Beef Wellington

INGREDIENTS:
4 1 1/2-inch-thick center-cut filets mignons (about 6 ounces each)
4 large mushrooms (about 1/4 pound total)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 large egg
2 puff pastry sheets (from a 17 1/4-ounce package frozen puff pastry), thawed
4 tablespoons Gorgonzola cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces)

DIRECTIONS:
1 - Preheat oven to 425°F.
2 - Pat filets mignons dry and season with salt and pepper. In a shallow roasting pan roast filets in middle of oven 12 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers 110°F for rare, and cool (filets will be baked again after being wrapped in pastry).
3 - Chill filets, covered, until cold, about 1 hour.
4 - Thinly slice mushrooms and in a heavy skillet cook in butter with shallot, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste over moderate heat, stirring, until mushrooms are lightly browned. Transfer mushroom mixture to a bowl to cool completely.
5 - In a small bowl lightly beat egg to make an egg wash.
6 - On a lightly floured surface roll out puff pastry sheet into a 14 inch square. Trim edges to form a 13-inch square and cut square into four 6.5 inch squares.
7 - Put 1 tablespoon Gorgonzola in center of 1 square and top with one fourth mushroom mixture.
8 - Top mushroom mixture with a filet mignon, pressing it down gently, and wrap 2 opposite corners of puff pastry over filet, overlapping them. Seal seam with egg wash. Wrap remaining 2 corners of pastry over filet and seal in same manner. Seal any gaps with egg wash and press pastry around filet to enclose completely.
9 - Arrange beef Wellington, seam side down, in a non-stick baking pan.
10 - Make 3 more beef Wellingtons in same manner.
11 - Chill remaining egg wash for brushing on pastry just before baking. Chill beef Wellingtons, loosely covered, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
12 - Preheat oven to 425°F.
13 - Brush top and sides of each beef Wellington with some remaining egg wash and bake 20 minutes, or until pastry is golden.

THOUGHTS:
I cannot believe I have never had beef wellington before and I'm even more surprised about how easy it is to make. I am using this recipe as the main dish for an upcoming dinner party. All of the preparation is done in advance which makes it the perfect dish when entertaining.

Turtle Cheesecake

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
14 ounces individually wrapped caramels (unwrapped)
1 (5oz) can evaporated milk
1 cup chopped pecans
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
1 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter one 9" springform pan
2 - Toast the pecans at 350 degrees for 6 minutes. Remove pecans and set aside. Leave oven at 350 degrees.
3 - In a small saucepan, melt the butter.
4 - Combine vanilla wafer crumbs with the melted butter and press into the bottom of the buttered springform pan. Place the pan on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350. Remove and allow to cool.
5 - In a double boiler, melt the caramels in the evaporated milk. Stir until smooth. Pour this mixture over the cooked crust. Sprinkle the nuts over the top.
6 - In a bowl, combine the cheese, sugar, and vanilla and beat until smooth, scraping down the bowl several times. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until smooth.
7 - Melt the chocolate chips in the double boiler.
8 - Pour the cheese mixture over the caramel layer. When chocolate is melted drizzle over the cheese mixture and swirl with the edge of a knife.
9 - Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until barely set. Chill in refrigerator overnight before serving.

THOUGHTS:
Clayton chose this cheesecake to make for my upcoming dinner party. We tried it once as a trial and found it to be extremely tasty. I have very little experience with cheesecake and we did have trouble removing it from the springform pan. I'm hoping that was just bad luck and it will work better on the second try.

Tossed Salad for Four

INGREDIENTS:
8 cups torn mixed salad greens
1 large granny smith apple, sliced
1/2 sliced almonds
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 cup fat-free poppy seed salad dressing

DIRECTIONS:
1 - In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Add dressing last and toss to coat.
2 - Serve immediately

THOUGHTS:
I don't often eat salads and I rarely like anything low-fat. This recipe was in the December/January 2010 issue of Healthy Cooking and I decided to use it for an upcoming dinner party. I did a test run of the salad and found it to be wonderful. I used Olde Cape Cod's fat-free poppy seed dressing.

Chicken Marsala

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup cream sherry
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:
1 - Mix together the flour, salt, pepper & oregano. Dredge the pounded chicken breasts in the dry mixture until coated.
2 - In a large skillet, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the butter and let it melt in the oil.
3 - Place the chicken breasts in pan and lightly brown
4 - Turn over chicken breasts and add mushrooms. Add wine and sherry.
5 - Cover the skillet and simmer the chicken for 10 minutes, turning once. Chicken should no longer be pink and juices should run clear.
6 - While chicken is cooking mix the cornstarch & heavy cream to make a slurry (to thicken the sauce)
6 - Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Add slurry to mushroom sauce and stir until the sauce thickens (only takes 1-2 minutes).
7 - Serve over pasta

THOUGHTS:
Absolutely delicious. I made this just a few days after a failed chicken piccata that was so bad I refuse to post it. I really just needed a good, solid Italian chicken dish and this recipe hit the spot.