Yes, you can go to a fancy steakhouse and spend 300 dollars, and walk away with a full belly and a happy heart — but very empty pockets! Instead, you can save a ton of money and have a fabulous steak dinner that is JUST as good right at home. I swear — you can do it!
Start with a good-quality piece of filet mignon (AKA tenderloin) and whip up a six ingredient mushroom wine reduction sauce that will melt your heart.
This recipe rivals the best steak houses around, and I’ll show you how to make the sides to go with it too.
The only thing I ask before we begin: open your best bottle of red wine….
Makes: for 2 people
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Total time: 2 hours
The Ingredients
2, ½-pound filet mignons (pieces of tenderloin), dusted with salt and pepper
8 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large shallots, finely chopped
2 cups low sodium beef broth
2 cups red wine (I use merlot)
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup mushroom blend, roughly chopped (I use cremini, portobello and chanterelle)
Salt and pepper
For creamy roasted garlic potato puree:
4 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled (or sub white potatoes)
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 head elephant garlic
¼ cup cream (more if potatoes aren’t creamy enough)
Salt and pepper
For sautéed spinach:
1 package spinach
1 large clove garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
The Steps
For roasted garlic: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice off the top of the elephant garlic head. Place head in a double piece of foil formed around garlic head to make a cup, and drizzle olive oil inside the cup until the garlic head is submerged. Close the top of the foil cup, place on a cookie sheet and bake until tender, about 40-45 minutes.
For reduction sauce: Over medium heat, add 6 tablespoons butter and shallots, tossing shallots with a spoon to sauté for 3 minutes. Add tomato paste and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes. Then add beef broth and wine. Turn heat up to medium-high and mix until combined. Put the pot lid on and turn heat down to medium-low. Let sauce reduce for 20-25 minutes until sauce has reduced to about one quarter of the liquid that was originally there. Stir sauce every few minutes while sauce is reducing. When sauce has reduced, keep sauce on very low heat while you cook the filets!
While sauce is reducing, boil potatoes for garlic mashed potato purée! Boil potatoes until you can easily pierce the potatoes with a fork, about 25-30 minutes. Mash potatoes with a masher. Transfer potatoes to a mixer. Add 2-3 large roasted garlic cloves, butter, sour cream, cream, salt and pepper to the potatoes. On medium, mix potatoes until light, fluffy, and pureed, adding more cream and sour cream to taste and texture.
For the filets: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For the filets, in a nonstick large skillet, add 2 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Turn stovetop to high heat. When butter/oil is sizzling, add filets a few inches apart. Let filets brown on each side for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and place filets loosely wrapped in foil on a cookie sheet. For medium rare cook filets for 5-10 minutes in oven until a meat thermometer reaches 130-135 degrees, or for medium at 140-145 degrees (a few minutes longer).
For sautéed spinach: In a large pot, add olive oil and garlic over medium-low heat. Sauté garlic for 1 minute. Add spinach and tossed until just wilted, about 3-5 minutes. Serve immediately.
To serve: Add a bed of spinach over a layer of potato puree. Generously spoon reduction over filets. Serve immediately with a full-bodied red wine like Cabernet.
