Filet Mignon With Blue Cheese & Cranberry Spice Gastrique
by Jeff Farmer, Chef, Lucky Restaurant, Roanoke, Virginia
Filets
- 2 (4- or 6-ounce) Certified Piedmontese filet mignon steaks
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- Sea salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- Drizzle of vegetable oil
- Chunk of your favorite blue cheese
Melt the butter with the parsley and a pinch of salt, then set aside. Heat a pan to high heat. Lightly coat the filets with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Sear the filets for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Once seared, remove to a sauce pan and baste in parsley butter. Top with blue cheese and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. To serve, place the filets under a broiler for 45 seconds to melt the cheese. Spoon a little Cranberry Gastrique (recipe follows) alongside the filets and serve with Roasted Celery Root (recipe follows).
Cranberry Gastrique
- 1½ cups sherry vinegar
- ½ cup sugar
- 6 ounces dried cranberries
- 1½ teaspoons orange zest
- 1 star anise
- 4 whole allspice berries
- 4 whole cloves
In a saucepan, simmer all ingredients for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and puree. Serve warm.
Roasted Celery Root
- 3 pounds celery root
- 1/3 cup butter
- Coarse sea salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Pre-heat oven to 450°F. Wash and peel off the outside layer of the celery root and cut into large match sticks (like French fries). In a roasting pan, melt the butter in the oven for a few minutes, then remove and add celery root, salt, and pepper. Stir in the butter and roast for between 1 hours and 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.