.filet mignon with madeira sauce.

*rubbing hands together*

I have to tell you all, this steak was FANTASTIC!  The filet was so tender, you could cut it with the side of your fork!  The only bad thing?  We were so full from eating salad and crab cakes we could only eat a very small bit of our steak and potatoes before we had to stop. LOL

If you don't have a grill, or it's just too cold to grill, you can use a skillet.  I bought a grill pan for this and it worked great.... except for the stupid $200 Viking hood that ISNT HOOKED UP.  Yep.  I turned on my fan but as soon as I put the steaks on, the house started smoking up.  I checked and there is no vent tubing taking the SMOKE OUTSIDE.  So I need to contact the builder and have him come fix that.  What a nuisance.  Grrrr... but the steaks were fabulous and the Madeira sauce was the perfect companion for the meat and potatoes.  I know you will agree.

You really do need to use Madeira wine.  You will not get the same flavor if you use something else, but if you really need to use something different, I suggest a port.  Port wine reduction works for steak, right?

Put 1 1/2 cups Madeira wine and one chopped onion in a saucepan.  Turn on medium to medium high heat.  Let this cook down.

See how reduced down that is?  Doing this intensifies the flavor and the alcohol cooks out.  It has now been infused with the onion so there's a lot going on here.  Once it gets to this point, turn the heat to very very low.

Once the Madeira has reduced, put 3 Tbsp butter in a skillet and saute up 1 cup mushrooms (can be omitted).  Saute until they are nice and brown.

Sprinkle 2 Tbsp flour over the mushrooms and cook the flour for a minute, while whisking.

Now pour in 1 1/2 cups beef stock.  This will begin thickening up almost immediately.  Make sure you keep whisking so you can work out any lumps. After a minute, pour in the Madeira reduction.

Taste and season with salt and pepper.  

At this point I transferred the sauce to an oven safe bowl, put a piece of foil over the top and held in a low temp oven to stay warm.

Remember when cooking steak... let it sit out for about 30 minutes before grilling.  This relaxes the meat, which ensures it will be very very tender.  Again, we're using Filet Mignon, which is pricey, so make sure you don't destroy it by overcooking.

Before putting on the HOT grill, I seasoned well with salt and pepper.  I did put a little oil on the pan before putting the steaks down to ensure they don't stick.

Grill on one side for 3 minutes, then flip over and sear the other side for 3 minutes.  Then flip *back* over, putting it on another diagonal to give you criss cross grill markings.  Grill again on that side for 3 minutes, and repeat for the other side.  That should be enough for a perfect medium rare steak.  If you want your steak done a little more, then cook a little longer on each side.

When these were done grilling (and all the smoke was cleared out of the house. LOL), I put them on a plate and held them in the oven to "rest" and stay warm.

Serve with a helping of roasted garlic mashed potatoes and put some of that delicious Madeira sauce on top.  Visual presentation is just as important as flavor, so when plating, stick a little sprig of fresh thyme in the mashed potatoes (see picture at top).  You will really impress your Valentine with all your cheffy skills!!!

Printable version:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_140hc3fdvc9