Another winner of a Phillis Carey recipe. I get a kick out of the titles she gives her recipes - she doesn’t want you to miss a thing when you hear or read the recipe title. You need to know that it has Cajun spices. You need to know that it’s a filet mignon. And lastly, that it has this delicious, scrumptious Creole sauce - with cream - in it too. She laughs at herself when she talks about the recipe titles - even she gets them mixed up sometimes when she’s demonstrating them in a cooking class. But with the recipe in front of us, the students, we take notes, adding her little quips to the process.
Several weeks ago my friend Cherrie and I went to a cooking class (entrees for entertaining) and this recipe was one of them. Phillis used a filet mignon. When I made this sauce a few nights ago, I only had frozen New York steaks, so I used them instead. So I just made the sauce in a separate pan, and my DH grilled the steaks on the outdoor barbecue. He’s got the drill down-pat. Sear, mark the meat, both sides, put on a rack not over direct heat, stick in the meat thermometer and remove the steak at 122 degrees F. The meat was solidly pinky-red all the way through except for the flat sides, which were appealingly grilled brown.
The sauce, meanwhile, was a snap to mix up. I had everything on hand except green bell peppers (a staple in the Creole diet), but I just used some extra celery instead. No biggie. I even had the fresh herbs in our garden and used more than was called for. My DH just loved the sauce. Wanted to know exactly what was in it and how I made it. Every so often he asks detailed questions about something I’ve made. I used to think - aha, he’s going to surprise me and fix a full meal some night. Uh, no. He thinks sometime he might entertain some of his friends when he spends the night on our boat and whip out this great sauce. But he never remembers what I’ve told him.
At any rate, this steak and the sauce were delicious. And yes, they’d be quite suitable for a company meal. The sauce doesn’t make all that much, actually. If you really like sauce, I’d increase it by 50% so you’ll have more.
Cajun Rubbed Filet Mignon with Creamy Creole Sauce
Recipe By: Phillis Carey
Servings: 4 (probably more)
STEAK & RUB:
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon cayenne
2 pounds fillet mignon — 4 steaks, 1 1/4 inches thick
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
CREOLE SAUCE:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup onions — diced
1/4 cup celery — diced
1/4 cup green bell pepper — diced
1 teaspoon Cajun Creole spice (from rub recipe above)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup dry vermouth
14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes — drained
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
STEAKS:
1. Combine all the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Reserve 1 tsp. for the sauce. Coat the steaks well and let stand at room temp for 45 minutes.
2. Heat a heavy skillet over high heat until very hot. Brush both sides of the steaks with olive oil and add to the hot skillet. Cook 4-6 minutes per side to desired doneness, lowering heat towards the end to prevent burning. Steaks may also be grilled.
SAUCE:
1. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add onions, celery and bell pepper and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Stir in the reserved Cajun Creole spice and the sugar. Add the dry vermouth and bring to a boil.
2. Stir in tomatoes, hot sauce and cream and bring to a simmer. Cook until mixture reduced slightly and thickens, about 10 minutes. May be made ahead to this point.
3. Stir in fresh herbs, season to taste with salt, pepper and hot sauce. Serve spooned over steaks.
Per Serving (I think this would serve more than 4 people, but this is the original recipe and Phillis thinks everyone would eat 8 full ounces of meat): 945 Calories; 77g Fat (73.4% calories from fat); 44g Protein; 19g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 216mg Cholesterol; 2995mg Sodium.
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