I've reached the short lull in the life cycle of the new book (My Fair Lazy, due out May 4) so I'm using this time to do nice stuff around the house for Fletch. He got pretty tired of the delivery I insisted on every night while on deadline, so I'm making a concerted effort to cook meals he'll enjoy.
(Yes, fine, we had tacos delivered one night last week, but Maisy was sick and I had to cook her poached chicken and basmati rice and I was not about to make dinner twice.)
Anyway, this has become my own little version of Iron Chef and I've been challenging myself to try a lot of new stuff. And two nights ago, I presented Fletch with my finest creation yet - a perfectly-cooked filet, herbed tomatoes, and white truffle butter pasta. (The latter two are Ina Garten's recipes, but the filet is all mine.)
I call this dinner Jen's Black and White Trufflepalooza. (Serves two)
2 six to eight ounce filets, between one inch and two inches thick
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pats of black truffle butter
Two hours before cooking, take the defrosted filets out of the fridge, rinse them with water, pat them completely dry with paper towels, and coat them on all sides with the spice mixture, making sure to press it all into the meat. Then put the filets in the microwave, not to cook them in any way. Rather, to keep the stupid kittens from licking them. (You can skip this step if you don't live in my house.)
The key to getting a good brown on meat is to make sure they're bone dry. Right before cooking them, set the steaks in a cast iron skillet and stick them into a 275 degree oven until the internal temperature reads between 90 to 95 degrees. (This only takes a few minutes, particularly if your meat's been out.) (Okay, did that sound vaguely dirty to anyone but me?) (No? Fine, moving on.)
Once they've reached this temperature, take them out of the oven and set them aside. Use the same cast iron skillet, putting it on a high flame. Let the pan get good and hot before adding enough quality olive oil to coat the bottom. (You may need a little more or a little less than 2 tablespoons depending on your pan's size.) Right before the oil starts to smoke, place filets in the pan.
And here's where you need to turn on the vent fan.
High.
And possibly open a window. Or all of them.
I know this sounds wrong, but if you really want a beautiful, brown char coat, your entire house is going to fill with an oily cloud of smoke that will not dissipate for a few days.
I'm sorry, but it's worth it.
Cook the filets on each side for around two minutes to start. Don't poke them, don't prod them, don't mess with them in any way. Seriously, keep your damn mitts off of them. Just let them cook and try to not let the smoke kill you. Once both sides are covered in what will be a gorgeous char coat, flip them on their sides to brown them. Have your meat thermometer handy so you can gauge internal temperature. I cook Fletch's to 120 degrees (approximately medium rare) and mine to 125-130 degrees (more like medium.)
Once they're finished cooking, remove them from the heat and stick them on a plate, tenting with aluminum foil and topping with a small dab of black truffle butter which gives the meat an unspeakably tasty depth of flavor. If you don't like truffle butter, use regular butter or a drop of good olive oil. Since the meat's so lean, I always feel like I need a little bit of fat to bring the full flavor out.
Give the juices a good five minutes to stabilize before slicing into it. A lot of times I like to serve this over a crisp bed of greens with champagne vinaigrette and a little feta cheese. However, this time I used those five minutes to make Ina Garten's Tagliarelle with White Truffle Butter, which is possibly the most delicious thing you will ever put in your mouth. Her recipe is fast and simple; what's difficult is not sticking one's entire face in the pot and nom-nom-nomming until it's all gone. I also served this with Ina's herbed tomatoes, which would be absolutely fine on their own.
Inhale and then spend the rest of the night watching crappy television with pants unbuttoned. (Truffle burps are optional.)
Spend the next week quietly cursing me while walking into standing grease clouds.
You're welcome.
