We had a late Valentine’s Day celebration in our house. To still make it special a couple days after the actual February 14th, I wanted to cook something fancy and new. I thought back to holidays and dinner parties growing up where my mom always made/makes big, beautiful meat dishes and I remembered one special time of eating beef cooked in crispy puff pastry. I wanted to recreate that special dinner but just for the two of us and surrounded by the rainbow of roses he got me.

The butcher only had pre-cut filet mignons but when I pushed a little he said the filets are cut from a large tenderloin piece and he could let me choose what size I wanted from the whole cut. I chose about 1/3 of the tenderloin (the center of it) and it was just about 2 lbs, so far so good. By the time we got home from town however, we were both already slightly starving so I only let the mushroom-onion mixture (also known as duxelles) refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

For the pate I chose a chicken and duck liver pate and chopped it into small crumbling cubes before mixing it with the duxelles. I rolled out the puff pastry and in the middle pressed down the duxelles-pate mixture, put the beef on top and then added more of the mixture to the top, pressing in semi-firmly. There was a little extra puff pastry on the sides and not enough on the top (which would become the bottom once I flipped it over to bake) so I cut off the extra end puff pastry and added it to cover the missing spot, using the egg wash to seal the edges.

I found that the beef could use another 5 minutes when I took its temperature through the little slits on top so it was about 35-38 minutes total for my oven. The creation was magnificent, fit for a king and queen, or I guess for the Duke of Wellington in England for whom the recipe is named. We both enjoyed it immensely and I served it alongside Julia Child’s Haricots Verts a la Maitre d’Hotel or Buttered Green Beans with Lemon Juice and Parsley.

Beef Wellington

Recipe By: Alton Brown, Food Network

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound white button mushrooms
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onions or shallots
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. dry sherry
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 3 ounces pate de foie gras or pate of chicken/pork liver
• 2 pounds center cut tenderloin of beef or chateaubriand, chilled in freezer for 20 minutes
• 1 pound puff pastry (1 sheet usually)
• Flour for rolling out pastry
• 1 Whole egg
• 1 Tbsp. water

Directions:
1. Place mushrooms in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped. Transfer the mushrooms to a clean cotton towel, gather up the edges and twist to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

2. Melt the butter in a 10-inch saute pan set over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onions, salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms appear dry and are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the sherry and thyme and cook, continuing to stir, until the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before using or store for up to a week. MAKE AHEAD TO HERE.

3. Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 400ºF. Combine the mushroom mixture and the pate in a small mixing bowl. Spread the mixture on all sides of the tenderloin, covering completely.

4. Whisk the egg and water together in a small bowl and set aside.

5. On a lightly floured surface roll out the pastry to 1/4-inch thickness and into an approximately 12 by 10-inch rectangle. Place the tenderloin in the center of the dough and gently pull up the sides to completely encase the meat. Fold the edges together, brush lightly with the egg wash and press to seal. Trim off any excess dough. Place the entire package, seam side down, on a parchment lined half-sheet pan and brush all over with the egg wash. Cut 4 to 5 small holes on the top of the pastry for steam to escape.

6. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the crust is golden and the internal temperature of the meat reaches 125ºF to 130ºF for medium rare. Remove from the oven and rest, uncovered for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.