Individual Beef Wellingtons

For Christmas, we tried making a huge beef wellington - while it was good, it completely fell apart.  

So one day, I decided to try making individual beef wellingtons because my grandmother had given us some filet mignons.  Minus my overlooking the part to cut the steaks 1" thin and thus having it very very very rare, it was actually pretty good!!! 

I found the recipe from Rachael Ray. - However, I did make a few modifications for one reason or another.  

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, plus extra for drizzling
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1-2 onions, chopped 
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tournedos of beef filet mignon, 1-inch thick
• 1 sheet frozen prepared puff pastry, 11 by 17, defrosted
• 1 egg, beaten with a splash of water
• 
  

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add oil, butter, shallot and chopped onions. Saute 5 minutes. Remove from heat

In a nonstick skillet over high heat, sear meat 2 minutes on each side in a drizzle of oil. Remove skillet from the heat and season meat with salt and pepper.

Spread the puff pastry sheet out on to a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Quarter the dough with a sharp knife. Roll each piece of dough into a 10 by 6-inch rectangle. On each rectangle of dough, place 1/4 of the cooked onions. Top with 1 tournedo of beef. Wrap dough up and over the meat. Seal the dough with egg wash and trim excess. Use leftover dough bits to make decorative garnishes for the tops of your Wellingtons. Turn the wrapped Wellingtons over and cover with egg wash using a pastry brush. Affix dough garnishes with egg wash. For a simple decoration, roll dough bits into a long, thin spaghetti like string and make swirls on each Wellington. Bake beef Wellingtons 10 minutes or until golden. Let stand 5 minutes, then serve.

French Onion and Beef Strudel

My mom found this recipe in a Pillsbury book more than 10 years ago. This hits the spot and brings back memories for me. For one, i was my first true exposure to caramelized onions. For two, I didn't really eat steak much back then because of my braces. So to be eating bite size pieces was heaven, pure heaven for me. :)

While this sounds complicated and looks like it takes a while, it's not really that complicated once you get the hang of it and time flies by so quickly!


Step 1: Chop up 1 1/2 cups (~3/4 lb) onions - I usually use vidalia (sweet) onions. Saute in 1/4 cup butter for 15-20 minutes or until brownish. End result seen here.



Step 2: Chop up 1 1/2 lbs steak. My personal favorite (and it's the kind that melts in your mouth) is chuck/flat iron.



Step 3: Once the onions are done, remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon into a bowl. Cook the steak in the remaining juice for just 2 or 3 minutes!

Step 4: While the steak is cooking up, get the rest of the ingredients together (if you have time during Step 2 - after you've cut up the steak and the onions aren't ready yet- I'd do it then!)

Step 4A: Combine 3/4 c mozzarella (shredded) and 1/4 c Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Step 4B: Combine 1 tsp flour, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 /2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. (In the picture, you can see I have done so in the measuring cup. I try to use as little dishes as possible!)

Step 4C: Measure out 1/2 cup of beef broth.


Step 5: Turn on the oven to 375 degrees! When the 2-3 minutes have elapsed on the steak, return the onions to the pan. Add the dry spices/flour to the pan. Pour in the beef broth. Cook and stir (make sure you scrape the pan!) for about 5-8 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.



(FYI this is the point where I get excited and forget to take pictures. Sorry!)

Step 6: (I try to do this while the liquid is absorbing..) Grease a cookie sheet. Take one can of crescent rolls. Open it. Take 2 triangles and put the two shortest sides together to make the shape look like an even bigger triangle. Place on cookie sheet at the top. Repeat with the next two triangles and slightly layer the top piece on the first big triangle on the cookie sheet. Repeat with the last 4 pieces. The end result will SOMEWHAT resemble a kid's drawing of a Christmas tree.

Step 7: Place meat mixture down the middle of the crescent rolls. Sprinkle the cheese mixture on top.

Step 8: Beginning at the top, fold over the left part of the triangle and then the right part of the triangle (almost as if you are braiding hair). Fold over alternating pieces until you've reached the bottom. If there is room, pull up the bottom piece to touch the "braided" portion of the rolls.

Step 9: Sprinkle the top of the crescent braid with 2 TBSP parmesan cheese.

Step 10: Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until the crescent dough is a deep golden brown color. Cut into 4 pieces and serve!

Optional: Serve with sour cream and/or au jus.


The leftovers!