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McPherson Cellars

Texas Tapas Night

Recipe thanks to Melissa Guerra, Kitchen Wrangler

To highlight our very first varietal bottling of Alicante Bouchet, we partnered with Chef Melissa Guerra of The Kitchen Wrangler to showcase just how we’d sit down to enjoy this wine! Melissa is an 8th generation Texan, born and raised on a working cattle ranch in South Texas. She is a self-taught culinary expert and food historian, specializing in the food ways of the American continent, especially Texas regional, Mexican, and Latin American cuisine. And even though we love seared filet mignon paired with our Alicante Bouschet, you can substitute thinly sliced pre- cooked roast chicken or pork garnished with pesto sauce and soft cheese. Even Sunday evening leftovers get a welcome boost when served tapas style—crispy vegetables, savory flavors and McPherson Cellars! Recipe serves 2.

INGREDIENTS

Filet Mignon with Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms and Soft Cheese

    • ¼ cup vegetable oil, such as canola oil (60ml)
    • 2 tbsp. coarsely ground sea salt (24g)
    • 2 tbsp. coarsely ground cracked black pepper (12g)
    • 8-16oz filet mignon* (250g-500g)
    • 1 onion, peeled and sliced
    • 8 oz mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (250g)
    • 2 oz soft cheese, such as goat cheese or cream cheese (57g)
    • 1 bottle McPherson Cellars Alicante Bouschet to enjoy alongside!

Pesto Toasted Baguette:

    • ¼ cup prepared pesto sauce (2 oz/60ml)
    • 1 French baguette or loaf of French bread, sliced

Side Dishes:

    • 2 ripe tomatoes or 12 cherry tomatoes
    • 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
    • 1 pear, sliced
    • 1 bunch grapes, rinsed
    • Mixed olives (our mixture included cubed cheese & pepperoni slices)
    • Your favorite choice of fresh herbs for garnish – parsley, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, basil

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat a 9” (22cm) cast iron or stainless-steel skillet on the stove over high heat. Mix the salt and pepper together in a shallow plate. Season your filet mignon by pressing the filet into the salt and pepper mixture, coating well on both sides and around outside edge.

Add the vegetable oil to the skillet and allow to heat for 1-2 minutes until the vegetable oil appears thin and shiny. Using a fork, transfer the prepared filet mignon(s) to the heated pan and allow to sear on one side for 5 minutes. Carefully turn the steak over to the other side and allow to sear for another 5 minutes. Remove the steak from the pan once the interior temperature of the meat registers 120°F (49°C) on a meat thermometer. Allow the filet to rest on a carving board for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Meanwhile, add the onions to the same cooking pan and sauté for 4 minutes, until the onions are translucent and well caramelized. Remove from the onions from the pan and place in a serving dish.  Add the sliced mushrooms to the heated pan and sauté until browned, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Turn off the heat from the stove and remove the mushrooms from the pan. Place the mushrooms in the serving dish along with the caramelized onions.

To prepare the Pesto Toasted Baguette, heat the broiler of your oven. Spread a small amount of the pesto on one side of a baguette slice. Prepare all of the baguette slices in this fashion. Toast the prepared baguette slices for 1-2 minutes under the heated broiler. Remove and allow to cool before serving. (You can also use a toaster oven to toast the baguette slices but not a regular toaster.)

Slice the filet thinly and place in the serving dish with the onions and mushrooms. Top with the soft cheese. Drizzle with extra pesto. Serve alongside sliced ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, pears, grapes, olives and garnish with your choice of fresh herbs.

*Serving size for filet mignon is either 4oz (uncooked) per person for appetizer sized portion or 8oz (uncooked) per person for dinner sized portion. For best results, sear one (for appetizer) or two (for dinner) 8oz portions of filet mignon for juicy steaks. This recipe is for medium rare steak. Cook for 1 more minute per side for medium doneness and 2 more minutes per side for well doneness.