Friday's dinner

I had bought a cookbook a month or two ago, that I have been raving about called La Tartine Gourmande by Beatrice Peltre.  I saw that she was going to be on the Martha Stewart show, today!  I watched it and was inspired to make a Tartine (she made them on the show), which she says is the French way of saying an open faced sandwich.  All this time I thought I was making bruchetta but I was making tartines.  So I didn't have all ingredients she had on the show but I just used what I had and they were scrumptious!

I slow roasted some tomatoes with balsamic, oil, salt and pepper.  I had this really good whole wheat bread that I toasted up and spread goat cheese onto, I grated some lemon zest over that and then some baby kale's, baby spinach and baby chard over that then I topped with the tomatoes.  Of coarse you finish it with Fleur De Sel, black pepper and olive oil.

Slow baked sweet onion.

I know some of you are saying "What, an onion?"  Yes an onion!  I saw Laura Calder do this on her show and I have been wanting to make it and I finally did.  You put it in the oven on a bed of salt if necessary ( I didn't have to do that, mine stood up just fine).  Stab it a couple times so it doesn't explode.  I didn't have my temperature up high enough so (it actually was something I was planning on serving the night before but it wasn't done yet) I decided to continue cooking it the next day which worked out just fine. 

Here is her recipe so you don't have to continue it the next day.  It was topped with this aioli, that is easy and so good.  It reminds me of a "blooming onion" that you'd get at Outback restaurants, but without the deep fry and oily exterior.

Filet Mignon with Stilton Cream Sauce and Bay Mashed Potato with a Mushroom and Caramelized onion "Pie"

This picture doesn't show how good the tasted!  I have to be honest, it was gooooooood!  Tony and I shared one big Filet Mignon and of course it was plenty for me and Tony agreed it was plenty.  I made the mashed potatoes as you would but pour some milk of your choice into a small saucepan and heat it with a couple bay leaves; bring it to just under a boil, shut off the heat; cover and let it steep for 20 minutes; remove the bay and reheat it before adding it to the potatoes as you mash them with butter (it's amazing the flavor that you get from the bay infused milk). 

For the "Pie" I re hydrated some gourmet blend mushrooms (portabella, oyster, shiitake, porcini and chanterelle) and while they re hydrated in hot water I caramelized 2 onions.  Once the onions were done I buzzed up the re hydrated mushrooms in the food processor and add them to the onions along with a little of the mushroom water.  Cook together for a minute and turn off the heat.  In ramekins I buttered them and filled half way with the onion and mushroom mixture and I topped them with a round of puff pastry, egg wash the top and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or so. 

For the Filet Steak itself I minced up some fresh sage, fresh rosemary, salt and pepper and just rubbed it all over the filet (top, bottom and sides).  I let it set there at room temperature for about 30 minutes.  I thought I would pan sear it instead of starting the charcoal grill and everything.  So olive oil and butter in the skillet and brown the filet on all sides (6 sides).  I put it in the oven for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees.  I let it rest about 5 minutes before slicing it into portions for the two of us. 

For the Stilton cheese sauce I heated a splash of cream (about 1/4 cup) in a small saucepan and added some Stilton cheese about 2 Tbsp worth (I didn't measure).  Cook it and watch it, you want to melt the cheese into the cream and cook is on medium heat to thicken slightly.  It also thickens slightly as it sits and cools slightly.

Everything came together like a dream with a glass of Old Vine Zinfandel it was a great dinner.

I made this lemon meringue pie for dessert and it was goooood!  I basically made a graham cracker crust but I added some ground walnuts into the mix and baked it off.  I made a lemon curd and topped it with the hot method meringue.  Tony torched the top of the meringue and did a nice job!