Steak House Cometh... but with a MMW twist

Some of you may be wondering what is MMW? In order to shorten the title for blog post purposes, Millennial Modern Woman will be referred to as MMW in blog posts from here on out. BUT moving on!

How many of you wish you could afford to have a great steakhouse meal every week? Well at least once a month? I know I would, and so I do - on a budget. For our first recipe article, I'm going to give you some quick and easy tips to create a blue cheese encrusted Filet Mignon with sautteed spinach and rosemary potatoes. YUM!

Everyone likes a good filet, and all you need for this is: a filet cut, a small tub of crumbled gorgonzola or blue cheese from the super market, some olive oil (extra virgin is fine), salt and pepper (fresh cracked salt and pepper is the best - McCormick has grinders!) and you're good to go. Visit your neighborhood meatshop or favorite gourmet store and purchase a filet or what some will call a beef tenderloin cut. I purchased a nice piece that cost me about $10. It was a large steak a with little marble (I prefer less fat but you can go for all the marbling you want).

For your sauteed spinach, you can either purchase spinach in the bag or fresh spinach (just make sure to rip off the leafy tops off your fresh spinach if you prefer this option - it was fun to cook!). You will also need some olive oil (light olive oil works), salt and pepper, and about 2 cloves from a head of garlic - minced.

Finally, for your potatoes, I like the baby golds (they're small and cute and easy to cook). They come in a netted bag in your supermarket. You will also need rosemary (you can use a couple sprigs fresh out of your garden like me or you can use dry - about a tbsp.), olive oil and salt and pepper. Are you seeing the theme with the olive oil, salt and pepper? (Click below to read more)


Remember that room temperature steak cooks better than a cold steak. Give it some time to rest before you throw it on the grill. Maybe ten minutes before you get started with all of this you should get it out from the fridge. Please try to avoid freezing nice cuts like filet!

Before you get started on your steak or spinach - we need to take care of the potatoes. They will take the longest to cook. You will need a flat sheet pan, an oven at 350 degrees, and some tin foil. Cut your larger baby golds into fourths and the smaller ones into halves. Put these on top of a larger sheet of tin foil. Coat them in some olive oil, add some salt and pepper (you can be liberal with it), and add your rosemary. Using your hands, roll the potatoes around and make sure they are fully coated. You should have excess olive oil on the sheet - it will help the potatoes to cook in the oven. Now take the tin foil and completely wrap the potatoes until you create a pouch-like package. Put this on top of your sheet pan and put in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes. This will cook while you cook your steak and saute your spinach.

You will be grilling your steak on the grill (I use gas because it's quick to warm up and easy to clean up and you're allowed to have them on apartment patios). Warm up your grill to about medium high heat. While you're waiting for your grill to warm up, coat your steak with some olive oil (don't overdo it but make sure it's completely coated). Coat both sides of the steak with salt and pepper. Set aside.

At this time, you can prep for your sauteed spinach. Take your spinach and wash it off and set it aside - ready to put in the pan. Warm your pan on the stove to about medium high heat. Your garlic should already be minced.

While your pan is warming up, take your steak out to the grill. Place it on the location of the highest heat. It will cook on one side for about 4 minutes (if it is a steak of about 3 1/2 to 4 inches thick). Revisit your steak and flip it over after the 4 minutes. After you flip it over, you can go to your spinach to get started. Grill cover is closed in all cooking time.

Use enough olive oil to coat the pan. Sautee your garlic until golden brown, then add your spinach. While it's cooking (and shrinking like spinach does) add your salt and pepper to taste. The spinach will reduce down and become a darker green when it's ready - about 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside in pan to keep warm.

When your spinach is ready, head out to the grill and add some blue cheese or gorgonzola crumbles to the stop of your steak (this is at the end of the second side time of 4 minutes - your steak will cook for a total of 8 minutes before you add the cheese). Let the steak cook with the grill cover closed to melt the cheese. After one minute, remove the steak.

Plate your steak, and your spinach, and after this time your potatoes should be ready too! Enjoy with a nice glass of Merlot :)

Happy Homemaking!