TASTE
Dress up steaks with buttery cheese topping
| • | Going for the Gusto |
By Elaine Magee
Q. I'm looking for an easy but elegant healthy beef entree to serve to my spouse on Valentine's Day.
A. My favorite cut of beef is filet mignon, and it can be rather pricey, so I think of it as a special-occasion food, perfect for your request.
In this recipe, we are marinating the filets in light balsamic vinaigrette and making a savory butter/blue-cheese mixture to dress up the broiled filets. To keep things light, though, we are using a minimum of butter and switching to a less-fat margarine with plant sterols added (which help lower blood cholesterol levels), knowing that most of the flavor will be coming from the blue cheese, garlic and other seasonings.
Original recipe contains 500 calories, 30 grams fat, 15 g saturated fat and 175 milligrams cholesterol per serving.
BLUE MIGNON
Cheese mixture:
Marinate filet mignon in light balsamic vinaigrette for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. You can use a shallow bowl and flip filets a few times or you can use a quart-size sealable plastic bag placed in a bowl and turn bag over a few times.
Add margarine or whipped butter, blue cheese, minced garlic, dried basil, balsamic vinegar, black pepper and walnuts to a small bowl and blend well with fork; set aside.
Remove filets from marinade and broil on a foil-lined baking dish, about 6 inches from the heat or flame, for about 4-8 minutes per side (depending on the thickness of the filets).
Remove filets from the oven and distribute the cheese mixture over the top of the filets. Return to broiler for about 30 seconds.
