Fillet of Beef, Arugula, and Artichoke Crostini

This is one of the tester recipes I tried with Susan for some Shea Center catering we need to do in the next few weeks. We wanted to try it in advance to make sure it was delicious and doable! It's simple enough to make the day of but if you have a lot of appetizers you need to make you can do some of this ahead.

We really liked this app when it was at room temp but you could also serve it warm. Do Ahead: make artichoke puree and cook beef but do not slice before hand. On Day Of: slice bread and toast, slice beef thinly, assemble.

Ingredients:
2 1/2-pound trimmed fillet of beef, tied
two 6-ounce jars marinated artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil thirty-six
1/2-inch-thick diagonal slices of Italian bread (about 2 long loaves), toasted lightly
2 bunches of arugula, coarse stems discarded and the leaves washed well, spun dry, and cut into shreds (about 4 cups)
36 Parmesan curls formed with a vegetable peeler

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 500°F. Pat the fillet dry, season it with salt and pepper, and in a small roasting pan roast it in the middle of the oven for 23 minutes, or until it registers 125°F. on a meat thermometer for rare meat. Transfer the fillet to a cutting board and let it cool. The fillet may be roasted 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled.

2. In a blender purée the artichoke hearts and the garlic with the vinegar, the oil, and salt and pepper to taste and transfer the purée to a bowl. The purée may be made 3 days in advance and kept covered and chilled.

3. Right before serving, spread each slice of toast with some of the artichoke purée, top the purée with some of the arugula, and divide the fillet, sliced very thin, among the crostini. Top the crostini with the Parmesan curls.