Happy Anniversary :)

Yesterday Tom and I celebrated our first anniversary.  (go ahead, gush about it! ;) )  The dinner we had wasn't totally "fresh" because Tom LOVES filet mignon so I made that for us.  However, my mashed potatoes and beet custard have CSA box ingredients :)

Beef Mashed Potatoes

• 4 cups beef stock (1/4- 1/2 cup reserved after cooking)
• 2 lb. red-skinned potatoes 
• 1/4 cup cream
• salt and pepper

Cut potatoes with skin on into 1-inch pieces.  Pour beef stock over top and boil until potatoes are tender.  Pour out stock, reserving about 1/2 cup.  Add cream, salt, and pepper and mash it up!

Roasted Beet Custard

• 1 lb. fresh beets, washed
• olive oil 
• 1/2 cup cream
• 3 eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tsp. sugar

Earlier in the day I roasted the beets.  Preheat to 300 degrees.  Drizzle olive oil over the beet and roast for 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Pull them out and let them cool.  Once cool, the peels should pull off easily.  Peel and puree the beets.  Fold in the cream, eggs, and egg yolks.  

Spray small 4 oz. ramekins with cooking spray.  Fill them up with the batter (mine made 3).  Bake at 250 for about an hour.  I put mine in a baking dish in a water bath to ensure even cooking.  Remove when firm.  We bruleed the top with a blow torch (see video).  Put a tsp. sugar on top and burn it up!  This was realllly good. It could've passed for dessert!

Filet Mignon

• 2 filets
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp. butter.  

I used my trusty cast iron skillet.  Kept the oven on from the beets and upped it to about 325.  Season the filets with salt and pepper.  Melt butter in the skillet and get it nice and hot.  Sear the steaks on each side (2-3 min per side).  Put skillet in the oven for another 5-7 minutes or until desired doneness.  We eat ours medium-rare.

Thanks for stopping!  I have lots more to upload....maybe another day... ;)