We have been having fun reintroducing a few Whole 30 forbidden foods into our dinners this past week, and this dinner from last weekend when I got to add dairy is one for the books! I’m sharing it with you today because it would make a lovely Valentines dinner for two (although you will see from our pics that we were making it for three as our son Ford is home right now).
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You’ll want to start by getting your oven nice and hot, we generally preheat ours for close to half hour. If you’re going to do baked potatoes this will be no problem since you’ll have to have them in the oven well ahead of the steaks, which only take a few minutes. It is also nice to get your meat out of the fridge 30-60 minutes before starting as it will cook more evenly if it is at room temperature. We got the steaks out when we put the potatoes in the oven and I prepped all the ingredients for the sauce and sauteed veggies while the potatoes baked.
Let the steaks come to room temp before searing 
You’ll want to finely mince your shallot 
Season the steaks liberally with kosher salt and fresh pepper, pressing the seasoning into the meat
Jason also lets the cast iron skillet heat for several minutes before adding the oil and then the steaks. This will give you a really nice sear before you put the pan in the oven to finish cooking the steaks. We like ours medium rare, so it is only about 10 minutes total cooking time before we transferred the steaks to a plate and covered them with foil to rest while making the pan sauce. You will lose a little temperature as the steaks rest, but it is well worth it when you cut into the meat and see it perfectly pink throughout. Plus you’ll have that nice hot pan sauce to smother them in!
Sear 3-4 minutes on first side 
2 minutes on second side, then move to 400° oven for another 2-3 minutes 
Place that nice hot skillet back on the stove and add your shallots 
Stir frequently as the pan will be really hot! You want them golden brown (not burnt)
I measure the chicken broth, wine, and brown sugar into one measuring cup ahead of time and have it right next to the stove when the shallots go in. If they start to burn even a touch I add the liquid. Shallots give great flavor, but that skillet is going to be hot! Watch them carefully and be prepared.
I buy these little bottles of wine for cooking, they are the perfect size! 
Reducing the liquid is the name of the game in making a good pan sauce 
Turn off heat and whisk in butter one tablespoon at a time.
Once the liquid is in crank the flame up to high and let the liquid reduce by AT LEAST half. The key to a good pan sauce is reducing it to intensify the flavors and thicken it, that butter whisked in at the end will help with both of those things as well. Add the fresh thyme last as well as any juices that have accumulated on the plate where your steaks are resting. Then spoon the sauce over your steaks and enjoy!
I found this bottle of wine from Stolpman Vineyards at Whole Foods, and it is so close to our last name I couldn’t resist trying it! Turns out it was a great bottle of wine. I’m seriously considering joining their wine club for a bit, who doesn’t want to have great wine with their name (almost!) on it on hand? This meal especially is one where it is nice to have a splurge bottle of wine to enjoy. You can always use some of your nicer bottle in the pan sauce, but I always have these little bottles of Sutter Home on hand for cooking and we weren’t giving up any of the Stolpman for our sauce this time!
Steam the cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots and then shock with ice water to stop them from continuing to cook 
Saute in olive oil or butter 
Season with kosher salt, fresh pepper, and a generous pinch of garlic powder
Since we were making a restaurant worthy meal we decided to do our version of restaurant veggies! It takes a little more effort since you need to steam the broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots a bit ahead of sauteing everything, but it’s not like we do this every night. Cook those first three veggies until they are just tender (not all the way done) and transfer immediately to a colander and cover with ice. Run a little cold water over them to stop them from cooking (bonus, that also gives them great color!). Once the veggies are cool to the touch I remove any remaining ice and let them drain until Jason is making the pan sauce and it is time to saute. Heat olive oil or butter in a saute pan, add the veggies and toss to coat with the fat. Season with kosher salt, fresh pepper, and a little garlic powder and saute until they are cooked to your liking. They’ll taste just like the mixed veggies at your favorite restaurant!
Filet Mignon with Red Wine Pan Sauce
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 2-4 Filet Mignon Steaks
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 2 tbsp shallot minced
- 2/3 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter chilled
- t tsp fresh thyme minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°. Oven should be hot before proceeding with next steps.
- Pat steaks dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat canola oil in cast iron skillet over high heat until almost smoking. Add steaks to skillet and cook until well browned on first side, 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook an additional 2 minutes on second side. Transfer to oven.
- Cook until steaks are just medium rare, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to plate and tent with foil. Move skillet to stove top.
- Saute shallots over medium heat until soft and golden, 2-3 minutes. Add chicken broth, wine, and brown sugar. Raise heat to high and bring to boil. Cook at high heat until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and whisk in butter one tablespoon at a time. Whisk in thyme. Taste and adjust with additional salt and pepper as necessary.
- Plate steaks and spoon sauce over top. Enjoy!