Wood Grilled Buffalo Tenderloin with Wild Mushrooms and Port Wine Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 cups diced yellow onions
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 6 cups ruby port wine
• 2 cups red wine
• 1 1/2 quarts veal stock or brown chicken stock
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 3 sprigs Italian parsley
• Salt and pepper
• 24 small shallots
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves
• 2 3/4 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, sliced 2-inch thick
• 3/4 pound unsalted butter, chopped
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1-ounce canola oil
• 1/2 pound mixed wild mushrooms, of your choice, sliced 1/2-inch thick
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 4 (5-ounce) buffalo fillets

Directions

Place the onion, carrot, and celery with the canola oil in a medium saucepan and saute over high heat for 10 minutes or until golden brown and caramelized. Deglaze the pan with the port wine and red wine and cook until most of the wine has been absorbed. Add veal stock and simmer for 1 hour. Strain, return to the saucepan and add thyme and parsley, simmer for 5 minutes. Strain the thyme and parsley, return back to the pot and let simmer for about 30 minutes or until reduced to 1 1/2 cups. Season with salt and pepper to taste, strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Keep warm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place shallots in an oven proof pan with the olive oil and cover with aluminum foil. Roast for 1 hour or until tender. Toss with thyme and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough cold water to cover. Salt the water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife. Drain and place on a cookie sheet. Place in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes, until excess moisture is evaporated. Rice the potatoes in a food mill or a ricer into a bowl. Add butter and mash with a potato masher.

In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup half-and-half to a boil. Add to the potatoes, stirring gently until the desired consistency. Do not over mix the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.

Preheat a large saute pan on medium height heat. Add oil and saute mushroom for 2 to 3 minutes. Stirring often. Once mushrooms become tender add garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Set aside for platting. Mushrooms maybe sauteed a day in advance.

Place an additional 1/2 cup of half-and-half in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add blue cheese and blend with a hand held blender prior to serving.

To assemble preheat the grill. Season buffalo with salt and pepper and place on the grill. Grill the steaks for 2 to 3 minutes on both sides for medium rare, or until preferred doneness. Remove steaks from grill and let rest. On a dinner plate place a small circle of mushrooms in the center of the plate. Place a quenelle of mashed potatoes in the center of the mushrooms, on top of the potatoes place the buffalo. Using a spoon, pour 1-ounce of port wine sauce around the mushrooms and a little on the buffalo. Blend the blue cheese cream until nice and frothy, and then spoon over buffalo.