Garlic lovers, unite!

Hi, my name is Olivia and I have a garlic problem.

I like to add twice the amount of garlic a recipe calls for. I also secretly like the smell of my fingers after I chop garlic. And if anything has the word “garlic” in the title, I immediately fall in love! Yeah, no vampire would ever come near me…

Not that I think that’s a good thing, since I love vampires! In fact, I just paused writing this post to go watch the finale of The Vampire Diaries! (Don’t judge!!)

Am I alone in the world? Do you feel the same? About the garlic, I mean… Not the vampires!

If the answer is yes and you do feel the same, I bet you can imagine the love I feel for this filet mignon steak. First, it’s steak and I couldn’t be more carnivorous. And second: GAAAARLIC. Lots and lots of garlic! (Are you going to punch me if I say garlic one more time? GARLIC!)

I had ordered a few steaks (more like a whole container!) from Omaha Steaks and got really excited when the delivery guy knocked on my door. As soon as I opened the cooler, I knew exactly what I was going to do with the filet mignon.

My husband is part of the “men love steak” cliche. When I met him he survived mostly off of steaks and milk. Now I like to believe I’ve influenced him into developing a more sophisticated palate. The truth is I can make a very complicated dish, but if there’s steak instead, he’ll go for the steak. The steak always wins!

Good thing this dish is… steak, so immediate husband-pleaser! But also me-pleaser because of the mountain of garlic that goes on it!

The dish that inspired me is called “Filé do Moraes” (Moraes’ Filet) and it’s served in a restaurant called “Rei do Filet” (King of Filet) in Brazil. It is the place’s hallmark and it consists of a 18oz filet mignon steak with lots of garlic, served with broccolini sautéed with even more garlic. 

My family loves going to this place for lunch and indulging in the huge steak, T-Rex style, and then going home for a well deserved nap (because home should be the only place you go after eating that much garlic! lol). Oh how I miss it… 

And so, since I couldn’t go home right now, I had to create something similar. My steak was probably half the size of Moraes’, mostly because filet mignon is expensive! :P And I decided to serve my dish with roasted asparagus and polenta, because I could only find the regular broccoli and that wouldn’t do for me. (In Brazil our “broccoli” is what Americans call “broccolini”! We call yours “Japanese broccoli”)

This dish is definitely not for the faint of heart. But I have faith in you! It’s garlic mania time, my friends, and we are going all in!

P.S. Don’t know if you’ve noticed the new logo. Love it? Hate it? Tell me all about it. I’ve been trying to find my visual identity but it’s soooo hard. Expect some visual instability around here for a while… 

P.S. 2 Wanna keep in touch? Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest to stay up to date with my posts! If you end up making one of my recipes, I would love to see it! Just take a photo and post it on your preferred Social Media and tag me or use the hashtag #oliviascuisine! 

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Filet Mignon Steak with LOTS of Garlic

Yield: 2

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients

• 2 (8oz) filet mignon steaks
• 6 to 8 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced or minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Pat the steaks dry with paper towel, season with salt and pepper and rub them with some of the olive oil.

Preheat a medium skillet (the 2 steaks should fit snugly in one layer), over medium high heat, until almost smoking.

Add the steaks and reduce heat to medium and cook the steaks for 5 minutes on each side, until medium-rare or medium. (145 to 160F degrees)

Transfer the meat to a serving dish and let them rest for 5 minutes, or while you prepare the garlic.

In the same skillet, add the olive oil and, once hot, sauté the garlic until brown (about 2 minutes). Season with salt and pepper and pour on top of the filets.

Serve with your choice of vegetables, mashed potatoes and/or polenta.