If you would have told me that there was a restaurant in Alabama that was in a small town that made and served a filet mignon beef pot pie, I would have said, “You lie. You lie like a cheap rug.” In Guntersville, Alabama at Rock House Eatery, they make and serve this yumminess. In the cookbook, Alabama Back Road Restaurant Recipes by Anita Musgrove, they supply us with the recipe and background info on the restaurant. Since I live in Nola and don’t get home as often as I like, I have to make my Alabama foods at home. (And you will too!)
When I think of filet mignon, I always think of steak but this pie is the perfect combination of homey goodness and fanciness. It’s made with beef tenderloin, carrots and potatoes, and other flavors. Beef tenderloin was never a staple in our household. We did eat beef but it was usually hamburgers on the grill, cubed steak, or ground beef. I like to call beef tenderloin fancy food. It can be quite expensive for less than a pound of meat. Now, this recipe calls for 1.25 to 1.50 lbs of meat. At Winn Dixie, it was $14.99/lb but you all may catch it on sale.
This pie is everything I wanted and more. I hope it is the same for you.
Notes:
Don’t use your cold pressed olive oil for searing. It should always be classic as cold pressed has never been touched by heat. You essentially ruin the entire reason for it to be cold pressed.
If you want more of a beef taste, you don’t have to season the meat. The original recipe does not call for seasoning but I felt like it needed it. I tasted the filling while it was simmering and add more seasoning there as well.
Bake on a cookie sheet. For me, it makes it easier to take it out of the oven and it bakes more evenly.
You can use a pastry sheet or two pie shells. I like two pie shells because I like the pie dough on the top and bottom.
There will be enough filling to make at least 2-3 pies.
Once you have made this in your kitchen, please share the results. This is a pie that will be in your life for years to come. Join me next week for the next delicious recipe from my Alabama kitchen.
Xoxo~ Christilisa
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