BBQ Filet Mignon Burger with 10 Pepper Mix

How do you turn up the standard BBQ hotdogs and hamburgers.. Start by making lobster rolls on hotdog buns like the previous post.  Then, instead of hamburgers you make filet mignon burgers.  Thats right!  You cook a whole filet loin on the grill then slice thick cuts, top it with slow cooked peppers and provolone cheese, put it on a potato bun and then of course serve on paper plates.  Thanks to Harout and everyone else who joined, it was a great day. This takes 1.5 hours, costs $75 and feeds 20 people.

Slow Cooked 10 Pepper Mix
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 orange bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 cubanelle pepper, sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
1 Thai green chili, sliced
1 Anaheim red pepper, sliced
1 finger hot pepper, sliced
1 Pablano pepper, sliced
1 serano pepper, sliced
1 vidallia onion, sliced
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil

Put all peppers in a hot skillet with olive oil and butter on medium heat.  Cook for 5 minutes then turn the heat down to medium low and let simmer 30 minutes or more.  Season with salt and pepper and serve on anything.

Chateau Briand
This French term is used to describe the entire filet mignon loin cooked whole.  I trimmed the fat and silverskin off of the loin and sliced off the tip and end piece leaving one large piece of meat about 2 feet long.  I seasoned this meat with salt, pepper, fresh marjoram and olive oil.  I seared it on all sides on a hot grill until it good great color, about 20 minutes total, then left it on the top rack of the grill for an additional 10 minutes.  I let it rest 15 minutes then sliced into the most beautifully cooked filet mignon ever.

Toss it on a bun and top it with the pepper mix and Provolone cheese.  Buon apetito!!

Surf & Turf, Purple Cauliflower, Baby Cabbage and Bearnaise Sauce

The meal was for the Christening of  my friends new apartment at the Jersey Shore along with a celebration of my friend Derek's successful surgery.  A little shopping at Wegmans and the whole thing came together quite nicely.  This takes 2 hours to prepare, costs $70 and feeds 5 people.

Surf and Turf
2 - 2.5lb lobsters, boiled and deshelled
5 - 4 oz Filet Mignons
1 stick salted butter

Boil the lobster for about 10 minutes and let cool.  Remove all of the meat from the lobster and split the tails in halves.  Place all the meat back into a small sauce pan and top with a stick of melted butter.  Cover and heat on low on the stovetop for five minutes right before serving.
Season and then pan sear the filet mignon for 3 minutes on each side on medium high heat.  Place in a baking dish and cook in a 400 degree oven for 8 more minutes.  Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Purple Cauliflower and Baby Cabbage
In separate pots of boiling water blanch the cauliflower florets and the baby bok choy for about 3 minutes and then plunge them into separate ice baths.  Remove and let dry.  Place florets in a baking dish with some finely diced garlic and shallots, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
For the bok choy just place it on a baking tray and heat in the oven 5 minutes before you serve.

Bearnaise Sauce
1/2 small shallot finely diced
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley (tarragon is traditional but I didnt have)
3 egg yolks
1 and 1/2 sticks of butter
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
juice from half a lemon

In a small sauce pan start shallots and vinegar on low heat.  Let cook until most of the liquid is reduced and you have about 2 teaspoons of liquid.  Remove from the heat and add the fresh herbs.  Set aside until later.  In a second small sauce pan start the butter on low heat.  Once the butter is all melted a white foam will be on top.  Use a small spoon to remove all of the white milk solids from the top.  This is know as clarifying the butter.  Remove from the heat and set aside. Now the tricky part; Create a double boiler, a small sauce pan with lightly boiling water and a metal mixing bowl on top.  Add the egg yolks to the mixing bowl and whisk vigorously for about 3 minutes or until they double in side.  Now have someone else SLOWLY pour the warm clarified butter into the eggs while you continue to whisk.  Once the butter and eggs have come together add the remaining ingredients and whisk together.  Keep the sauce in a warm place but not too hot or it will break.  Use to top basically anything.

The food, wine and company were all amazing.  Congratulations to Harout on the new spot, its going to be a great year there.  Words can't say how impressed and proud I am of my buddy Derek who gave his kidney to his mother just one week before this event.  Life is amazing everybody so enjoy it while you can! Buon Apetito!