Herb Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Rosemary Infused Mashed Potatoes

Posted March 20, 2012

Filed under beef, deep flexipan, entree, Large round mold, meat, octogonal silpat, potato, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Cooking is my passion. So when dinner time arrives, it is play time. Most of the time I have an idea of what I want to fix ( as far as what I WANT). But it is a challenge to cook for the rest of my gang. They like repetition and are very traditional in their taste. After perusing through the meat selection in search what to prepare for my family, I saw that end piece tenderloin and decided this would be my family dinner. I usually sauté filet mignon and cook tenderloins in the oven. When cooking a beef tenderloin in the oven you want to make sure to either marinade the meat well before cooking it or coat it with something if you are not going to sauté it. Today I chose the latter one. It is faster, leaner and much easier way to prepare the meat.

Ingredients for 2-3: 1 small end piece of tenderloin ( about 1lb.) 1/4 cup of bread crumbs, 1 tbsp of garlic\ parsley mix, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/8 tsp of ground pepper, 2 tbsp of very finely chopped parsley, Dijon mustard.

In a bowl mix all the ingredients mentioned above except for the mustard and the beef. Set aside.
Place the tenderloin on a large plate and with a knife or a spatula coat the salmon entirely with the mustard. Then empty part of the bread crumb mixture on one side of the plate and roll the tenderloin in it. You may help by pressing the crumbs onto the tenderloins with your hands.

Place the tenderloin on a large flexipan and cook in the oven at 450 for 20 minutes for rare ( or more depending on your meat temperature preferences). When the meat is cooked to your satisfaction, remove it from the oven and let it stand for 5 minutes so that it will reabsorb all the juices.

I served my beef with rosemary infused potatoes.

Ingredients: 8 small russet potatoes peeled and diced, 1 1/2 cup of either milk, cream or broth, 2 tbsp of fresh rosemary, salt and pepper.
In a small saucepan place the milk or the other liquid you chose to cook with the rosemary. Bring it to boil. When it is boiling, lower the temperature and let it simmer do that the rosemary will fragrant the cream or broth. Meanwhile place the potatoes in the large round mold, cover the mold with the octagonal silpat and microwave them for 8 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the microwave and purée the potatoes. Drain the rosemary from the liquid you are using and slowly add it to the puree potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

I also serve fresh steamed vegetables ( bag of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots) that I microwave in my round mold for 5 minutes.
To plate, place a slice of that tenderloin on the plate with some potatoes and fresh steamed vegetables. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Black Truffle…..Whipped Potatoes and Filet Mignon

Posted September 21, 2011

Filed under beef, entree, meat, potato, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Well yes… potato again. Are you surprised? It is starting to get a bit challenging to find recipes for my husband without falling in the repetition and the boredom. I knew what i was going to have for dinner last night: flash saute tuna, but was still thinking about what I was going to fix the rest of my family when I walked into the fresh market. Well, this was short-lived.. As I passed by the dairy section, I noticed a truffle butter and I thought that maybe it would be the base of their dinner: Truffle whipped potato and beef tenderloin topped with truffle butter. Yum!!!

In a large saucepan, place 2 red potatoes per person and cover with water. Add 1/4 tsp of salt and bring to boil. Cook the potatoes until they are soft. Drain the water, and mash the potatoes. Add 4 oz of mascarpone, 1/3 cup of fresh grated parmesan, 2 tbsp of truffle oil and 1 tbsp of truffle butter, 1/16 of black pepper. Mix well until the potatoes are creamy. Add salt if needed. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, warm up 1 tbsp of truffle oil. When the oil is getting warm, add the steaks. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the steak is turning brown and crisp. Turn the steaks and cook for another 3-5 minutes. If you like your steak more done, lower the temperature to medium low and cook for a little longer. If you are not sure, use the thermometer and check (Rare meat is 120–125 degrees, medium is 140–150 degrees, and well done is around 160–170 degrees). Remove the steaks from the pan, and let them rest for 5 minutes to allow the juices to settle. Season with sea salt and fresh black pepper.

To serve, spoon the potatoes on the plate, place the steaks aside, and top the steak with a tsp of truffle butter. Et voila! I serve the meat and potatoes with dill haricots verts. Yummy…

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Thyme Beef Kabobs

Posted September 2, 2011

Filed under beef, entree, meat, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

When you go home to your family, do you ask them what they wish to eat? and what do they answer? I don’t know…. well, at my house they never really know what they want to eat, but they surely know what it is that they don’t want to eat… So my suggestions always end up nowhere, and I end up fixing either pasta, or potato something for the 3/4 of my family. I was going to grill my chicken, so since I did not want to spend hours in the kitchen, I thought to serve them beef tenderloin kebabs. Quick, and good!’

Recipe: 3 large tenderloins steaks, 1 red bell pepper, 1 purple onion, olive oil, 2tbsp of thyme fresh or dry, 1/16 tsp of pepper, 1/8 tsp of salt.

Cut the meat, and the bell pepper in 1 inch square. Cut the onion also in larger chunks so that you can use them for the kebabs. Place all in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, the thyme, salt and pepper and mix well. Skewer the meat, bell pepper and the onion onto the wooden skewers that you would have previously soaked in water ( to avoid the wood from burning on the grill). Grill on high for 2 1/2 minutes on each side.