[Bill555]

The Columbia Restaurant in St Augustine Fl is one of my favorite places to eat when I visit the oldest city in America. From their website I decided to give my try at making Filet Salteado one of their more popular dishes on the menu. I did not think my homemade version tasted quite as good as what the restaurant makes. I followed the recipe as follows, except cooking the potatoes a few minutes longer. I would appreciate any suggestions that might spruce up this otherwise tasty dish.


recipe

1 lb. tenderloin filet, cut in 1-inch cubes
1 Spanish onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 chorizo (Spanish sausage), sliced
½ cup sliced mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
Vegetable or peanut oil for frying
1/3 cup red wine
1 green pepper, chopped

Preparation

Sauté diced tenderloin in hot olive oil. When meat is brown, add chopped garlic, onion, and green pepper. Set aside. Deep-fry diced potatoes in vegetable oil for 10 minutes or until brown; drain on paper towels. Add chorizo, mushrooms, salt, pepper and potatoes to the meat. Add wine and bring to a boil. Serves 2.

[Culprit]

There are a few vairables in this recipe that can make a difference in how the well the finished product in your kitchen matches the food you enjoyed in the restaurant. The cook is, of course, one variable. Please don't be insulted; the devil made me do it.
Vegetable oil will impart a different flavor to the potatoes than peanut oil.
There is a wide range in the composition of Chorizo.
"Red wine" is not the same as "red wine"; if you get my drift.
Not all mushrooms taste the same
"Spanish" onions can simply mean "yellow" onions in some recipes and in other recipes it means small green onions.
Last, but not least, the degree to which the meat is "browned" will make a difference in the flavor of the plated dish.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. It looks promising and I'll certainly add it to my own collection.

[Bill555]

Thanks for the critique. I found this tidbit from the Columbia website.

Salteado
(The Columbia’s Traditional Method of Sauté)
Inspired by the Chinese who lived in Cuba in the 19th century, a very hot iron skillet with extra virgin olive oil is used to sauté onions, green peppers, fresh garlic, mushrooms, diced fried potatoes, chorizo, splashed with a hearty red wine. Served with yellow rice.
Prepared with your choice of: Chicken, Tenderloin Tips or Shrimp.

I dont own a iron skillet. I used a aluminum skillet instead. This might have made a difference. I'll put one on my shopping list.

[Culprit]

Originally Posted by Bill555

Thanks for the critique. I found this tidbit from the Columbia website.


I dont own a iron skillet. I used a aluminum skillet instead. This might have made a difference. I'll put one on my shopping list.

Oh my gosh!! Once you get the hang of cooking with a well seasoned iron skillet you'll melt that aluminum skillet down and make beer cans out of it.
Well, maybe you'll keep it for veal scallopini.
Thanks for the additional tidbit.......................

[Bill555]

Any suggestions of a reputable maker of iron skillets. Thanks

[allie]

Mine is a Lodge and I love it! I have one that I believe is an 8 inch (pretty much a standard size maybe not 8) and another smaller one. I also have cast iron corn stick pans and a triangle pie-like cornbread pan.

You have to make sure you season it well! I just grease mine with vegetable oil, canola, whatever I have on hand and bake it in the oven or even better throw in on the grill after we cook while it's still hot. That way you don't smell the grease in the house!

[Bill555]

Thanks for the tip on Lodge. I did some research and found out the Lodge Manufacturing company has been in business sinse the 1800's. They even have antique Lodge cookware for sale on ebay.

[MikeLM]

The premier cast-iron pot company was Griswold, of Erie, PA from 1865 through the late 1950's. Their pots are now collector's items but, since they don't wear out, they're still fine as utensils. Here's how to clean and season them

http://antiques.about.com/cs/miscell...a/aa013000.htm

I have their Number 9 Dutch Oven, the Number 8 Chicken Roaster, and the Number 3 Cast Iron Skillet. They all work like new.

The Lodge products, available at any cookware store (and most hardware stores) are just fine, and very reasonably priced. Just be sure to "season" them as directed. Most say you shouldn't use detergent on them after they're seasoned, but just rinse them in hot water and scour with a plastic abrasive pad. Never in a dishwasher!

Mike

[Suzanne]

Both Lodge and Griswold are excellent. Lodge makes "pre-seasoned" pans that don't require the process of greasing, heating, etc. needed before you use them. (I have heard from friends that those are fine, but have always bought the regular unseasoned kind and done it myself with vegetable shortening.)

We've discussed the care and feeding of cast-iron pans quite a bit here; try doing a search.

[Bill555]

Yes, I read up on Griswold. When quality meant something in America.