March 26

Filet Mignon and Stuffed Artichokes

Menu

• Mushroom Filet Mignon [View Recipe]

  Quick View

  Ingredients

  • 2/3 pound steak
  • salt & pepper
  • 1/2 tablespoon oil
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 large shallot
  • 2 tablespoons sherry
  • 6 ounces mushrooms
  • 1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)

  Instructions

  We start by taking the two steaks out of the fridge. Next we prep the ingredients for the sauce. We mince the garlic, getting about a tablespoon, and mince the shallot getting about a 1/4 cup. We clean and slice the mushrooms.

  We heat our large saute pan over medium heat while we generously salt and pepper the steaks. We add the oil to the pan and, when hot, we add the steaks. We cook for about 4-5 minutes per side. We want the meat to be about 130 degrees for medium-rare. When done, we remove the pan from the stove, remove the steaks from the pan, and then place them on a plate to rest for about 5 minutes while we make the sauce.

  We place the pan we browned the meat in back over medium-low heat and add the garlic and shallots. We stir for about a minute and, taking the pan off the heat, we add the dry sherry. We replace the pan on the stove and stir for another minute, scraping up the brown bits with a wooden spoon. We want the pan to be almost dry when we add the mushrooms. We saute the mushrooms for a few minutes over medium heat and, when they are tender and have released their liquids, we add any jus (juice) accumulated on the plate the meat is resting on. We taste for salt and pepper and add the parsley. We heat on low for a few minutes and we have our topping for the steaks.

• Stuffed Artichokes [View Recipe]

  Quick View

  Ingredients

  • 2 large artichokes
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
  • 1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
  • 3 tablespoons cheese (grated)
  • salt & pepper
  • 3 cups water
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil

  Instructions

  We start by making our fresh bread crumbs. We slice the slightly stale bread and put in the food processor. We turn it on and let it go until the crumbs are small. We pour a cup of the crumbs into a large bowl and store the remaining in an airtight container in the freezer for future use. In another bowl, we submerge the artichokes in water to remove any dirt. We let soak while we mix the bread crumbs with the garlic, parsley, romano cheese, and salt and pepper.

  We remove the artichokes from the water and drain. We then prepare them by cutting off the stem so that it will sit flat. We also cut off about an inch of the top. We could also trim each leaf with scissors to be more elegant, but we do not bother here. We rub the artichokes with lemon to keep them from turning brown. We do not bother to try and remove the inner "hairy part" which is very fibrous. We will remove it with a spoon as we eat them.

  We then spoon the bread crumb mixture in between the artichoke leaves, spreading the leaves to get the mixture into the artichoke.

  In our dutch oven, we add an inch or two of water (about three cups in our 5 quart dutch oven). We add the bay leaves and squeeze the lemon half into the water and bring the water to a boil. We put the artichokes into the water. We drizzle the olive oil over the artichokes and simmer on low for about an hour.

  When the artichokes are tender when pierced on the bottom with a knife, we remove them from the water. We serve hot.

• Roasted Potatoes, leftover