A FALL DINNER peppercorn beef with gorgonzola cheese

     I know... you were afraid I was posting a recipe for the first course of this fall meal... the Frog Legs with Tomato Garlic Butter.  No, I will leave that for another day!  (They were quite good, actually.)  My favorite part of this fall meal was the Peppercorn Beef with Gorgonzola Cheese.  The beef tenderloin that I purchased to cut into 5 ounce steaks was meltingly tender. 

     This meal goes together quickly.  I served the steaks with fresh green beans which were gently boiled in the morning until done (about 5 minutes).  I drained and wrapped the beans in a towel and set them aside at room temperature until dinner time.  When the steaks were in the oven, I seared the beans in a hot pan with a good olive oil, then sprinkled with Fleur de Sel.  Fingerling potatoes started roasting about 30 minutes before the steaks were moved from the stove-top to the oven, and were pulled and sprinkled with salt after the tenderloins were plated.  Pretty simple, no? 

       PEPPERCORN BEEF with GORGONZOLA CHEESE
                              recipe from the April 2004 Food & Wine magazine

4 SERVINGS

• Four 5-ounce trimmed beef tenderloin steaks, about 2 inches thick
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 pound Gorgonzola cheese, cut into pieces

1.  Preheat the oven to 400˚F.  Generously season the tenderloin steaks with salt and pat the crushed peppercorns all over them.  In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil.  Add the steaks and cook them over moderately high heat until they are browned, approximately 4 minutes per side.  Transfer the steaks to a rimmed baking sheet and roast them in the oven for about 12 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the steaks registers 130˚ for medium-rare meat. 
2.  Meanwhile, wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.  Add the balsamic vinegar and the sugar and boil over high heat until the vinegar is reduced to 1/3 cup, about 3 minutes.
3.  Top the tenderloin steaks with the Gorgonzola cheese and roast them for 2 minutes longer, or until the Gorgonzola is just melted.  Transfer the tenderloin steaks to plates, drizzle them with the balsamic reduction and serve right away.

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