Captain Anne
Upcoming Cookbook
Visit our web site to pre-order Anne's
cookbook due out in May 2004. Enjoy all of Anne's most requested
recipes that she cooks on the J. & E. Riggin and many others
she develops over the winter along with beautiful 4-color
photographs from award winning photographer Frank M. Chillemi.
When you
pre-order our long-awaited cookbook you will automatically be registered
in our contest to win a trip for two on the Riggin in 2005!
See
Our Schedule
for the current or future season, click here.
To Book a Trip:
with us call us at 800-869-0604.
![[Riggin Silhouette]](images/rigginsilhouette.gif)
J.
& E. Riggin
Home
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 s I write this, it is a blustery fall day and a good time to be looking forward to sitting around
the table with friends and family. The leaves won’t stay on the trees much longer and the garden has only the
memory of its summer glory. The air is redolent with wood smoke and the musty smell of gloriously colored leaves.
We've put the boat to bed, and she is snug and cozy in her winter berth.
Chloe started kindergarten this year and is thriving in the rich atmosphere of her school. Ella will start nursery school soon, we are waiting for a space to open up. The talk at the dinner table these days focuses almost exclusively on their Halloween costumes. Both girls want to be fairies so
our afternoons have been taken up with sparkly fabric, glitter glue and fairy wands.
This recipe is one that I made for Jon and I a few years ago. The beef tenderloin and the Port make it a meal for special occasions, but it’s a simple recipe and not something to slave over for hours. Just my thing! Whether you enjoy this with friends on a special night or with your family for Sunday dinner, give thanks for all of your loved ones gathered around the table with you. There’s no greater pleasure for me than enjoying good food with the people I love.
—Captain
Anne Mahle
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Sautéed Beef Tenderloin Steak with Port and Mushroom Sauce
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4 8-ounce beef tenderloin steaks
3 tablespoons olive oil Salt and pepper, 1/4 tsp each 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons Port
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced shallots
8 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced
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• Marinate the beef in the oil, salt and pepper. This adds flavor to the entire dish.
• While the beef is marinating, heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat for a minute or two (until a drop of water dropped in the pan "pops"). Place the beef in the pan and cook until the sides of the meat turn gray/brown at least halfway up. Then turn the meat to cook the other side. You can test the meat for doneness by feel or by slicing into one and looking at the color.
• When it's a little less cooked than you want it, remove the steaks from the pan and
place them all on one plate, then cover with aluminum foil and to keep them warm. The steaks will continue to cook (up to 10 degrees more, meaning it will go from medium rare to medium) while on the plate and will come to the desired temperature.
• In the same sauté pan, over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon butter and shallots. Sauté for 30 seconds to a minute, then add the mushrooms. Sauté until the mushrooms are almost cooked through, then whisk in the Port and the Worcestershire Sauce and bring to simmer.
• Remove from heat and gently whisk in the rest of the butter (2 tablespoons). Pour the juice from the beef plate into the pan and whisk. Spoon the liquid onto a platter, place the beef on top of the sauce and then spoon the mushrooms onto the beef.
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The Details and
Variations:
What you just made was a butter sauce. It's a very delicate sauce, meaning that it breaks easily. Breaking means the fat separates from the rest of the ingredients and you have a gloppy, oily mess. It's important to put the butter into the pan while the burner is either off or on low. To bring this sauce to a boil is to break it. All you want to do is gently melt the butter.
You can use this recipe as a base and add all sorts of ingredients to change the flavor of the sauce. The basics are the same. When you are combining ingredients, most of these will work together: choose two or three and be brave!
Additional Suggestions:
Peppercorns
Tomatoes
Lemon juice
Caramelized onions
Herbs, try fresh chives and parsley
Chopped black Kalamata olives
Capt.
Jon Finger and Anne Mahle
136 Holmes Street
Rockland ME 04841
1-800-869-0604
(207) 594-1875
(207) 594-4921 (fax)
info@MaineWindjammer.com
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