Filet of Beef with Texas Blue Cheese Sauce
2 lbs. center piece beef tenderloin
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp. canola oil (1 to 2)
1 Tbsp. minced shallots (about 2 small shallot)
3 Tbsp. dry Madeira or ruby port wine
2 cups beef stock reduced to 1/2 cup (or 1/2 cup demi-glace)
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 oz. Texas blue cheese (or any commercial brand)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter (4 to 5)
6 Tbsp. chopped walnuts for garnish
1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley for garnish
Lightly sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Rub a little oil on the beef and
refrigerate, loosely covered with plastic wrap, up to 24 hours.
One to two hours before cooking, remove meat from refrigerator and pat dry.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Heat a non-stick skillet and rub a little more oil all over the fillets. Sear
fillets on all sides, about 4 minutes total. Transfer to a wire rack and let
rest at least 20 minutes.
Discard any fat in the pan, add shallots and Madeira and reduce to a glaze. Add
the beef stock and reduce to a syrupy consistency, about 10 minutes. Add cream
and cook until the sauce has a nice beige color.
Place the nuts on a baking tray and lightly toast in preheated oven, about 10
minutes.
In a food processor, mix blue cheese and 4 Tbsp. butter until smooth and creamy.
(If too salty, add up to another Tbsp. butter.) Separate into 4 parts and
refrigerate.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Finish the beef fillets in the oven for approximately
19-20 minutes for medium rare.
Meanwhile, over low heat gently rewarm the syrupy sauce in the skillet; swirl in
the cheese-butter pieces one by one. Spoon sauce onto warm serving plates. Slice
meat and arrange in overlapping slices on the sauce. Garnish with nuts mixed
with parsley. Serves 4