This year it is a little different. Due to some minor surgery, I have blessed with the doctors order to stay home for 2 weeks. For someone that is a type A personality, that can't sit still to watch a movie, this is a difficult task. Therefore, I have decided to make champagne out of these grapes.
I believe that life is worth celebrating every single day. Champagne shouldn't just be for special occasions...it should be shared with friends and loved ones as often as possible. Vueve Clicquot happens to be my favorite. I don't know if it is the way that the beautiful bubbles lay on my tongue, or the fact that the widow (vueve in French) Clicquot ran the company after her husband died in 1805...but I adore this sexy champagne!
Filet Mignon is my "go to meat". A lot of people say that tenderloin is boring but I disagree. I think it has an elegance to it, a mellow beef flavor and it just melts on your tongue. I usually go to the local butcher and buy a whole tenderloin. I recently got one for $6.49 a lb! Ask the butcher to remove the silver skin and cut it into 1 inch steaks. They wrap each one in freezer wrap and frozen, they sit patiently, waiting me for when the mood strikes. Sometimes I will make a sauce to go with the the beef, but tonight I am just going to make it au poivre. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. You have to dry the beef. I can hear Julia Child's voice "you've got to make sure to dry the beef"...I put fresh a lot of freshly ground pepper on each side of the steak. I use a non-stick pan and get it really hot. I usually put a little olive oil in the pan but if you are using non-stick you don't need to. I am a medium rare kind of gal so I sear it on each side for 3 minutes. The secret is butter. Yes, butter. I put a pat of butter on top of each steak, leave it in the pan and finish it in the oven. How long? That is up to you and how you like your filet cooked. I figure out how well meat is cooked by the touch method. Put your left hand out, palm side facing you. If you touch the part of your palm closest to your thumb that it what rare meat should feel like when you push on it. If you go counter clock wise around your hand you will then feel medium rare, medium, medium well ending with well done near your pointer finger. For my piece I did a thin slice of Gorgonzola on top and had it melt in the oven. Heaven.
For my starch, I did oven roasted potatoes...simply wash redskin potatoes, cut into bite size pieces. Toss with olive oil, fresh ground pepper and seasoned salt. Roast at 400 degrees until fork tender. Yummy. Easy.
Since we have a 12 year old celebrating this New Years Eve with us, I decided to try something fun for him. While I was waiting to be taken into surgery the other day, I saw this recipe on the Today Show. It is from Chef Craig Koketsu who is at the Park Avenue Autumn Restaurant in NYC. I have been obsessed with trying it so tonight was the night.
Broccoli with Cheese Sauce and Crushed Cheetos
FOR THE BROCCOLI
3 large heads of broccoli, stems peeled and cut into 1/4-inch discs; florets cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon red chile flakes
3 tablespoons butter
Salt to taste
FOR THE CHEESE SAUCE
1 quart heavy cream
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
10 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 cups aged Gouda, grated
1 cup Parmesan, grated
Salt to taste
1/2 9-ounce bag of Crunchy Cheetos
FOR THE BROCCOLI: Blanch florets and stems in boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Remove and shock in ice water. Cool and drain. Place large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, garlic, and chile flakes and sweat, being careful not to brown garlic. Add butter and melt fully into oil. (1) When the butter and oil begin to bubble, add broccoli and sauté until heated through. Adjust seasoning with salt and reserve broccoli on a paper-towel-lined plate. FOR THE CHEESE SAUCE: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, reduce cream with shallots, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaf until it thickly coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and whisk in cheeses until fully melted. Adjust seasoning with salt. (2) Strain sauce through fine-mesh strainer and keep warm in a bain-marie. Crush the Cheetos in the bag into pebble-size bits with a rolling pin. to serve: Pour warm sauce into a large serving dish. Arrange broccoli on top of sauce. (3) Top with crushed Cheetos.
I did this recipe almost exactly as written. I didn't strain it though, i love the shallots.
Fire is started, more Vueve has been poured...time to snuggle up and watch a movie. Happy New Year and a Prosperous 2011!
