You know that feeling when you have the very first mouthful of something, and you can’t help but close your eyes at the sheer deliciousness of it? So it was with Ross Martin’s Beef in Anchovy Cream, made for our New Year’s Eve din dins. I’m going to make very grand claims for this recipe. It is not only the best Silver Screen Suppers recipe of 2014, it is the best Silver Screen Suppers recipe EVER. Absolute perfection.
Here it is bubbling away on Mr R’s stove in his much-coveted-by-me green casserole dish.
This is a pricey dish if you are cooking for a crowd, and it takes a while to cook, but for a special occasion I don’t think this can be beaten. The photos don’t do it justice. It must be tasted!
Conversation between me and Mr R once I’d finished oohing and ahhing about how divine this dinner was.
Mr R: “I think you’ve impressed yourself haven’t you baby?”
Me: “Yes!” (I was very impressed with myself indeed).
You want the recipe now don’t you? Well here it is my friends. I used the salted anchovies that you get in a small jar and that laze around in the fridge for decades, and good old Oxo Cubes as they were what I could get at Mr R’s corner shop.
The dish might turn out differently if you used fresh anchovies and proper beef stock, but I am going to do it EXACTLY THE SAME every time I make it because this was just the best. You have to buy good quality meat for this recipe, I reckon. Push the boat out. I bought my beef from the butcher and it was £20 (I did half of Ross’ recipe and it served 2 with a small portion left over). I used sour cream and sweet paprika. Here it is!
Ross Martin’s Beef in Anchovy Cream
Cut 3 lbs of tender beef (chateaubriand) in 1/8″ thick slices. Put in casserole with 3/4 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup beef stock, 1/4 cup chopped parsley and 1/4 cup chopped shallots – and a dozen anchovy filets. Simmer over low heat 1 & 1/2 hour, adding cream and stock, if needed, to keep meat covered. Add 2 tablespoons each of brandy and paprika during last half hour of cooking (serves 4 to 6).
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargggggggggg – mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
Also a note to self for next New Year’s Eve, a 200 piece jigsaw (or in this case a 199 piece jigsaw) is the perfect amount of pieces to put together after dinner before the fireworks kick off…
Sigh. The days of being able to share a nice picnic with some baby chimps are over, alas. Look at the lovely life we have lost…
I don’t usually comment on the blogs I read but this sounds like something my husband would love. It sounds wonderful. I wouldn’t want to mess it up but wonder if I can replace brandy or leave it out? I occasionally cook with wine but never have brandy. Due to medication I have to take I don’t drink & either does my husband. When I buy wine to cook with I buy the small bottles or cartons. Would some kind of wine work instead? Thanks
Hi Deb, thanks so much for stopping by! Yes, I think you could replace the brandy with red wine, or as you say, just leave it out. I do think the brandy gives the sauce a little extra oomph but really, there’s only two tablespoons if you are making it for two so leaving it out wouldn’t spoil the dish. You could have some wine handy and taste the sauce after you’ve added the paprika and see what you think, if the sauce tastes good without the wine (which I am sure it will) then don’t add. If you think it needs a little something, add away!
Not sure where you are in the world, but here in the UK you can buy little miniature bottles of brandy in some corner shops, not much more than the two tablespoons called for in the recipe. I THINK that cooking it for half an hour would mean that the most of the alcoholic content is dispersed but I’m not an expert on that!
This article suggests that most of the alcohol would be “cooked out”
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/11/alcohol-doesnt-really-cook-out-of-food-in-most-cases/
Do let me know if you try it – with or without the booze! Jenny x
I am wondering about using a less expensive cut of beef as it cooks so long. any thoughts? This recipe is making me drool!
Mmmm – it is SO GOOD! I’m sure that you could try it with a less expensive cut of beef. I think part of what made this so good though was knowing how much the steak cost – ha ha! For me, this one is a BIG TREAT recipe, so something I will do again for a special occasion when it is worth spending a bit extra. But do try it with a less expensive cut and let me know how it turns out! Jx
Good blog.
I’m cooking this now with Beef Short Ribs as I’m a cheapskate.
I’ve done it before and it’s fantastic with the marrow bone and flash roasted meat giving a lovely caramalised flavour.
Mmmmmmmmmm – arg! This comment has made me soooooooo hungry! I really want to try this recipe with Beef Short Ribs! Mmmmmmmm! Thanks for dropping by Neil – did you take photos?!