We were having friends over for dinner and had decided on steak. When we were browsing the meat section in Costco we discovered some filet mignons, this was a first, and so we decided on those as a treat instead of a regular variety we would normally get. They were such amazing cuts of meat to look at, thick, round, chunks of the tenderloin. In fact, while they were on the counter coming to room temperature before we cooked them, all I could think of was beef tartare, which is made from cut up tenderloin tip! I don't think you could do too much to this cut of meat that would prevent it from being ultimately tender and so soft you barely need to cut it! Though having a great husband at the bbq does help and we had them perfectly medium rare. I seasoned them very simply with fresh cracked black pepper and truffle salt. Only because I have truffle salt, normal sea salt works just fine.
The other part of the meal was twice baked potatoes, which I made ahead of time, somewhat, and then you can heat them up when you are ready. The twice baked potato needs to be cooked first hand. My version for speed is cooking in the microwave and then crisping in the oven, do as you will though. Once the potatoes are ready take them out and slice them in half length ways and allow to cool so you can pick them up. Into a large bowl I had already put finely sliced green onions, grated cheddar, butter and some bacon bits which I had fried up earlier and drained on paper towel (though that bit of trying to reduce fat was lost on me later when I had put everything else into them!). Once the potatoes are cool enough for you to handle, scoop out all the filling and put it into the bowl with the cheese etc, then arrange the skins on a tray like little canoes waiting for the new filling. Mash the potatoes and mix into the other ingredients. This is where I used some more buttermilk to help get a nice creamy consistency and added some salt and pepper to taste. Once the filling is perfection, scoop it back into the skins and top with some finely grated parmesan cheese, they are then ready to go back in and be heated up again, about 20-30 minutes works, until they are golden and crispy. You can serve these as they are or with some sour cream, we did the latter.
I also made my favourite steak side of mushrooms and onions. This time it was a variety of white button, crimini and shitake mushrooms, with finely chopped onions. I cooked these down in oil and butter until they were done, then added some sherry and garlic and cream and let them simmer ever so gently until they went rich and creamy. It is such a wonderful accompaniment to steak. Drool factor!
Last but not least was some steamed broccoli, still with a bite to it and lots of vibrant colour!
This meal was to die for, everything was so good on it's own and then combined, made all stomachs happy!
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