Jason and I used to go out to eat on Valentine’s day but ever since I learned the perfect way to cook filet mignon there’s no need to go out looking for it now.  I’ve had filets at our local pricey steakhouse before and I can say without hesitation, mine are better…and it’s not because I’m a good cook, it’s because cooking a filet properly is as easy as making a grilled cheese sandwich.  Yes, I’ve got the proof right here.

You want to start with a good piece of meat, make sure it’s nice and bright red with little marbling and is at least 3 inches thick.  Also, get a guarantee that the cow your meat came from did nothing but eat grass all day every day.

I picked these bad boys up at Whole Foods…

This was 1.3 pounds and I paid 38 bucks for it.  Seems pricey?  Go order this much meat at a steakhouse and your head will spin when you get the bill.  I got this much because I wanted to feed the kids too, I would feel too bad depriving them of the awesomeness that is filet mignon.

When you take this out of the fridge, let it sit for at least 30 minutes before you start cooking it so it can get close to room temp (yes this is completely safe).

Pre-heat your oven to 450° F…you need it to get blazin’ hot in there.  

Cover both sides of your steak with a whole bunch of salt and freshly ground pepper.

Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a heavy bottom skillet over HIGH heat, you want that oil to get super duper hot.  I would suggest using your overhead exhaust when doing this because you might get some smoking, our smoke detector still went off as usual.

Once you’ve got the oil nice and hot, use tongs to place the meat down in the skillet.  This next part is very important, DO NOT MOVE IT, TOUCH IT, OR FIDDLE WITH IT.  If you do, you will ruin everything.  After 3-4 minutes, use your tongs or a metal spatula to flip the meat over.

This is what you want to see…dear GOD that looks good.

3 more minutes on this side and then pop the whole thing, pan and all, into the oven on the middle rack.  You can put a pat of herbed butter (butter mixed with thyme, rosemary, etc.) on the top of each steak before it goes in the oven but I don’t think it’s necessary.

Here are my suggestions on cooking time…

Rare – 2 minutes
Medium Rare – 5 minutes
Medium – 7 minutes
Medium Well – 8 minutes
Well Done – 10 minutes

As we all know, you can put a steak back in the oven if it’s not done enough for your liking but the reverse ain’t happenin’.  I would also never recommend cooking a filet to well done because it’s not a cut of meat that is meant for that but you won’t get arrested so do what you want I guess.

I did 6 minutes because I like it somewhere between medium rare and medium…it worked perfectly.

When you take the steak out, set it aside in the pan and let it rest for a little while to seal in all those glorious juices.

Now let’s whip up some seared scallops to make this dish even fancier!  Seared scallops go so well with this because they are sweet and light, they compliment the salty heartiness of the meat perfectly. 

Get some extra virgin olive oil going in a small saute pan over high heat.  Make sure you pat your scallops dry with a paper towel…

Don’t salt and pepper them until right before they go in the pan because the salt will draw out more water from the scallop.

Use tongs to place them in the skillet and sear on one side for 1-2 minutes…

They will start to get nice and brown on the bottom, just what you want.  Then flip them with tongs or a metal spatula…oh yea baby.

Cook for another 1-2 minutes and they are done and ready to eat.  Your steak is also ready for the party.

I like to make broccoli with this dish because my kids love broccoli for some reason, asparagus is also a good option.  

You put water in the pot about half way to the top and the top pot has holes in the bottom so the boiling water steams it perfectly.

Here is the final product…I know, right.

This is so SO easy.  But just to warn you, if you make this for someone be prepared for a marriage proposal at the end of the meal.  My husband proposed to me after he ate it and we’re already married, that’s how good it is.

And if that wasn’t enough, we had this for breakfast the next morning…sliced filet over a poached egg on whole grain toast and covered in steak sauce.  We heard angels singing while we were eating it.