the kings crown

For our anniversary this year we went to a fancy schmancy steakhouse and had something amazing called "The Kings Crown." A filet mignion steak, on the rare side of medium-rare, with a bearnaise crab topping. It was Awesome! So, of course, it begged to be re-created for a price-tag we could swallow too (granted it is still not cheap but far cheaper than the fancy schmancy steakhouse).

It was actually easier than we thought it would be. We bought good stuff, no sense in skimping on making a $40 plate cheaper (we figure we got it down to about $15). Filet is never cheap and the lump crab in the tub at the meat counter (not the stuff in the bag) is what we got. We got some fun gruyere for the garlic mashed potatoes and the asparagus seems to be in season here in CA, so that was actually kinda cheap.

For the crab bearnaise (adapted from a Tyler Florence recipe on foodnetwork.com):

1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon leaves (had to use dry, tarragon isn't all that easy to find in the middle of the desert)

2 shallots, minced

1/4 c dry white wine (yeah, still figuring out that alcohol in cooking thing, but white grape juice worked great)

1/4 c champagne vinegar (used white wine vinegar)

3 egg yolks

1 stick butter, melted

salt and pepper


Make a reduction of the tarragon, shallots, vinegar and "wine" in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and reduce by half. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Blend yolks and reduction together. With the blender running, add 1/3 of the butter in a slow steady stream. Once it emulsifies, turn the blender speed up to high and add the remaining butter.

Pour the mixture into a bain-marie (double boiler, I do a make-shift one with a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water, it works great for everything - melting chocolate for mousse and making hollandaise) and wisk non-stop until slightly thickened (do not overcook, the egg will start to separate if cooked too much). Add the crab, warm it up and season with salt and pepper. Keep it warm but, again, don't let it overcook. (I just pulled it off the stove and let it sit over the hot water until we used it. If you need to reheat it just bring the water back to a boil.)

For the filet: the steak doesn't take much at all. Bring it to room temp, pat dry and very lightly rub with olive oil (you only want a very thin film of oil on the steak to help produce a good brown sear). Season with salt and pepper or whatever rub you like (we have a great rub we make but that is another blog for another day).

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a very hot frying pan (cast iron is the best) sear the filet for 3 min per side on each side. Put it in the oven for 6-7 min for the rare side of medium rare (I am not going to tell you how long to roast it if you want it more done than that. Don't waste this good cut of meat. If you want it well done you might as well get a cheap steak.) Take it out of the pan and let it rest for 5 min (this is a very important step to keep the juices intact plus it it is the perfect amount of time to cook the asparagus in the same frying pan, deglazed with just a little olive oil.)

For the presentation: Crown the steak with the crab bearnaise and serve with the asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes. Oh, and don't faint when you bite into the juicy rich goodness.

This one is worth inventing an occasion for.