Filet Mignon with Merlot Reduction

1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic

2 finely diced shallots

1/2 bottle of Merlot (the rest for you while you cook)

1 cup beef broth

1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme

1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary

1 stick unsalted butter

2 filet mignon

salt and pepper

In a large sauce pan heat up the butter and saute the garlic and shallots until they are translucent.

Deglaze the pan with 1/2 bottle of wine.

Now add beef stock, thyme and rosemary.

Allow this mixture to reduce, which takes 20 – 30 minutes so lets work on the potatoes.

Lobster Boursin Mash Potatoes

1 package of already made mashed potatoes

2 bay leaves

2 lobster tails

3 ounces of boursin cheese

In a steamer pot, add water and bay leaves.

Once the water comes to a boil, add the lobster tails to the steamer and cover.

While the lobster tails are steaming, I put the heat on for the mash potatoes and this is a good time to turn on the grill.

Once the lobster is done remove from the pot and let them cool for a few minutes.

Once they have cooled down, remove the meat from the tails, chop and add to the pot of potatoes .

Now add the boursin cheese.

Stir the potatoes and cook on low.

Your Merlot reduction should be done so remove from heat and strain.

Now grill the steaks, and it’s time to make this meal complete with plating.

To plate, add a portion of mashed potatoes in the center of the serving plate. Top with the filet mignon, spoon the Merlot sauce over and around and garnish with chives.

So there you have it, a hard recipe turned easy. I really hope you try this!

Happy Cooking!

Check back tonight for recipe and pics.

Grilled Vegetables:

I typically use a red and a green pepper, one half onion,  2 zucchini, and baby bella mushrooms.

Marinade for Veggies

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 garlic cloves pressed

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix the above items into a bowl and take a large pot and fill it half way full with water and get the water boiling (I will explain later). Dice up the veggies and transfer them to a large zip lock bag and pour the marinade you mixed into the bag as well. Zip tight and put in the refrigerator.

Grilled Lobster:

2 – 1lb lobsters

1 stick of unsalted butter

Chives – I used about 15

3 gloves of garlic

1 jalapeno

one fresh lemon

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a food processor, combine the butter, garlic, jalapeno, lemon juice and chives.

Season with salt and pepper and process until well combined. Place the butter in a small container.

The large pot of water should now be at a rapid boil. Place the lobsters in the boiling water and blanch just until the shells turn red, but the meat is not cooked through, about 3-4 minutes.

Remove the lobsters and let cool slightly. Slice the lobsters in half lengthwise. This might sound difficult but just turn the lobster on its back and start your cut from the top part of the lobster and you will see and line where the legs meet cut from there. Make sure your knife is sharp.

I remove the stuff that I know Jen would not enjoy and I would suggest you do the same. I keep the white meat and get rid of the organs. Brush the meat and inside the lobsters with some of the herbed butter which should be about 1 tablespoon per lobster half (oh I didn’t say this was healthy or low fat). Go start up the gas grill.

Take your veggies out of the refrigerator and put them in foil pouch and seal tight and place on the center of the grill. Place the lobsters on the grill, flesh side down and cook until the meat has grill marks and starts to turn opaque and firm up, about 5 minutes. Turn the lobsters over and grill an additional 4 minutes, brushing more butter (butter rocks!) Remove the lobsters and vegetables to platters.

This is how I dressed up the lobster for Jen.

Here are the veggies in the sauce.

Now for setting the table, I wanted to make the first post on here a real easy way for us guys to make the dinner setting PERFECT. Jen and I enjoyed our low-fat grilled lobster and encourage you to try this simple meal.

In the immortal words of Mario Battali on “Iron Chef America”…bueno appetito!

Grilled Whole Lobster with Herb Butter
Grilled Vegetables

Check back tonight for the recipe and results.