Christmas Eve Beef Tenderloin

This has been on the menu at McGuire family Christmas Eve ever since I was at the kids table.

Peppered Beef Tenderloin with Mustard and Horseradish Sauce

Sauce:
1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

BEEF:
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
2 teaspoons whole white peppercorns
2 teaspoons whole green peppercorns
2 teaspoons coarse salt
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup loosely packed fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 2-pound beef tenderloin, trimmed
Additional fresh parsley

Preparation

For Sauce: Whisk all ingredients in small bowl. Cover and refrigerate sauce until ready to serve. (Sauce can be prepared 2 days ahead.)

For Beef: Coarsely grind all peppercorns in spice grinder or blender. Transfer peppercorns to bowl. Mix in salt. Whisk mustard, butter and 1 cup chopped parsley in medium bowl to blend. Rub all over tenderloin. Roll tenderloin in peppercorn mixture, coating completely (can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place tenderloin on rack set in shallow baking pan. Roast until meat thermometer inserted into center registers 130F for rare, about 20-25 minutes. Transfer roast to platter. Let stand for 10 minutes. Cut roast into slices. Arrange on platter. Surround with parsley. Serve with sauce.

What the F requests the F gets: French Silk Pie

Someone just turned 11 and requested French Silk pie for her dessert. I have purchased it in the past and it always tasted vaguely of Perkins refrigerator display case so this time I made it from scratch. It was very, very good. It might have had something to do with the fancy Belcolade bittersweet chocolate discs I used that were intended for my pursuit of the perfect Rustica cookie rip off. I now think I have the makings of a Patisserie 46 Tristan copycat tart. The F was concerned that if I made it from scratch there would be no chocolate curls. Thanks to the Pioneer Woman there were even chocolate curls. 

French Silk Chocolate Pie

1 cup heavy cream, chilled
3 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in to 1/2" cubes and softened
1 pie shell (9-inch)

With electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip cream to stiff peaks, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer whipped cream to small bowl and refrigerate.

Combine eggs, sugar, and water in large heatproof bowl set over medium saucepan filled with ½ inch barely simmering water (don’t let bowl touch water). With electric mixer on medium speed, beat until egg mixture is thickened and registers 160 degrees, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat egg mixture until fluffy and cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.

Add chocolate and vanilla to cool egg mixture and beat until incorporated. Beat in butter, a few pieces at a time, until well combined. Using spatula, fold in whipped cream until no streaks of white remain. Scrape filling into pie shell and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

From Cook's Country

When my birthday rolled around four days later here is the cake I received. Thankfully my nephew did not plant a Parmesan toenail in the cake.

Pilaf if you please: Grilled Salmon Steaks with Black Butter

This recipe has been a go to salmon recipe for years. This winter I made a batch, smeared it on the salmon and then decided to stir what was left in the bowl into the jasmine rice I prepared. It was outstanding. Now I make a batch just to put in the rice.  Either way I always skip the butter.

SPICY GRILLED SALMON STEAKS WITH BLACK BUTTER

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, I use 1/8 teaspoon because we are cayenne wimps
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 salmon steaks (1 pound) each about 1 inch thick
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

In a bowl stir together the black pepper, the paprika, the cayenne, the garlic, the onion, the thyme, the salt, and the oil until the mixture forms a stiff paste. Pat the paste onto both sides of each salmon steak. Heat an oiled ridged grill pan over moderately high heat until it is smoking and in it sauté the salmon for is cooking, in a small skillet cook the butter over moderate heat, swirling the skillet, until it is dark brown, but do not let it burn. Transfer the salmon to heated plates and pour the butter over it.

Serves 2

Gourmet, September 1990

Thai Basil Chicken

My favorite thing from Big Bowl home edition. Fortunately you can download a copy of this cookbook to your tablet or Kindle through Overdrive.

Shrimp and Chicken with Thai Basil and Red Onion

4 ounces boneless chicken breast, sliced

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon sesame oil, Kadoya brand preferred

½ teaspoon salt, do not double if increasing the recipe

4 ounces shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut in half lengthwise, I have yet to make this with shrimp

3 tablespoons fish sauce, Flying Crab brand preferred

2 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

5 teaspoons sugar

1 cup peanut oil or canola oil

1 cup cut-up red onions (cut into 1-inch square pieces)

1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced

1 teaspoon fresh garlic minced

1 teaspoon finely minced lemongrass, the lemongrass in a tube works great, thanks Moe

¼ cup tightly packed Thai basil leaves

1 tablespoon chopped roasted peanuts, I skip this

2 teaspoons ground dried shrimp, I skip this

Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish, I only use this if I have it on hand

Put the chicken breast in a small bowl and mix with 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch, ½ teaspoon of sesame oil and the ½ teaspoon of salt. Add the shrimp to the bowl. Mix in the remaining cornstarch and sesame oil. Set aside.

Combine the fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar.

In a wok or skillet, heat 1 cup of peanut oil over medium-high heat. When hot but not smoking, add the chicken and shrimp, and cook, stirring to separate the pieces. When the pieces change color, remove to a colander to drain, reserving the oil.

Heat a clean wok or skillet to hot and add ¼ cup of the reserved oil. Add the onions and cook, stirring until they just become transparent. Add the ginger, garlic, lemongrass, and stir briefly. Turn the heat to high and re-add the chicken and shrimp. Stir and add the fish sauce mixture. Bring just to a boil, stir in the basil, and remove from the heat. Stir in the peanuts and dried shrimp. Garnish with the cilantro and serve with rice.

Serves 2 to 3 as part of a larger meal.

Maura’s adaptation:

When I make this for my family of 5 I usually slice up 4 boneless chicken breast and omit the shrimp altogether. I triple the amount of cornstarch and sesame oil but not the salt.

I double the sauce mixture as follows:

1/3 cup fish sauce

1/3 cup  lime juice

3 tablespoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of water

I double the red onion and often times add a mixture of red, yellow and orange peppers to stretch it.

I skip the peanuts and dried shimp.

I use only enough oil to sauté the chicken then I wipe out the pan and add only enough oil to sauté the onions and peppers.

I serve it over jasmine rice