We were having a special occasion and I wanted a special occasion meal.  I always feel like a nice steak dinner is a bit more formal than any other kind of meal.  It reminds me of upscale restaurants and steakhouses that are reserved for special nights only.

Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce

(Inspired by this excellent cookbook, page 236)

Ingredients:

Beef tenderloin steaks
1 tablespoon butter
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon flour [I used the gluten free flour inspired by the cookbook, but any flour would work here]
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup beef broth
Salt and pepper

Preparation:

1.  Mince your shallot.  A shallot is like a mini-onion.

2.  Season each steak with salt and pepper on both sides.

3.  Heat the saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the beef and sear for about 5 minutes per side, depending on how done you want the meat.  Remove the meat and set aside.

4. Combine the flour, wine, broth, salt, and peppar in a separate bowl.

5. Melt the butter in the same pan used for the beef.  Add the shallot and mix around for a minute, browning it a little bit.  Add the sauce and stir gently until it thickens.

6.  Pour the sauce over the steak and enjoy!

Results:

This actually turned out very nice to have for a formal-ish dinner.  The original recipe calls for using some olive oil in the saute pan (pictured above).  I’d skip that step – it actually slows the cooking and when the oil gets hot, it splatters.

The sauce has a really nice tang to it and is really scrumptious.  I wished there was more once I finished my portion.

Feel free to serve the rest of that wine bottle with your meal! 🙂