Filet of Beef with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

So, I am obviously not making the daily blog entry I had set as a goal.  Yesterday I shopped and planned for a meal to make for my friends and post here at Adventures in the Kitchen.  I was excited to share one of my favorite crowd pleasers with you, Ina Garten’s Filet of Beef with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce.

You might notice the absence of pictures.(Update – pictures have been added) Yesterday was a bad fire day in the OC.  One of the fires was near my brothers house.  Midday we sadly found out a friend of ours apartment complex burned to the ground and he lost everything.  It was chaos with new fires popping up everywhere.  This, along with earthquakes, is the cost of living in Southern California.

Right about the time I was leaving my brother texted me they had been evacuated.  I almost called the dinner off but decided to go.  Driving to my friends house he texted again that as he left their hill was on fire.

At that point, I knew I needed to throw in the towel and go tell my mom. I dropped off the food with my dear friend, ran through the recipes and left.

This morning my friends called me.  They too fell in love with this recipe and while my friend Carol was cleaning up, Craig pocketed the recipe.  She was looking everywhere for the recipe only to find out he had taken it.  I am still not sure who has the recipe but maybe this will convince you to try this, with no pictures to show. It is that good.

When I was catering I served this at a party.  That night another guest hired me to make it at their party and this pattern continued several times.  The meat is simply cooked and then served with a gorgonzola cream sauce.  Be warned, you need to watch as the sauce cooks.  Rumor has it my friends walked away, just for a minute, to return to it bubbling all over the stove.

My brother’s house and his neighborhood was saved but many others were not that fortunate.  Keep them in your prayers.

FIlet of Beef
by Ina Garten

Serves 8 to 10
1 whole filet of beef (4 to 5 pounds), trimmed and tied
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon coarsely ground pepper

1. Heat oven to 500. Place beef on a baking sheet; pat the outside dry with a paper towel. Spread butter on with your hands. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Roast for exactly 22 minutes for rare and 25 minutes for medium rare.

2. Remove from oven; cover tightly with foil and allow to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Remove the strings and slice the filet thickly.

Serve with Gorgonzola Sauce.

Gorgonzola Sauce

Copyright, 2001, Barefoot Contessa Parties!, All rights reserved

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 3 cups

4 cups heavy cream
3 to 4 ounces crumbly Gorgonzola (not creamy or “dolce”)
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Bring the heavy cream to a full boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, then continue to boil rapidly for 45 to 50 minutes, until thickened like a white sauce, stirring occasionally.

Off the heat, add the Gorgonzola, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and parsley. Whisk rapidly until the cheeses melt and serve warm.

If you must reheat, warm the sauce over low heat until melted, then whisk vigorously until the sauce comes together.