Filet Mignon et Accompaniments

I had recently bought some meats from Omaha Steaks
so this past weekend I decided to pull out the
filet Mignons from that purchase and fire up the grill.

But first I wanted to make bruschetta.

This is not rocket surgery, folks.

No need to measure, sweat and pray.

Just put in what you like in the amounts that taste good and 

you have a winner.

The ingredients and amounts, more or less:

1 pint grape tomatoes, diced

 (but any tomatoes that have some flavor will do)

1/4 cup onion, diced,

1 garlic clove, grated

1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

splash good balsamic vinegar (not shown)

1/2 to 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

pinch kosher salt

pinch freshly cracked black pepper

Taste and adjust flavors as needed.

Lightly toast French bread that has been cut 

into 1/2" slices on a bias.*

*I cooked the whole defrosted baguette on the grill and 

then cut it into slices.

As wonderful as this tastes now, 

can you imagine how this would taste with homegrown tomatoes?

And now for the stars of the meal.

A few hours before cooking, 

I placed the meat on a rack over a plate and seasoned them

liberally with kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper, 

and extra virgin olive oil.

These went back into the fridge until just about an hour before

they were to go onto the grill.

I had also pulled some butter out of the fridge to let it warm

and mixed it with an equal amount of Gorgonzola blue cheese.

After preheating the grill, 

I cooked the filet Mignons to medium rare and grilled some

corn on the cobs.

The corn took much longer than the steak did to cook.

Dinner is served.

And what a fine dinner it was.

Just Call Me Wilma

Flintstone, that is. I found this steak in the fresh meat case at my local grocery store a while ago and just had to get one. As this was Angus prime steak, even on sale it cost a pretty penny. As we would only likely have this once or twice a year, I decided to splurge a bit for my family. But first, the corn:

I bought three firm ears of corn at my other local grocery/department store.

Now, listen (er, read) carefully. It is not necessary to strip the husk away to determine if you have a good ear or not. Just firmly grasp and feel the ear and you can tell if it is fully formed and good (and get your mind out of the gutter, please - this is a family-friendly blog). I hate to try to find good ears of corn, only to find that others have unwrapped the things before I had gotten there.

And in this case, I needed those ears to remain fully husked, as it were.

The only preparation I did here was to pull the excess corn silk off the top of the husks. I then soaked the ears in water for a couple of hours before cooking.

Now, on to the butter. Compound butter, that is. I picked some fresh thyme and rosemary from the garden. Allow the butter to sit out at room temperature for a couple of hours to soften.

Now that the butter is soft enough to work with, finely chop the thyme and rosemary.

I do wish you could smell these freshly chopped herbs. Um, no. I won't ask if you can see the flavors. I really won't.

Now the herbs have been thoroughly mixed in with the butter. If dinner is to be served within a couple of hours, it is all right to keep this out at room temperature during that time.

And now we have the star of this meal: the steak. This is a Cowboy Rib Eye steak. Wouldn't Fred Flintstone be proud?

Now, I simply cannot imagine that this could possibly be meant for just one person. As it is, this particular steak is meant for three adults and I am sure that we will have leftovers.

Allow this steak to sit out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or up to one hour before cooking. Not only must the meat rest after cooking, but it must rest before cooking for better results.

Drizzle with olive oil and liberally coat with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Heat your outdoor grill and drain the ears of corn before placing on the hot grill. I would not recommend cooking corn that is still in the husk inside as the aroma of burnt grass is prevalent.

I placed the corn on the cooler side of the grill and cooked for about 15 to 20 minutes before putting the meat on to cook.

I also added two sprigs of fresh rosemary to the meat before cooking. Allow the beef to sear on one side before turning. Remember, the meat is ready to turn when it easily releases from the cooking surface.

Turn the heat down to low and allow the second side to sear. Then move the meat to the cool side of the grill and cook until the desired doneness is achieved.

Take the meat off the grill and cover with aluminum foil so it can rest for 15 minutes or so before slicing.

While the meat rests, we ready the corn for service. Once the corn has been cooked, the silk comes off very easily.

After resting I sliced the steak. Ah, rare, just like we like it.

Hey, I was right. We had quite a bit left over for later. Mmm, I'm thinking about a nice steak sandwich with caramelized onions...

Impromptu Dinner for Two

As any wife and mother of teenagers can tell you, it is a lot of hard work trying to plan and cook dinner for several different individuals who may or not be home for dinner on any given evening. Which brings me to today: my daughter wasn't sure until late that she would not be home for dinner as she had to go to football practice. She is still a manager for her high school football team, even though she will be a college sophomore this fall. And then there was my husband. Would today finally be the day I would get to pick up my new car? After all, my husband only "bought" (well, okay, got the paperwork started) my new vehicle (a Honda CR-V) last Monday. But no, they didn't have the color or even the second or third color car I wanted and now, a week later, they are still waiting on the accessories that I wanted. So this has left me supremely frustrated. I have no car, as my dear husband decided to sell his car before I got my new one. I am car-less. Did I mention that I am not amused? Good. Remember that. The only upside that I can see right now is that somehow the dealership managed to get a hold of one of the few elusive vehicles in the color I really wanted. Now, if I could only get the car...

Any way, since I didn't know until late this afternoon who was going to be where for what, I was having trouble planning dinner (and that little problem of not being able to go out to buy food). So this is what I settled on for my husband and myself:

I have 2 Beef Sirloin steaks from Schwan's, vegetable stock, black pepper, salt and unsalted butter. Later, chopped fresh rosemary, chopped onion and a splash of dry white wine would be added.

Here, the steaks sear over medium-high heat in olive oil. The steaks have been seasoned with the salt and pepper

When the steaks are finished cooking, they are removed to a plate and covered with foil to rest.

Now I add the vegetable stock, white wine, onion, rosemary and butter to the hot pan.

Now, why does this picture remind me of The Scream?

Allow to simmer and reduce for a few minutes before moving to a bowl for service.

And this was our hastily put-together meal. The sirloin steaks and the sauce, roasted corn on the cob (also from Schwan's) and left-over baked beans.

And did I mention that at the very last moment I decided to chop up more fresh rosemary to top my corn on the cob? Now, please excuse me while I dig in. Really, don't you have your own dinners to eat?