Fillet With Peppercorn Sauce And Crispy Smashed Potatoes

Is it blizzarding at your place?

Taken at noon on Thursday December 20, 2012.

Yup, blizzarding here in good ol' Frytown, Iowa too.
By the way, a Merry Christmas to ya'll!!!

Mr. Donkey by the well pump says Merry Christmas too.

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After taking the above pictures this morning, I stomped my snowy feet off in the entryway.

Our new Thanksgiving Day kitty, Giblet Pearl, was much intrigued.

She'd never seen snow before.

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Giblet Pearl proceeded to look around like she had JUST discovered gold,

then began furiously eating it.

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Kind of, sort of like Tim and I with these Fillets with Peppercorn Sauce last night.

We were like cavemen with the beef.

I rarely make beef, so when I do,
well,

we act like neanderthals.

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And these
Crispy Smashed Roasted Potatoes...
total YUM!!!


Why oh why must I be such a starch girl???!!
This does not serve one well as I, uh, cough cough...., uh...."age."

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Didn't stop me from making them or eating them though!
These are the fixins for the Crispy Smashed Potatoes!!!!

Sigh. What's a starch girl to do?

See though!! Hardly any ingredients and so super easy and completely tasty!!

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And here's the fixins for the fantastic
Fillets With Peppercorn Sauce.

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See those three beef fillets up there? Oh my gosh, they were beeee-utiful but EXPENSIVE!!! 
$16.99 lb....$39 of fillet right there!!! $39!!!

Dear Mortgage Company,

My mortgage payment may be a little late. See, I discovered fillet. It is very expensive but worth every penny.

Sincerely,
Happily Fulfilled With A Tummy Full Of Big Bucks Fillet, Your Customer Angie



So the peppercorn sauce for the fillets calls for tri-color peppercorns.

I found them easy enough in the grocery store.

They're in this grinder bottle thing.

Easy enough, I'll just take the lid off and smash them with a rolling pin like the recipe calls for.

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See, the Pioneer Woman, whose recipe this is, makes it clear on her video not to grind too small the peppercorns, they should be of varying sizes,
some should even be whole.
But the lid wouldn't come off.

So I thought hmmm, I'll just grind them in the bottle they're in.

I was having a hard time getting different sizes with this grinder, it was making all the peppercorns smallish.

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So I tried getting the lid off again with my amazing brute force.

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Didn't work.

So I used a knife and tried to pry the lid off
and
then tried to cut the lid off.

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Yeah.
kind of almost had an unpleasant bleeding experience so I put the knife away....

...and I started pounding that dagnabit thing on the counter top ledge.

Whack
Whack
Whack

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Shockingly enough, that didn't work either.

As a last resort,

I tried to bite that plastic top off.

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No I didn't. I wouldn't do that...try to bite the top off a grinder.
Nervous giggle.  I was just kidding...
K-I-D-D-I-N-G.
I wasn't THAT desperate to do such a stooopid thing.
duh. Biting the top of a pepper grinder off. Sheez.

Anyway,

melt the butter in the pan as a beginning for this easy peppercorn sauce.

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Throw in the Dijon mustard.

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And the brandy,



\let this reduce a little bit.

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Add in the heavy cream and grinded up peppercorns.
By the way, see those words "grinded up" up there? It didn't even dawn on me until hours later, right before I was ready to post, that the correct language is GROUND UP! GROUND UP PEPPERCORNS, NOT GRINDED UP. Goodness, who needs grammar lessons?

And just whisk occasionally until the sauce gets thicker.

I let it set on low for a bit while I tended to the meat and potatoes.

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Salt and pepper up these babies good!

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Melt some butter and brush them on both sides of the fillets. Yowza!!

Heat the olive oil up in the pan...

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Throw the fillets in....

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Turn the fillets over and cook according to your likeness.

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Actually before I started the steaks, I started the potatoes first...lay parchment paper on a baking sheet and liberally dose with olive oil.

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Boil the potatoes
in salted water for anywhere from
20-35 minutes, until soft but definitely NOT falling apart.

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Remove the cooked potatoes from the water and let them drain on a kitchen towel.

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Now take a second towel
and put them over each potato and smash each one gently with the palm of your hand.

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Take a spatula and scoop each individual potato up.
Don't worry if one falls apart. No problem.

Deposit each potato on the baking sheet like this.

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Drizzle with olive oil pretty good....

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...and salt and pepper up real too!

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Bake for 20-35 minutes, according to how golden and crispy you want your potato cakes.

This time I threw some freshly grated Parmesan on after roasting but you don't even have to do that.

These potatoes are fantastic with just that olive oil and salt and pepper on them!

Look at that crispiness!

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Now plate the fillet and potato up....

Who needs vegetables anyway??
This was CHEAT NIGHT!!!

Hello Mr. fillet, you is-a-gonna look might tasty with some peppercorn sauce on you too....

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And I was right!

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Just a little aside..this peppercorn sauce isn't for everyone, it has a distinct taste, savory and peppery.
I suggest keeping the sauce on the side or in a little dipping dish for each plate.

Now dig in guys!!!

That's what cheat night is for!

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Okay, here's the recipes!!!

Fillet with Peppercorn Sauce
From 2012 Ree Drummond Pioneer Woman cooking show on foodnetwork.com
Courtesy www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Serves: 8 servings
Angie’s note: Cut this recipe down to size as needed. I made this for two people, used 3 beef fillets and just halved the recipe on everything else.

Ingredients
Steaks:
    8 whole beef fillets or other good steaks
    Lemon pepper
    ( Angie’s Note: I did not use lemon pepper  or seasoning salt, just salt and pepper)
    Seasoned salt
    Freshly ground black pepper
   Melted butter

Sauce:
    4 to 6 tablespoons tri-color peppercorns, crushed
    4 tablespoons butter
    1 beef bouillon cube
    4 to 6 tablespoons Dijon mustard
    1 cup brandy
    1 1/2 to 2 cups heavy cream (can substitute half-and-half for some of the cream)

Directions
Angie’s note: I did not grill the fillets; I simply cooked them in my cast iron skillet over the stove top.
For the steaks: Sprinkle both sides of the steak with lemon pepper, seasoned salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side over high heat, and then a further 3 to 5 minutes over lower heat. Brush with melted butter as they cook.

Meanwhile, make the sauce: Start by crushing the peppercorns with a rolling pin in a zip-top bag and set them aside.

Next, heat a heavy ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat and melt the butter. Crumble in the beef bouillon cube. Whisk to combine. Then add the Dijon mustard to the skillet and whisk it around a bit. Pour in the brandy. Whisk the Dijon and brandy together until combined, and then let it bubble for about 45 seconds or so. Then pour in the heavy cream and the crushed peppercorns. Whisk it all together, allowing it to bubble for a few minutes to thicken. Spoon it over the grilled steaks.

Crispy Smashed Potatoes
www.turnekyqualitycars.com
There’s lots of recipes out there, so here’s the condensed version of these tasty, easy potatoes…

Ingredients
Medium size red potatoes, as many as you need for each family member
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Angie’s note: sometimes I add fresh Parmesan too after baking.

Directions
Preheat oven to 425.
On a cooking sheet, lay out parchment paper and drizzle liberally with olive oil.

Boil potatoes in salted water for 25-35 minutes, just until soft.

Lay drained potatoes on a kitchen towel and smash them with your palm, using another towel over the top of the potatoes.

Using a spatula, scoop up those potatoes, don’t worry if they fall apart, and lay on the cookie sheet.

Drizzle potatoes liberally with olive oil and salt and pepper them up real good.

Bake in oven until crispy, could be anywhere from 20-35 minutes depending on how golden and crispy you would like your potato cakes to be.

Remove from oven and eat. Or top with freshly grated parmesan cheese and then chow down.

See! Easy!

I hope you try these recipes out sometime, especially those super easy
smashed potatoes...
they are awesome dipped in ketchup!!

Little Miss Giblet Pearl was being naughty with my vintage Christmas light things.

Don't YOU be naughty now.

Be nice!
And send me lots of money, okay?
For GRAMMAR LESSONS. I promise I won't spend it on expensive wine :)

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HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE
and
HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

:)
Have a good night guys!
Stay warm!
Talk at ya soon!