{WeightWatchers} Filet Mignon with Bearnaise

Date night is a special night in our house. For two people who are go go go all the time, while I typically do cook every night, we can usually be found eating in front of the TV, bent over the living room coffee table. This drives me crazy on a day-to-day basis, but apparently not enough to start forcing myself to eat at the table. I have a gorgeous new dining room table, and I think it has been used maybe 3 or 4 times in the course of the last few months. Hopefully that will change, and if I had meals like this one to eat on a regular basis, I can tell you I would spend much less time on my couch!

In my family, there is a New Years tradition that involves Filet Mignon. The tradition was created by accident a million years ago. My dad, the amazing man that he is, braves the elements at any time of year to grill. In blustery upstate NY, you can imagine what the weather is like on New Years. Long story short, the glass on said grill exploded while the steaks were being cooked. My guess is because of the temperature difference between the ice cold air and the warm grill. Thankfully no one was hurt, other than the filets, and we of course picked out the glass and enjoyed the steaks anyway. Thus, the endearing meaning of the term "Filet O'Glass". 

So to carry on this tradition, I decided to make filets for me and the mr. on our last NYE as singles!! It must have been fate, because I signed onto the WW website and low and behold, one of the new/trending recipes was this one! I was so excited! I read the reviews and like 99% of people said it was super easy and restaurant quality... sold. It was the perfect addition to our fancy date night meal. Hope you enjoy as much as we did! I served the steaks with Roasted Confetti Fingerling Potatoes and haricot verts, which is really just a fancy way to say green beans. The Bearnaise is delicious over those as well. 

Filet Mignon with Bearnaise Sauce

ingredients

1/2 tsp each Salt + Pepper, divided

1 lb lean beef filet mignon {ideally 4 4oz pieces}

1 large uncooked egg yolk, at room temperature

1 Tbl water, at room temperature

2 1/3 Tbl unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1-2 Tbl fresh minced herbs {I used fresh chives and parsley and probably used more than 2 Tbl in the end}

instructions

1. Rub salt + pepper on steaks.
2. Coat a grill pan with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. Heat the pan until almost smoking.
3. Cook the steaks 5 minutes on one side without turning. Flip and cook another 4-6 minutes on the other side to achieve medium doneness. 
4. Place steaks on cutting board to let rest for 10+ minutes. Loosely cover with foil. The steaks will continue to cook slightly under the foil.
5. Bring a small saucepan one-third full of water to a boil, to create a double boiler. 
6. In a metal or glass bowl, beat the egg yolk with 1 Tbl water until frothy; set bowl over saucepan and cook, whisking constantly, until the yolk thickens, appx 3-5 mins.
7. Remove egg yolk from heat and slowly whisk in melted butter. Stir in lemon juice, remaining S+P and herbs. 
8. Serve steaks with sauce - yields appx 3 oz steak and 1 Tbl sauce per serving.

notes

• WeightWatchers PointsPlus+ Values: makes 4 servings at 6 PPV per serving
• I actually threw my steaks in a ziplock baggie with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. I find that the little bit of oil gives the steaks a little more flavor. Note: this increases the PPV of the steaks slightly. 1 tsp of olive oil = 1 PPV 
• Make sure you have everything prepared for the sauce before you start making it!!! This is crucial to it working, as timing is everything. Chop your veggies, get your butter melted, and have everything portioned out before you start on the sauce. Trust me, you will be thanking me later!
• To ensure the egg yolk is brought up to room temperature, I recommend taking it out of the fridge about an hour before you plan to start cooking. At this point I also got my Tbl of water on the counter too.