Red Wine, Balsamic & Blue Cheese Filet & Lobster Tail with Zucchini

Courtesy of Plated Perfection

I have a hard time walking away from the fresh meat section at Harris Teeter - and the seafood section, sigh. So, why not get both? This meal wasn't too difficult and you can choose to serve the steak with or without the sauce. I also cooked up some zucchini and diced tomatoes to have on the side. Note: This recipe is for medium cooked filet.

2 filet mignon (mine were about 7 ounces)
2 lobster tails
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup Meritage (you can use a red wine of your choosing)
1.5 tb brown sugar
3 tb butter
approx. 1 tb Montreal steak seasoning
2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 zucchini, cubed
1/3 cup diced tomatoes
1 tb Italian seasoning
2 tb olive oil
dash of lemon juice

Steak: Leave the filet mignon out for about 30 minutes to bring to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 500 with an oven proof skillet or cast iron skillet in the oven. Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel. Top each side of the filets with the steak seasoning. When the oven is finished preheating, take the dry skillet out and insert the steaks. Sear approximately 2 minutes per side. Place back in the oven for approximately 4 minutes per side (this may vary depending on the size of steak). Remove from oven, top with the blue cheese (feta also works) and cover the steaks with a foil tent for approximately 10 minutes on a platter.

Sauce: Combine the wine and vinegar and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally. Stir in the brown sugar and 2 tb butter and cook to your desired consistency. I let mine boil for about 10 minutes. Drizzle over the steak.

Lobster Tail: Cut the top shell of each lobster tail down the middle. Pull away the sides a bit. Season each tail with lemon pepper seasoning, a dash of lemon juice, and 1/2 tb butter. Broil on high for approximately 10 minutes until the tails are firm to the touch. Pull out of the shell and top the steak.

Zucchini: I decided to spice up the zucchini with some diced tomatoes. Toss the zucchini in a bowl with 1 tb olive oil and the Italian seasoning. Add the olive oil to a saute pan. Toss in the zucchini and cook for approximately 5-7 minutes until lightly browned. Add in the tomatoes and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.

Pan Seared Filet with Cabernet Sauce

Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

I just moved over the weekend and last night was the first time I was able to cook in the new kitchen! What better meal to break it in than filet mignon? I decided to make some asparagus and potatoes as well, because they just naturally seem to go well with steak :)  My boyfriend, aka new roommate, also worked an extremely long day, so I thought coming home to a steak dinner could be nice. Cooking with wine also gives me an excuse to drink the wine, minor detail. I did scale this recipe in half, and it turned out just fine!

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) chilled butter
• 4 filet mignon steaks (each about 4 ounces
• 1/3 cup chopped shallots
• 2/3 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1 generous tablespoon drained capers
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle both sides of steaks with salt and generous amount of ground black pepper. Add to skillet and cook to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium. (This actually took me a bit longer to cook b/c the filets were thick -- adjust as necessary.) Transfer steaks to 4 plates. Tent with foil. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots; sauté 1 minute. Add wine, capers, and mustard; simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in parsley. Reduce heat to medium-low. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Spoon over steaks.

Roasted Potatoes
Take about 12 small golden potatoes and half them (you could also use red). Coat a baking dish with Pam and drizzle a little olive oil over the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Rosemary Herb Seasoning (or whichever seasoning you prefer, but rosemary works nicely). Bake at 375 for approximately 35 minutes. Stick a fork in the potatoes to ensure they are tender.

Asparagus
Portion this out however you would like. Snap the spears at their natural snapping point. Place into a Ziploc Steamer bag if you have these on hand -- they are wonderful. Drizzle a little olive oil, salt and pepper into the bag. Steam for about 1.5 minutes. If you do not have steamer bags, simply broil these in the oven for a couple of minutes, or bake them.

Top Sirloin Filet with Loaded Mashed Potatoes

I decided to make dinner for Nick last night and went with top sirloin filet and I took a shot at loaded mashed potatoes. It was pretty yummy :)

Sirloin:
I just covered the filets with Worcestershire sauce and Montreal Steak seasoning, on both sides. I let it marinade for about 30 minutes. I used my cast iron skillet. Preheat oven to 500 (put cast iron in oven while it preheats). Once preheated, take out the cast iron and place over high heat on the stove, with the filets. I usually cook them a few minutes per side and then put them back in the oven a few minutes per side. I usually finish cooking them on the stove. These were pretty thick cuts of sirloin.

Smashed Potatoes:
I boiled about two handfuls of petite small potatoes in salt water. I used these potatoes because it is what I had on hand. Once tender, I drained and added about 3 tablespoons of butter and mashed with masher. I then added approximately 3/4 cup of sour cream and 1/4 cup of ranch dip that I had made Friday night. I then added salt and pepper. Once mixed together, I topped the potatoes with shredded cheddar, bacon and green onions. I eyeballed all of this, so take that for what it's worth!