Preheat oven to 250°F. Sprinkle steaks on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add steaks and sear until brown, about 2 minutes per side. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 3 tablespoons butter, garlic, thyme, and rosemary to skillet. Cook steaks to desired doneness, turning occasionally and basting with pan juices, about 12 minutes for medium-rare.
Transfer steaks to small rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in oven.
Pour contents of skillet into small bowl. Return 3 tablespoons drippings from bowl to same skillet and place over high heat. Add shallots and sauté 2 minutes. Add Cognac and Port and stir 1 minute, scraping up any browned bits. Add broth and boil until sauce is reduced to 1 cup, about 12 minutes. Whisk in Dijon mustard, then remaining 3 tablespoons cold butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Arrange steaks on plates; whisk any accumulated juices from baking sheet into sauce. Spoon sauce over steaks and serve.
Peppery Beef Kabobs with Braised Pearl Onions Makes 60 hors d’oeuvres active time: 2 hr total time: 2 3/4 hr
INGREDIENTS
60 small white pearl onions (1 pound)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1‚ pound (1/2-inch-thick) boneless sirloin steaks, trimmed of excess fat
20 (4-inch-long) rosemary branches, stripped of all but 1 1/2 inches of top leaves and bottoms cut diagonally to a point
40 (6-inch) bamboo skewers, soaked in water 1 hour
PREPARATION
Blanch onions in a large pot of boiling water 1 minute and drain, then cool under cold running water. Trim root ends and peel. Cook onions in butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, 3 minutes (onions will not brown). Add salt and regular-grind pepper to taste and enough water to just cover onions and boil, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender but not falling apart, about 15 minutes. Transfer onions to a bowl with a slotted spoon and if necessary boil juices until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Toss onions with juices.
Combine coarsely ground pepper, chopped rosemary, garlic, and salt, then rub into both sides of steak. Cut meat into 3/4-inch cubes.
Put 1 onion, then 1 steak cube (thread through unpeppered sides) on each rosemary branch or skewer to make 60 kebabs.
Preheat broiler.
Arrange some of kebabs in a row, a peppered side facing up, along 1 long side of oiled rack of a broiler pan so that leaf ends of rosemary branches and blunt ends of skewers point toward middle of pan. Cover exposed skewer or branch ends with a sheet of foil (don’t cover beef or onions). Arrange another row of kebabs over foil, covering exposed ends in same manner. Continue adding rows of kebabs and layers of foil until pan is full, making sure exposed ends of last row of branches or skewers are covered with foil. (To broil kebabs in batches, keep remaining kebabs on a tray, covered with plastic wrap and chilled.)
Broil kebabs 2 inches from heat until beef is seared on 1 side but still medium-rare, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.
Tips: Onions may be braised 2 days ahead and chilled, with juices, in a sealed bag. You can chill raw kebabs, covered, on broiler pan or a tray 4 hours. Although all kebabs will fit on 1 broiler pan, you may prefer to broil kebabs in batches so they are not all ready at once.
Porcini-Crusted Filet Mignon with Fresh Herb Butter
Makes 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1 small garlic clove, pressed
1 (1/2-ounce) package dried porcini mushrooms*
6 1-inch-thick filet mignon steaks
*Available in the produce section of many supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Italian markets.
PREPARATION
Mix first 4 ingredients in small bowl for herb butter. Season butter to taste with salt and pepper. Process dried porcini mushrooms in spice grinder to fine powder. Transfer powder to plate. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Press steaks into porcini powder to coat both sides well.
Melt 2 tablespoons herb butter in heavy large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add steaks to skillet and cook to desired doneness, about 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer steaks to plates. Spoon rounded tablespoon of herb butter atop each steak and serve.
yield: Makes 6 servings active time: 20 minutes total time: 1 1/4 hours
INGREDIENTS
For beef
1 (3-pound) trimmed and tied beef tenderloin at room temperature
2 oz thinly sliced pancetta (Italian unsmoked cured bacon), cut into 1/3-inch pieces
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
For sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup dry Marsala wine
3/4 cup beef or veal demiglace*
2 tablespoons red currant jelly
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
PREPARATION
Roast beef:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Pat beef dry and cut 1/2-inch-deep slits at 1-inch intervals all over roast, then insert 1 piece of pancetta into each slit. Sprinkle beef with kosher salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until just smoking, then brown beef on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer beef to a small roasting pan, reserving skillet.
Roast beef in middle of oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted diagonally 2 inches into center registers 120°F, about 25 minutes. Transfer beef to a cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 25 minutes. (Beef will continue to cook as it stands, reaching 130°F for medium-rare.)
Make sauce while beef stands:
Heat reserved skillet over moderately high heat until oil is hot but not smoking, then saute shallot until golden, about 2 minutes. Add red wine and Marsala and deglaze skillet by boiling, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until liquid is reduced by about one third. Add demiglace and jelly and briskly simmer, whisking, until jelly is incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add butter, 1 bit at a time, whisking until incorporated, then remove from heat. Whisk in salt and pepper. Pour sauce through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids.
