Bonus Check Day

I finally found an excellent local source for beef that won't break the bank (but this is still a paycheck day dinner.) The upshot is that I'm going to treat myself to filet mignon on the grill tomorrow night (Farmer's Market day for the fresh tomatoes and artisanal cheese!) for the first time in a year. Harris Teeter is an east coast chain that sells organic beef for just a bit more than regular grocery prices (as opposed to the highway robbery Whole Foods get for poorly trimmed meat) and it tastes like the stuff I remember growing up down the street from the stockyards in South St. Paul. Six ounce filet, here I come!

A really good piece of meat deserves a really fine sauce, and I'll be eating my favorite bernaise with my steak tomorrow night. Here is a recipe you can put together in about 20 minutes. You didn't think it was possible to make a filet better? This will do it.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon minced shallots
2 tablespoons dried tarragon
Salt and pepper
3 egg yolks
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted in saucepan
2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon

PREPARATION:
In a small saucepan combine vinegar, wine, shallots, and dried tarragon and
simmer over moderate heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons of liquid. Cool
and strain through a fine sieve.

In the top of double boiler or a heat-proof bowl whisk the egg yolks until
they become thick and sticky. Whisk in the reduced vinegar mixture and pepper.
Place the pan or bowl over a saucepan of simmering, not boiling, water. Whisk
until mixture is warm, about 2 minutes. (If mixture appears to become lumpy,
dip pan immediately in a bowl of ice water to cool, whisk until smooth and
then continue recipe.) The yolk mixture has thickened enough when you can
see the bottom of the pan between strokes and mixture forms a light cream
on the wires of the whip.

While whisking the yolk mixture gradually pour in the melted butter, a tablespoon
or so at a time whisking thoroughly to incorporate before adding more butter.
As the mixture begins to thicken and become creamy, the butter can be added
more rapidly. Do not add the milk solids at the bottom of the melted butter.

Season the sauce to taste with chopped tarragon, salt and pepper. To keep
the sauce warm, set the pan or bowl in lukewarm water or in a thermos.

Yield: 1 to 1 1/2 cups sauce

Note from the cook: as with hollandaise, once you start beating the eggs over the heat you cannot stop. Period. Let the answering machine catch the phone. To keep the sauce from breaking or sticking, you are a slave to the pan. You will, however, be amply rewarded. This makes enough for two hearty eaters or four normal people.

Normal people may also want to cut the amount of tarragon in half. I'm enamored of the stuff and like a lot in my bernaise. If you are using fresh, 2 Tbsp is about the right amount.