Blue Cheese Crusted Filet Mignon

Marc and I got these filet mignon steaks from Omaha Steaks online and were very excited to try them. Omaha Steaks is known to deliver extremely high quality beef, and plus, I never gotten meat by mail order, have you? I was so nervous during the day of delivery, and no matter how much I tried to stay around the apartment to catch the delivery man, I still missed the package and had to pick it up at UPS later that night. Figures, right?

Anyhow, I wanted to do a little more to the filet mignon steaks than simply put salt and pepper on them and pan sear them. I mean... They are an expensive cut of meat, why cook them with such simple preparation? So after hours of searching, I found a recipe that combined Marc's love for blue cheese and steak. I did not have port wine sauce, so I skipped on that ingredient. Oh, and the Omaha Steaks package we ordered came with stuffed potatoes, so I baked those as a side to the steak!

Serving Size:

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup minced white onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

3/4 cup low-sodium beef broth

1/2 cup port wine

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 filet mignon steaks (1 1/2 inch thick)

3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and thyme. Cook, stirring constantly, until onion is tender. Stir in the beef broth, scraping any onion bits from the bottom of the pan, then stir in the port wine. Bring to a boil, and cook until the mixture has reduced to about 1/2 cup. Set aside. This may also be made ahead of time, and reheated.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Heat oil in a cast-iron or other oven-safe skillet over high heat. Sear steaks quickly on both sides until brown, then place the whole pan into the oven.

3. Roast steaks in the oven for about 15 minutes for medium rare - with an internal temperature of 145 degrees F (63 degrees C). You may adjust this time to allow the steaks to finish just below your desired degree of doneness if medium is not what you prefer. Remove from the oven, and place on a baking sheet.  Stir together the panko crumbs and blue cheese. Top each steak with a layer of this mixture.

4. Preheat the oven's broiler. Place steaks under the preheated broiler until the cheese topping is browned and bubbly. 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let stand for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve with warm port wine sauce.