Grilled Filet Mignon with Smashed Red Potatoes & Asparagus

MMMMmmMmMm So today was St. Patty's Day!!!! And I HATE all the crazy, drunk, freaks on the street of NYC at 10:30am - Don't even get me started on it! The day has become a bad version of Halloween - an excuse for the bridge and tunnel people to come to Manhattan, drink as much as they can because they are unemployed, act like fools, girls dress like skanky sluts, and make subway delays for those of use that LIVE here. OK - my rant is over....

blah, blah, blah... St. Patrick's Day - Irish made me think of meat and potatoes. If I'm going to be doing "meat and potatoes" - it's going to be a delicious filet mignon and we'll dress up those potatoes - right?

You will need:

2 filets (about 1/2 pound each)

Olive oil

Kosher salt & ground black pepper

Rub the meat all over with some olive oil. Then season each side with a good amount of salt and ground pepper. Let your meat come to room temperature for a good 45 minutes before grilling.

Boil about 6-8 red potatoes for 20 minutes.

Use something to SMASH the cooked potatoes - I used this measuring cup - It really gets out aggression if you are feeling some stress!

See? Doesn't that make you happy to see a smashed potato? Maybe I'm just weird...

Toss the potatoes all back into the pot you boiled them in. Add about 3 tablespoons of butter and a dash of olive oil. We're not making mashed potatoes with tons of milk or cream - John is the cause of THAT!) Oh well.... these actually come out like mashed potatoes!

Remove the leaves from a few sprigs of Thyme - chop them up too. In a little bowl, combine one tablespoon of white truffle oil with the thyme, a pinch of salt and pepper.

We need something green, right? Ok - How about some simply steamed asparagus?! GREAT! So take as much as you want for two people - get yourself an asparagus steamer (as seen above). A tiny amount of water in the bottom produces all the steam to cook them - fast and easy! Only 2-3 minutes.

Woof - look at those sexy slabs of meat all seasoned up!

Maybe a little red wine reduction would be yummy on this - sure, why not?

1/3 cup good red wine (cabernet)

1-2 tbsp butter

black pepper

slice of red onion

dash of balsamic vinegar

*I'm sure there are better ways to make a red wine reduction - I was just lazy and this is all I had around to try it! But it sort of worked! Just simmer the liquid until it reduces enough to spoon on half for each plate.

*Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Grill pan! I heart the grill pan! Get it super hot before you add filets.

Grill them for about 1.5 min and turn them 90 degrees and grill another two minutes. Do not move them any other time! You want the nice criss cross lines! Then flip the steak, grill for another two minutes, turn 90 degress and finish in a 400 degree oven! This will depend on the size of steak - use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. (I like 125 degrees in the center for a nice medium-rare to medium!)

Check out those smashed potatoes! I also threw in about 1.5 tablespoons of whole grain mustard and a couple pinches of garlic powder for another kick of spice!