Photo courtesy of Prime
The Eat: The holiday classic: Beef Wellington.
The Place: Prime in Huntington.
The Story: When I think of the holidays, I think of a series of complicated luxury dishes. Lobster bathed in butter. Caviar, served with fresh blinis. Foie gras, seared to just done. A glistening ham. The dish I also think of often, but never make myself because, well, it’s a lot of work, is beef Wellington. The traditional preparation calls for a tenderloin of beef, covered in a cooked mixture of mushrooms known as duxelles, wrapped in puff pastry, and baked to medium-rare.
I have never once made beef Wellington, and there’s a good possibility that I never will. That’s because restaurants can satiate that need I have for beef cloaked in buttery pastry. One of those restaurants, Prime, in Huntington, even offers it on their regular menu.
Read more: In Huntington, a Waterfront Palace with a Tasting Menu to Match
Prime’s Wellington features a filet mignon, cloaked in mushrooms, wrapped in pastry, and served with an accompanying Bordelaise sauce—along with a decadent brie fondue. It is an old school dish, a dish that speaks to a bygone era and to a craft of cooking that home cooks may not venture to attempt. But the holidays is about indulgence, and eating out is the greatest indulgence of all. If you can’t make Wellington yourself—or simply don’t want to—Prime has the answer to your prayers.
So dig in, while the season of luxury is here. There is no better time to enjoy the things that make us inordinately happy. Eating for pleasure, after all, is what the holidays are for, and there are so many culinary pleasures that are synonymous with the holidays. For me, it’s a plate full of very rare Wellington. And no, I don’t intend to share.
