I’ve got some wonderful friends in Fargo who have been working their tails off to fight back flood waters.

If you’ve been watching the news the last week, you’ve seen hundreds and hundreds of people volunteering their time to make sandbags and pile them up.

My friends have been among them.  And they are tired.

They own a restaurant in Moorhead, MN, and they live in Fargo, ND — two of the scariest places to be right now. We’ve been thinking about them a lot.

In my last phone call with them, my buddy told me he was dog tired from bending down and throwing. They finally drove out to where they took refuge (about 20 minutes away from town) after all of the preparations and plugging up of holes and hoping and praying were done.

All they could do then was wait.

So I asked him what they did as they waited to see what Mother Nature had in store for them.

Wanna know what he said?

They grilled steaks.

Steaks.

He said they were the best he’d ever had in his life.

I don’t know if there is anyone more deserving of a big, juicy steak than a guy who has spent the last week of his life out in sub-zero weather protecting the houses and livelihoods of people he doesn’t even know. 

And I was beginning to think that ALL the news these days was doom and gloom.

Nice work, people of Fargo. Nice work.

What? Doesn’t everything have SOMETHING to do with steak? It seems to in my world.

Over at SoGoodBlog.com, Jon Eick has created a Meat Madness bracket to determine a winner in all that is good and meaty.

The #1 seed in the “Red” Meat Region?

You guessed it . . . Steak.

This guy is hilarious, and might I say, brilliant.

It’s good to know there are others out there spending their precious time talking, writing and thinking about steak. 

Jon’s got a very involved bracket that requires readers’ input to determine regional winners and ultimately a champion.

It’s kind of like the NCAA Tournament and American Idol all rolled into one. Only meatier. And no one sings.

Or plays basketball.  

Head on over there and put your two cents in.

Your favorite meat will thank you. Well, you know what I mean.

Click here to join in the “madness.”

Ready to have some guests over and get all “fancy-pants” on them?

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to make your own Beef Wellington. Using the ever-popular, to-die-for Filet Mignon, no one will ever invite you over for dinner again . . . they’ll all be coming to YOUR house from now on!

Individual Beef Wellington

(Serves Four)

4 oz. Filet Mignon

2 Tbsp. English Mustard

8 oz. Mushrooms (any sort)

1 Shallot, minced

¼ tsp. Chopped Thyme

8 slices Proscuitto or other thinly sliced ham

4 six inch square pieces of puff pastry

1 Egg

3 Tbsp. Water

Salt and Pepper

Season the filet with salt and pepper and sear in a heavy bottomed pan over high heat until nicely browned on all sides, about three minutes total.  Combine the thyme, shallot and mushrooms in a blender and process until finely minced.  Cook the mushrooms in a dry pan until all of the moisture has been released.  Lay two pieces of proscuitto overlapping on a piece of plastic wrap.  Spread one quarter of the mushroom mixture over the ham. 

Brush one of the cooked filets with the mustard and place in the center of the ham.  Fold the ham and mushrooms over the filet ensure it is completely covered and wrap tightly with the plastic wrap refrigerate for twenty minutes.  Repeat this step with all three filets.  Gently beat the egg with the water and set aside.  Lay the pastry out flat and remove the filet from the plastic wrap and place in the center of the pastry.  Brush the edges of the pasty with the egg wash and seal completely.  Stretch the puff pastry a little if you need to, to completely cover the filet.  Refrigerate another twenty minutes.  Brush the outside of the pastry with egg wash and bake in a 350 degree oven until the pastry is nicely puffed and browned.