1. Beef Wellington (Gordon Ramsay Video)
2. Artichoke and Fennel Ravioli with Tomato-Fennel Sauce
3. Golden and Crimson Beet Salad with Oranges, Fennel, and Feta
4. Bacon Hasselback Potatoes
5. Molten Chocolate Cakes (not pictured)
1. Beef Wellington
I must have watched Gordon Ramsay make Beef Wellington at least a dozen times on the video. I also referenced Tyler Florence's Ultimate Beef Wellington Recipe as well. The following recipe is a summary of the quantities that I used and what I did. I have wanted to make Beef Wellington for many years now, but it was always hard to justify the expense. I figured that our 7-year anniversary would certainly qualify!
The hardest part was actually finding a beef tenderloin that was close to 3 pounds. I went to Costco, Sprouts, Whole Foods, and at least 5 Safeways before finding one. Maybe they are more popular around the holidays? Anyways, I found a 2.5 lb. beef tenderloin at Safeway for $19.99. Safeway actually also had English mustard - Colman's mustard, and I thought that I would need to search a little more for that.
Some things to remember for the next time I make this dish: I would definitely trim my beef down into a more perfect cylinder. I couldn't stand the thought of wasting any part of such an expensive piece of meat (our normal dinners are chicken breast that I find for 1.88/lb!), so I only trimmed some of the fat when I could have trimmed off a little more. I also would roll out the puff pastry more to make sure that it can form a tighter wrap - the puff pastry split open on one side a leaked a little liquid when it was baking. Otherwise, it wasn't too hard to make a successful Beef Wellington! =)
INGREDIENTS
- 3-lb. beef tenderloin (filet mignon)
- 700g mushrooms (1.5 lb)
- 2 shallots
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- English mustard
- 12 slices prosciutto
- 1 lb. puff pastry
- egg for egg wash
PREPARATION
- Duxelles: pulse mushrooms, shallots, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Cook in a dry pan until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add thyme and let cool.
- Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in hot pan and sear beef on all sides. Remove to plate and brush with English mustard while it's hot.
- On plastic wrap, lay the prosciutto slices side-by-side so that it creates a rectangle big enough to encompass the beef. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Spread mushroom mixture on top in a even layer, 1/2-inch from the edge. Place beef on top and roll tightly with the plastic wrap. Place in fridge for 15 minutes to firm up.
- Roll out puff pastry in an even layer. Brush with egg wash and place beef-mushroom-prosciutto roll on top. Roll tightly and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in fridge for another 5-15 minutes. Can be made the night before.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place Beef Wellington on a baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Score top of pastry with the back edge of a knife, sprinkle sea salt on top. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes (I ended up baking mind for 38 minutes) until internal temperature reaches 125 degrees (for medium rare). Let the meat sit for 10 minutes before slicing.
2. Artichoke and Fennel Ravioli with Tomato-Fennel Sauce
This "ravioli" had a really nice delicate flavor inside with the fennel and the artichoke hearts. I would love to make this again with actual pasta dough. It might be the Asian in me, but these just felt like I was eating Italian-style dumplings (haha, I guess that's what stuffed pasta is) instead of ravioli. It still tasted good though, and using wonton wrappers made the process a lot easier.
Bon Appetit December 1993
YIELD: Serves 8 (serves 8 for maybe an appetizer course, definitely not for a meal)
INGREDIENTS
Filling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 5 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 9-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, unthawed
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh fennel
- 1/2 cup canned vegetable broth or water (I used water)
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh fennel fronds
- 1 egg yolk
- 32 to 36 gyoza (round) wrappers or wonton wrappers
- 1 egg white
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 cup chopped fresh fennel
- 1 1/4 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 1 28-ounce can Italian tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- Fresh fennel fronds
For filling:
Heat olive oil in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and fennel seeds and sauté 3 minutes. Add artichoke hearts and chopped fennel and stir 1 minute. Add vegetable broth and bring mixture to boil. Cover skillet and cook until vegetables are very tender, about 12 minutes. Uncover and simmer until pan juices have evaporated completely, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Scrape filling into processor and cool. Add fennel fronds and process to coarse puree. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add yolk and blend.
Line baking sheet with plastic wrap. If using wonton wrappers, trim edges to form rounds. Brush entire surface of 1 wrapper lightly with egg white. Place 1 rounded teaspoon filling in center. Fold dough over, forming semi-circle. Seal edges, pressing out any air around filling. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers. (Ravioli can be prepared ahead. Cover loosely with towel and plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 8 hours, or cover with plastic and freeze 3 days. Do not thaw frozen ravioli before cooking.)
For sauce:
Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic, fennel and fennel seeds and sauté until tender, about 12 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juices and next 4 ingredients. Simmer until sauce thickens, breaking up tomatoes with back of spoon, about 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill. Rewarm before using.)
Boil ravioli in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well. Spoon some sauce on each plate. Arrange ravioli atop sauce. Garnish with fresh fennel fronds.
3. Golden and Crimson Beet Salad with Oranges, Fennel, and Feta
Other than skipping the feta cheese in this recipe, I followed it exactly and it was just delicious! I love the taste of the oranges and the beets together. I will definitely make this again!
Bon Appetit October 2006
YIELD: Makes 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
- 2 large (3-inch-diameter) red beets, all but 1 inch of tops trimmed
- 2 large (3-inch-diameter) golden beets, all but 1 inch of tops trimmed
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 4 oranges
- 1 small fresh fennel bulb, trimmed, quartered, cored, cut into paper-thin strips
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked, halved
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- Coarse kosher salt
- Freshly ground white pepper
- 1 1/2 cups coarsely crumbled feta cheese
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place all beets in 9x9x2-inch metal pan. Drizzle 3 tablespoons oil over; sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Cover pan with foil and roast beets until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Uncover and cool completely. Peel beets, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, and place in large bowl, each color on opposite side; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Do ahead Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.
Cut all peel and pith off oranges. Working over medium bowl to catch orange juice, cut between membranes, releasing segments. Add 1 cup orange segments, fennel, mint, parsley, hazelnuts, and shallot to bowl with beets. Transfer 2 teaspoons orange juice to small bowl; whisk in vinegar and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and white pepper. Stir into beet mixture.
Mound salad on large platter. Drain remaining orange segments; arrange on salad. Sprinkle with cheese.
4. Bacon Hasselback Potatoes
Oh man these potatoes were yummy! They took a lot more time to make than I anticipated though - it was tricky slicing the potatoes without slicing them through, and then the bacon slices kept popping out as I tried to stuff them in between. I ended up cutting most of the potatoes in half so that they had more room to fan out with the bacon in between them. I used russet potatoes.
Recipe courtesy of Food Network Kitchens
YIELD: 12 servings
INGREDIENTS
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon, each cut crosswise into 9 pieces
- Kosher salt
- 12 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 scallions, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Directions
Lay the bacon pieces on a baking sheet and freeze until hard, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Using a sharp knife, make crosswise cuts in each potato, about 1/8 inch apart, stopping about 1/4 inch from the bottom.
Add the potatoes to the boiling water and cook 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and carefully transfer to a baking sheet; let cool slightly. Pat the potatoes dry, then insert 3 pieces of the frozen bacon into the cuts of each potato, spacing the bacon evenly and letting it poke out of the top. Melt 5 tablespoons butter and brush generously over the potatoes and in the cuts. Reserve any excess butter for basting. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
Transfer the potatoes to the oven and bake until the outsides are browned and crisp, about 2 hours, basting halfway through with the reserved melted butter.
When the potatoes are almost done, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and mix with the scallions, parsley and garlic. Spoon over the potatoes and roast 5 more minutes. Transfer to a platter and season with salt and pepper.
5. Molten Chocolate Cakes
These cakes were super rich and chocolate-y. They were so rich that we ran out of ice cream to eat with each bite and had to scoop some more out. It was very easy to make and had a gooey chocolate center after I baked it for 12 minutes. For the ramekins, I brushed them with butter and then dusted it with cocoa powder instead of flour because I saw Gordon Ramsay do that with his Chocolate Fondant (another recipe I wanted to try, but it calls for golden caster sugar and that is hard to find in the States)
YIELD: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 450°. Butter and lightly flour four 6-ounce ramekins. Tap out the excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.
2. In a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter with the chocolate. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt at high speed until thickened and pale.
3. Whisk the chocolate until smooth. Quickly fold it into the egg mixture along with the flour. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins and bake for 12 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centers are soft. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each one over, let stand for 10 seconds and then unmold. Serve immediately.
MAKE AHEAD
The batter can be refrigerated for several hours; bring to room temperature before baking.
I ended up making enough food to give us a total of 3 gourmet dinners! The leftovers were delicious. To reheat the beef wellington, I put slices on a baking sheet and baked in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes. They end up cooking a little bit more (becoming medium instead of medium rare), but get warm enough for Al to eat and are still tender and flavorful.
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