Ahh….Christmas time on the boat….The propane chef always tries to do his best at the holidays. MS says he cooks fancy all of the time, but he tries to add a little more for the extra big times. For Christmas Eve diner, the chef made Beef Wellington.
Now, some say that beef wellington is old fashioned, too much time, trouble, etc. The chef says, what can be better than beef fillet, pate, puff pastry, and a rich long simmered sauce! 
We always use the nav station for our xmas tree – lots of presents this year.
The hungry diner, again waiting for the chef to quit fooling around and make some chow….
The key to beef wellington is the sauce – for this use a mixture of beef bones and and soup bones, about 4-5 pounds. Roast them in the oven for about two hours. For the last 1 hour add carrots, celery, onions, garlic, to allow these vegetables to roast. No, the chef does not have the quantities, just use what’s on hand.
Put the bones and a bottle of the red wine you are drinking, along with the vegetables, and two quarts of water, in your biggest pot, and cook on low for about 8 hours, strain, and reduce down to about two cups. Herbs that work well include thyme, bay, and parsley. Put up on the deck in a cold afternoon to allow the grease to rise to the top, and skim.
Here is the beef and the broth. This is a fillet mignon that has been trimmed. Asparagus was roasted with the vegetables, to be used later as a side. The beef is patted down with butter and roasted in a 400 degree oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 120 degrees, and cooled.
The chef loves puff pastry. Take the cold fillet, cover it with pate, in this case duck, and add sliced fried mushroom. We had no mushrooms, so the pate will just have to do it. Use an egg wash to seal the package. The beef rests on a silicon mat. If you don’t have one of these cool French silicon mats on board, by all means get one. They are great to work pastry, biscuits, or breads. Might even be able to use them to repair a hull breach, if necessary!
Roast at about 350 or so for 20 minutes, or until browned.
The finished plate. The sauce has been further reduced, and finished with butter and tarragon. Sides are roast asparagus, steamed snow peas, and celeriac mashed potatoes.
It was a memorable dinner. Access to these types of ingredients may be a bit more difficult (and pricey) in Mexico, but then the chef will whip up turkey mole’…….
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