So since we only had 20 entries, I went the easy route and had my 6 year old son choose a number between 1 and 20.  He must have had his age on the brain because he chose #6. 

The winner of the Omaha Steaks is Stephanie in comment #6!

"I heart Elle's New England Kitchen AND Omaha Steaks! Here is the link to my tweet.
http://twitter.com/tuffystales/status/680728380"

Congratulations to you, Stephanie!  I'll pass your info along to Omaha Steaks as soon as I hear from you with your mailing info. 

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Mmmm, meat.  We haven’t seen much of it in my house lately.  This past Spring, we’d decided to (for the most part) give up meats and dairy.  I was so thankful that my husband had grilled gorgeous steaks for us right before that decision was made.  Now, I say for the most part,  because that’s exactly what our situation is.  Most days we eat all vegan foods.  Some days are a mix of vegan and vegetarian.  Some days are cheat days.  You know, when you just need that burger to satisfy your craving.  Or a gooey, cheesy pizza from the local pizza joint.  Or filet mignon.  Yeah, the good stuff…

Last week, I was contacted by Kristen and Mandy at Omaha Steaks.  Did I want to participate in a giveaway for my readers?  I said “yeah, sure!”  I love being able to give things to you guys--it makes me happy! 

They sent me some Filet Mignons from Omaha Steaks to sample and review.   We haven’t had any beef in a long time, so it was a welcome treat.  You know it was! 

The frozen filets arrived in the next couple of days all tightly packed in a nice sturdy foam box, which was wrapped in plastic.  Inside the box were the individually sealed steaks along with a “packaged by” slip that has a cooking chart on the back, and a bag of dry ice to keep them frozen.  There’s no way those babies were going to get too warm!  Also, as I’ve mentioned before, dry ice is a lot of fun on it’s own…but be careful and have an adult supervise you--if you’re not already an adult, that is.  ;)

Since our filets were 1 1/4” thick (yes, we measured--we weren’t taking any chances on messing these up), we did a high broil of 7 minutes on one side, and 6 minutes on the other.  Perfectly medium rare, folks!  First, we’d seasoned them with Oxford Falls London Dry Seasoning and a bit of kosher salt.  Then quickly broil them like I mentioned above.   Before serving, we added some herbed butter, which, if you’ve never made--is easy and delicious.  Fresh herbs of your choice + softened butter.  Roll into a log in plastic wrap, freeze.  Use as needed.

The MOST important part is next:  let them rest for 5 minutes before cutting into them.  If you cut into them right after cooking, all of the delicious juices will pour out of the steaks and right into your plate.  Or your cutting board.  Disaster!  Let them sit and rest so the juices can be reabsorbed back into the meat, and you’ll be so very happy.  How were they?  Perfect!  Tender, juicy, flavorful--just what you’d expect in a filet mignon, and more.   We served them as-is.  No sauce, just in all of their beefy glory, with a simple salad on the side.

Not only would these make a great gift, but if you’re planning on using the certificate yourself, how about for New Years Eve?  What a special treat!  Either way, you can’t lose.

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I have a $50 gift certificate from Omaha Steaks to give to one lucky reader!  I’ll make this a fairly quick giveaway because of the holidays.  The rules are simple, but you have to follow them for a chance to win.  This one’s open to US residents only, sorry. 

1)  You MUST follow Omaha Steaks on Twitter.  They are @Omaha_steaks <--click there to get to their official twitter page.   If you don’t have a twitter account, it’s easy and free to sign up.  After you do, click on the link to their page and click the Follow button.  Simple!

2)  You must tweet this text:

              Win a $50 Gift Cert. from @Omaha_Steaks & @elleskitchen:  http://tinyurl.com/yz3n8zb   #OmahaHoliday Pls RT

3)  In your comment here, leave a link to your tweet so I can see that you participated.  How do you do that?  Easy!  After you tweet the above message, look at your tweet.  Underneath it in smaller text, it will say how long ago you tweeted it:  5 seconds ago, one minute ago, etc.  Click on that, and it will take you to a page that shows just your tweet.  Copy the url link at the top of that page and add it to your comment here.   If you’re really having trouble, email me and I’ll help you with it.  Make sure you leave a valid email address where you can be reached, or I’ll have to choose another random number.

If you’re randomly chosen and you haven’t left a tweet link, I’ll also have to choose another random number.  The winner will be chosen on Wednesday, December 23rd. 

Good luck, and thank you to Omaha Steaks, Kristen, and Mandy for the opportunity!