Blackened Filet Mignon with a Cajun Cream Drizzle and Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Okay y'all.. Get ready for a whole 'nother level of deliciousness! When we lived in Alaska, Haute Quarter Grill was one of our favorite restaurants. Often times when I go out to eat, even at "nice" places, the dish disappoints. There are only a handful of places that seem to satisfy my picky palette, and Haute Quarter Grill was one of them. Every dish we ordered showed that the executive chef knew how different flavors complimented each other. But even though their entire menu was ah-mazing... We pretty much kept going back to THIS dish. It was a "special", but was so popular that it was always a special. People couldn't get enough. Theirs was a blackened prime rib, and this is a tender filet mignon, but both are exceptional. On a separate shout out note, the meat I purchased at Publix was by far the BEST meat I have ever had from a grocer! It was cut with your fork tender, and absolutely delicious.
Normally, I don't like to do much to a quality steak besides basting it in butter and crusting it with a little salt, fresh cracked pepper and crushed garlic. But since I was on a mission to recreate this dish that we loved so much, I was going to change from my norm, venture into the great unknown. Steak? Amazing! Sauce? Legit! Sweet potatoes? Scrumptious (one of my 3 year olds favorite food adjectives)! I'm not typically a sweet potato person... but this is the second time I have been floored by my sweet potatoes. I think I have figured out the secret correlation that makes them so awesome... Sweet potatoes + coconut oil = legit, delicious, sweet, crispy caramelized flavor/texture. Anyway, if you're looking for a date night at home dinner, this is probably something you'll want to dog ear. The only "culinary skill" you will need is an awareness of how the 4" thick filet will finish cooking in your oven after you butter basted it in the pan; creating that perfect filet sear. Serves 2
Ingredients/Instructions:
For the Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes Wedges: 2 medium sweet potatoes 2 tbsp coconut oil salt garlic powder cayenne pepper 1. Pre heat your oven to 400 degrees. 2. Peel your sweet potatoes and prepare to cut them into wedges. 3. Begin by cutting the sweet potato in half, lengthwise, up the body of the sweet potato. Halve that in a similar way. (Your sweet potato should now be 4 equal sized wedges.) Halve each wedge one more time, so that each sweet potato makes 8 long wedges. If you sweet potato is "skinner", you can halve it, then cut each half into thirds. Just eye it and use your best judgment. 4. Lay the sweet potato wedges on a silicone mat, on top of a baking sheet. Melt the coconut oil and brush each wedge with it. (Leave enough to brush the underside, touch the mat, as well.) Sprinkle with salt and garlic powder. And sprinkle very lightly with cayenne pepper.) 5. Flip the wedges and repeat the process; brushing with coconut oil and dusting with salt, garlic powder and cayenne. 6. Cook the sweet potato wedges for a total of 30 minutes, flipping 20 minutes in. (Cook 20, flip, cook 10.) (You may have extra sweet potato wedges, but I'm only preparing 2 steaks in this recipe. So if you wanted to add an extra steak, maybe even 2, you might have enough wedges. If you have a big eater, you will want to add an extra sweet potato.)
For the Cajun Andouille Cream Sauce: 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream 1/6 lbs andouille sausage (probably about 1/2 sausage, depending on the size) 5 garlic cloves 1 tbsp butter 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated 2 tbsp cajun seasoning (I used my batch version, but you can use store bought if you're lazy. Hehe.) 1. Mince the garlic and cut the sausage really small. I diced mine into small cubes, then continued to cut as if you were mincing garlic or herbs. 2. Add the garlic and the sausage to the pan with 1 tbsp melted butter. Cook for 3-4 minutes. 3. Add the heavy whipping cream and stir. 4. Add the grated parmesan and stir until it is all melted and blended. 5. Add 1 tbsp of the cajun seasoning and taste to see if you want to add more. (There are 2 reasons to do this. First, I don't know what your spice threshold is. Second, cajun is salty. And the sausage and the parmesan add a lot of salty flavors on their own. 2 tbsp cajun was the perfect spice for me, but a little salty. You can always add, you can't take away.) 6. Allow the sauce to reduce for 20 minutes or so, stir it frequently. It isn't a thick sauce, so don't expect it to marvelously get thick after 20 minutes. If you want to reduce it farther, be my guest, but just make sure you're not burning it; something you should be watching for through out the whole process.
For the Cajun Crusted Filet: 2 Filet Mignon (our two steaks weighed 1.5 lbs together) 3 tbsp butter cajun seasoning (1-2 tbsp) parsley, optional for garnish 1. In a sauce pan, heat 2 tbsp butter. (Make sure your oven is still on from the potatoes at 400 degrees.) 2. Crust the steaks completely in the cajun. Unless you have a huge aversion to spice, I promise, it won't be over powering. It is such a thick cut of meat that the heat is proportionate. 3. When the butter is melted and bubbling place the steaks in the pan, you should hear them sizzle. 4. Cook the filets for 4 minutes on each side, moving them around the pan, tilting it and spoon basting it with butter (use the spoon to scoop up butter and drizzle it back onto the steak). 5. When you have a beautiful sear on the steak, transfer it, pan and all, to the oven. 4-5 minutes for rare, 5-6 for medium rare, 6-7 for medium. 6. Plate over a few sweet potato wedges and drizzle with enough sauce for the potatoes and the steak (probably about 3 tbsp).
Serve and Enjoy!
