This Filet Mignon Recipe Feels Like a New Year’s Eve Splurge—Without the Restaurant Cost

It happens every year: you think about all the delicious, upscale restaurants you and your loved one(s) could splurge on for New Year’s Eve, only to never actually make the reservation. It always sounds so luxurious to enjoy a flavorful meal and a glass of champagne the night before the new year begins, but locking in the plan is more difficult than it sounds.

With popular restaurants filling up reservation spots weeks—or even months—in advance, determining a New Year’s Eve dinner plan becomes close to impossible if you wait until the last minute. But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing this year.

Thanks to the Institute of Culinary Education, you can wow your guests with a meal made at home. This pan-seared filet mignon with red wine and pomegranate pan sauce is succulent, vibrant, and will transport you to a lavish restaurant without ever having to step outside. Keep scrolling for the full recipe from chef Nora Kaywin.

1. Ingredients
2. Step-by-Step Instructions
3. Tips From the Chef

Ingredients

Note: This recipe serves four.

• 4 6-oz filet mignon medallions
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 shallots, finely minced
• 1.5 cups red wine
• 1 cup pomegranate juice
• 3 cups beef stock
• 4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes 
• Salt and pepper

Step-by-Step Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Allow the filets to come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before cooking. Pat dry and season well with salt and pepper.
• Heat stainless steel sauté pans and stream in canola oil. Sear steaks until a crust forms on both sides. Transfer to a racked sheet tray and finish in the oven until the internal temperature reaches 120°F for medium rare. 
• Allow the steaks to rest and come up to 130°F. 
• Using the same pan the steaks were seared in, cook shallots.
• Add red wine and pomegranate juice, and reduce by two-thirds.
• Add beef stock and reduce until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
• Turn the heat off and swirl in the cold butter cubes. Adjust salt to taste.
• To serve: spoon the sauce onto each plate and place the filets on top of the sauce.

Tips From the Chef

Kaywin also provides this helpful insights to keep in mind while preparing your dish:

• Bring the steak up to temperature by allowing it to rest on the counter for about 30 minutes before searing. This will allow heat to move evenly throughout the meat.
• For medium-rare, remove the steak from the oven when the internal temperature reaches 120- 125°F. The steak will continue to cook during the resting process due to the residual heat inside. Rest the meat for 10 minutes, and you’ll have a medium-rare steak with an internal temperature of 130-135°F.
• When making the pan sauce, patience is key. Add each ingredient one at a time, allowing each to reduce. If the sauce becomes too thick or overly reduced, don’t panic! Simply add more stock and simmer again gently to thicken. The sauce is done when it can coat the back of a spoon.

With a recipe this tasty and simple, your New Year’s Eve is about to get a major upgrade.

You can make more recipes like this one at the Institute of Culinary Education’s campuses in Los Angeles and New York City. Learn more about how to enroll on their website.

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