May 4, 2025 (and the recipe for "Biff" Wellington)

Today was dedicated to the "Biff" Wellington and it was worth it. It felt like a roller-coaster emotionally but it turned out well in the end. Otherwise, it's been raining throughout the day and Sampa the Great provided a good soundtrack during all the cooking:

It may not look pretty but it was pretty delicious... (my own pic)

If you're interested in trying this out for yourself, here's the steps I took to make mine:

"Biff" Wellington

Order of Operation

1. Make duxelles

2. Prep meat in cling wrap

3. Make crepe batter

4. Chill everything

5. Make crepes

6. Put together as the whole Wellington

7. Cook the Wellington

Duxelles

(Based on this recipe)

1 pound mushrooms of choice (I used white button)

¼ cup shallots, diced

1 clove garlic, diced

5 sprigs fresh parsley

½ stick butter

Salt & pepper to taste

1. Trim/quarter mushrooms

2. Put mushrooms accordingly into food processor to pulse (may have to do this several times to get the whole pound pulsed) then transfer to a container

3. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat

4. Add shallots & garlic until soft (2-3 minutes)

5. Add mushrooms, salt, pepper to pan

6. Cook until softened and released water (4-5 minutes)

7. Increase heat to medium-high until liquid evaporates and mushrooms stick to pan

8. Remove from heat & stir in the parsley

Crepes

(Based on this recipe)

3 eggs

1 1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup spinach, chopped

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 pinch nutmeg

2 TBSP oil

1. Mix eggs and milk, then add spinach

2. Mix flour and spices in different bowl, then add the spinach milk mix gradually until fully blended

3. Add oil to mix

4. Let mix chill for 1 hour

5. Cook like regular crepes

Meat

1 pound ground meat (I used beef for the recipe)

Dijon mustard to coat

1. Season, then make into a loaf

2. Sear on a pan for 3-4 minutes each side

3. Place into fridge for 20-30 min

4. After chilling, rub with Dijon mustard

The Wellington

(Based roughly on a Gordon Ramsey recipe)

Everything mentioned above

1 roll of puff pastry

1. Lay out 2 crepes overlapping

2. Spread duxelles 1/2 cm thick

3. Put meat in center of crepes and wrap tight

4. Wrap with cling film and chill for 10-15 minutes

5. Pull out pastry from fridge

6. Brush with egg wash

7. Put meat wrap in center and cover with the pastry

8. Place on parchment paper-lined tray

9. Glaze again with egg wash

10. Score pastry but don’t cut through

11. Bake at 425F for 60 min

12. Rest for 10 min