Romantic Dinner for One
What does a single guy like me do on Valentines Day? I make a simple (20 minutes to prepare) romantic dinner for one: cracked peppercorn encrusted, Point Reyes Blue cheese stuffed filet mignon draped in a sauce of caramelized onions and Cabernet Sauvignon. I threw in some steamed, buttered broccoli as well . . . but this meal was really about the beef . . . and the cheese . . . and the wine . . . and the chocolate. The wine was the excellent 2005 Amber Knolls Vineyard "Est. 1975" Cabernet Sauvignon from Lake County, California (brought to my place for a dinner party awhile back by foodrockzfan . . . thank you!) . . . with distinctive notes of chocolate and spice that paired perfectly with a Vosges Red Fire Bar—55% cacao with Mexican ancho and chipotle chillies and Ceylon cinnamon. Happy Valentines Day to me!
Oh yeah . . . here's the recipe for the filet mignon, multiply as necessary.
- 1 filet mignon
- 1 Tablespoon pepper corns
- 1/4 onion, sliced
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 2 ozs. Point Reyes Blue cheese
- Put the peppercorns in a baggie and crush them with the bottom of a cast iron skillet.
- Pre-heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
- Make a small (like 1/2 in.) slit in the side of the filet with a paring knife, inserting the blade into the filet nearly, but NOT all the way through the filet. You don't want the blade poking out the other side. Move the handle of the paring knife side-to-side, forming a slit on the inside of the filet, but not expanding the size of the slit on the outside of the filet.
- Stuff a bunch of cheese into the slit in the filet.
- Put the filet in the baggie with the cracked peppercorns and coat the filet.
- Melt half of the butter in the skillet.
- When butter stops foaming, add the onions on one side and the filet on the other and cover.
- For rare rare, as pictured above, cook for 2-1/2 minutes per side. Four minutes per side will give you medium (maybe the rare side of medium). Cooking times will vary depending on what your idea of medium-high heat is and what type of pan you're using. When in doubt, make a small slit in the filet to check for your desired level of doneness. Check it early . . . you can always cook the filet longer, but you can't uncook it!
- Remove the filet from the skillet and tent under foil. Add the wine and the remaining butter and reduce over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes.
- Serve!
Oh, FRM, Happy (belated)Valentine's Day to you.
The dinner looks divine. Too good to share, anyway.
I'm sure next year you'll be cooking for the future Mrs. FoodRockzMan.
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Regardless of whether I'm cooking for someone next year or not, I hope I'm as happy and healthy as I am this year . . . and I hope the food's as good as it was last night!
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Agreed!
I love your outlook on life. It's contagious!
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Happy Valentine's day! (I'm single too, but I cooked for my family that night... The stress..)
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Did you serve them your beautiful crema de fruta tarts?
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Lol, no. All gone by that time. Made an all-new menu I'm posting about in the coming weeks.
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I cooked for friends last night and could not have been happier; Valentine's Day is about love and you should spend it spreading the love.
And wowie zowie this looks good...I make a filet with merlot sauce, but I don't think it can hold a candle to all the blue cheese and the onions here.
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I'm happy to hear you had a great time with friends last night. Those shallots you blogged about sound delicious! I'm alllllll about spreading the love. I have more than I know what to do with! And I don't hesitate to save a bunch for myself . . . as my festival of self-indulgence lase night demonstrates!
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You won't be single for long if the ladies see you preparing meals like that!
Blue cheese and steak = the two most wonderful things known to mankind. Looks divine!!!
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I knew you liked your meat rare but wow...
I really like both pictures!
I have a question about creating the slit. Since you don't cut all the way through it then how do you do it so that the cheese is completely in the middle, like in the photo?
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I'm not sure how to best describe this . . . hmmm . . . you're actually making a pocket inside the filet. I have a photo I can send you of the filet before I cut it in half, where all you see is a little horizontal slit with some cheese oozing out. The small horizontal slit is the pivot point for the knife. As you move the handle of the knife side-to-side, the blade on the inside of the filet is likewise moving side-to-side. But, again, you want the little horizontal slit where the blade enters to be the only opening between the inside pocket and the outside world . . . so you have to be careful when moving the knife side-to-side. Picture a filled doughnut . . . where all you see from the outside is a little hole, but inside there's a pocket filled with something . . . jelly, Boston cream . . . whatever. I don't know if this explanation helps, but I hope so.
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i found you via culinary couture... and i now curse you both for making my mouth water simply by how sexy you both make food.
and the meal she made was incredible! the best home-cooked meal i've ever had.
i'll be a regular reader now. thank you for the single recipes, too. i can't even get close to your or cc's skill, but i cook for one and am excited to try out a meal that won't punish me with leftovers if i mess it up....
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Welcome! I'll definitely try to do some more recipes for one in the future . . . I often eat alone and I love cooking for myself. I'm not one of those people that thinks it's only worthwhile preparing a fine spread if I'm feeding others. And I'm sure you've got the same skills inside you . . . all it takes is practice and desire.
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jess, you can cook-- I know you can. But thanks for being so kind.
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i could sooooo date a man that cooks like that.. and when i say "date" ...well you know what i mean!
now im hungry!!! jeebus!! you should have called me!!
xoxo
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Well damn! If only I had known . . . .
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That looks divine! I'm cooking V Day dinner for my Sweetie tomorrow and I think I might follow in your footsteps. Love Ya!
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Now you've done it. The ladies will be swarming!!!
Your steak is perfectly rare... Just the way I like it, with just a peek of green to make it all feel "healthy". Have you tried Vosges' Bacon bar? Smokey and addictive. Yum.
When I'm on the East coast I'm gonna hunt you down. I'll just follow my nose.
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I haven't tried the bacon bar yet . . . but one of my co-workers bought one for her BF for V-Day and it got me thinkin' that I need to try it. Now that you've endorsed it . . . my kindred pallate . . . I definitely need to track one down.
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Couldn't agree more! DJ laughs at me for the effort I'll put into making meals for myself-- sometimes more than if I'm making meals for us. Of course, I can't do half the beautiful presentation that you can, but why not treat yourself to something beautiful and tasty to celebrate yourself?
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Point Reyes Farmstead blue cheese is one of my absolute favorites. I discovered it at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market last summer in San Francisco and have since had wheels of it shipped to me! How did you find out about this Northern California cheese in DC? Was it Cowgirl Creamery?
Also, by the way, I'm loving your blog lately. Easily my current favorite out of the DC food blogs.
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I'm loving that you're loving my blog . . . thankz! I found Point Reyes at Whole Foods.
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