Filetto al Gorgonzola – Filet with Gorgonzola

Simplicity and great, fresh ingredients are the elements to some of the best recipes. A beef or veal filet, seared on both sides in dark butter and a sauce made with Gorgonzola, chopped walnuts and gin. The sauce reduced just to the right consistency velvety smooth, rich in flavor and a perfect balance with the succulent filet. Food is an important part of our life. We discuss new recipes and old favorites after dinner. Comments about the wine, can it be consumed alone or does it need food. Was this wine perfect with the meal or would something else be more appropriate? The dinner table adorned with a meal of balanced flavors and wines that accentuate the tastes facilitates great conversation.

The Filet with Gorgonzola is a dish that has developed in recent years in the areas around Milan where both the Filet and Gorgonzola are local favorites. It is a simple but exclusive recipe because the Filet must be top shelf and cooked to perfection. It is the perfect dish for special occasions when you want to make your partner feel like they are the most important person in the world. This is the perfect for Valentine’s day, anniversaries or just to say, “you are the greatest!”

Great wines with Filet with Gorgonzola: Amarone, Barbaresco, Barolo or Nebbiolo based Piemonte wines. John the Baptist of Italian wines suggests La Scolca Pinot Noir from Lombardia.

Ingredients:

4 ¼ lbs Beef or Veal Filets
½ stick (50 g) unsalted Butter
3 tbsp Gin
½ cup (50 g) chopped Walnuts
1 cup (100 dl) Heavy Cream
¼ lbs (100 g) Gorgonzola (crumbled)
4 tbsp Port
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.

Use a large frying pan or skillet. It is imperative that the meat sit evenly on the surface. Add the butter and a few turns of fresh cracked pepper. If your grinder can change the grind use a slightly larger grind. Over Medium low heat sauté the butter until it turns nut brown.

Turn the heat to medium high. Place the filets in the skillet and sear on each side for 2 minutes (this will be rare), about 3 ½ minutes for Medium-rare.

Move the filets to a baking pan. Sprinkle the filets with gin, salt and pepper and flame. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the warm oven.

Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium low. Add the chopped Walnuts, the Heavy Cream and the crumbled Gorgonzola to the skillet. Stir together well.

While stirring add the port. Continue stirring until the sauce is reduced.

To serve, place the Filet directly on the plate. Dribble a bit of sauce on the meat and place a dollop of sauce on the side of plate.


Tags: Gourmet Foods Veal Beef Entree Gorgonzola Lombardia Milan Italian Recipes Food and Wine Travel Italy

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Italian Holiday Traditions – The Origins of Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite festive occasions. A romantic soul finds escape, on this day, from an otherwise cynical world. In many ways San Valentino is like Christmas. Perhaps the preconceptions of what is acceptable on Valentine’s Day make us, even if only for one day, think about love and passion. Work is less important and we somehow find time to dedicate our most precious gift to those we love. A gift certificate is not an acceptable thought for Valentine’s Day. The very nature of the holiday requires that we think about the person we love. It is great.

I am always amazed and intrigued at the information I find while I search for the origins of the festivities we celebrate. Each time I become more convinced that we need more balance in our lives and a greater understanding of whom we are. San Valentino is an antique ritual. Originally it the ritual lasted an entire year. The Lupercalia, celebration of fertility, was dedicated to the God Lupercus. The men and women who believed in Lupercus would write their names on a piece of paper. The names would then be placed into a jar and mixed well. A child would then extract the name of a man and a woman. These would then live together “in intimacy” for the entire year. The following year the ritual would be repeated. The first recorded festivities date back to 400 BC.

Today San Valentino takes its name from Saint Valentine of Terni, a town close to Rome. In 273 AD the Catholic Church was becoming more powerful and was influencing the cultural habits of the Roman citizens. Obviously the Lupercalia, a swinger’s party lasting an entire year, was not in line with the religious teachings of the church. The Bishop of Terni, San Valentino, went to the Emperor Claudio II to convince the all-powerful Roman leader to abandon his pagan beliefs and convert to Christianity. The Emperor instead encouraged San Valentino to renounce his Christian beliefs. San Valentino refused. He was imprisoned, skinned alive and decapitated by order of the Emperor on February 14, 273 AD at the ripe old age of 98.

To tie this all together, it is said that while in the Emperor’s dungeons he fell in love with the blind daughter of one of the guards. On the day of his death she received the miracle of sight because of her intense love and adoration. San Valentino had written a note declaring his eternal love and signing “your Valentino”.

Well, we have traded a year of “intimacy” for a day of cards, letters, chocolates and roses. I am ok with that and I love Valentine’s Day. For a full month of San Valentino try visiting Terni in the month of February.

Tags: Holiday Traditions Rome Lazio Winter Vacation Valentine's Day Travel Italy

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