Last week at the Saratoga Farmers' Market goat cheese vendor Jeff Bowers (Sweetspring Farm) introduced a wonderfully flavored bleu cheese. In honor of this new tantalizing product I went looking for a recipe I remembered from a fabulous small restaurant in "The Village" in New York City. The restaurant is long gone, but the memory and the recipe chef Philippe shared with me remains. The best part is this dish is relatively simple to make and yet gives one a five-star taste. You can use a wide range of farm steak cuts (filet mignon to a good strip) and the taste still is there. I do recommend steaks that are not too thick (1¼2 to 3¼4 inches). Serve this to impress and enjoy.
Ingredients (serves four)
2 tbsp Sweetspring Farm bleu cheese, crumbled
1¼4 c. herbed bread crumbs (from West Village Market Herbed Croutons)
1¼2 tsp olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
4 filet mignon steaks - or other fine cut, 6-ounce
Salt and freshly ground black
pepper to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 c. cognac
1 c. organic beef stock
1 tsp crushed garlic
1¼4 c. finely chopped onion
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil; set aside.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine bleu cheese, bread crumbs, and 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil; set mixture aside.
3. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large pan and heat over medium-high heat. Season steaks with salt and pepper and add to pan. Sear 1 minute per side just to brown. Transfer seared steaks onto foil-lined baking sheet. Put pan aside for later.
4. Top each steak with 1/4 of blue cheese mixture from bowl. Finish cooking steaks in preheated oven until done and remove, keeping steaks on baking sheet. (Cooking times vary depending on steak thickness and oven). Generally cook 5 minutes for rare, 7-9 minutes for medium, and 9-12 minutes for well done. Be conservative - you can always check and return steak to oven if not done.
5. Return the searing pan to stove and deglaze with cognac by scraping bits from bottom of pan. Add beef stock, garlic and onion and bring to a boil over high heat until liquid is reduced by half. Serve steaks immediately hot with sauce.
At this time of year I would recommend serving this steak with fresh asparagus and a nice Merlot from Colebrook Winery.
The Saratoga Farmers Market is open Wednesdays, 3 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at their outdoor venue, the Pavilions on High Rock Ave.
2 tbsp Sweetspring Farm bleu cheese, crumbled
1¼4 c. herbed bread crumbs (from West Village Market Herbed Croutons)
1¼2 tsp olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
4 filet mignon steaks - or other fine cut, 6-ounce
Salt and freshly ground black
pepper to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 c. cognac
1 c. organic beef stock
1 tsp crushed garlic
1¼4 c. finely chopped onion
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil; set aside.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine bleu cheese, bread crumbs, and 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil; set mixture aside.
3. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large pan and heat over medium-high heat. Season steaks with salt and pepper and add to pan. Sear 1 minute per side just to brown. Transfer seared steaks onto foil-lined baking sheet. Put pan aside for later.
4. Top each steak with 1/4 of blue cheese mixture from bowl. Finish cooking steaks in preheated oven until done and remove, keeping steaks on baking sheet. (Cooking times vary depending on steak thickness and oven). Generally cook 5 minutes for rare, 7-9 minutes for medium, and 9-12 minutes for well done. Be conservative - you can always check and return steak to oven if not done.
5. Return the searing pan to stove and deglaze with cognac by scraping bits from bottom of pan. Add beef stock, garlic and onion and bring to a boil over high heat until liquid is reduced by half. Serve steaks immediately hot with sauce.
At this time of year I would recommend serving this steak with fresh asparagus and a nice Merlot from Colebrook Winery.
The Saratoga Farmers Market is open Wednesdays, 3 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at their outdoor venue, the Pavilions on High Rock Ave.
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