1.01.2009

Happy New Year!







Chris and I have stayed in almost every New Year's since we bought our home. My friend J calls New Year's Eve "amateur night" - when the younger crowd goes out for overpriced and underwhelming meals, drinks too much and then hits the road as soon as the ball drops. I prefer to be home eating something that took too much time to make but was worth it, drinking a nice bottle I lugged home from somewhere I traveled to that year, and avoiding the highway at all costs. This year was no different, other than a 10 p.m. walk in the bitter cold to the neighbors' where we played Rock Band 2 for a few hours (who knew I was such a great lead vocalist and Chris was such an amazing drummer, ha ha) and toasted the New Year with good friends.

For dinner, we made our own version of Beef Wellington. Much to my foodie friends' chagrin, and often, disdain, I don't like mushrooms which are a main component in a traditional Beef Wellington. I offered to eat them in the spirit of epicuriousity but Chris gave me an out - we decided to substitute chopped sundried tomatoes and roasted garlic, thus turning our Wellingtons into an Italian accompaniment to the 2001 SuperTuscan I brought home from Italy this summer. With the beef, we had green beans tossed in ghee and my favorite dish that Chris makes, potato pave. The recipe for our Italian-style Beef Wellingtons (let's call it "Beef Wellingtonio!) is below, and I'll post the pave another time. I wish all my readers a Happy 2009!


Ingredients:
1/2 package puff pastry sheets (thawed)
2 4-oz. sirloins
1/2 head roasted garlic
4 pieces sundried tomato
2 slices proscuitto
2 tablespoons red wine
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 beaten egg yolk

Season the steaks with salt and pepper to taste, drizzle with olive oil and put in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes (for medium rare). Take out the steaks to cool. While the steaks are cooling, saute the sundried tomatoes and roasted garlic in the butter and red wine for 7 minute, stirring often. Lay out the proscuitto and spread the tomato-garlic mixture over it. Place the steaks on one side of the proscuitto and wrap it, with the tomato-garlic mixture, around the steak. Cut the puff pastry sheet in half and lay one steak in the center of each sheet. Brush the edges of the pastry with egg yolk and wrap the pastry around the steak, crimping the edges well. Brush the entire thing with egg yolk and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i made this for father's day and my husband said it was one of the best things I've ever made! he loved it. making it tonight for his birthday
:o)