Filet Mignon with Roquefort Butter

Here is a very tasty and extremely easy steak recipe for the BBQ. I served this for dinner on the weekend when my husband, Mario, was out of town at a bachelor party (luckily for Mario, this is a food blog and not a personal journal, or else there would be a couple of paragraphs devoted to THAT subject... who plans a bachelor party on Mothers Day??....oh yeah.... bachelors).

Anyway, since he was away, I had my parents over for a nice Mother's Day dinner. The menu was Filet Mignon with Roquefort Butter, Caesar Potato Salad, and Mixed Greens with Pears and Walnuts in a Maple Vinaigrette. I served this with a nice warm Green Olive Fougasse (uh that's bread) and for dessert a Waffle Bread Pudding with vanilla ice cream. Sorry to say, you aren't getting all those recipes and pictures today, all that hard work has to translate into at least a few days worth of posts. So keep checking back....

Today I'm posting the steak, as it was the main attraction. This is a simple recipe because you make the Roquefort butter in advance and chill it, then slice it and put a piece on each steak when you are serving things up. I had about 1/2 the Roquefort butter leftover, so I put in the freezer for the next time we have steak. You will think this is terribly fattening (and it is not the most calorie conscious recipe I've ever posted) but considering that this "butter" makes enough for at least 8 steaks and I used 25% less fat butter, its not that bad. OK, that was me trying to justify having a second helping, I'm good at that.... "Poutine? - oh yes that's good for you - cheese is healthy!"

I did put a little of the Roquefort butter on the kids steaks and needless to say, this recipe is NOT that popular with the 4-7 age group. Note to self: next time buy a slightly cheaper cut of meat for the kids, it is frustrating to see them waste expensive food.

Filet Mignon with Roquefort Butter
Adapted from Canadian Living, Get Grilling, Summer 2007

4 beef tenderloin steaks
1/2 cup roquefort cheese, crumbled (you can substitute another blue veined cheese)
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tbsp chives, chopped
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon rind
salt and pepper

1. Mash together the cheese and butter.

2. Mix in chives, lemon juice and grated lemon rind.

3. Place the mixture on a sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a log that is about 2" in diametre.

4. Refrigerate until firm (at least an hour).

5. Season steaks with salt and pepper. Grill over direct heat until they have reached desired doneness. Place a slice of Roquefort butter on each steak.