Raging Anger On Fat Tuesday

Today was Fat Tuesday and I had a couple of things going on.  First, this was forecast to be the best weather for the next week.  Second, I had a vicious cold this weekend, and today is the first day in the last 48 hours that I actually had an appetite.  Third, The Bride was out to dinner with her friends, so I had full reign of the kitchen.  Lastly, it WAS Fat Tuesday, so I needed something a little decadent. After school I decided to grill up the Filet Mignon With Crimini-Wine Sauce on page 105.

I faced a problem right away.  I had been lazy.  Instead of driving down to Findlay Market and getting a product in which I could have some confidence, I stopped by Fresh Market right by school.  I asked the butcher to pick me out a nice filet.  This is what he picked out for me.

Looks good, right?  I thought so, until I gently picked up the filet to move it and this happened.

This video pretty much sums up how I felt:

Never again, Fresh Market!  I figure this guy was eager to get rid of a bad cut of meat, and took advantage of me not paying attention.   I would never get this type of treatment at Findlay.  This is unprofessional, uncalled for, and uncool.  This will be my last stop to Fresh Market for this blog.  As Master Blaster said in Mad Max II, "Embargo on!"  After much illicit language, I mixed up the rub.

Instead of sprinkling the rub on the steaks, since they were now small enough, I just dropped them into my prep bowl.

I decided to keep the small piece to see if I could make the best of it.

I also needed a side.  I recently came across a recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Bacon and Potatoes.  This would fit nicely, I thought.

The first step was to mix the olive oil and mustard.

From there I had to slice up the shallot.

I had a small problem.  The recipe called for three slices of bacon.  I grabbed three pieces of bacon, and this where I had the problem.

Yup, a fourth strip of bacon wanted to come, too.

Such is life!  I complied and took the fourth piece.  So I diced up the bacon and potatoes and moved them all to the mixing bowl.

After a quick tossing to coat everything, I dropped it all into a roasting dish.

While it was roasting, I began working on the Crimini-Wine sauce.  By the way, good luck finding a package of crimini mushrooms.  Odds are, you won't.  Never to worry, though!  A crimini is simply a baby portabella.  The first step was to liberate the criminis baby portabellas of their stalks.

Then I added them to the diced leek, carrot, and garlic.

I used a recently-acquired toy that you have seen in the past to grill the caps.

This made sure that no lost soldiers fell victim to The Forge.

Aren't they beautiful?  Halfway through roasting in the oven, I added the brussels sprouts by nestling them into the mixture.

The sauce is simple.  Saute the aromatics, add wine and reduce, add broth and reduce.  Strain, and then add in the chopped grilled caps and parsley.

Keep the sauce warm, and right before serving add some butter magic.

The filets came off the grill, and looked awesome.

The side was also looking good!

Before plating, I cut into the smaller filet.  I had cooked it for a shorter time period on a less-hot part of the grill, but it was still over-cooked.

Still, the flavor was AMAZING!  The rub created a nice bark and the meat, while overcooked, was still moist.

I plated and sat down for my Fat Tuesday meal.

This piece was cooked darned near perfectly for me.  And as for the sauce...

Sweet Baby Jesus this was delicious!  There are few finer ways to top a steak than with a good sauce, and this was a  GOOD sauce.  Long story short, with a few minor modifications, this recipe will be seen by guests.  For those of you interested (and you SHOULD be) in the recipe for the side, here ya go:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
3 to 4 medium yukon gold potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1 shallot, thinly sliced
3 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
10 to 12 medium brussels sprouts (about 1/2 pound), trimmed and quartered

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and mustard. Toss the
potatoes, shallot, and bacon in the bowl until evenly coated with the mustard and oil. Sprinkle lightly with
salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper.
Spread the potato mixture in a baking dish (a 9-inch square pan works) and roast for 20 minutes, stirring
halfway through.
Add the brussels sprouts to the pan and stir so that they are coated in some of the rendered bacon fat.
Continue roasting for about 20 more minutes (stirring once), until the potatoes are cooked through and the
bacon is getting crispy. Salt to taste.