If someone told me I could never eat beef again ... no big deal. Dh grills filets a few times a year and we eat burgers weekly during my tomato harvest. Maybe meatballs & meatloaf once a year. That’s about it. Grew up eating ribeyes and occasionally flank. I don’t care for any steak with fat or one that I have to chew and chew. That’s why I love a buttery filet. That said, tonight we dined at Sullivan’s steakhouse. It’s restaurant week (prix fixe menu) and that was dh’s choice; mine was Galatoire’s earlier in the week. I chose the filet (it is a steakhouse after all) with no sauce. I wanted a real comparison to the steaks dh grills. It didn’t even come close! Zero flavor and far from melt in the mouth tender. I can understand why some of you don’t like filets if you’ve eaten ones like that. And to think that they normally charge $32 for that cut is nothing short of criminal.

A delicious, quick meal that will use some of your filet is beef stroganoff. This is the recipe I use...sounds complicated but you can simplify the sauce. The point is that the beef is sliced thin and quickly, very quickly, sauted and then tossed with the sauce and served over egg noodles. Delicious ! Beef Stroganoff (Silver Palate) 3 Cup Crème Fraiche (can use sour cream) 1 1/2 Tbl Dijon mustard 3 Tbl tomato paste 3 Tbl Worcestershire sauce 2 Tsp paprika 1/2 Cup demiglace (or good beef broth) 3/4 Tsp salt fresh black pepper To Taste 1 Lb firm small sized, white button mushrooms 10 Tbl butter (or a combo of butter)and EVOO 24 pearl onions 3 Lb of beef filet Italian parsley Chopped Combine creme fraiche, tomato paste, mustard Worcestershire, paprika, demiglace (or beef broth if you don't have demi glace), salt and pepper in a medium size sauce pan. Simmer slowly for 20 minutes or until sauce is slightly reduced. Do not boil. Remove from heat and let sit covered. Cut a small x in the bottom of each onion. Bring a pot of water to the boil and drop the onions in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain the onions and run under cold water. Peel the onions. Melt 3TBSP of butter in saut pan. Saute Mushrooms until tender. Remove mushrooms and add 3 TBSP more butter, saute onions just until lightly golden. Remove the onions from the pan and add to mushrooms. Cut the meat into thin slices on the diagonal. Heat the remaining butter in the same pan. Cook on high heat just until lightly browned,do not over cook.This dish can be prepared to this point several hours before serving. To complete, set sauce over medium low heat and bring to a bare simmer. Add mushrooms, onions and any accumulated juices. Simmer 5 minutes. Add beef and juices, heat just until meat is heated through. Serve immediately over hot noodles , garnish with the parsley.

Hi, Stacy! Your post just struck such a chord with me, and I wanted to share my experience for what it's worth... My family had always (and I do mean *always*, as in for the last 100 years at least) had a huge Thanksgiving feast with turkey, dressing, ham, homemade rolls, along with countless side dishes and lots of desserts. Then we'd repeat the exact same menu for Christmas dinner. Besides hours of grocery shopping and days of cooking, there was silver to polish, linens to iron, crystal and china to hand-wash, etc., etc. Like you, we usually had a crowd of 16-18, so it was a massive undertaking. But with several good cooks and lots of willing helpers, it was always great fun -- very definitely a pleasure rather than an obligation. A couple of years after I 'inherited' hostess duties from my mother, though, suddenly the joy was all gone and it became overwhelming. Our family reached a point where the grandparents and others of their generation were too old and feeble to help. And the grandchildren were still too young to assume any meaningful responsibilities. There was absolutely nobody to help me with this huge project. Well, except for my sister-in-law, but I refuse to go there.... After serving Thanksgiving dinner that year, I was on the verge of collapse. (As usual, SIL didn't even offer to help with the dishes!) And all I could think about was the fact that it would be deja vu all over again in less than a month -- PLUS all the shopping, wrapping and decorating that makes Christmas 10 times more chaotic. In order to save my mental health, something had to give! So I did the previously unthinkable and announced that our holiday food traditions were about to change dramatically. The Thanksgiving menu would remain basically the same, but Christmas dinner would be way different. I promised them it would be elegant and delicious, but it would also be extremely simplified. To my shock and amazement, all the oldies were extremely supportive. They said it made lots more sense under the circumstances, that they were sure they'd love anything I served, and it would be fun to start a new tradition. (Pretty cool 'tude for people in their 80's and 90's, huh?) The ones who howled with indignation were my kids! I actually had wild-and-crazy teenaged boys up in my face, accusing me of "throwing generations of family tradition down the tubes..." It would have been riotously funny if they hadn't been so genuinely upset. Who knew they had even noticed the enormous effort I put into holiday celebrations, much less cared??? Despite a negative PR campaign (orchestrated by my oldest son) that would have done any politician proud, I stuck to my guns. The result? The most wonderful Christmas dinner you could imagine! I put the boys in charge of the salad. One prepped the spinach and red leaf lettuce and sliced some red onion. Another cooked the bacon and shredded the Swiss cheese, while the third mixed the poppyseed dressing. Their other assignment was to cook the beef tenderloin. (They weren't real great in the kitchen at that point, but they were already superstars on the grill.) Yes, it put a lot of pressure on them to cook such an expensive entree -- but I knew they'd step up to the plate. And they were sooo proud when the beef drew raves! For the first time, one of them invited a girlfriend to join us. When she insisted, with obvious sincerity, that she'd like to help, I accepted her offer. With me providing the recipe and a minimal amount of supervision, she prepared a wonderful crabmeat concoction for our starter course. All I had to do was layer the ingredients for a potato gratin and cook a green veggie, pop some rolls in the oven, and later pull out the cheesecake I'd made two days in advance. It was the most wonderful Christmas dinner! So wonderful, in fact, that we've repeated it every year since. For once, I was able to relax and enjoy it as much as everyone else did. And, of course, the 'cherry on top' was that my sons readily admitted afterwards that they had been wrong and that having a different menu for our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners actually made both meals seem more special. Talk about feeling vindicated!! You don't sound like you're on the verge of a mental breakdown over your menu like I was. lol But I would really encourage you to try this different approach! However, like several others have said, stick to the basics. Stuff something that needs help, not this. I've found it's best to allow 1/2 lb. per guest. Unless you have a crowd with unusually large appetites, you'll even have a little bit left over. Good luck! sm P.S. Almost forgot to share the best part of the story. The lovely young woman who so thoughtfully insisted on helping prepare that crab dish 5 years ago? To my joy, she became my DIL last month. Just one more reason our first Christmas dinner without turkey will always rank up there with the most wonderful ever!! :)

This is a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and it is excellent. Very light and flavorful. My husband loved it. I substituted spinach for the radicchio since my husband loves fresh spinach. The spinach and bean mixture would be good with chicken too. Whitefish with Lemon Vinaigrette Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis Recipe Summary Difficulty: Easy Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Yield: 6 servings User Rating: 8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 shallots, thinly sliced 1 large head radicchio (about 12 ounces), coarsely chopped (I use fresh spinach) 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 1/3 cup fish broth (I use chicken broth) Salt and freshly ground black pepper 6 (5 to 6-ounce) whitefish fillets, such as tilapia All-purpose flour, for dredging Lemon Vinaigrette, recipe follows Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the radicchio and saute until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and broth, and cook until the beans are heated through, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Season the radicchio mixture, to taste, with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a 14-inch (or 2 smaller) nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the fillets with salt and pepper. Dredge the fillets in flour to coat completely. Shake of the excess flour and fry 3 fillets in each pan until they are golden brown and just cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Spoon the radicchio mixture over the center of the plates. Top with the fillets. Drizzle the vinaigrette over and serve immediately. Lemon Vinaigrette: 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup lightly packed fresh Italian parsley leaves 2 cloves garlic 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil Blend the lemon juice, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper. Yield: scant 2/3 cup Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: none Episode#: EI1F04 Copyright © 2003 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved