Filet Mignon w/Mushroom Sauce, Chive-Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Christmas dinner for two...seriously good! Maybe one of the best meals ever.

I splurged at Whole Foods and got filet mignon. Too bad this is pricey enough not to enjoy often...though I'm sure it would be good with non-fancy steak too. This is sort of an amalgamation of a bunch of steak-and-mushroom-sauce recipes I looked at online.

Filet Mignon with Mushroom Sauce

-2 pieces filet mignon / beef tenderloin / whatever (let stand at room temp for about 1 hr)
-1 lb-ish mushrooms (I used a package of "gourmet blend" shiitake, chanterelle & oyster mushrooms, plus some creminis)
-1 large shallot, thinly sliced
-butter & olive oil
-1/2 cup red wine (I used Cabernet Sauvignon)
-1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
-pinch dried thyme
-dash Worcestershire sauce
-1/4 cup (or more) heavy cream

Make the mushroom sauce: saute the shallot in about 1 Tbl each butter & olive oil. Add mushrooms & saute over medium-high heat til well-browned. Season with salt & pepper. Add wine & boil until most of the liquid is gone. Add chicken broth & simmer til slightly reduced. Add thyme & worcestershire. I added a tiny bit of flour to thicken (though I didn't really want this to be gravy-like). Can be made ahead to this point.

To cook the beef, preheat oven to 350 and heat an iron skillet over medium-high heat. Season filets well with salt & pepper. Add some olive oil to skillet and sear filets for 4-5 minutes on each side. Finish cooking in the oven to desired doneness - for me it was about 8-10 minutes for medium rare. Depending on how thick the filets are, you may not need to do the oven step. Don't overcook!! Meanwhile, add cream to sauce and bring to a simmer. Serve sauce over beef.

Chive-Garlic Mashed Potatoes

-6-8 medium-sized Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled & quartered
-5-6 garlic cloves, peeled
-1/2 cup heavy cream + milk
-bit o' butter
-handful of chives, chopped

Cover potatoes and garlic cloves with cold water and boil until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, return to hot pot and let dry out for a few seconds. Mash & add heavy cream, butter and milk to desired consistency. Season with salt & pepper and add chives.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Trim Brussels sprouts, remove any icky leaves and cut in half. Toss with 2 Tbl olive oil & plenty of salt & pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast at 400 for about 20 minutes, until browned & tender. So good!! These are a simpler version of what I made for Thanksgiving. Even Brussels sprout haters should like these!

You will probably have leftovers of everything but the beef...not a bad thing!

Shepherd's Pie

I make this a little different every time. And sometimes I've used instant mashed potatoes, but I had time for the real thing this time. Oh, and technically this is a "cottage pie" since it uses beef. I was surprised that Safeway actually had ground lamb, but at something like $12/lb, I went for the beef! You can also just saute the beef & vegetables together to save time, but I like browning them separately (also makes it easier to drain fat from the beef). Sometimes I've added grated cheese (either on top or mixed into the potatoes), but it can get a little greasy.

Shepherd's Pie

-Your favorite mashed potatoes (I used 4 large russet potatoes mashed with milk, a little butter, a little cream cheese, salt & pepper, and added some chopped green onions)
-1 lb ground beef
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1 box mushrooms, halved & sliced
-1 onion, diced
-2 large carrots, diced
-1 tbl tomato paste
-1-2 tbl flour
-1 cup chicken broth (or beef broth, but I have trouble finding low sodium beef broth and find the regular stuff too salty)
-1 tsp dried thyme
-dash cayenne and/or hot sauce, salt & pepper to taste
-few dashed worcestershire sauce
-couple handfuls frozen petite peas

Prepare mashed potatoes to a spreadable consistency.

In a large skillet, brown beef. Add garlic and cook until beef is no longer pink. Remove beef to a bowl with slotted spoon and drain off fat from skillet.

Saute mushrooms in same pan until browned, remove to bowl with beef.

Saute onion & carrot in pan with a little olive oil until onion is transparent & carrots are slightly soft. Add beef & mushrooms back to pan.

Stir in tomato paste & flour until incorporated. Add chicken broth - more or less to make a gravy-like consistency. Add spices, salt & pepper & worcestershire to taste. Let simmer a few minutes and add peas.

Put beef mixture in a 9 x 13 baking pan and spread mashed potatoes over top. Draw a fork through potatoes to create a textured surface. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Run under the broiler for a couple minutes to brown the top. Let sit about 15 minutes before serving.