Beef Wellington and Welsh Potato Cake

For dinner last weekend, I made Beef Wellington, and as a side, Welsh Onion Cake (Teisen Nionod).  I used the recipes from Great British Cooking: A Well-Kept Secret, by Jane Garmey.  I've made the onion cake before, but it fell apart then.  This time, I actually followed the directions and dried the potato slices before using them, and it stayed together for the most part.

The beef wellington was another story, however.  The recipes in the cookbook have been converted to American measurements and temperatures, but apparently they missed a recipe or two.  One of those recipes, unfortunately, was the beef wellington.  I'm not much of a cook, so when it said bake at 200 for 15 minutes, I thought, "Huh, maybe it's supposed to be fairly rare."  Yeah, not so much.  After a bit of searching (I love Google), I realized my error and bumped the temperature up.  I also cooked it a bit longer, though I think that might have been a mistake.  The crust became hard and brittle and broke when I cut into it.  I will definitely try beef wellington again, but using a different recipe/cookbook. I will also try a better cut of beef.  I used a chuck roast, and I think it might have been entirely too tough. But it still tasted good!

Welsh Onion Cake
7 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced in thin rounds
3 medium onions, finely chopped
4 oz butter
Salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 300F.

Dry potato slices on a towel.  Grease cake pan and lay potatoes and onions in layers, beginning and ending with a layer of potatoes.  Dot each layer with butter and salt/pepper.  Dot top layer with 1 oz of butter.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours.  Remove foil for last half hour so cake has a chance to brown.

Turn the cake out onto an oven-proof serving dish and place under broiler for a couple minutes before serving.

Serves 6

*Update: I realized why I had so much trouble with the Beef Wellington. The piece of meat I used was way too large.*