Ingredients:

4 - 6 oz. beef tri tip steaks

Puff Pastry sheets

2 medium parsnips

4 large white potatoes

2 medium size carrots

2 celery stalks

2 medium size yellow onion

2 cups Half and Half

1/2 cup butter

2 - 3 tbs. flour

2 tsp tomato paste

1 tbs. olive oil

2 eggs

Better than bouillon beef base

2 tbs. dried thyme leaf

2 bay leaves

Kosher salt

Cracked black pepper

2 cups Windy Point Vineyards Exclamation Point wine.

 

Season steaks with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for an hour. To finish steaks 20 minutes before service. Pre-heat over to 450 degrees. Sear steaks in an oven proof skillet. When brown turn steaks over and place skillet in oven. Cook until the steaks reach the temperatur 140 degrees with a meat thermometer. Let rest 5-10 minutes before serving.

Cut 8 - 2.5" by 2.5" squares. Using a circle cookie cutter cut the center out of four squares. Crack the eggs in a bowl and mix together with a little milk. Brush the full squares with the egg mixture. Place the cut squares on top. Brush the top of the cut out squares and the cirlces with egg wash. Bake in oven according to directions on box. When cool hollow out center to make an open cavity.

Fine dice one onion. Saute in olive oil over medium heat. When onions are soft and light brown add thyme leaf, red wine and 2 tsp. black pepper. Allow to reduce by half. Add 2 cups water, tomato paste, and bay leaves and let simmer. In another skillet, melt 4 tbs. butter. When melted stir in flour to make a wet paste and cook slowly until a nut brown appearance. Allow to cool then wisk into water/wine mixture. *It is important that the wine and water mixture is not boiling and that both ingredients are approximately the same temperature.
Bring sauce to a light boil and allow to cook stirring frequently until flour taste is gone. The sauce should be thin in consistency so adjust with water accordingly. Add bouillon mixture to taste. Salt and pepper if needed.

Vegetables
Peel and cut carrots into coins about 1/4" thick. Cook in boiling salted water until just tender. Cool in ice bath. Trim celery ends and cut into 1/4" thick slices. Cook in boiling salted water until just tender. Cool in ice bath. Cut onion in half lengthwise. Trim off ends and peel off skin. Cut into 1/4" inch thick strips. Cook in boiling salted water until just tender. Cool in ice bath.
At time of service: Drop vegetables in boiling water just to heat.

Parsnip and potato puree
Peel the parsnips and potatoes and cut into similar sized pieces. Place them into a pot add cold water and salt, and cook over medium high heat until tender. In another pot warm Half and Half with 4 tbs. butter. Strain water off potatoes and parsnips and mash. Add salt, pepper and enough of the Half and Half  and butter mixture to make a nice semi thick consistency. Put puree into a pastry bag with a large star tip and keep warm.

To finish the plate
Place puff pastry at the top of the plate with one corner pointing toward the bottom. Put vegetables into to hollowed out cavity. Ladle sauce over vegetables. It will flow out the openings and cover the bottom of the plate. Pipe three large haystacks of the parsnip puree just below and to the right of the puff pastries on the plate. Place the sirloins to the left of the pastries on the plate. Ladle more sauce if desired and place one of the circles on top of each of the pastries.