Beef Wellington for... well two. This is a elegant meal that I've been wanting to try for a long time now. It's quite time consuming, but is well worth it in the end. I really think it something every cook should try at least once... and have maybe once a year on a special occasion. My special occasion was New Years eve. That fact that it took about 3 hours to make actually worked out in my favor for this night, considering we wanted to stay up and watch the ball drop.
I was a little nervous starting out with the meal, hoping that it wasn't going to turn out disasterous. Figured I had already decided to make the meal, so I put on my sweats, grabbed a glass of wine and started prepping for the meal. The recipe I decided to go off of was Tyler Florence's Ultimate Beef Wellington recipe. I changed a couple things to add some of my flavor to it, but definitely tried to stick to the recipe. I also made my fresh spinach and roasted basil potatoes to go along as sides. These are two really easy and tasty sides that you can add to any meal. I've used these to pair with fish, chicken and even Italian dishes. They are super simple and have minimal ingredients.
Simple Spinach with garlic
Ingredients
1 lb. fresh spinach, 2 tbls. olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup white wine, splash of chicken stock, pinch or more of red pepper flake... salt & pepper to tast
Directions
Heat the olive oil on medium heat for a few minutes. Chop the garlic and add to the oil to cook for about two minutes. Add the spinach to the pan and stir in with the garlic. Immediately add in the wine, let it cook and reduce until the spinach is wilted and most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the chicken stock and red pepper flake and let cook for a few mins. Before serving add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot!
Roasted Basil Potatoes
You can really make these potatoes a million different ways. Sometime I add different spices according to the type of cusine I'm making that night.
Ingredients
1 lb. of red potatoes (halved), 2 tbls. olive oil, dried basil and oregano, garlic salt, salt and pepper to taste.
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Halve the potatoes and put on baking sheet. Add the oil, make sure all the potatoes are covered as it makes it easier for the spices to stay on. Sprinkle enough basil and oregano to cover all the potatoes. Add a small amount of garlic salt to each potatoe. And finally add the salt and pepper. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes and check on them to stir and flip. Let cook for another 10 mins and stir again. Let them finish cooking for another 10 mins or until soft all the way through. Cooking time is about 40 mins. Let stand to cool and serve!
The main event takes about 45 minutes in the oven to make, but make what they call the Duxelles for the Wellington takes some time. Especially when you have a teeny tiny food processor... like I do. I'm not one to really lose my temper, or get impatient... but this particular night was an exception for me. I needed to make enough Duxelles to cover a 2 pound beef tenderloin, so I had to do about six separate shifts in the food processor and then add them together. I ended up not being too bad, but I'd suggest you wait to make this until you invest in a large food processor.
Tyler Florence's Beef Wellington recipe:
I hope you all enjoy making this Beef Wellington as much as I did. I made it for two, but it can easily feed four to six people if you decide to make it for a dinner party. Either way, I know family and friends will enjoy tasting this delicious recipe! Happy food finds to you all!
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