Christopher Lee serves up filet mignon with lobster on THE Dish
Christopher Lee grew up in the restaurant business and wasted no time in climbing toward the top after graduating from cooking school.
He went to work for some of the country's top chefs. After setting out on his own, the James Beard Foundation named him the Rising Star Chef of the Year and followed that with a nomination for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic.
He's now the executive chef at one of the most iconic restaurants in Miami Beach: The Forge.
Now, he's showing viewers at home how to cook his signature recipes: filet mignon with lobster, turkey foie gras sausage brioche stuffing with dried cranberries and pistachios, black truffle mac and cheese pot pie, glazed baby carrots, sweet potato gratin with marshmallow and candied pecans, pumpkin cheesecake and an apple crisp to drink! Enjoy!
Lobster Stuffed Filet Mignon
Yields: 6 to 8 portions
- 1 whole Beef tenderloin, 6 to 8 pounds.
Ask your butcher to clean the loin of all silver skin and fat.
When you have a clean loin at home place on it on a cutting board and using a small knife, slice down the middle ½ way through the loin. Then butterfly the whole loin open. Place a pc of plastic wrap over the whole loin and using your fist, pound the butterflied loin evenly into a rectangle shape.
- 1 ½ pounds of cooked lobster meat, cut into medium dice
- Butter twine, about 12 pc's 8 inches long.
1) Remove the plastic wrap from the beef tenderloin and place a nice evenly line of lobster right in
the middle of the loin. Then using a rolling motion, roll the beef tenderloin up forming a tube like shape with a center of lobster meat. Using the butcher twine, tie the loin with 12 ties and lock knots. Do the ends first so the lobster meat stays in the loin. Once tied, season with salt and pepper and seared in a large pan or roasting pan over high heat. All sides should be golden brown. Then place in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes for medium rare. Out about 4 minutes longer for each degree of doneness, for example, 14 minutes of medium. Once cooked, pull out of over and let rest for 5 minutes. Right before serving, place back into a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes, and then remove the strings and slice to desired portion size.
Turkey Foie Gras Sausage Brioche Stuffing with dried cranberries and pistachios
Executive Chef Christopher Lee
Yields 4 to 6 portions
1 loaf Brioche
Foie Turkey Sausage
Cut into 1 inch diameter cubes. And let dry out overnight uncovered. They need to be hard and firm.
1 # Ground turkey meat
1 shallot
1 garlic clove
2 tb parsley, minced
Pinch of nutmeg powder
Pinch of cinnamon powder
Pinch of all-spice powder
2 cups Foie Gras Chunks
1 tea salt
1 tea fresh gorund pepper
Mix everything well in a bowl and let marinate for 1 hour. Then heat a large fry pan over high heat. Once hot, add oil and wait 45 seconds, and then add the sausage base evenly around the whole pan. Allow the one side to get nice and brown and then flip. Let cook for a couple of seconds and then start chopping away at the sausage with a spoon so it breaks up into large chunks.
1 cup Onion, minced
½ cup Celery, minced
½ cup Carrots, minced
1 cup Dried Cranberries
1 cup Pistachios
3 cups Chicken Stock or vegetable stock
¼ pound Butter
1 cup Chopped Parsley
3 leaves sage, minced
1) Sweat the onion, celery, and carrots with the whole butter. Then add the cranberries and stock. Bring to a simmer and add the sausage, brioche, pistashios, and herbs and toss well in a large bowl. Season with salt and
2) Then place stuffing in a baking dish and bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes. Once golden brown, serve.
Cranberry Bordelaise Sauce
3 cups Beef Jus
2 cups Cranberry Juice
2 cups Cranberries
Salt and Pepper too taste
You can buy Veal Glace, most gourmet store will have.
1) Put the cranberries and cranberry juice in a pot and reduce until 80% of the liquid is evaporated. Then add the Beef jus or Veal Glace and reduce to sauce consistency and season with salt and pepper.
Black Truffle Mac and Cheese Pot Pie
Yields: 4 portions
Cheese Sauce Base
3 cups Cream
3 cups Chicken Stock or a vegetable stock
1 cup Raclette Cheese, shredded
1 cup Fontina cheese, shredded
1 cup Cheddar, shredded
1 cup Parmesan, shredded
½ cup flour Slurry
¼ cup Flour
¼ cup Water
½ can Preserved Black Truffles, rough chopped (Save the juice if there is any)
2 oz white truffle oil
Place the cream and stock in a large pot. Bring to a simmer and then thicken with the slurry. After 10 minutes, start to add the cheese in slowing while continuously mixing the sauce to prevent burning. Once all the cheese is melted, add the chopped truffles and the white truffle oil. Mix well and then remove and chill.
1#'s Dry Elbow Pasta
Cook to al dente and then remove and cool.
Found in most frozen food sections
Look for flat sheets
Pour the sauce over the pasta, it should be loose but not runny. Then add the pasta with the sauce into 4 equal size dishes and then cut a pc of puff pastry to cover each dish. Polk a hole in the top and then egg wash the tops with yolks only. They go into a pre-heated oven to 375 bake for 15 minutes, or until the puff pastry is fully cooked.
Garnish with some sliced chives of more truffles if you would like.
Glazed Baby Carrots
Yield: 8 portions
3 bunches Baby Carrots, organic carrots with the tops still on.
Remove the green tops except for the last ½ inch on the top of the carrot. Then peel and remove all debris.
Blanch carrots in boiling water for 3 minutes, then chill in an ice bath. Once cool, remove and pat dry
1) Place the blanch carrots in a pan with the carrot juice and sugar. Simmer until all most dry, then remove from the heat and gently swirl in the butter. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
2) Garnish with some chopped parsley.
Sweet Potato Gratin with Marshmallow and Candied Pecans
Ingredients
5 large Sweet Potatoes, peeled and sliced thin, about 1/8 of an inch
2 cups Heavy Cream
½ cup Brown Sugar
4 pcs All-spice
TT salt
1 bag of mini Marshmallows
1 cup Candied Pecans or another type of candied nuts
10inch by 5 inch Baking Dish
Procedure
1) Pre-heat the oven on 400 bake setting
2) While the oven is heating up, put the cream, all-spice and brown sugar on a pot and bring to a simmer. Season with salt too taste.
3) Meanwhile, place the sweet potato slices in the baking dish making sure it's tightly packed to the rim of the dish. Once cream has simmered for 5 minutes. Remove from the stove and strain the mix and then pour over the potatoes. Make sure there are no all-spice berries in the baking dish. Cover with plastic and then again with Foil and place in the oven. It is smart to place a baking pan or cookie sheet under the baking dish just in case any of the mixture boils over the edge.
4) Once the potatoes are tender, remove from the oven and set the oven to high broil. Remove the foil and plastic and over the dish with marshmallows. Then place the dish under the broiler and toast the marshmallows to golden brown. Finish the Gratin with the candied nuts and serve.
Using a mandolin will help home cooks.
Pumpkin cheesecake
Yield: 2 - 8" cheesecakes
Ingredients
1# 14oz cream cheese(soft)
9oz granulated sugar
2oz dark brown sugar
1# 2oz pumpkin puree
7.5oz whole egg
2oz egg yolk
8 fl.oz. Heavy cream
4oz molasses
.5oz vanilla extract
2tsp salt
1tb cinnamon
2tsp nutmeg
3/4tsp allspice
1/2tsp clove
Method
1. Preheat oven to 325f (if using convection oven, set to 300f), set up water bath for cheesecakes
2. Combine the cream cheese and 2 sugars in stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream until completely smooth.
3. Add pumpkin to the mixer in three additions, making sure to scrape bowl in between each addition
4. Slowly add in eggs and yolks, in two additions, scrape bowl
5. Add in heavy cream and molasses, scrape bowl
6. Add in remaining ingredients and mix until just incorporated
Gingersnap crust
Ingredients
1# gingersnap cookies(ground well)
8 oz graham cracker crumbs
4 oz granulated sugar
8 oz butter(melted)
Method
1. Combine all ingredients together, split mixture in two and press into base of spring form pan.
2. Once your spring form pans are set up, line outside of pan completely with one sheet of tin foil. Making sure there are no cracks. This will allow you to bake your cheesecake in a water bath, and avoid water seeping into base of pan.
3. Pour cheesecake mixture into two separate pans, place in water bath.
4. Bake cheesecakes for 50 minutes to 1 hour. The cheesecake will be done when it is slightly jiggly in the center. Be careful not to over bake.
5. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes, then chill in refrigerator, loosely covered for at lease 4 hours.
6. loosen cheesecake from sides of the pan with a thin metal spatula around inside rim. Unmold onto festive cake plate.
7. Slice and garnish with cinnamon chantilly, chopped cranberries and candied pecans
Drink - Apple Crisp
Green Apple Infused Makers Mark, Cinnamon Simple Syrup, Fresh Lime Juice. Topped With Ginger Beer