BEEF TENDERLOIN

Reheating time: 7-10 minutes

Beef! To beef or not to beef: that is the question. I think I already know your answer. You want to beef. And beef you shall. Beef beef beef. Just getting warmed up to talk about all this beef. The beef tonight is of the grain-fed variety, which I prefer when it comes to extremely tender cuts such as tenderloin. Grass fed has great flavor and texture, don’t get me wrong- but there’s something so right about grain-fed beef. I find there is a lot of stigma around grass vs. grain feed for cattle. While it’s important to know that yes, cattle fed with GMO corn and soy is not great, cattle fed with organic, whole grains is absolutely great. It comes down to knowing your source. Tonight’s dinner may star the beef, but that’s just one piece of the puzzle here. We’ve got roasty broccoli rabe and hasselback potatoes too. Oh yeah, other stuff for the beef, like charred rosemary compound butter and bone marrow bordelaise. I’ll get right to it, you’re probably hungry. I know I am. 

Get in there!

For the beef:

Warm a large cast iron pan over medium high heat, add a splash of oil, and sear the tenderloin pieces cut side down for 3ish minutes. Give them a flip, and add a bit of plain butter to the pan. Using a spoon, baste the foamy butter/oil over the tenderloin pieces, tilting the pan slightly to allow it to pool. Sear for another 2-3 minutes. Using a meat thermometer or cake tester, check the internal temp of the meat. For medium rare, look for 120-125. For medium, 130. Medium well, 135. Well done, 140. They may take some time to reach this temp, so if necessary, pop a lid on your pan and turn the heat to low to warm them the rest of the way. Once they are hot, remove them from the pan, and scoop some compound butter on top. Let them rest as the compound butter melts, then slice em up! While they rest, warm the bordelaise in a small pot. This will be the drizzle of your dreams. 

For the rabe:

Broil away! Lay out the broccoli rabe pieces on a sheet tray lined with aluminum foil, and broil on high for 2 minutes, give them a flip, and broil for 2 more minutes. A bit of color is good, it will bloom the chiles and that charred flavor is the best. Once they’re hot, set aside till you’re ready to plate! 

For the potatoes:

As much as I hate the microwave, I might suggest using it to get these puppies going. They will take 10-12 minutes to heat from cold in the oven, so if you nuke em for 2-3 minutes, all you’ll have to do is broil to get the caramelization that you desire. Microwave the potatoes for 2ish minutes until they are hot and steamy, then pop them under the broiler with the broccoli rabe to crisp up the tops. Compound butter application here is not discouraged. 

To plate:

Potato, check. Rabe, check. Slice the beef on a bias (diagonally) across the grain, and shingle the pieces on your plate in between the broccoli and potato. Drizzle some bordelaise all over everything! if you have some nice sea salt, a bit of that for garnish would do wonders. That’s it! Hope you enjoy your pre-V day feast 🙂 See you next week!

CASHEW + CHICORY SALAD

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Last winter (feels like a lifetime ago…!), I worked on a salad for a restaurant that Chef Matt and I were running. Matt likes to make fun of me for my salads. I used to go crazy with the amount of components, to the point where garde manger (salad station) was the hardest station to work. We had this awesome culinary school intern working the station, but he was buried with the amount of salad prep I had him doing. Poor kid. I love salads, I feel like they are kind of savory desserts in a way- cold, fresh, extremely versatile, and beautiful. An intricately plated salad is so gratifying. Italian chicories are bred to be hearty in the face of cold weather, and the result is a crunchy, bittersweet leaf that holds a dressing magnificently. I like to pair it up with shaved veggies and fresh citrus, and a dressing that packs a punch. Normally, dressings need to be light and delicate as to not overpower the delicacy of salad greens like mesclun or arugula. With chicories, we can go crazy- those leaves can handle anything. For this dressing, we used bergamot juice and zest (this is the best time of year for bergamot), roasted cashews, honey, champagne vinegar, and really good olive oil. Cashews are so fun, and work on so many levels with the flavors in the salad tonight. You’ll see! Dress everything up in a bowl with the cashew-bergamot vinaigrette, season with a bit of salt and fresh cracked black pepper, and enjoy winter’s bounty 🙂