beef and potatos

Lucky parents! A roasted or grilled beef tenderloin is wonderful! It's easy to do, and it's pretty simple to make. For the spuds I like oven-roasted potato wedges, well-seasoned with herbs, but you could also do twice-baked potatoes or potatoes Anna, too. Really good mashed potatoes are always yummy.

Just filet mignon and garlic mashed potatoes, with sauteed veges (asparagus and sweet peppers and green beans), would make me more than happy for the entree.

I guess I have pretty plain tastes.

Of course a salad of wild greens, tomatoes and big croutons, with a choice of dressings, would make a great start/side. Sourdough bread hot from the oven.

Some kind of fruity, not-too-heavy dessert. I am particularly fond of Cointreau used in a fruity dessert. Maybe peach pie would hit the mark.

Dg0113; If your folks have a appitite I'd like a rib roast with the suggested twice baked potato with roasted garlic in the potato mix as well as some smoked gouda. Another potato that I like is to half baking potatoes score the potatoes,spread a little butter on the top and bake, after 40 min. butter potato again and sprinkle some smoked paprika on it. continue baking it 20 more minuits till done depinding on the size of the potato. The skin will have pulled back the serrated potato and there will be a pronounced diamond pattern. Sprinkle with a little chives. I encourage my friends to eat with their hands but of course this may not fit in your situation. Practice producinng the diamond pattern on 1 potato to see if you like it. I'ts something to save for a buffet or with friends serving finger food...hope you all have a great time...good cookin...cookie

Oh for the beef, another favorite of mine (of course we all have our favorites): ribeye steak marinated in teriyaki sauce, not too long, maybe an hour and a half. Then smoked for about an hour. Then broiled as usual.

OregonYeti; nice post for a heating and air conditioning guy. I think you have the right ideas. fruit would be my choice for desert also. I look forward to future threads...good cookin...cookie

I think if they requested "beef and potatoes", they're not going to be really picky about bone-in or not.

Bone out is easier for most home cooks to deal with and certainly easier to carve for those with smaller appetites.

Well, tenderloin and standing ribs are always awesome in my book! As well as ribeyes and bone in ribeyes but if they "realllllly" want special...then I would be tempted to do either one of my very favorite beef dishes:

for starters (amuse bouche) I would do maybe smoked salmon blinis with creme fraiche and chives (very small blinis and only a couple per person as I'm serving champagne for the two of them). I would be the server for the dinner and do dinner for 2. A romantic experience.

I would do a roasted caesar salad prepared table side (that means, I would do bagna cauda croutons, fresh parmesan curls, and pre-service I would quickly grill the romaine. Then toss with a freshly made caesar, keeping the romaine hearts in half or quarters and lightly tossed with the vinaigrette. I would also have some roasted tomatoes and parmesan crisps made ahead as a garnish.

beef wellingtons (I do mine with both a mushroom duxelle and a pate de foie gras or else I use a rabbit pate in place of the pate de foie gras that I get at one our specialty stores) then I would be tempted to do a fondant potatoes in duck fat with a bit of sage and served with sherry braised leeks or scallions. I would pair this with a Smith and Hook or Trefethen Cabernet. Or else go full tilt and do a Far Niente Cab.

I would finish with chocolate truffles on a cheese and fruit plate and finish with a gorgeous port or zinfandel or a nice Meritage.


or in place of this menu I would do the same amuse bouche, salad but change to either of these mains:

2" thick bone in veal chop marinated in rubbed garlic clove, salt and pepper. Topped with seared foie gras and tobacco onions and served with a silky pan sauce. I would serve perfectly cubed potatoes sauted in butter with rosemary and sage along with grilled ruby chard with garlic chips and olive oil.
If they can't eat this portion, I would do a veal loin and serve them a cut portion with the foie gras. This is also delicious made with a lamb loin.

Then I would go with a classic lemon french tart or lemon profiteroles served with a lovely champagne. (Since you are finishing with champagne here...I would be inclined to make them a cocktail with the salmon blinis...maybe a gorgeous vodka martini?

But for spring summer, I really tend away from heavy beef dishes like this. Even steak is just soooo much in summer. I prefer a lighter summer menu that maybe uses fish or seafood. Even a pork dish. I love cooking whole fish on the grill stuffed with fennel and garlic and scallions and fresh citrus then serving it with a dynamite sauce, served tableside...

Bone out costs less too, the bone weighs quite a bit. How long kind of depnds on the shape of the roast, some are bigger around than others and how done you want it. I usually roast it for about twenty minutes at 450 deg. then drop the temp down to 325. Should take about 15 min. per pound to get it med. rare. To be sure though, you can use a thermometer. 130-135 is med. rare, 135-145 is various degrees of med. An old technique not used much any more (well I see them doing it with fish now) is to take coarse salt and get it wet enough to stick together. Pack it all over the roast (you can season with pepper or any other seasonings you like before doing this) and roast as above. When roast is done, crack the salt crust, brush away the salt and move roast to a cutting board. It's amazing how it comes out, it's not salty like you'd think it would be. For 5 people you would want 3-31/2 lbs.

Had a meal the other night at a local pub which was beautiful -very English. It was a beef and guiness pie with a mashed potato crust. SOOO nice!!! Plus a bit of green salad in balsamic dressing on the side. Yum. You could probably google it to find a recipe but I could eat it for a week and not get tired of it.

I've done this and it works. Take a tenderloin roast and rub some worcestershire sauce on it. Take a head of garlic, cut part of the top off, put it in some foil, drop a little EVOO on it and roast until soft. Let it cool, squeeze the soft garlic from the individual gloves into a small bowl, add some EVOO and mash it to make a paste. Spread the paste on the roast. In another bowl mix some whole pink peppercorns or assorted peppercorns, some freshly chopped rosemary, some kosher salt, some freshly ground pepper and mix well. Use enough that you can cover the roast with the mixture, and press it into the garlic paste. Cook.

Of course, you have to like garlic and pepper for this - but I do.

Hi neighbor! :)

Beef and potatoes, simple as you can get. I would not stuff tenderloin. Once you heat the stuffing on the inside to proper temperature the tenderloin will be ruined well done.

Anyway consider a seven bone rib roast.

Turn the oven up to 475 and roast for 45 minutes or so. Then turn it down to 300F and let it cook until medium rare.

Serve with popovers and natural jus.

Speaking of hard to carve, does anyone here remember the day when Prime Rib by definition was bone in, and your server was trained to slice between the bones for the ladies cut and give the bone to the gentleman? He also made your caesar salad at the table.

Oh yeah, make a caesar salad at the table. :)

And for dessert make a bombe. Classic!

kuan - Don't you just love preparing salads and dishes table side? I think it adds so much flare to the meal! High drama!! :D Have you tried doing a grilled romaine half then using it for a caesar? The important thing as you prolly already know is get it on and get it off! Another trick is not to disassemble the side once it's grilled. I also do the old fashioned caesar presentation where the lettuce is still in whole leaves and you roll them like a tobacco leaf and eat them with your fingers! Yummy! Another fun thing to do that kinda makes things different is to make a bagna cauda with anchovy and garlic and make is so that it is thin enough to use as the coating for french bread croutons. Oh my god it's such an intense flavor treat! It totally changes the complexion of the caesar!

Another cool salad to do is the "Spun Salad" like Lawry's does with beats and iceberg (horrors lol! NOT! It's TDF!!!! Truly!) it also has French dressing, hardboiled egg and purple onion and is sooo great done tableside and served with prime rib!

And yes, I do remember the days of carving tableside so that the lady gets the cut between the ribs! :D Ahhhh, the "good ole days!" ;)

my favorite thing to do with a tenderloin owes its origin to Julia Child, my goddess. I toss it in a bit of red wine the morning of the dinner- not too long, then maybe around noontime I dump the wine, rub it with a bit of olive oil and dried Italian seasonings which I've rubbed by hand pretty well and I pack them onto the beef. Then I refrigerate and just ignore it until I'm ready to pop it into the oven.
Now a question for the forum - What internal temp for a fillet roast? My opinion is that you pay the extra money because you can't ruin a fillet. (My parents were children of the Depression, so "well done" was reached about a half hour before my mother thought the meat was edible.) For them, I could have the meat cooked through and it would still be tender. I like it rare, and its great that way too.
As for the "batatas" - I would opt for escalloped, - Julia has a fabulous recipe for that as well that involves the sliced potatoes sitting in cream just under the simmer for an hour or more - and omigodaretheygood!
good luck - but I know you won't need it.

If I'm doing a "scallop" potato then I will hands down always do potatoes daphinois. So easy and so good and they get better the next day.

I cook my beef tenders to an internal temp of 120. I get about 5-7 degrees holdover so it get's up to about 125-127 internal. I brown them in olive oil and butter prior to finishing in the oven so the outside is nice and caramellized. It is a very rare tender but for philistines who want it more cooked, I either serve them an end piece of I throw a piece in a simmering aus jus bath that I always have going and cook to order if need be. Lucky for me all my friends/family and most of my old clients liked it the way I cooked it! :D

Oh yah scalloped potatoes. I love 'em with a bit of sharp cheddar and some carmellized onions, just a few, on top.

potatoes, cream, whole garlic cloves, s&P.....bake for an hour- hour 1/2

Rib eyes or rib roast.....rib roast with sour cream/horseradish.....pretty heavy meal for hot summer.

shroomgirl throw a little gruyere in there and cut the cream with 1/2 cream and 1/2 milk, and butter (which is kinda funny...why not just use all cream then and back off a little on the butter, right?) but maybe the milk helps to keep the cream from breaking...dunno. Bring sliced tatoes to a low rolling simmer and stir gently till mixture starts to thicken then layer with the gruyere, finishing with a top off of gruyere and you have potatoes daphinois! :D It's not an overwhelming amount of cheese though, just enough to add the gruyere flavor without gumming it all up. It's amazingly creamy in texture. God I may have to make these soon! ;)

I like them baked all the way in a pan like shroom, but add the cheese at the end and let it bake until brown. Be sure to tamp down the potatoes before adding the cheese. They serve up beautifully. You can cut them in nice little squares.

Hi Kuan, these are baked in a baking dish but they are started on the stove, I think in order to really allow the potatoes to soak up a maximum amount of liquid first? I don't really know why the process is different but I do know the result is a creamier consistency potato dish without any of the cream break-up that you sometimes see in an escallope dish. Also the total gruyere for the dish is only about 1 cup, can't remember and don't have it in front of me (it's an old recipe and not in my db). So that could easily be added to the top instead of mixing it in.

Not trying to say mine is better. Just trying to give yall an additional recipe to your files. I can type in the actual recipe later today if anyone wants it.