Free The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook by Emily Ansara Baines

in pan, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add beef broth and increase heat, cooking on high heat for 6 minutes until sauce is reduced by half. Be sure to scrape the brown bits from the bottom. Add brandy and cook for another 3 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in remaining butter and the extra 1 ⁄ 2 teaspoon salt. Serve steaks hot with the sauce poured on top.
Etiquette Lessons
    When eating in the classic “English” manner, the fork, having just impaled its food, enters the mouth with the tines facing down. The impaled food must then be balanced on the
back
of the fork tines. As it is extremely difficult to eat like this, it is of course considered the height of good manners.

 

Steak Chasseur

    This classic French dish would be served with much aplomb to Downton Abbey regulars and guests alike. Its simplistic nature is certain to appeal to the Earl of Grantham, who seems like a more “meat and potatoes” kind of eater than say, his nitpicky mother. Mrs. Patmore might offer this dish accompanied by the delicious Daisy’s Noisette Potoatoes (see Chapter 6 ). With or without them, however, the thick chasseur sauce on these steaks guarantees a hit.
YIELDS 4 SERVINGS
For Steak
    4 (6- to 8-ounce) filet mignon steaks
    1 teaspoon kosher salt
    1 ⁄ 2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
For Chasseur Sauce
    2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    1 tablespoon minced shallot
    3 teaspoons minced garlic
    1 pound button mushrooms, thinly sliced
    2 tomatoes, diced
    1 ⁄ 4 cup dry white wine
    1 cup veal stock
    1 ⁄ 4 cup unsalted butter
    1 ⁄ 2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
    1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
    1 teaspoon parsley, chopped
Season the filets equally with salt and cayenne pepper.
In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Sear steaks for about 7–9 minutes per side.
You can prepare the sauce while the steaks cook: Heat olive oil in another large saucepan. Add shallot and garlic, and sauté over medium heat for 2–3 minutes. Then add the button mushrooms and sauté, constantly stirring, for an additional 3–5 minutes. Toss in the diced tomatoes. Finally, add the wine and veal stock, and bring entire mixture to a boil. Then lower heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in butter and white pepper until thoroughly incorporated, then add thyme and parsley. Spoon sauce over steaks on their respective plates.
Times Gone By
    Chasseur sauce, often known as “hunter’s sauce,” is used in French cuisine. As the name suggests, this brown sauce is often paired with game meats such as venison or rabbit. While the sauce was invented by Duke Philippe de Mornay (also the inventor of Mornay sauce, béchamel sauce, and sauce Lyonnaise), it was famed chef Escoffier, the “father of modern French cuisine,” who really helped to make it popular in England.

 

Classic Beef Wellington

    Depending on who you want to impress, you could call this dish by its French name,
Filet de Boeuf en Croûte
, or by its British name, Beef Wellington. Some claim that a rather patriotic British chef named this dish Beef Wellington out of British pride; others claim it is named after a seventeenth-century duke. Either way, this favorite — consisting of a solid filet of beef covered by pâté and surrounded by a pastry crust — would be a staple for many a dinner at Downton Abbey.
YIELDS 6 SERVINGS
    2 1 ⁄ 2 pounds beef tenderloin
    4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
    2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    1 large onion, chopped
    1 pound white button mushrooms
    2 cloves garlic, chopped
    2 ounces liver pâté
    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
    1 (17.5-ounce) frozen puff pastry, thawed
    2 egg yolks, beaten
    1 1 ⁄ 2 cups beef broth
    1 ⁄ 4 cup red wine
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Place beef tenderloin in a medium-sized baking dish and cover with 2 tablespoons of the softened unsalted butter. Bake for 15–20 minutes or until thoroughly browned. Remove beef from pan and allow to cool