The Best Beef Tenderloin

And of course it's from The Barefoot Contessa.  She serves it with a Gorgonzola sauce but I like to just serve it with caramelized onion mashed potatoes and if it's summer, a half of a head of romaine that has been grilled until slightly charred and served with a blue cheese dressing.  I've included the Gorgonzola sauce recipe.  Just in time for the holidays!

Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) 

Recipe Introduction


Prep Time: 5 min
Inactive Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 25 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 8 to 10 servingsRecipe Link: http://foodnetwork.com



List of Ingredients




1 (4 to 5 pound) fillet of beef, trimmed and tied
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper



Recipe



Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Place the beef on a sheet pan and pat the outside dry with a paper towel. Spread the butter on with your hands. Sprinkle evenly with the salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for approximately 25 minutes for rare and 30 minutes for medium-rare. (oven thermometer should read 145 degress for med-rare)

Remove the beef from the oven, cover it tightly with aluminum foil, and allow it to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Remove the strings and slice the fillet thickly.



Note: Be sure your oven is very clean or the high temperature will cause it to smoke.


Gorgonzola Sauce
Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 50 min Level:
Easy Serves: 3 cups

Ingredients:
4 cups heavy cream
3 to 4 ounces crumbly Gorgonzola (not creamy or "dolce")
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley


Bring the heavy cream to a full boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, then continue to boil rapidly for 45 to 50 minutes, until thickened like a white sauce, stirring occasionally.

Off the heat, add the Gorgonzola, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and parsley. Whisk rapidly until the cheeses melt and serve warm.

If you must reheat, warm the sauce over low heat until melted, then whisk vigorously until the sauce comes together.

My Favorite Cioppino Recipe

I've been making this cioppino recipe since the '90s.  Cioppino is a San Franciscan take on an Italian fish stew.  It's a little labor intensive at the first but since it simmers for 40 minutes or more before you put in your fish, you've got plenty of time to make whatever else you want to accompany it...salad, bread etc. We have a great fishmonger (what an archaic word) here where I live, Kathleen's Catch.  She keeps a freezer full of fish that she sells at a discount.  I buy the frozen fish for the mixed fish fillets and then supplement with fresh with the squid, clams and shrimp.  She also makes a great seafood stock.   I got this from Bon Appetit:

Serves 6

1 lb small clams scrubbed
1/4 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup hot water
6 drained oil packed sun dried tomatoes chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 med. onion chopped
1 tbls. anchovy paste (optional but it adds depth to the dish)
20 fresh basil leaves chopped
1/2 lb fresh squid cut into 1/2 inch rings
2 large garlic cloves minced
1 28oz can Italian plum tomatoes drained and crushed
1 small dried chili pod
3 cups fresh fish stock or 3 cups bottled clam juice
1 loaf Italian bread cut into 1/2" slices
3 tbls. red wine vinegar
2 lbs mixed seafood fillets such as grouper, bass, tuna, snapper cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 lb uncooked, cleaned, deveined shrimp
salt and pepper to taste

Place clams in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover.  Sprinkle with cornmeal.  Chill one hour.  (The clams should expel most of their "debris").  Drain clams and rinse thoroughly.  Place clams in a single layer in a heavy skillet.  Add enough cold water to come 1/4 inch up the side.  Cover and steam clams over high heat until shells open, about 8 minutes.  Discard any that don't open.  Remove clams and cool.  Discard liquid.  Meanwhile, combine 2/3 cup hot water with sun dried tomatoes on a small bowl. Let stand until softened, 15 minutes.  Drain and reserve liquid.  Heat 1/4 cup oil in heavy 6 quart pot over medium heat.  Add sun dried tomatoes, anchovy paste,  onion, basil leaves and saute until the onions are a golden brown about 15 minutes.  Increase heat to high and add squid and saute until opaque, about 3 minutes.  Add minced garlic and stir one minute.  Add reserved sun dried tomato liquid and boil until almost no liquid remains, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.  Reduce heat and add canned tomatoes and chili and cook until very thick, stirring frequently about 5 minutes.  Add fish stock or clam juice.  Cover and partially and simmer for 40 minutes.  (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.  Refrigerate stew and clams separately. )

Add vinegar to the stew and bring to a simmer.  Add fish and shrimp to the stew and cook until just cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add clams and stir until heated through.  Ladle stew and serve with bread. 

Black Rice? And LaBrea Bakery

"Venere is a black rice that originated in china and is grown in the po valley of Italy. It is pleasantly aromatic whole grain rice, cooks in just 18 minutes and releases a distinctive aroma similar to sandalwood and freshly baked bread. Rich in fiber and phosphorous and is ideal for a varied and balanced diet. If boiled and seasoned with oil or butter it is an excellent supplement to meat or fish. It is also delicious if cooked in salt water then transferred to a frying pan with oil, garlic and seasoning with a sprinkle of parsley. The black appearance adds to a unique presentation with many other foods."  So says the internet on "black" rice.  I came across this dish at Pescatori's in London.  They served a grilled Mediterranean Sea Bass over "Venere" rice with braised leeks.  It was outstanding.  So, I went to my favorite online site, Amazon.com, and ordered 3 boxes for $21.37.  I'm a prime member and so I got free shipping.  I loved this rice because it has such a nutty flavor and can easily be cooked "al dente", to the bite.  It is best served with either fish or chicken.  Blogger's note: I subsequently have found black rice at Kroger and Costco.  They're a short grained rice rather than the long grain from the Po Valley.  If you don't want to order three boxes, you can buy from either store and see if it's to your taste. I've tried them and they are too creamy for me.  I like the nuttiness and al dente of the Italian rice.  I used this as a side for a cooking demonstration where I cooked three different types of fish, catfish, salmon and red snapper.  Outstanding with each one.  

  I love the bread they make at Wholefoods.  But with just my husband and me, their loaves tend to be too big.  We don't consume that much bread.  So I came across an artisan bread at Kroger from LaBrea Bakery in Van Nuys, CA.  They have started packaging breads for grocery stores.  I have bought two of their Tuscan Loaves and my I-talian husband loves them.  Tonight I'm making a cioppino and this bread will go great to dip in that awesome tomato broth.   Right now the loaf is in the oven and getting ready to be eaten!

Two Great New Food Products

I'm always looking for new food stuffs that come onto the market.  Today at Kroger I found two new great products that I feel will make it easier for the basic cook, the busy business person cook,  the overwhelmed mother cook and the just lazy cook.  The first is Kitchen Basics Original Chicken Cooking Stock in an 8.25  fl oz size:   5 grams of protein, 0 grams fat and a little too much salt at 430mg.  But then you don't have to salt the rest of the dish. There are no glutens and no MSG.  For me this will come in quite helpful in that you won't need to open a big can or container that ends up sitting in the fridge for too long.  Then when you want to use it, it's all gooey and stuff and will gag you if you use it.  Perfect for stir fries,  skinny mashed potatoes, dips etc.

The other product is by Progresso.  It's their new Recipe Starter line.

  I have as of yet to use these so I don't have the calorie counts and sodium levels etc.  But if you go to Progresso's web site, progressosoup.com, they have tons of recipes for your perusal.  Of course they do.  They do want you to use the Recipe Starter line.  Duh...

Bacon and Bourbon Collards

I love collard greens.  They have got to be one of the best antioxidant, vitamin packed foods around.  And then you mess'em up with some bacon and bourbon.  Ohhh baby!  That's some good eating!  I also love the, pardon the pun, "pot liquor".  Pair with your favorite corn bread...Of course this is courtesy of Southern Living magazine.

Ingredient 

4 thick bacon slices $

• 3 tablespoons butter $
• 1 large sweet onion, diced $
• 1 (12-oz.) bottle ale beer
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar $
• 1/2 cup bourbon
• 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 6 pounds fresh collard greens, trimmed and chopped$
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preparation

1. 1. Cut bacon crosswise into 1/4-inch strips. Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; add bacon, and cook, stirring often, 8 minutes or until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels, reserving drippings in skillet. Sauté onion in hot drippings 3 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in bacon, ale, and next 3 ingredients; cook 3 minutes or until mixture is reduced by one-fourth.
2. 2. Add collards, in batches, and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until wilted. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook 1 hour or to desired degree of doneness. Stir in vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Tyler Brown, The Hermitage Hotel, Nashville, TN, Southern Living


OCTOBER 2011

Oven Roasted Pork Ribs

A male friend of mine sent over this recipe for his version of roasted pork ribs.  He swears by them and since I know what a great cook he is, well, here's his recipe.  Enjoy! Serves 8


10-12 lbs of pork loin back ribs
salt
pepper
garlic salt
2 plus jars BBQ sauce of your choice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Rub the salt, pepper and garlic salt into the ribs.  Cut up the ribs into 4-5 rib sections and place in a single layer, meat side down,  in a large roasting pan.  Brown, uncovered, for 45 minutes.  With the meat side up, cover, and brown another 45 minutes.  Top with the sauce, cover,  and bake an additional 1 1/2 hours.  Remove the cover and bake an additional 30 minutes.  Melt in your mouth Southern cooking!  Hmmm baby!

Market in Goritzy, Russia

Inside Out Apple Pie A La Mode

A friend of mine made this for us and it was delicious.  She was "sweet" in that she used vanilla Blue Bell Ice Cream.  The ice cream of my youth.  Very easy pie to make:

Inside-Out Apple Pie à la Mode

Epicurious  | October 2012

by Sara Forte

The Sprouted Kitchen The Sprouted Kitchen

• recipe

yield: Serves 6

The contrasts in both temperature and texture—from the crunchy crust, to the cold ice cream, to the warm apples—put this ice cream pie in a class all... more ›

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ingredients

Oat Crust

• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped raw pecans
• 1/2 cup muscovado sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 1 quart premium vanilla bean ice cream

Topping

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 large tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 1/4 cup muscovado sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• Chopped toasted pecans or granola, for garnish (optional)

preparation

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

To make the crust, stir together the oats, pecans, muscovado sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan and bake until toasted, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and use the back of a spoon to push the crust back up the sides, as it will have fallen a bit, and set on a wire rack to cool completely.

Remove the ice cream from the freezer and allow it to soften for about 10 minutes. Scoop the ice cream into the pie shell and spread it in an even layer. I find this works best by using a large spoon and dipping it in warm water every so often to help spread the ice cream out flat. Put the pie back in the freezer to firm up for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days, placing a piece of plastic wrap on top if you'll be freezing it for more than a few hours.

To make the topping, melt the butter in a large sauté pan. Add the apple slices and sauté until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the muscovado sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla and continue cooking until a sauce forms, another 2 minutes.

Remove the ice cream pie from the freezer, cut into six pieces, wiping off your knife between each slice, and spoon the warm apples on top of each slice. Alternatively, let the apples cool to room temperature and then pile them onto the ice cream pie before cutting into serving pieces. Garnish with the pecans or granola and serve immediately.