I have a confession to make: I have slighted a friend and I need to come clean.
A dear pal visited me from the East Coast recently. It was a visit that we each had anticipated for a long time, and I put a fair amount of effort into planning an itinerary of things to do and see, and where and what we would eat for dinner. I tried to imagine what she would enjoy most and so our days were filled with a variety of activities. We toured the Ojai Olive Oil Ranch and tasted some marvelous oils and vinegars, and purchased some beautiful soaps and creams. I drove her around our interesting neighborhoods, and spent some time taking in the panoramic views of the Ojai Valley from several vista points. We shopped in the downtown boutiques and looked at some of the beautiful private schools here. We saw a couple of good films. We visited two amazing spas and the magnificent chapel and library at St. Thomas Aquinas College. We shopped at the Farmers' Market and ate at several local restaurants. And every night we made a batch of Blood Orange martinis (which I will share in an upcoming post).
So what went wrong? Well, I tried to plan some good meals at home so we wouldn't have to be in restaurants every night, so before she arrived I cooked some main dishes and put them in the freezer, ready to be reheated whenever we wanted. You'd think it must have been cold and dreary when I started my cooking binge, but it wasn't. The weather was warm and sunny, but I was in the mood for comfort food. I made a ton of chicken and dumplings and we feasted on that for a couple of nights. Thank goodness we both liked it. And I also made a large meatloaf, following the recipe I posted here on March 10. I paired it with mashed potatoes, a salad, and a decent Cabernet. Not bad at all for meatloaf, and, like the chicken and dumplings, we ate meatloaf for a couple of nights, too. But by now I was getting decidedly uncomfortable with the avalanche of comfort food (pun intended).
By the time she left California, I was hankering to cook something more elegant. This weekend, I picked up a beef tenderloin and made myself a lovely dinner, but felt guilty with every bite that Karen hadn't been treated as well. I promise I'll make it for her when she returns.
Beef Tenderloin
1 2-3 pound center cut beef tenderloin, trimmed and tied, at room temperature
1 teaspoon each coarse ground pepper and salt
2 gloves garlic, finely chopped
5-6 rosemary sprigs, about 4 inches long
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Heat the oven to 350, and put the oven rack in the middle position.
Pat the tenderloin dry. Coat all sides with salt, pepper and garlic. Tuck the rosemary sprigs under the strings on all sides. Heat the olive oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Brown the tenderloin on all sides, about 10 minutes total.
Transfer the browned tenderloin to an oven rack fitted over a shallow roasting pan and roast until a meat thermometer inserted 2 inches diagonally into the the center of the meat reaches 120 degrees, about 25-30 minutes. Remove the meat from the oven and transfer to a cutting board and let stand for 15 minutes. The temperature of the meat will rise to 130 degrees. Discard the string and rosemary before slicing.
I served the tenderloin with a simple green salad dressed with balsamic vinegar, oil, garlic and mustard, and a nice Ghost Pines Cabernet from Northern California. A dollop of whole grain mustard from Napa Valley gave the meat a nice zesty accompaniment.
A dear pal visited me from the East Coast recently. It was a visit that we each had anticipated for a long time, and I put a fair amount of effort into planning an itinerary of things to do and see, and where and what we would eat for dinner. I tried to imagine what she would enjoy most and so our days were filled with a variety of activities. We toured the Ojai Olive Oil Ranch and tasted some marvelous oils and vinegars, and purchased some beautiful soaps and creams. I drove her around our interesting neighborhoods, and spent some time taking in the panoramic views of the Ojai Valley from several vista points. We shopped in the downtown boutiques and looked at some of the beautiful private schools here. We saw a couple of good films. We visited two amazing spas and the magnificent chapel and library at St. Thomas Aquinas College. We shopped at the Farmers' Market and ate at several local restaurants. And every night we made a batch of Blood Orange martinis (which I will share in an upcoming post).
So what went wrong? Well, I tried to plan some good meals at home so we wouldn't have to be in restaurants every night, so before she arrived I cooked some main dishes and put them in the freezer, ready to be reheated whenever we wanted. You'd think it must have been cold and dreary when I started my cooking binge, but it wasn't. The weather was warm and sunny, but I was in the mood for comfort food. I made a ton of chicken and dumplings and we feasted on that for a couple of nights. Thank goodness we both liked it. And I also made a large meatloaf, following the recipe I posted here on March 10. I paired it with mashed potatoes, a salad, and a decent Cabernet. Not bad at all for meatloaf, and, like the chicken and dumplings, we ate meatloaf for a couple of nights, too. But by now I was getting decidedly uncomfortable with the avalanche of comfort food (pun intended).
By the time she left California, I was hankering to cook something more elegant. This weekend, I picked up a beef tenderloin and made myself a lovely dinner, but felt guilty with every bite that Karen hadn't been treated as well. I promise I'll make it for her when she returns.
Beef Tenderloin
1 2-3 pound center cut beef tenderloin, trimmed and tied, at room temperature
1 teaspoon each coarse ground pepper and salt
2 gloves garlic, finely chopped
5-6 rosemary sprigs, about 4 inches long
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Heat the oven to 350, and put the oven rack in the middle position.
Pat the tenderloin dry. Coat all sides with salt, pepper and garlic. Tuck the rosemary sprigs under the strings on all sides. Heat the olive oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Brown the tenderloin on all sides, about 10 minutes total.
Transfer the browned tenderloin to an oven rack fitted over a shallow roasting pan and roast until a meat thermometer inserted 2 inches diagonally into the the center of the meat reaches 120 degrees, about 25-30 minutes. Remove the meat from the oven and transfer to a cutting board and let stand for 15 minutes. The temperature of the meat will rise to 130 degrees. Discard the string and rosemary before slicing.
I served the tenderloin with a simple green salad dressed with balsamic vinegar, oil, garlic and mustard, and a nice Ghost Pines Cabernet from Northern California. A dollop of whole grain mustard from Napa Valley gave the meat a nice zesty accompaniment.
Looks delicious. ;-)
ReplyDeleteLooks deeelicious. ;-)
ReplyDelete