For Christmas dinner this year, I made one of the most impressive and delicious meals on earth, Beef Wellington. With Valentine’s Day approaching, this is a prime opportunity to impress your lover with a true labor of love, but be warned, this is not a dish for the timid. I’ve tried to make it as easy as possible for you, and I promise you it’s worth it if you’re up to the challenge. Use the official recipe as a guide along with these photos and you’ll be a hero.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL BEEF WELLINGTON RECIPE

We begin with the meat. My official recipe is written using individual filet Mignons, since they are more readily available. In this case, I had a beautiful entire filet cut by our pal Phil from Longhorn Meat Company in Auburn, California. Begin by seasoning the meat with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet to smoking hot and then sear the meat on all sides.

Place the mushrooms in a food processor and puree them into a paste.

The next step is the drying out process of the mushroom paste as described. This is so important and it takes a good 10 minutes. Let the water cook out and be patient!

Meanwhile, Smother your filet with the mustard and/or horseradish.

Time for the intimidating, yet easier than you think part: Lay out the saran wrap, then prosciutto slices.

Nest, apply the mushroom paste.

Plop the filet right on top.

Then, roll the entire mixture into a tightly formed log and twist the wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes to allow it to form.

Lay out your thawed puff pastry and brush the edges with egg wash.

Next, we place the meat in the middle, fold the pastry over the filet and cut off excess dough.

Then, the entire thing goes on a greased cookie sheet and gets smothered in egg wash.

The final pre-cooking step is to score the dough (but not the meat) with a knife and sprinkle it with sea salt.

Follow the cooking directions precisely and you will have this gorgeous result. Serve it with either brown gravy, and au jus or my red wine sauce recipe. In any case, you will be amazed.