Reading may seem like a solitary pleasure, but we do not believe it is so. As we read, we intimately interact with writers, the worlds they create, and our own inner selves as well as the real world that surrounds us. Some of us are also blessed enough to have friends to share the experience with.

While discussing the idyllic village of Three Pines and the captivating characters author Louise Penny created in the Inspector Gamache books, we were aware of the sensory pleasure to be had in the meals described. Olivier’s Bistro, Gabri’s baking, and dinners at the Morrow’s can easily make us salivate while reading the books… Louise Penny's books, are a wonderful entrée into a sensual world, where each book is a season, capturing its mood and flavours, and contributing to the layers of meaning about the characters, who are marvellously revealed over the series.

At one point, a daydream of going through the series with a notebook in hand, writing down all these meals and later cooking them, took shape. This is our "notebook". We hope you enjoy this literary-culinary-sensory-philosophical journey.

Friday, June 3, 2016

Filet Mignon & Blue Cheese Sauce and Random Miscellaneous Musings

by Amy



“He looked at Clara Morrow. She was also in pajamas and a dressing gown and, he glanced down, slippers. Could this be a new, and nightmarish, fashion trend? How long had he slept? While he knew flannel was an aphrodisiac to Anglos, it did nothing for Beauvoir. He’d never, ever worn it and didn’t plan to start.”

I love this scene. I love, love, love their pajama day idea! I think that it is the very definition of a lazy day - even if you get bucket loads of things done. Actually, it’s one of my favorite things about hospital work. Scrubs are as comfortable as pajamas. Doctors (and other healthcare professionals) don’t really wear scrubs here in Brazil unless it’s hospital work that involves operating rooms. Since I work in neonatal care and delivery rooms, I get to wear scrubs when I’m in the hospital. At the office the white coat is more appropriate. I consider scrubs to be glorified pajamas.

 “It’s very relaxing. I stay in them all day.”

“Beauvoir tried to look disapproving but had to admit, she did look comfortable. She completed the look by having bed-head, though that was nothing new. Her hair always stuck out in all directions, probably where she ran her hands through it. And that would also account for the crumbs in there, and the flecks of paint.”

I know. Not the same. But this scene gives me flashbacks to my residency years. Beauvoir was so tired he crashed. Then he wasn’t sure if it was early morning or evening. He wasn’t sure if he wanted breakfast or dinner. The people around him were wearing comfortable – although not very elegant – clothing (what could be worse than scrubs and crocs?). And bed-head? Yeah. Flashbacks.

“He laughed, surprising himself. He’d never had an actual conversation with Clara. With any of them. The Chief had. Somehow he’d managed to become friends with most of them but Beauvoir had never been able to pass through that membrane, to see people as both suspects and human. He’d never wanted to. The idea repulsed him.”


I love Beauvoir. And I love watching him mature through the series. This is a huge milestone. He’s
started to blur the distinction between “them” and “us”. Although the idea still “repulses him” to an extent, he’s already started to see people as human. One of the things I love in The Long Way Home is when Gamache asks him what it is with him and the elderly. He answers that he just treats them like people. This is one of the scenes where he begins to see people as human – even if they are suspects.

“Clara hesitated. She didn’t like the idea of being a spy but if he was right then an innocent man was in prison and a murderer was among them. Almost certainly in the room with them at that moment.”

Clara, on the other hand, had no difficulty in seeing people as human. The hard part here, for her, was seeing them as suspects. In an earlier post we talked about how hard it is to let go of those we love and remember grace when we are constantly made aware of the evil that is in the world (https://thenightisastrawberry.blogspot.com.br/2016/01/chicken-pesto-sandwich-and-letting-go.html). Clara is made uncomfortably aware of the fact that, even in idyllic Three Pines, a murderer was – or is – among them.

I once read an interview in which Louise Penny said she had originally thought Peter and Clara would be amateur sleuths who would assist Gamache. I think this book (BURY YOUR DEAD) has Clara playing that role. She isn’t always discreet. Beauvoir frequently cringes in his interactions with her. But, all in all, he’s both impressed and grateful. And it is in this book that his own bonds of friendship are established with Three Pines. Up until now he'd investigated them. He now befriends them.

 “Myrna and Peter arrived and Beauvoir joined them for a bistrô dinner, ordering the filet mignon with cognac blue cheese sauce. They chatted about various events in the village, the ski conditions at Mont Saitn-Rémy, the Canadiens game the night before.”



I was looking forward to the sauce. I’m not much of a meat eater, but my husband loves filet mignon, so I thought this meal might possibly please us both. I’d eat potatoes and blue cheese sauce. He’d have the filet. In the end, he was happy with the filet. He tolerated the sauce. He ate a couple of potatoes, but preferred rice. My son gags with baked potatoes – even when they’re on the firm side – and can’t stand most sauces. He tried it. But stuck to filet and rice. I thought the sauce was a bit too rich for my tastes, but happily ate potatoes.

So… I think this meal was a bit of a failure. I’m having a hard time writing about it because it wasn’t a particularly enjoyable meal. It was okay. I also consider the presentation to be flawed. But then, I think meat is always kind of ugly. It’s easy to see I’m not a meat lover.  Although I wasn't pleased with it, I must concede that the only thing left over was the sauce. So I guess it was okay.

Part of me wants to start over and try a different recipe. The other part thinks that part of being a non-cook posting about cooking is posting failed attempts – or less than stellar meals. So voilá!

Filet Mignon with Potatoes and Blue Cheese Sauce

Potatoes:
Quarter the potatoes and boil them in water until they’re al dente. Dip in cold water and then flavor with salt, olive oil, rosemary and garlic and bake in oven until “ready”. Mine were on the undercooked side this time.

Filet Mignon:
Season with pepper and garlic and sear on both sides (I used olive oil).


Blue Cheese Sauce:
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan. Add 1 tablespoon of flour. Whisk in 400ml of milk. Once it’s creamy (or doesn't drip from the spoon), add 60g of blue cheese and some nutmeg. Allow cheese to melt. Sauce is done.

If I were to make this again (and I don’t plan to), I’d bake the potatoes whole, I’d make the filets in strips and add them to the sauce – kind of like a stroganoff. Or serve it on pasta.  


I do recommend we all grow and mature and mellow as did Beauvoir. His choice in meals? Nowhere near my own tastes. 

14 comments:

  1. love the steak and potatoes, you can tell I'm from Wisconsin, but the blue cheese, not so much. But you made it seem so appetizing, I might give it a try!! Cook on!

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    1. Oh, don't! It wasn't appetizing at all. LOL! Try Julie's idea (below) instead!!!!!

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  2. I have to say that I had pictured something more "bleu cheesy" and less "white sauce"... and perhaps that's the problem. First of all, there's no color on the plate, which I'm sure would NOT go over with Gabri, hahaha. I love bleu cheese on steak - and actually have it a lot - just not in a sauce. What I do is saute mushrooms (sometimes with onions that get caramelized) while I grill the steaks. At the last minute, I add garlic butter and get it all mixed together, pour it over the steaks and sprinkle bleu cheese on top. I usually serve that with asparagus tips (and any kind of potatoes) at this time of year, and my husband finds this to be a meal that does not spike his blood sugar, so he asks for it often. I know - TMI - but, just sayin'... Anyway - I think I might play with that sauce and add lots more cheese - maybe even just melt the bleu cheese into a "meltier" cheese - and serve with something green and something red - baked tomatoes are a favorite of ours, as well.

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    1. Hi Julie,
      I agree. No color. I wanted greens and reds and yellows and oranges and... But I'd run out of time and was sloppy. Which is why I considered not posting it and doing it over again. But then, failing is part of life - and it's DEFINITELY a part of cooking. This is what NOT to do. LOL!
      I just told Tall Pines Pottery not to make this (she mentioned she might), but to make your version instead.
      I like your idea... although I'd probably just make it with different colored baby potatoes, maybe? And no steaks? LOL! I can't stand steaks. My husband can't stand bleu cheese. It's a lose lose situation, I suppose. I like the idea of baked tomatoes, baked potatoes, sauteed mushrooms & bleu cheese! That would be a perfect meal. Sans white sauce. Anyway. This was _not_ a post-worthy meal.

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    2. Julie,
      I tweaked it. Or, to be honest, ditched the previous idea and redid it all. See newest post.
      I did bake tomatoes yesterday after reading your comment. I don't know how you usually do it. I just removed the seeds and baked the shells and added some ricota & herbs to the inside after it was mostly baked. Yummy.

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    3. Oh, that sounds wonderful, Amarilis! For baked tomatoes, I usually use Romas (stronger taste for me), cut the ends off to have a flat bottom, cut them in half and sprinkle the top with "Italian herbs" (very lazy - that's just what it says on the bottle) and tiny bit of salt. Bake for about 20 minutes to half an hour in a 350 oven (less in a hotter oven - whatever else I'm making dictates the oven temp), adding some shredded parmesan for the last 10 minutes. I don't bother scooping out seeds or anything like that. I'm more of a "by the seat of my pants" cook, and luckily, have a hubby who will eat whatever's put in front of him, with raves if he likes it and judicious silence if he doesn't. Trying to please three different palates would be very difficult - not sure how I'd do with that...

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    4. Hmmm... I'll make it with the seeds next time. I thought they'd get watery. I added them to some tomato sauce I was making anyway. As for "seat of my pants cook", me too. I'm really (really) bad at following recipes and not a good enough cook to actually get away with all the attempted changes. Husband will also eat. Doesn't rave when he likes it, so I kind of have to guess which kind of silence it is: "loves it", "isn't really even paying attention to what he's eating", or "is too polite not to eat when it's mealtime". Snacks (thinks like cookies etc) he won't actually say whether or not he likes it - I'll know by whether or not he eats them. When he likes something a recipe is gone within minutes. One likes sauce & all things sweet (husband). Son likes dry and all things on the crispy side (hence cooked veggies are "intolerable" while raw salad is yummy). Go figure. Probably my fault. I should stop "catering". It would probably improve.

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  3. Oh, and just so you don't think I didn't read the important part (about the book), I agree - I love this one for the way that Beauvoir begins to find his way among the "crazy anglos". His journey is wonderful to me.

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    1. Haha! I love you. His journey is great and, again, thanks for reading. Off to bake some tomatoes. Your first comment made me want to add those to the veggies I was going to reheat for my meal. ;)

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  4. Wasn't Beauvoir excited to go to Three Pines to investigat because he was not recovering well at home? He couldn't stand his wife, he was starting to take too many pills, and he was just out of sorts. This is the first time he was there by himself and telling everyone he was recuperating, not on official business I just love him. I love how Louise Penny wrote his character.
    I will be re reading this book ( listening actually) this week.

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    1. Yes! That scene where his wife is offering him cookies or something while he's in the basement trying to (pretending to) make a bookshelf or some other kind of woodwork? Oh my... It's like a classic scene of doomed marriage, isn't it? You just know things are going wrong. I'm pretty sure every couple has at least one moment where, while they love each other, they don't like each other much. But Beauvoir can't stand her. I feel for her. Really.

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  5. I felt sad for Enid also. She was what he wanted when he married her, beautiful, make all the other guys jealous, all to feed his ego. He really had low self esteem. She tried so hard but didn't know the demons he had and how he really loved Annie. I hope she is some rich ex hockey players trophy wife. She finds happiness.

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    1. Nancy! You have the best solutions. LOL! I love how your mind works. She's make a perfect ex hockey player's trophy wife. Haha! Love that. She's so sweet. And she tries so hard. There's a scene in one of Diana Gabaldon's books where she and Jamie are talking and one of them (forgot which) says something about being married and not knowing the key to making a spouse happy (they were talking about previous spouses). It's a devastating feeling... You're right. She was what he (thought he) wanted and she wasn't enough.

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  6. I've been a tad busy and so am late seeing this post. Personally, I love the menu. I like meat...probably too much...and adore blue cheese with anything! I agree that you needed more colour. It's amazing that we are so affected by the presentation of the meal.
    I don't envy you your challenge to please everybody! Isn't rice generally preferred over potatoes in Brazil?
    I've got a great broccoli, blue cheese pasta dish that everybody raves over...and it's meatless! You might prefer something like that.
    Always love to hear any reflections about Beauvoir!

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