Friday Finds: Ariane's Filet Mignon and Cauliflower

What better way to kick off our first Friday Finds than with a steak dinner?  Yum.

As a reminder, every Friday I am going to be sharing a recipe with you that was found in my vast collection of cookbooks, cooked in my kitchen, and tested by my husband and me.  It's time for me to venture away from Pinterest and back to my bookshelf... those cookbooks are there to be used and currently they are collecting dust!

This week's recipe came from the Top Chef: The Quickfire Cookbook courtesy of Chef Ariane.  I was a little intimidated to try a recipe from this book since the Top Chefs are known for their exotic ingredients and involved techniques.  Surprisingly, this was a pretty manageable weeknight recipe and it yielded great results.  Alex does not enjoy mashed potatoes, but he actually ate all of this cauliflower/Yukon Gold puree.  And he said he liked it.  Great success!

I made some ingredient swaps (outlined below) to keep things a little more healthy here.  I also served some roasted asparagus alongside this dish to round it out.

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice *I used 5 baby Yukon Golds
• 2 cups heavy cream, plus more as needed *I used 1 cup (not heavy) whipping cream, 1/2 cup fat free chicken broth, 1/2 cup skim milk here in order to preserve my New Year diet :)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 3 sprigs thyme
• Salt and white pepper, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• 4 petite filet mignons (about 11/2 pounds total) *I used Bison filets as they are much leaner
• 2 Tbs. butter
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Combine the cauliflower, potatoes, 2 cups cream, parsley, garlic, thyme, and salt and white pepper to taste in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low to simmer. Simmer until the cauliflower is fork-tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the thyme and discard.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the solids to a food processor. Blend until smooth. With the machine running, add more cream as needed to smooth the mixture. Season with salt and white pepper, then return to the pot and keep warm.

Preheat a broiler.

Season the beef generously with salt and black pepper. Place in a broiler pan and broil to the desired doneness, 8 minutes per side for medium-rare. Remove from the broiler and transfer to a separate plate. Top each filet with 1/2 tablespoon butter and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

To serve, place a large spoonful of cauliflower purée in the center of each plate. Top with a filet. Squeeze lemon juice over the meat and serve with lemon wedges.

Recipe courtesy of Chef Ariane, Top Chef: The Quickfire Cookbook