Joey and I just celebrated our 5th anniversary and wanted to do something really special. However, with Joey's layoff and the cuts at my company, we are counting pennies like everyone else. With that in mind a swanky dinner at Gary Danko was definitely out of the question. I remember Rachel Ray saying, "Nothing says 'I love you' more than a home cooked meal." On that note I am saying, "I love you" all the time, so how could I make this meal special? The menu was easy. I just saw Danny Boome's Hot Date episode so I knew what I wanted to make, but where would we eat?
We live in a very comfy apartment, but the only "dining table" we have is in the kitchen. We usually eat at our coffee table while watching TV. (Boy, that's romantic.) While I do love my kitchen it's about as sexy as a trip to grandma's house, so what was I going to do? Eureka! I am going to move my kitchen table to the living room. Heck, I am gay so naturally every light in my house has a dimmer switch - mood lighting was easy. iTunes would easily provide mood music. I could even stretch it to say the birds would add ambiance. My conundrum was what do to with that table? I decided to go to Ross and see what they had to offer. Oh, goodness, I LOVE a bargain. I found a tablecloth for $5.99; placemats and napkins for $3.99; and candles and candlesticks for $4.00! I even found some heart-shaped dishes for $2.99 each! Wow! All I needed was some flowers and I was good to go. (In all honestly, the flowers were my one extravagance at $15.00.) I set up my table and it looked beautiful.
For my meal, I chose something a bit fancier than our usual fair, but at the same time was easy and timely to make:
Filet Mignon
Potato Gratin
Pan-Fried Asparagus with Shallots
Molton Chocolate Baby Cakes
Well, our meal was a success. I managed to make "homecooked" sexy for the night. Honestly, I 
could have made Kraft Mac & Cheese and it still would have been special. This really make me think - we don't need to go out to fancy restaurants to celebrate the special times of our life. With a little creativity and love, we can celebrate those times right at home. As Dorothy said, "There's no place like home."
Happy Anniversary, Joey!
Thank you for five amazing years!
Here's to many, many more!
I love you!!!!
I know, what am I thinking putting Filet Mignon on my blog during "these trying economic times." Well, first off, I am really tired of that expression. I know these are trying times, but we are all going to get by one way or the other. Also, I believe that these times are exactly when we need to treat ourselves every once in awhile. If you are having a special occasion, why not have it at home and get the most out of your hard earned money?
To be honest, we got a pretty good deal on Filet Mignon at Costco, so I needed to find the best way to cook it. The recipe below is really a combination of a lot of recipes I have seen for this. It's a kind of a Tyler-Danny-Rachel-Paula method. I have taken all the best ideas and put them together. The finished product is perfection. Actually, I have to admit this was better than going out to a restaurant and for $5.00 a filet compared to what you would pay at a restaurant, it was well worth it.
The one thing you will need for this is an ovenproof skillet. I have my handy cast iron skillet that is a staple in any kitchen. If you don't have one, you might want to think about one. While I don't use is all the time, the times that I do need it, it's indespensible.
These come out perfectly since you sear them on the stove and then bake them in the oven. Trust me, you may never go out for filet mignon again!
Ingredients
Chive Butter
- 1 stick butter, softened
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bunch chives
Filets
- 2 (8-ounce) filet mignon steaks
- Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Remove filet mignon from refrigerator and allow to get to room temperature
- Preheat oven to 450°
- Place butter into a mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper and stir until blended and soft.
- Take a 12-inch piece of plastic wrap and lay it on the counter.
- Spoon the butter out onto the center of the plastic wrap and place the chives in the center on top of the butter.
- Pull the edge over the butter mixture, and tightly pinch the ends, then holding the plastic wrap tightly at each end, pull the mixture towards you. This should create a tight sausage shape. The chives will be in the center surrounded by butter. (Like a sushi roll.)
- Tie a knot on both ends of the butter roll and place into the freezer until you are ready to place it on top of your cooked filet.
- Season filet mignon generously with salt and pepper.
- In a heavy, ovenproof skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until almost smoking.
- Pan-sear the steaks, only on 1 side, for 2 minutes until a crust forms.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 10 minutes or until cooked medium rare.
- Remove steaks from oven and let stand for 5 minutes
- Slice butter into thin coins and place one on each filet
- Serve and feel fancy
My mom LOVED all things "As Seen From TV." She always had a little present for me when I came down that was something she had seen on an infomercial. Often she would call me and leave an "urgent" message to call her immediately. When I would she would say something like, "I saw this cream that will make me look 20 years younger, can you look it up on the computer?"
I saw this video on Facebook yesterday and it immediately reminded me of her. I remember her urgently calling me once and telling me, "You need to see this thing that chops stuff." Had I seen this version of the infomercial, I probably would have bought it.
Watch out this is infectious. I woke up this morning with "Slap Rap" running through my head.
