Dear Reader,

How has your week been? I’ve had a fabulous one. Work has been busy with some unexpected challenges. Such challenges, however; accentuate the amazing skills and nature of the marvellous group of people I have the honour of working with.

Personally, life has been pretty good too. Feeling joy and happiness is wonderful.

Ingredients

• Eye fillet steak (beef)
• Dijon mustard
• Brown mushrooms (chopped)
• White onion (chopped)
• Parsley (chopped)
• Sage (chopped)
• Pitted prunes (chopped)
• Pâté
• Puff pastry (store bought)
• Instant gravy
• Broccolini

Instructions

1. Truss a piece of eye fillet steak with butcher’s twine.
2. Season the beef liberally with salt.
3. Put the meat into a plastic vacuum bag and seal it.
4. Refrigerate the meat for a few hours and let the salt penetrate the meat.
5. Cook the beef in a water bath at 54 °C for about 2 hours.
6. Refrigerate the meat in the bag overnight (this isn’t necessary but I cooked the meat on Saturday and cooked this meal today [Sunday]).
7. Remove the meat from the bag and dry the surface of the steak with kitchen paper and snip the butcher’s twine and remove the string.
8. Rub some Dijon mustard over the beef.
9. Sauté the onions in a little rice bran oil or vegetable oil.
10. Once the onions have become translucent, add the mushrooms and sauté until the schroom juices exude freely.
11. Once the bulk of the water has become vapour, add in the prunes, sage, and parsley. Mix everything well and turn off the heat.
12. Transfer the duxelles to the bowl to cool down. Have some absorbent paper in the bottom of the bowl to tamponade any free juices. I don’t want the duxelles bone dry, I want it to start off moist and once it gets hot again, it’ll get wet.
13. One a sheet of puff pastry trowel a thin layer of pâté and then a thin layer of the duxelles.
14. Place the meat on this and trowel some more pâté on the beef plus a layer of duxelles.
15. Brush some melted butter on the exposed surface of the puff pastry.
16. Add a sheet of puff pastry on top and press around the edges so the two sheets bind.
17. Cut away the excess pastry with a blade and if you feel up to it, use the excess pastry to make some weird looking shapes to add on top of the pastry casing.
18. Brush the pastry with some beaten egg and add a little flaky salt.
19. Place the meat and pastry creation into a moderate oven and cook until the pastry is a golden brown.
20. While the Beef Wellington is cooking, steam some broccolini and make the instant gravy.
21. When the pastry looks good, remove the Beef Wellington from the oven and allow it to rest for about ten minutes.
22. Slice the Beef Wellington in half and place one half on a dinner plate. Keep the other half in the refrigerator for a meal the next day.
23. Put the broccolini on the plate next to the meat and then spoon over some gravy.
24. Give thanks to the Lord for the meal and tuck in.

Spoilers | Have you watched any good movies lately? | Spoilers

Last night a friend and I watched Pig. It stars Nicolas Cage and a pig. It was released in 2021 we really enjoyed it.

The pig is a truffle pig, and Nicolas Cage plays a former chef with a dark personality.

When I say the movie stars the pig, it’s not like the movie, Babe. The pig is only seen in the first few minutes of the movie, but the pig forms a large part of the movie without being seen.

Final Thoughts

• Do you like Beef Wellington?
• How was your week?
• Have you seen Pig?