Beef Wellington

This is my first attempt at writing my blog on the laptop. And very peculiar it feels too. I expect I will get used to it.

After the Fox's culinary success last night (it was amazing the way the lemonade flavoured the mushrooms rather than the other way around), I'm now in the midst of my go at experimental cooking. I'm making a beef Wellington. The beef is par-roasted, the mushroom duxelle cooked & cooling. I'm still waiting for my puff pastry to thaw sufficiently for me to roll.

I'm with Jamie Oliver on puff pastry. It's not that I can't make my own puff pastry, but it does seem too much hassle when you can buy some perfectly acceptable ready made pastry. Shortcrust I always make my own, a variation on the family recipe, but puff & flaky is another matter.

I've got a 2000 vintage bottle of red Bordeaux wine out to warm up to accompany the beef. We're not on the whole very excited by clarets - we much prefer Chateauneuf any day - but if ever there was a meal a claret should compliment it is beef Wellington.