Affairs of Steak (36 page)

  CRANBERRY PECAN BRIE EN CROÛTE  

Makes 8 appetizer portions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Roll out the thawed sheets of puff pastry. Place an unwrapped round of Brie cheese in the center of each sheet of puff pastry. Top each round with half the pecans, half the craisins, and half the maple syrup. Fold the puff pastry around the Brie, trimming off extra pastry as needed.

Place the egg and water in a bowl, and whisk to mix.

Use the egg mixture to cement the pastry folds closed.

Place the pastry-wrapped rounds on an ungreased baking sheet, seam sides down. Brush all over with the egg wash. If desired use the leftover puff pastry to make decorations for the top of the Brie rounds, and cement them onto the pastry with the egg wash.

Place the prepared rounds in the oven until the pastry is golden brown and cooked through, roughly 25 minutes.

Let cool for 20 minutes before serving to let the cheese inside the pastry equalize in temperature and melt. Cut each round into quarters with a sharp knife, and serve warm.

  BEEF WELLINGTON  

This recipe is actually very easy to make, but you’ll need about three hours to get it on the dinner table from start to finish, so plan your schedule accordingly.

Serves 8

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Rub the tenderloin with the steak seasoning. Grease a roasting pan, place the meat in it, and place in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove the meat from the oven, and place it in the refrigerator for an hour. (This will distribute the meat juices throughout the piece and tenderize it.) Keep oven on.

While the meat is chilling, whisk the egg and the water together in a small bowl and set aside.

Place the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stirring often, sauté the onion until it is clear, then add the mushrooms and sauté until the liquid that comes from the mushrooms has evaporated, leaving the mushrooms and onion cooked through and tender, about 3 minutes.

Roll out the puff pastry sheets. Use the egg wash as a glue to paste the two puff pastry sheets together on their long edges to give you enough pastry to work with. Overlap the sheets together by an inch, after painting the joined edges with egg wash to seal the joint. Make sure that after you roll it out, the finished puff pastry sheet is at least 6 inches longer than the tenderloin piece and 5 inches wider than it needs to be to wrap all the way around the tenderloin.

Spoon the onion/mushroom mixture down the center of the puff pastry. Remove the chilled meat from the refrigerator and place it over the mounded mushroom mixture in the middle of the puff pastry. Fold the pastry up and around the tenderloin, sealing the edges with egg wash.

Place the wrapped tenderloin seam-side down on a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet, and brush with egg wash.

Place the wrapped tenderloin in the 425 degree oven. (I cook my side dishes in it during the interval—or you can reheat it, as you prefer.) Bake 25 minutes for medium rare, or 32 minutes for medium.

Remove from oven. Let rest for 5 minutes to let the juices equalize inside the pastry. Slice and serve warm.

  PASTRY-WRAPPED ASPARAGUS SPEARS WITH PROSCIUTTO  

Makes 24–30 appetizer portions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Wash the asparagus and trim off the tough stems at the bottom. Lay the vegetables on a towel to dry.

Gently roll out the puff pastry sheets to smooth them. Spoon half the softened cream cheese onto each sheet, and spread evenly across the pastry. Divide the prosciutto evenly and place half on each piece of puff pastry, covering the cream cheese in a thin layer.

Cut the puff pastry into long, thin strips, approximately 1 inch wide.

Starting at the base of the spear, wrap the pastry strips—prosciutto and cheese side inward—snugly around the asparagus in a spiral, like stripes on a candy cane.

Place the wrapped asparagus spears on ungreased baking sheets. (You’ll likely need two baking sheets.)

Bake until pastry is golden brown and the asparagus is tender, roughly 15 minutes.

Serve hot.

  SUMMER TOMATO TART  

When beautiful heirloom tomatoes show up at the farmers’ markets, this is a nice way to showcase them.

Makes 16 appetizer portions