vinaigrette, garlic, sage, and rosemary for about four hours prior to grilling. The succulent look of the steak is the result of the marinade on the grill. I used mesquite coals for this delight to create a subtle smoky-sweet contrast, served the steak with bacon- and garlic-laced mashed red potatoes, and rounded out dinner with steamed brussels sprouts. Dinner was perfectly complimented by a robust and fruit driven merlot from Monterey County, The Rescue Block (2009).

Ingredients and Directions:

-one pound filet mignon, cut into two fillets

-12 brussels sprouts, halved

-small red potatoes, equaling about two medium-sized potatoes, partially peeled

-three strips of bacon

-garlic

-balsamic vinaigrette

-sage

-rosemary

-butter

-milk

-salt and pepper

The marinade is simple, but it requires four hours in the fridge. Mince garlic, sage, and rosemary. Use a quart-sized Ziploc bag and add half the seasonings to the bottom of the bag. Now add the filets to the bag. Flip over and add the remaining seasonings to the other side of the steaks. Firmly press the bag into the table. Add enough balsamic to cover to each side of the steaks. Refrigerate for four hours, turning once at two hours.

When ready to cook, start by browning bacon equally on both sides and set aside in paper towels once done. Cube partially peeled potatoes, cover with water and salt, bring to a boil, cover once boiling, and cook until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Get the grill started while waiting for the potatoes to boil. You can also halve your brussels sprouts at this point as well as mince more garlic for potatoes.

The grill should be ready at the same time the potatoes are done boiling. Once potatoes are cooked, drain from water and season with butter, milk to desired fluffiness, garlic, salt, and pepper to taste. Breakdown the potatoes with a fork, and mash with whatever utensil available (we used a hand blender). Start boiling water with salt and pepper for steaming the brussels sprouts while mashing, and then throw the steaks on the grill at the same time you add the brussels sprouts to the water. Cook to desired doneness. Crumble bacon while you wait for the meat and sprouts. Mix bacon with mashed potatoes. If potatoes or brussels sprouts are ready before meat, as was the case for us, cover both and put on low heat to keep warm on the stove until meat is done.

Serve and enjoy!