Bearnaise Sauce ~ To Accompany The Real Deal Filets

When my nephew who is a law student told me that this sauce should be "illegal", I knew this should go along with my "favorites" because, truthfully, it is pretty darn good!

Serving suggestion: with the Real Deal Filet Mignon posted below.  Also great to drizzle on asparagus.

Serves: 5-8 ~ depends on how much sauce your crowd uses

Ingredients:
-3 egg yolks
-1 stick of butter, melted
-1/4 cup white wine vinegar ~ run o' the mill vinegar is also fine if you can't get your hands on the white wine vinegar
-1/4 cup wine ~ just double the vinegar if you don't want to use wine
-2 tbsp tarragon

-1 tbsp shallots

Instructions:
-Put all of the ingredients above into a saucepan on medium-high heat
-Bring to a simmer and cook until the amount is reduced by half
-Remove from heat and seat aside to cool

-In a blender on the "sauce" setting (or low-medium), blend the three egg yolks on medium WITH the mixture from above that you just set aside
-While the blender is still running, slowly add about 1/4 of the melted butter into the mixture
-When the mixture emulsifies, turn the blender up to HIGH and add the rest of the butter

~Note~ this sauce takes a long time (several minutes) of blending before it looks less runny.  And it will still look runny after you're done blending it.  But don't despair!  Just keep it warm before serving it because it will stiffen up.  For me, the stiffening up process usually takes about 20-30 minutes. I keep it warm in my Salter food warmer and stir it occasionally.

Enjoy!

~Ellenor

The Real Deal Filet Mignon

More luxurious (and expensive) than the stone ground grits for sure, this recipe is perfect for having company over or for special celebrations.  My advice is to go with the best cut of filet you can find ~ think Whole Foods or Fresh Market.  It's much more expensive than you'll find at other places, but I promise it's worth it.  It just cooks and tastes better ~ not much different than a really good steakhouse.

I like to serve this with asparagus or twice baked potatoes ~ whatever strikes your fancy!

Ingredients:

-One 6-8 ounce filet per person
-butter
-salt
-papper

Instructions:

-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
-At least 20 minutes before you plan to start cooking the filets, take them out of the fridge. Put salt and pepper on them and let sit on the counter ~ so as not to shock the filets by bringing them from a cold temperature to the hot stove immediately!
-Butter a plan over a medium-high stove and sear the steaks for three minutes on each side
-Move the pan to the over for 6-8 minutes (for medium rare), perhaps a few minutes more depending on your oven ~ I test out how done the steaks are by pulling them out of the oven and cutting into the middle of one of them, but you can use a meat thermometer too ~ 135 to 140 degrees for medium rare
-Once they are done to your liking, remove from the oven, transfer the steaks onto a plate, and loosely cover with foil for 10 minutes. This allows the steaks to "rest" before you serve them and it really does make a difference with the way it tastes!
-Serve with bearnaise sauce on the side ~ see my next post for bearnaise recipe!

Enjoy!

~Ellenor