Filet Mignon Stuffed with Gorgonzola

“Keep them as a storage fee,” my friend Sam uttered as she collected the bulk of the steaks she had been storing in my freezer.  She was moving and didn’t have enough space to keep most of her frozen goods during the process, so I offered up my freezer as a home to her collection of steaks.  When she was picking up her assorted meats, she was sweet enough to leave me with several packages of steak.  Now to simply cook a filet and serve it with a baked potato would almost be sacrilege to my creative culinary spirit, so my mind began to spin.  One of Shawn’s and my favorite local places to eat, Bube’s Brewery has a stuffed steak every day on the menu, so in homage to Bube’s off to the kitchen I went. (I will be sure to add a post about Bube’s Brewery in the near future)

Enjoy…

2- 8oz Filets

1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola Cheese

3 minced cloves of Garlic

4 Russet Potatoes

½ cup Sour Cream

4 tablespoons of butter

2 cups beef stock

1 tablespoons of flour

1 large slivered Yellow Onion

2 tablespoons of Olive Oil

1 tablespoon of Cayenne Pepper

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Trim any excess fat from the steaks and toss in to medium Skillet.  Using a good paring knife, “Good Knife,” this is an essential to cooking.  Please do yourself a favor and lay out the cash for a high quality set of knives.  This will make prep time and honestly cooking much more enjoyable.  Using a good paring knife slice pockets into the side to the steaks.  You are trying to create a hole to stuff with cheese not butterflying the steak, so keep the entry hole on the small to medium side, while the depth should be just short of the other side, and as wide as the steak. 

In a bowl combine 2 tablespoons Minced Garlic, Gorgonzola Cheese, and 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil.  Mix until Garlic is evenly distributed throughout.  Stuff the mixture into the pocket of the steak.  Pack it in tight, do this in small bits at a time.  Pressing each bit in and compressing before moving on to a new bit.  The cheese should almost be bursting out the side when done.  Season steaks with Salt, Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, and Garlic Powder.

Heat a medium Skillet over medium high heat.  Get one tablespoon of Olive Oil hot.  Place steaks in the center of the Skillet.  You are just searing the steaks; not cooking them all the way through, so 1-2 minutes on each side will be perfect.  Place steaks into medium baking dish and into the oven on 350 for 10-15 minutes or until they reach medium rare.  (Again, medium rare is how you should be eating steak, if you are one of those well done people, please reconsider the flavors are just gone)

Turn the Skillet with the excess fat on med heat and render the fat.  Render means cook the fat until the oils seeps out into the pan.  With tongs pull the fat out.  Add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil.  Melt Butter and turn heat down to medium to medium high.  Add Yellow Onion, salt and pepper.  Keep them on medium heat stirring regularly until they become translucent and soft.

Cube Potatoes, personally I prefer the skins in my mash, but you may choose the extra step of peeling them before cubing.  If you like extra work and the reduction of nutrition go right ahead.  Place in 3 quart Pot and fill ¾ full with water.  Add salt to water.  Potatoes need salt to cook.  Not doing this will lead to lack luster potatoes.  The added benefit of lowering the boiling point of the water and speeding up the cooking process is nice as well.  Place on high heat and bring to boil.  You want the potatoes to become fork tender.  That means pull out a single cube, one of the larger ones if your cuts are uneven and try smashing it on your board, if it crumbles it’s done.  Strain potatoes and place them back into the pot.  Add 1 tablespoon of butter, Sour Cream, Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper and start mashing.  Mashing can be done in a multitude of ways, I personally prefer the good old fashion hand masher, and the potatoes get creamy with a few chunks of goodness.  But if you prefer a hand mixer will do the trick.  Try to stay away from the stand mixer or food processor.  They end up getting a little too whipped and the fun texture is gone.  You may find you need to add a splash of milk if you want creamier potatoes.

In the same Skillet you seared the steak, melt 1 tablespoon of Butter.  Whisk in 1 tablespoon of Flour until smooth.  Add 1 Beef Stock, whisking constantly until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.

Place Mashed Potatoes in center of plate, add gravy, place steak on top of mashed, top with caramelized onions. 

Enjoy!

Steak Roulade with Parsnip Mash and Roasted Baby Carrots

This dish is better known in my house as Season 2 tryouts.  When I first learned of the open casting call for Masterchef, I racked my brain for a wonderful dish, that I could cook in Harrisburg, transport to NYC,  stand in line for who knows how long, and it would still be yummy for the judging.  Once I settled on the Roulade, I made Shawn eat it at least once a week, tweaking it to perfection.  I was even able to get my dad; Mr. All Veggies are Rabbit Food, to try it.  Even though it wasn’t good enough to get me on the show, it still is one of my all-time favorite dishes.   (Three years later and Shawn still won’t let me cook it again)

Enjoy…

24 oz. London Broil

3 oz. thinly sliced Pancetta

1 cup Smoked Gouda

2 cups Shiitake Mushrooms

4 cups fresh Spinach

2 minced Garlic Cloves

2 cups Beef Stock

10 baby Carrots

2 tablespoons of Butter

4 Parsnips

2 Gala Apples

½ cup Milk

4 tablespoons of Butter

4 tablespoons of Olive Oil

½ tablespoon of Flour

Salt

Pepper

Fill a 4 quart pot ¾ with water.  Put in cleaned carrots.  Bring to boil and remove and strain when carrots are cooked all the way though.  Be careful not to let them get “fork tender” we are not creating a mashed carrot here, just “par” cooking them so they don’t take forever in the oven.  Cover a cookie sheet with cooking spray and put the “par cooked” Carrots on it, drizzle with Olive Oil, season with Salt and Pepper.  Place into oven at 375 for about 20-30 minutes.  Keep an eye on them you want to pull them when the sugars begin to brown them.

In a medium Sauté Pan heat ½ of the Olive Oil on medium high heat.  Thinly slice Mushrooms.  Place Garlic in oil and begin to cook.  Add Mushrooms, season with Salt and Pepper, then sauté until reduced in size by a quarter.  Add Spinach and sauté until spinach is completely wilted.  Remove from heat.

  

Place your London Broil on your cutting board, if your cutting board is one of those tiny little plastic things from the dollar store, throw it away and go get a real board.  Worst case; place it on the counter top.  Cover with a large sheet of plastic wrap, make sure the wrap lays flat and extends at least 6 inches past the steak on all sides.  Pull out your meat tenderizer and start hammering.  Start in the middle and work your way out.  Each cycle should thin and enlarge the steak, continue the cycles until the steak is about ½ an inch think.

Remove plastic wrap, season with Salt and Pepper, and then lay slices of Pancetta on top of steak.  Look at the steak and it should resemble a rectangle.  Turn it so the shorter sides are to your right and left, and the longer sides are at the front and back.  You want to spread out the Pancetta in nice even sheet, carefully overlapping each piece with the next, stop about 1 inch short of the long side. Spread Mushrooms and Spinach on top of Pancetta.  Then julienne Gouda into strips resembling French fries and evenly distributing on top of steak. 

Carefully roll the steak, front to back.  Keeping it tight as you go along, but not so tight all the goodness squeezed out the top and sides.  Now it is time to hog tie!  Tie a piece of twine around the steak, to hold it together.  Next time I make one I will be sure to upload a video with the technique, but essentially you are creating little loops all the way down the steak. 

In a large Sauté Pan heat on medium high heat 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil.  Carefully place your roulade into the pan and sear on each side.  Once seared on all sides, place roulade into Baking Pan, add Beef Broth, cover with foil and place into oven on 375 for 15-20 mins.  (More or less depending on the doneness you like your steak, which should be medium rare)  Pull from oven and let rest for 5 mins.

Peal and cube the Parsnips into ¼ inch cubes.  Fill a 4 quart pot ¾ full of water, add salt to the water, and then add in Parsnips.  Bring to boil and boil until Parsnips are fork tender.  Peal and cube Apples into ¼ inch cubes.  Heat Olive Oil and 1 tablespoon of Butter in a medium Sauté Pan over medium to medium high heat, add Apples and sauté until they become tender and golden brown.   You will need to stir them constantly as the sugars in the Apples will burn easily, you are trying caramelize them not charcoal them.  Drain Parsnips and place them and Apples in a large mixing bowl, add tablespoon of Butter, season with salt.  Using your hand mixed beat Parsnips and Apples, while slowly adding Milk.  I say slowly because sometimes it takes a half cup milk, sometimes it only takes a quarter cup milk.  There are more factors than I care to go into here on why, but when you first heard these factors you were in 7^th grade science class and if they didn’t make since then, they probably won’t again.  The easiest thing is slowly add milk and stop when you reach the consistency you are looking to achieve.

In a small Sauté Pan melt 2 table spoons of butter, whisk in Flour and keep whisking until smooth.  Pour in Beef Stock from the baking dish.  I would suggest a ladle or large spoon.  Whisk until sauce reduces to about 1/2 of the original amount.

Spoon Beef Sauce onto plate top with a slice roulade, spoon on Parsnips on to your plate, add the Carrots and serve.

Enjoy!

Steak Tips on Rhubarb Compote with Blue Cheese Au Gratin Red Potatoes

The discovery (not so much a discovery as our friend Sam taking us) of the farmer’s market up the road from our house was the inspiration that I needed to pull me from my culinary doldrums.  As we wandered the market looking at all the wonderful fresh locally grown veggies, Shawn spotted something that with which I had little experience, rhubarb!  The experience I had was only in the eating pie form and that was coupled with some yummy fruit like strawberries.  Shawn began to reminisce of her childhood when she would eat rhubarb fresh from the garden with just salt to bring out the flavor.  Not that I don’t believe her when she recites such tales, but I had always heard of how tart rhubarb truly was.  So I decided to break the “Joy of Cooking” free of its home on the shelf.  As always it provided me the proper guidance to create a new dish.    All of the main ingredients came from that wonder farmer’s market; I hope you can find one in your neck of the woods too.  (FYI, Shawn, raw rhubarb and salt, not all she remembered)

Enjoy….

2 cups chopped Rhubarb

1 cup Orange Juice

1 cup Sugar

1 Lime

16 oz. Prime Steak Tips (I prefer NY Strips here)

4 medium Red Potatoes

1 cup Crumbled Blue Cheese

1 cup Milk

2 tablespoons of Flour

2 tablespoons of butter

½ cup finely diced Yellow Onion

½ cup finely diced Celery

¼ cup minced Garlic

4 tablespoons of Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Cayenne Pepper

Garlic Powder

In a 2 Quart Sauce Pan put Rhubarb, Orange Juice, Sugar and juice and zest of Lime.  Place on med to med low heat and reduce.  Stir occasionally.

Thinly slice the Red Potatoes. Now there are three options for this task two that take skill, one that takes toys.  Option 1: The Knife, if you choose this option you better take your time and get really even cuts, otherwise you may find yourself chomping down on raw potato or mashed, neither are what you are looking for.  Option 2: The Mandolin, I have seen the TV Chefs use this thing a million times, I have even had my buddy Wayne show me, but alas, I rarely get it right and end up mutilating perfectly innocent potatoes.  All while running the high risk of slicing of the tip of my fingers.  Option 3:  The Food Processor, if you have spent the cash to purchase this wonderful toy, congrats.  If you haven’t spent the cash on all the attachments, reach back into your wallet it makes prep time simple.  Mine has a really cool slicer option where I feed the tater in the top and perfectly cut, even, slices of potato fill the bowl. 

In a 4 Quart Pan place Potatoes and cover with water, about 2 inches higher than top of Potatoes.  Add salt.  Place on high heat and bring to boil.  You aren’t looking to get the potato fork tender, just cooked most of the way through.  Strain potatoes when done.

In a Medium skillet heat  2 tablespoons of Olive Oil over medium high heat.  Add Yellow Onion, Celery, Garlic and sauté until onions are translucent.  Add Butter and completely melt.  Whisk in Flour to create Rue.  Whisk in Milk, and continue to whisk until smooth.  Add Blue Cheese and continue to whisk.  (This is my basic Blue Cheese Mornay, any cheese works, and you will see it again)

In a 13”x 9” baking dish layer in Potatoes and Mornay Sauce.  Place in pre heated 425 degree oven until top begins to brown.

In a Medium Skillet heat 2 tablespoons Olive Oil on medium high heat.  Season Steak Tips with Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, and Cayenne Pepper.  Cook Steak to doneness you prefer ( Just to be clear, that would be medium rare.  I know it is a matter of personal preference, but that is just silliness to me)

Spread Rhubarb compote on plate too with Steak and spoon out Potatoes on side!