This cut of meat reminds me of many a holiday in my house growing up.  My mom loved preparing filet mignon and now I know why.  Cooked properly, it is so flavorful and tender and can be eaten hot or at room temp.  You can get creative and serve with a Bernaise sauce or a Red Wine sauce or even a Brown Gravy or just on its own.  I chose mushrooms because I always loved the combination of mushrooms, rosemary and red meat.  Filet makes delicious leftovers and can be turned into a nice steak sandwich, served on a sliced baguette with caramelized onions.

I prepared this dish for a dinner party of 12 so I bought a 10 pound filet mignon.  I picked it up at North End Quality Meats in Eastchester and the butcher trimmed the fat and extraneous pieces for me and ground them into about a pound of burger meat-bonus!

Ingredients

• ·       Extra virgin olive oil
• ·       4 pounds filet mignon (if you have a larger piece, you can cut it in half so it roasts more evenly)
• ·       Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ·       3 tablespoons butter
• ·       2 shallots, minced
• ·       2 cloves garlic, minced
• ·       2 pounds mixed mushrooms, sliced (I like cremini and white button mushrooms for this)
• ·       Splash of marsala wine (optional), about 1/3 cup
• ·       Fresh rosemary, stems removed and leaves chopped, about 1 teaspoon

Directions

Remove the meat from the fridge about 15 minutes before you are ready to cook it. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Rub the meat with olive oil and in a heavy-bottomed saute pan, brown it on all sides over high heat. 

Place in roasting pan, even better if you have a rack to use.  Liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast in oven until a meat thermometer shows 130°F for rare or 140°F for medium.  Remove from over and tent with aluminum foil for about 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Meanwhile, while the roast is cooking, take the pan used to brown the meat and add the butter and turn to medium heat.  Once melted, add the shallots and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes but don’t burn.  Add mushrooms and stir.  Cover for a minute so the mushrooms release their liquid and then uncover and stir in the wine if using.  Cook until the liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are cooked.  Add salt, pepper and rosemary.

Slice the filet and serve on a platter with the mushrooms piled on top.