Take Away - Filet Materne

Filet Oscar is a dish that involves a filet served with crabmeat, bearnaise sauce and asparagus.  As if this were not obnoxious enough, my friend Zach Materne decided to literally elevate Oscar to the next level by putting him atop a pedestal of fried eggplant.  Ridiculous or a tiny bit Einstein?  I think both....

When my wife and I were still dating, we started a tradition of having Sunday dinners with Zach and Sarah Materne.  Sarah called it "Sundays with Mollie."  The tradition did not happen every Sunday, but we always managed to get together at least once or twice a month.

A few weeks ago was our last Sunday with Sarah and Zach before they welcomed baby "M" into the world.  Baby "M" was the temporary alias given to the unknown boy or girl that Sarah and Zach were expecting.  Below is a picture of Sarah and Baby "M."

Since this would be our last supper before Baby "M," Zach decided to step it up a bit.  He informed me of his plan to prepare his own version of Filet Oscar.  Something immediately occurred to me...Sarah usually does the cooking, unless it's grilling.  Though I offered to bring something or assist, Zach was quick to let me know that he had it all taken care of and no assistance was required.  Can you say....

Let me say this, preparing all of the items for Filet Oscar (and assembling while still hot) is is not exactly an undertaking that one should take lightly.  Thus, when Mollie and I arrived for dinner at 7:30 to find nothing yet cooking, I realized that I would be working for my dinner...

I convinced Zach to let me handle the bearnaise while he prepped the grill and battered the eggplant for frying.  After Sarah put a ridiculously delicious pound cake in the oven, the girls sat back and visited while we prepped a steak for momma.  Mollie also rolled up her sleaves to make sure that Sarah's share of the wine was not wasted.

The table was literally set for a great evening.

Zach and I had a good time cooking.  I showed him how to make bearnaise, and he cooked some perfect steaks.  After assembly, we took a couple of pictures.  However, after taking too long to organize the shots, we felt a chewing sensation on our arms coming from the wives and baby "M."

All in all, it was a great night.  However, next time we get together, Baby "M" will help her daddy with the cooking.  It's a girl!  Her name is Everly Jean Materne, and she was born on Monday.  All three are doing fine. 

The recipe and assembly for Zach's Filet Oscar, now known as Filet Materne, will follow sometime tomorrow.