Filet Mignon with Red-Wine Risotto

Some days I might be feeling kind of blue and have a need to find a happy place. Other days are brisk and chilly and I need that warm feeling inside, and sometimes I want to do something special for another. Risotto can fill all of these spaces, physically and emotionally. It’s creamy goodness is so hearty, it warms from the inside out. How can anything started with wine, cooked with broth and finished with butter and cheese not be?

I have entire cookbooks devoted to risottos, but last night I tried a recipe from a new cook book, New York Cooks: 100 Recipes from the City’s Best Chefs. Within, I found this recipe for red-wine risotto. I don’t normally cook risotto in red wine, but a bacon start, port-wine base, and a dollop of mascarpone definitely found my happy place. The original recipe calls for celery root, a root vegetable that tastes mildly like celery but contains less starch than potatoes. I couldn’t find it at my market and so did not include it. Nor could I find brown chicken stock. So, I went with a traditional chicken stock/mushroom stock combination. Feel free to use a different ratio of stocks, or even make your own brown chicken stock if you are feeling extra motivated. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
3 slices bacon, diced
1 tsp garlic, minced
½ small yellow onion, diced
1 cup port wine
2 cups red wine (preferably Syrah)
1 cup short grain risotto rice such as arborio
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup mushroom stock
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
salt/pepper to taste
2 6-ounce filet-mignon
2 tbsp shaved Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp mascarpone cheese
1 porcini mushroom, thinly sliced

Directions:
In a medium sauce pan over low heat, add the bacon, garlic and onion and gently cook covered until translucent and tender, 10 minutes. Meanwhile, bring the stock to a gentle simmer in a separate pan. To the onion mixture, add the port and red wine, increasing heat if necessary to bring to a simmer and reduce until ½ cup remains. Add the rice, stirring and cook for a few minutes to incorporate the wine into the rice. Ladle in stock until rice is covered and simmer gently. Stir the rice frequently to help bring out the starches. Continue adding stock as the rice becomes dry, adding, stirring and re-adding for a total of 20-25 minutes cooking time. If stock runs out before rice is tender, use more stock. Ten minutes into the rice cooking time, pre-heat a skillet to medium-high and add 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil. Salt and pepper the filet, and add to hot pan when butter/oil is smoking. Sear filets 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove and allow to rest covered loosely with foil for 5 minutes. Turn the heat in the pan down to medium-low and saute the mushrooms while the meat rests. Sir into risotto 2 tbsp butter and grated Parmesan. To plate, spoon risotto into a bowl. Slice the filet into strips and lay on the risotto. Dollop a large spoonful of mascarpone onto the risotto. Place half of the sauteed mushrooms on each bowl. Sprinkle the shaved Parmesan onto the risotto. Serve.