Beef Au Bleu Food

BLUE CHEESE STEAK

Steps:

• Fire up your frying pan to high heat, or get the grill ready.
• Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper to taste.
• Toss a dab of butter in the pan (or a spritz of oil).
• Place steaks on the hot pan; grill 3 minutes; turn.
• Scatter bleu cheese crumbles over steak while grilling for another 3 minutes.
• Remove meat from heat, let stand a few minutes.
• Serve with oven-roasted potato wedges or whole baked potatoes.
• OPTIONAL: Serve with MORE bleu cheese or bleu cheese salad dressing.

BEEF AU BLEU

Steps:

• Move the oven rack to the top rungs, and heat the oven to broil for a good 10 minutes. Season the steaks on both sides with salt, and pepper and rub all over with a little olive oil. Set the meat in a cast iron pan, and broil 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until done to your liking. Remove to a carving board, cover with foil, and let rest 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, crumble the cheese into a saucepan, pour over the cream, and gently heat to melt. Carve the meat and arrange on a serving platter. Pour over the juices. Cook's Note: if you feel there is too much juice, you can reduce it first. Spoon over a little of the sauce and pour the rest into a sauce jug for passing around the table.
• Serve with Endives with Oranges or on a bed of watercress.
• Halve the endives lengthwise. Melt the butter, sugar, and vinegar to caramel in a large saute pan, and then add the wine. Lay in the endive, cut side down. Season the endive with salt, and pepper, cover the pan with foil, and cook over medium-low heat, turning a few times, until very tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.
• While the endive cooks, cut the skin off the oranges with a knife, to expose the flesh, then remove the sections, holding the oranges over a bowl to catch the juices. Add the juices to the endive, but reserve the sections until the very end.
• When the endives are soft, uncover the pan, and continue cooking, turning the endives occasionally, to reduce the liquid to a glaze and caramelize the endives. At the last minute, add the orange sections to heat through, and serve.

BLUEBERRY BACON BLUE CHEESE BURGER AU POIVRE

Steps:

• Divide the beef into 6 loosely packed 1/2-inch-thick patties about 4 1/2 inches in diameter. Set aside.
• Combine the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. In the meantime, stir together the cornstarch and water in a medium bowl. When the blueberry mixture comes to a boil, slowly drizzle in the cornstarch slurry and cook until the blueberry mixture slightly thickens to the consistency of pancake syrup. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Place the coarse pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the burger patties liberally with salt and place one by one in the coarse pepper to coat generously, pushing firmly on each side.
• Cook the burgers in a hot cast-iron pan with a little oil to get them started. Cook 4 minutes on one side, and then flip and cook 3 minutes on the other side to medium-rare. Remove to a warm plate covered with foil to rest while cooking the remaining burgers.
• Meanwhile, cut and toast the buns cut-side down in a separate pan with a touch of oil for extra crunch. Spread the toasted buns liberally with the basil aioli. Place a burger on the bottom bun, followed by some blue cheese, a few spoonfuls of blueberry sauce, 2 slices bacon, a slice of red onion and a big pinch of arugula. Repeat with the remaining burgers.
• Blend the basil, lemon juice, garlic and oil to make a smooth puree in a blender. Mix it with your favorite mayonnaise (2 parts mayonnaise to 1 part basil puree).