Filet Mignon with Roquefort Cheese Chive Sauce

Filet Mignon with Bleu Cheese Chive Sauce:
Barefoot Contessa

2 (10-ounce) filet mignon
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon fleur de sel
1 tablespoon coarsely cracked black peppercorns
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, optional
Roquefort Chive Sauce, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat a large, well-seasoned cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot, 5 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, pat the steaks dry with a paper towel and brush them lightly with vegetable oil. Combine the fleur de sel and cracked pepper on a plate and roll the steaks in the mixture, pressing lightly to evenly coat all sides.

When the skillet is ready, add the steaks and sear them evenly on all sides for about 2 minutes per side, for a total of 8 minutes.

Top each steak with a tablespoon of butter, if using, and place the skillet in the oven. Cook the steaks until they reach 120 degrees F for rare or 125 degrees F for medium-rare on an instant-read thermometer. 

Remove the steaks to a serving platter, cover tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. Serve hot with Roquefort Chive Sauce on the side.

Roquefort chive sauce:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 ounces French Roquefort cheese, crumbled (4 ounces with rind)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
Bring the heavy cream to a boil in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook at a low boil, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has become thick and creamy, about 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add the cheese, salt, pepper and chives and whisk rapidly until the cheese melts.

Note:  I did not have fleur de sel or Roquefort.  Roquefort is a type of bleu cheese so I just used regular crumbled bleu cheese.  Fleur de sel is less salty than Kosher salt, so I just used about 2/3 Tablespoon of Kosher Salt and it turned out great.