One More Thing...

Yesterday I tried this brilliant recipe for Filet Mignon in Red Wine Balsamic Reduction. I was drawn to it because it seemed so simple. Normally I steer clear of cooking meat because I'm not a very good cook...I can't really tell when it's done and I tend to overcook it. But this recipe for filet mignon looked so easy and didn't require that many ingredients, so I thought, what the hell, why not?

It was delicious.

I got a little less than 2 lb of meat, substituted more shallots for the mushrooms (ick!) and used regular wine (Red Diamond 2008?) instead of cooking wine. I also didn't cook very consistently; for example, I had to take the pan off the heat for a sec while I cut up the shallots (oops...). But the meat turned out great nonetheless, and I had enough for about 4-5 servings (it was so good I had to eat two slices out of the eight). I cheated a bit and served it over pre-made garlic mashed potatoes, but really, I can only do so much cooking in a day.

I think this is a perfect recipe to make for dinner guests (or, even better, an indulgent meal for yourself). It's simple, quick, and turns out amazing results. Although make sure you have a corkscrew on hand if you're using a new bottle of wine...I had an interesting time trying to open a bottle of wine without one (it's possible, though not recommended).

347: Food and Monday

Today I have a severe case of the Mondays. I stubbed my toe this morning, which promptly started bleeding. I seem to be experiencing allergies in the middle of winter. People really didn't know how to drive during today's commute. And I'm just plain tired (I suppose I shouldn't have gone to bed at midnight).

So to brighten things up a bit, I'm going to talk about a food blog I discovered the other day. Stonesoup is a blog about food, but not just any type of food, simple food. The blogger, Jules Clancy has committed to creating 5 ingredient or less recipes, and has come out with books that feature 10 minute meals. Every week I always tell myself that I need to cook more, and every week I always make something like tuna helper or stove-top (mmm, stuffing). Not the healthiest food ever...But then I discovered this blog and although I've only made one thing from it (pan fried tofu with spiced yogurt), I'm inspired to cook more food from Stonesoup because it's so easy. Getting 5 ingredients from the grocery store on the way home from work is a pretty quick and simple task. I'm so excited to make more dishes and actually eat something healthy for dinner without exhausting myself.