January 14th 2010

Only in America…A beef Tenderloin, some Chili and Chinese


Well I have been remiss on posting consistently over the holidays and now that they are over I will work on being a little more consistent in these posts. If there is any kind of following to these crazy posts I would like to hear from you and what you like or dislike. Obviously I do this for your benefit more than anything else. I know how to do a lot of things and most of them pretty well. If I have an affliction its definitely the Jeffersonian complex. I read all the time and cant sit still ever. If you can create it I have at least tried it once. From welding steel into sculpture, painting, writing, construction, cooking, building computers, servers, networks etc. My belief is when you stop moving you die, doesn’t matter how much you exercise, believe in god, love your family, work, hate, love, etc. You have to keep moving and keep that muscle in your head active. Limit your exposure to all technology that is being thrown at you and get out there, outside, off the beaten path in the weather, in the sun. It is how we are meant to live.

Enough preaching on my part but I do encourage you all to get out and live life as it motivates you.

So on to food. Saturday I pulled out a beef tenderloin and gave it a nice rub of toasted coriander and black pepper corns. Both were milled down in a coffee grinder after I toasted them on the stove top to bring out the aromas. Roughly 3 tablespoons of each. Ground until they are a nice powder. Once it was to the consistency I was looking for I tied my roast and rubbed her down. Then put the whole thing in a non-reactive container with a little garlic and some aromatics, thyme, rosemary, unfiltered olive oil I pressed myself and red pepper flakes. This whole deal went into the fridge overnight. One hour before I wanted to roast it I pulled it out to rest at room temp. Just before tossing it in the oven I rubbed a couple tablespoons of Kosher salt all over it. Adding the salt at the last moment ensures you will not draw all the moisture out of the meat. Always practice this when marinating and you will find the meat you cook is moister and better tasting.

I tossed the loin in a 500 degree F oven for 20 minutes then reduced the temp to 350 degrees F until the internal temp reached 130 degrees F. This is medium rate, 120 degrees is bleeding. 140 is too overcooked for me to comment on.

For this loin I made a tomatoe confit. Simple recipe, add several tablespoons of a high quality olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Add a full head of peeled garlic cloves. Saute over medium heat for 10-15 minutes but do not under any circumstances burn the garlic. If you do toss it all out and start over. Once the garlic is nice and golden add aromatics, your choice, but be sure they are fresh. Just picked from your garden if possible but if the best you can come by is the store then you should be alright. Saute for a minute or two then add about 1 quart of peel drained tomatoes, and a cup of sweet white wine, Madera, marsala etc. Whatever floats you boat in the sweet wine arena. Cook the whole mess down for about an hour. Until the garlic is soft, then break up the garlic and tomatoes a bit with a wooden spoon. Turn the heat off season to taste with salt and pepper. Then toss one more cup of the wine you chose to it. Allow to cool and serve as a side to your loin.

I am big on Yorkshire pudding. Its always good with roast meat and gives you something to do with the pan drippings. Kids love it and so do I. Recipe is super easy. In a medium bowl add a half cup of milk and a half cup of beer, to one cup flour and two eggs. Beat the whole mess well with a pinch of salt. Add one shot of single malt whiskey. Let the batter rest for one hour. Find yourself a cupcake pan and to it add a bit of pan drippings to each depression in the pan. Pure your batter mixture on top of this until it fills the void about half way. Put the pan in a 400 degree oven and immediately turn the oven down to 350 degrees F. Keep an eye on them they should be golden brown in about 2o minutes. Serve immediately.

As a side server a nice green and make a good salad with some type of fungal cheese, blue, stilton etc. For a winter meal its just heaven.

You will have left over meat and then the question is what to do with it. Beef loin is really versatile. You can whip up all kinds of thing with the leftovers. With mine I decided a round of chili was in order. I just felt a deep craving for it. So the hell with it I make chili with a the leftovers of a $30 piece of meat. Chili is supper easy to make and I put beans in mine because I am not a Texan and never want to be one.

Tonight I felt like Chinese food and made, dim sum for dinner. I don’t really care they is totally unacceptable in Chinese society it seemed the right thing to do this even. I also whipped up some other items. But I am way to sleepy to write about them now….More later.