Beef Wellington with Red Wine Reduction

Beef Wellington is not only a seasonal dish but it is also quite time consuming so I don't make it often.  Rather than making a traditional large roast that gets sliced up, I prefer making individual portions.  This recipe can be adapted for the former though!

2- 8oz pieces of filet mignon
1 sheet of puff pastry
4 oz shitake muishrooms
2 Tbsp Thyme
1 tsp garlic minced
2 egg yolks beaten
3 slices prosciutto
4 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 cup of red wine
1 cup of beef stock
2 Tbsp chopped shallots
salt and pepper

Timing is everything on this one!  The first few things you'll want to do about an hour before you plan to eat.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Take the steaks out of the fridge to remove the chill.  On a side note, filet is best for this because it will stay tender.  I personally love the prime filet mignon from Fairway.  Easily the best I have ever had!  Also take the puff pastry out of the freezer and thaw at room temperature.

 

Beef Wellington traditionally has a layer of mushroom duxelle, which in its simplest form is a mushroom puree.  However, I don't have a food processor so I make my own mixture.  Take the mushrooms and chop them as finely as possible and split into two portions.  Set one portion aside for the red wine reduction. 

Take half of the mushrooms, add thyme and garlic and a dash of olive oil.  Sautee over medium heat until the mushrooms are soft and tender.  set aside.

Now we will start the reduction.  Add red wine, beef stock, the other half of chopped mushrooms and shallots to a sautee pan on high heat.  Bring to a boil and lower heat to simmer.  You will stir this occasionally but this will just reduce until its time to serve the Wellington.

 

Season the filets with salt and pepper and then sear on high heat for about a minute on each side.  We eat our steak bloody rare and this made it come out perfectly when serving.  Adjust accordingly to your preferences.

Now we will prep for wrapping the Wellingtons by laying down two pieces of saran wrap.  Take the puff pastry and split into 3 pieces.  stretch out 2 pieces and cut the other in half and set aside.

 

Next, add the mushroom mixture to the center of the two stretched out pieces.  Lay down a piece of prosciutto on each as well. save the 3rd slice and cut in in half.

 

Take equal parts of the Dijon and add to each pile, spreading slightly.  Now you are ready to wrap the filets!  Place them on top of the Dijon and lay each of the half slices of prosciutto on top.

  

Fold up one half of the puff pastry, being careful not to rip it since it is delicate.  You will now use the egg yolks as a paste to make it all stay together--think of it like a glue.  Be generous with it as well since it will allow the dough to brown.  use the remaining half sheets of puff pastry to pull it all together on the top. 

 

Take the saran wrap and fully wrap the filet.  Place in the fridge for 5 minutes to firm up a bit.  Use the remaining egg mixture over the top of each Wellington and place on a greased baking sheet. 

For my perfect rares, I cooked for 20 minutes.  A good indicator is how brown the pastry shell is getting so be mindful of that.

Lastly, serve with some reduction for a delicious meal that's always a favorite!!

 

 

Mini Kobe Sliders

It's been a crazy week in our home!  We hosted our fourth annual Halloween party and I spent my week prepping miniature versions of some of our favorite foods.  I figured I would wait until I make the full size versions to post on here for you!

In the haste of the week, I didn't properly plan out enough dinners for the week so I made a quick trip over to the Market Basket in Franklin Lakes (a must try!) and picked up some Kobe ground beef.  This is typically a quick recipe to make but I wanted to try something different.  We had been gifted a salt block for cooking and I wanted to try cooking my sliders on it.  So this recipe does not require a salt block, you can do them in a nonstick frying pan.

1 lb of ground Kobe beef (make sure it is 100% Kobe not a mixture or you wont notice its distinct flavor)
1/4 lb sharp cheddar cheese, slice into slider-sized squares
1/4 white or yellow onion, sliced
12 slider buns
1 Tbsp siracharacha sauce
4 Tbsp mayo

If you are using a salt block, start heating it on low heat now.  Every 5 minutes, raise the heat slightly, until it is on high.  This should take 15-20 minutes.  If you are using a frying pan, you do not have to put anything in the pan. 

 

Prep the sauce by combining the Sriracha sauce and mayo with a fork.  Once blended, set aside. 
Slightly toast the slider buns and set aside.

In a separate pan, start carmelizing the sliced onions.  Add 2 Tbsp of oil to the pan and get it very hot.  Sautee the onions, not stirring too frequently.  You want them the brown in color. 

  

Season the Kobe beef with some salt and pepper and then divide the meat up into 12 sliders

Next, place the burgers in the pan or on the salt block on high heat.  Cook them for about 4 minutes. 

 

Flip the burgers, lower the heat to slightly under medium and add a slice of cheese to the top of each

Once the cheese is fully melted and the burgers are cooked to your desired done-ness,  place them onto the cooked buns.  Top with the carmelized onions

 

Take the mayo-Sriracha mixture and add it to the top halves of the buns.

I think you can figure out the rest from here :)

 

YUM.

Pineapple Vodka

Since I am not personally a big hard liquor drinker, I typically don't get excited about vodka.  This pineapple vodka is the one exception.  I should warn you that if infused for long enough, you can hardly taste the liquor and it goes down quick!!

2 -1.75L of vodka
3 full pineapples
4-5 sprigs of rosemary
pineapple corer

The first thing you need to do is ensure you have a large enough glass container for the vodka to infuse in.  It should be able to fit in your fridge as well.  Next prep the pineapples for coring by trimming off the tops

   

Next use the corer to remove the usable fruit from the pineapple.  It will give you a big spiraled piece of pineapple that you should quarter up

  

Take each piece and delicately place it in the glass container along the edges.  Then add both bottles of vodka

  

Now this is the easy part--put it in the fridge and let it stay in there for 10 days.  Simple right?  After the 8th day, take some rosemary sprigs and add it to the middle of the container.  About 4-5 sprigs is perfect.  Mix it around a little and leave it in until the last day.

 

 

 

If you aren't serving the vodka right out of the spout within the next few days, you should strain the pineapple out and put the vodka into bottles.  Using a colander is best because the pineapple tends to flake.  We personally served it at our Halloween party this year on that 10th day so we did not drain it out.  Enjoy responsibly!

Au Poivre

Au Poivre is probably my favorite condiment.  I personally believe that sauces can take away from whatever protein it is served with, but I will put this on anything.  Steak, chicken, asparagus, and tonight it was lamb chops.

The number one direction for this recipe is reduce, reduce, reduce.  Here's what you need:

1 1/2 cups of white wine
1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
1/3 cup of brandy
lots and lots of crushed peppercorns (to taste)

This seems like a lot, especially for two people, but it will actually wind up being a great amount to dip in!

First add the wine and cream to a nonstick pan

 

Next add in the brandy and peppercorns

 

Now the fun part...waiting!  Bring the sauce to a boil and make sure it doesnt boil over.  Just let it reduce

and reduce, and reduce and reduce.  Occasionally scrape the edges of the pan.  Continue this for about 20 minutes, unless sauce thickens drastically

Once it has reduced, plate and enjoy!  Typically served with steak, but I love it with anything!  Just be sure to start making this before you start making anything else you are making to go with it!!