Mini Beef Wellington’s for the Oscars on CT Style!

Making Mini Beef Wellington’s for the Oscar’s on CT Style yesterday was a blast! What’s more fun then cooking in the kitchen with friends and family? Well, that’s how it is with Ryan Kristafer and Teresa Dufour! I feel like I’m with my siblings, me being the elder of the trio, as we joke and banter back and forth. I can’t describe to good feeling I get when I leave the WTNH studio at Channel 8. Every single one of them are such great people.

This Mini Beef Wellington recipe is very easy to make and tastes like a bite of heaven! A piece of filet mignon topped with a mushroom reduction, called Duxelles, Truffle Mousse Paté, pastry dough, brushed with egg yolk and baked until golden…mmm! I make Beef Wellington, a bit more work, but the mini’s are like taking a short-cut to the same perfection! I have had these mini’s served at gala events years ago in San Francisco and forgot how amazing they are until my friend Chef Marco made them for New Years Eve. When he and his wife, Sheryl, served these Mini Beef Wellington’s at their New Years Eve party I new right away that I needed to show everyone how to make them on CT Style!

It was also National Sticky Bun Day so I made a batch of Sticky Buns too! Here are some other delicious appetizers you can make for your Oscars party, Buffalo Chicken Dip, Baked Asparagus wrap in Prosciutto with a cream cheese-onion smear on the inside, Pesto, Mozzarella and Roasted Tomato Crostini, and or the amazing Panzanella Salad!

Mini Beef Wellington INGREDIENTS Makes 16 (Each 1 1/4″ slice of filet makes 8-9 mini’s):

2 Slices of Filet Mignon 1 ¼ “ thickness cut into 1” approx.. cubes
¼ tsp. salt and pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 box, pastry dough thawed, 2 sheets rolled out , then cut into 2 ½” squares
1 slice Truffle Mousse Paté, ½” thick slice
1/4 c of Italian Blue Cheese
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 egg yolk, whisked

Duxelles Ingredients (reduced mushroom/shallot/herb):

1 lb. Bella Mushrooms cut into quarter pieces
1 extra large shallot finely diced
1 tbsp. fresh thyme OR 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. salt for mushroom mixture
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. dry sherry (Savory & James Medium Sherry)
2 tbsp. butter

DIRECTIONS:

Heat large sauté pan on med/high and season filet with s&p
Add olive oil to the pan and sear whole filet pieces on all sides for 1 minute total
Remove and set aside to completely cool, then cut into 1” approx. cubes
To make Duxelles add mushrooms and shallots to food processor, pulse until very fine mash
Add butter, mushroom mixture, thyme & sherry to the same lg. sauté pan & sauté for 50-60 minutes on med/low to remove moisture until you get more of a crumbly texture
Set aside mushroom mixture to cool completely (you can do this the day before)
Simmer ¼ cup Italian Blue Cheese with 2/3 cup heavy cream in a small sauce pan
Whisk to get to a smooth consistency as the cheese melt then keep on a low simmer to thicken slightly
When duxelles is cooled, add ½ at a time to a small bowl, then mix in 2 tbsp. pate
NOTE: you can freeze this wonderful Mushroom Duxelles mixture without the paté for future use so only mix ½ at a time
Put 1 tbsp. flour down and roll out to thin pastry dough a little, then cut 2 1/2 “ squares with a knife
Put 1 tsp. Duxelle/pate mixture in the middle of each square, then place a cube of filet on top
Begin to pull up the sides wrapping the filet cube like a present
Put seem side down on cookie tray and brush the tops with egg yolk mixture
Then bake on Convection 425˚ for 10 minutes until golden
Pour the warmed blue cheese sauce onto a platter and then place golden Mini Beef Wellington nuggets on top and serve…yummmm!