Tag: Recipe

Today I had to take care of 2 birthdays – of my two "Boyz"….

Every year we celebrate both their birthdays with a cake from Paw Pleasers, and usually a filet mignon. This year though we wanted our share. So I got up this morning and drove over to Iowa Meat Farms. Now I can’t say enough good things about this place! Great service, great meat, and a knowledgeable staff. The cutter actually showed me a whole tenderloin, asking how many I would be feeding ( I didn’t tell them about the boyz…) . He than trimmed, tied, and cut me a 2 1/2lb Tenderloin, man this was a work of art!!! Now I didn’t want to be spending the whole morning, drool dripping down my chin, waiting for the tenderloin to finish roasting. So I cut it in half and seasoned very generously with Alae’a, fresh cracked pepper, granulated garlic, and a small amount of dried oregano.

I heated a pan to till smoking, and seared the tenderloin on all sides, than placed in a 350 degree oven.

While the tenderloin roasted I caramelized some onions:

Caramelized Onions
2 large onions sliced
1/3 – 1/2 cup mirin
1 – 2 Tb Sugar
Salt
Pepper
1/2 Tb Butter

Place sliced onions in a non-stick pan. Using medium heat, allow onions to "sweat". Once onions start to soften season with salt and pepper and 1 Tb Sugar. Stir onions, when onions start to caramelize, pour in half of the mirin, and allow to reduce, stirring periodically. Add butter and saute until onions are golden brown. Add additional mirin and sugar if onions are not sweet enough. Sweetness will vary based on the type of onions used.

Horseradish Sauce
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
3 Tb Prepared Horseradish
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and Pepper.

Mix all ingredients until smooth. Chill.

When the internal temp of the roast hit 125, I removed and rested. The roast was so soft I could cut it with a fork. And the seasoning was "right on" I probably could’ve eaten the butcher’s twine and not think twice about it!

So what to do with leftovers? On a nicely toasted French Dip roll, 2Tb Horseradish sauce, 4 slices beef tenderloin, caramelized onions, Roasted Mushrooms, and Arugula!!! delici-yoso!!!

Oh, yes, "da boyz" enjoyed their share as well….Happy Birthday Sammy & Frankie!!!

I've decided to actually do some cooking during the upcoming week. Problem is, I'm not quite sure what to make?

So while aimlessly wandering down the isles of Trader Joe's I grabbed a couple of packages of sliced mushrooms. I usually purchase whole mushrooms and slice them myself, but I had decided to make roasted mushrooms, so the pre-sliced crimini and white mushrooms would do.

Whenever I really can't figure what to do I'll go for one of my "ingredients". These roasted mushrooms can be used many ways, for pasta sauces, they can be pureed and used as a thickener for soups, as sandwich topping (ice cream topping???, guess not), and dips.

Any type of mushroom can be used, I've used enoki's, portabellos, shiitakes, oyster( be sure to remove stems, need to be careful with these they tend to liquidize). I decided to go with plain buttons and crimini's. I think the recipe is originally from Charlie Trotter – I don't have the original, but as with most recipes, I made adjustments to accommodate my taste, and have added ingredients (soy sauce, red wine) as well.

Roasted Mushrooms:
1 1/2 – 2 lbs Mushrooms Sliced
1 Medium Onion Finely Chopped
4 Cloves Garlic Minced
1/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Red Wine
1 Tb Soy Sauce
2 tsp Kosher/Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Dried Basil

Place all ingredients in a baking pan, mix together, cover well, and roast at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool in liquid and refrigerate, mushrooms will last up to 1 week in a covered container.

Now what am I going to do with this? Stay Tuned……..