Semi-homemade by Kim

I have to admit - I'm obsessed with Food Network. In particular, I am obsessed with Sandra Lee. I know, I know...she's a fake Martha Stewart who doesn't really "cook" anything. But I actually think what she does is wonderful. Most people are not chefs (myself included), so I like that she has come up with ways for families to eat dinner together but not have it be hard or complicated. Most of us already cook this way...I don't know too many people who cook or bake EVERYTHING from scratch. I mean, when Sailor Boy says he's craving stuffing for dinner, I don't sit there tearing up bread crumbs. I reach into the cabinet and pull out some Stove Top. I'm not ashamed.

I will also admit that sometimes I do find Sandra annoying and overly perky. But I still look past that and watch her religiously. Some of her receipes are not that good, but I have found some really good ones. I like using her receipes for entertaining, because it's much easier and I don't have to spend hours preparing stuff...and I can still pass it off like it's my own. I'm also a fan of her cocktails...because really, who doesn't like to end a meal with a good cocktail or two.

I made her blue cheese crusted filet mignon last night because I was thinking Sailor Boy and I needed a little treat after being so exhausted from puppy training the past few weeks. Sailor Boy is a huge steak guy (he would eat it every night if he could), so he was very excited. I hardly ever cook beef besides like tacos and burgers on the grill. But this came out really delicious!! We have this amazing steak place in our town called Lewnes, and while I don't think it came close to rivaling that, I was still very proud of myself.

2 tablespoons bleu cheese crumbles
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
2 teaspoons fines herbs (i just used Montreal Steak Seasoning - we like our steak spicy so I used more than 2 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
4 (6-ounce) filet mignon steaks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, for seasoning, plus 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup cognac (ok, I admit it...I used Sailor Boy's Crown Royal because I really didn't want to go to the store to buy cognac that we will never drink - that's why it's semi-homemade...i work with what i have)
1 cup organic beef stock
1 teaspoon crushed garlic (i just used the jarred minced garlic)
1/4 cup frozen chopped onion (I used a fresh onion - i'm not a fan of frozen onions)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil; set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, combine bleu cheese, bread crumbs, herbs, and 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil; set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large saute pan and heat over medium-high heat. Season steaks with salt and pepper and to add pan, but do not crowd. Sear 1 to 2 minutes per side just to brown. Remove pan from heat and transfer steaks onto prepared baking sheet.

Top each steak with 1/4 of blue cheese mixture. Finish cooking steaks in preheated oven for 4 minutes for medium-rare, 6 minutes for medium, and 8 minutes for well done.

Return pan to stove and deglaze with cognac by scraping bits from bottom of pan. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce liquid by half.

Serve steaks hot with sauce.

Delish! I forgot to take a picture of how mine came out, but I can tell you...it was beautiful!

Is anyone else SUPER happy it's already Thursday?