I'm sure you're wondering how the dinner party went, and while I'm still recovering from it, I can at least give you a quick overview:
When we last visited this subject, I was still toying around with ideas on how to do the deconstructed Beef Wellington. I came up with a solution that worked and it tasted wonderful, but was really ugly, as you can see in the photo. Here's what I did:
I cut puff pastry sheets into four squares each (I had ten guests, but made twelve in case some came out badly) and draped them over upside-down ramekins placed on a cookie sheet. I cooked them until golden. I also made a mushroom duxelle, with criminis, onion, basil and garlic. As for the filet mignon, I marinated them in red wine, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce and worcestershire sauce for a few hours. Then, about an hour before guests arrived, I put the filets in a couple of large skillets and sauteed them for about five minutes. I turned the heat off, let the pans cool down, then threw them in the fridge for two hours. When we were ready to serve the filets, I put them back on the stove, on high heat, for another seven minutes, turning once. I then placed them in the puff pastry cups, topped with the duxelle.
The taste? Simply divine. The look? Simply tragic. Because of the wine, the duxelle was purple. The filets were odd-shaped because I didn't think about making them round and holding them together with toothpicks. So, I will continue to play with this recipe, trying to find a way to make them prettier. Garnish ideas, anyone?
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