Peppery beef tenderloin and some news

I guest posted on design*sponge last week. It’s one of my very favorite blogs and I was completely honored to have a feature (and such great feedback on my photography)! Thanks Grace for all of the fun – I’m looking forward to the next one.

Judd Pilossof, one of my all-time favorite food photographers, is teaching a studio still life class at the Maine Media workshops this summer. You can find out more about the class here.

Last, a bit odd to announce but I feel like it's time . . . I am 7+ months pregnant! All very exciting. Lots of changes ahead. Inspiring some simpler recipes right now : ).

Now on to the post . . .

A post and a few updates. Will start with the fun updates first.

I’ve been trying to eat a higher protein diet and have been incorporating more meat than I would usually be inclined to. When I do eat meats, I tend to love tender meats and braises. Braises are a bit of a cooking commitment, so one of my favorite quick and easy cuts is beef tenderloin, which is always fork-tender, buttery and delicious. While certainly not the most cost-conscious of cuts, I find we get a number of meals out of a one pound portion. We usually have the first serving hot and then have leftovers cold, served on a bed of herb-y salad. Then it turns into lunch and snacks. Several meals later it’s done but we’re still not tired of it.

Here’s the way I prepare it, although I measure absolutely nothing and it’s always great. So don’t worry too much about being literal here.

Peppered beef tenderloin

1 lb beef tenderloin
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs prepared horseradish
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1-2 Tbs each whole green peppercorns, black peppercorns, pink peppercorns and white peppercorns, crushed with a mortar and pestle (or under a heavy skillet)
Coarse sea salt (I love grey sea salt for this)
2 Tbs olive oil
Italian flat leaf parsley, for garnish

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place beef in a baking dish, pour Worcestershire sauce over it, slather with garlic and horseradish. Sprinkle heavily with peppercorn mixture and sea salt. I don’t usually marinate it, but you certainly could.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed skillet (not non-stick) over medium heat. Brown beef on all sides (~2 minutes per side) to give it a nice color and texture.

Return beef to the baking dish and cook for ~30-40 minutes until done to your liking. Don’t over-cook, that would be a crime!

Place on a cutting board or serving platter, cover with foil and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Drizzle with any remaining marinade. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped parsley.

To take the chill off: beef and barley stew

Leemei Tan from My Cooking Hut invited me to do a "guest post" about food and photography with a winter recipe. She has posted both today - hop over and see. What fun to be invited to participate in someone else's blog!

For the post, I developed a recipe for a hearty beef and barley stew. It took several tries to get it the way I wanted it but all of the rejects were delicious so no complaining here! I'm posting the recipe below. See Leemei's blog for the rest of the story.

Hearty winter beef and barley stew
(makes 3-4 servings)

1 – 1¼ pounds chuck roast, chopped into ~1 inch cubes
5 cups cold water
A few springs Italian flat leaf parsley plus chopped parsley to garnish
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 medium yellow onion, halved
4-5 medium carrots
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 cup frozen pearl onions
2-3 smallish waxy potatoes: blue make for a nice color contrast with the other ingredients but any waxy potato will do
2 medium Jerusalem artichokes or parsnips
¼ cup pearled barley
Vegetable oil for cooking
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Season beef generously with salt and pepper on all sides. Heat 1-2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet and brown beef on all sides.

Transfer beef to a 5-6 quart Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Add water, thyme sprigs, 1-2 sprigs Italian flat leaf parsley, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, half of the yellow onion (skin on is fine) and a whole carrot (skin on is fine). Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30-40 minutes. Remove thyme, onion and carrot.

Meanwhile, cut potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes or parsnips into 3/4 inch cubes and peel and chop remaining carrots into 1 each pieces. Re-heat pan used to brown the beef (add a little additional oil if necessary) and cook cut vegetables plus whole pearl onions for several minutes until they begin to brown. Take care not to crowd the pan. If your pan is not big enough, brown in batches.

After beef mixture has cooked 30 minutes per the above, add the barley and browned vegetables plus a generous sprinkling of kosher salt and pepper. Bring temperature back up to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered for an additional 30-40 minutes. At this point,the sauce will have thickened and the beef will be fork-tender. If sauce is not thick enough for your liking, remove cover, raise temperature and cook a little longer. If too thick, add cold water in ¼ cup increments until consistency is as desired. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve with a sprinkling of chopped flat leaf parsley.

Spicy (but not too spicy) Korean beef and a DMBLGIT reminder

I have a wide range of cookbooks that serve different purposes. Some are around as coffee table books(for that day when I actually have a coffee table) that I bought mainly for the photography and format. Others are reference cookbooks that can be relied upon for simple instructions for basic recipes and formulas. Others are around to inject a little adventurous eating, among which are several authentic Chinese cookbooks. Others are reliable go-tos for quick but satisfying and imaginative dishes. A little unassuming cookbook that was given to me as a gift years ago is one of the latter. It has the very unexciting title of "On Rice" but it would be better described as "quick, clever, often one-pot, flavorful, diverse dinners that happen to include rice" (except that wouldn’t really be a catchy title, would it?).

There are many recipes in it that have proven both delicious and reliable. There’s a sushi rice bowl that’s full of different flavors and textures and is quick and inexpensive to whip up. There’s a chicken and asparagus with mustard-tarragon sauce that looks divine. One of my very favorites is a spicy Korean beef served over cabbage (and the requisite bed of rice). This recipe doesn’t even need the rice. It’s a hearty winter dish that’s full of flavor and most definitely a crowd pleaser. The beef marinates for an hour or more and picks up the very satisfying flavors of soy, scallion, garlic, hot pepper flakes, sesame oil and ginger. It broils in a few minutes and is sliced thinly over cabbage that is sautéed and combined with shaved carrots, a pinch of hot pepper and rice vinegar. It tastes impressive, but it’s truly simple and quick and requires a minimum amount of fresh grocery items and pots to clean. If you are like me and don't usually cook red meat because you aren't normally up for a heavy or complicated meat dish, this recipe is for you.

*****
A little unrelated reminder: if you are planning to submit a photo to DMBLGIT this month, tomorrow’s the deadline!

P.S. The lead photo from my recent post "Red curry with tofu" was featured on TasteSpotting's weekly roundup of most popular posts to their site! (see top row, fourth photo from left). Yet another reason I love that site!

Korean beef on fiery Chinese cabbage (adapted from On Rice: 60 Fast and Easy Toppings That Make the Meal by Rick Rodgers)
(serves 4)

Steamed (preferably long-grain) rice

Korean marinade

1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
¼ cup soy sauce
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon sugar,
1 tablespoon Asian dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 ½ pounds sirloin steak, trimmed, about ¾ inch thick

Spicy Chinese cabbage

1 medium (1 ½ pounds) Chinese (napa) cabbage
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup homemade chicken broth or low-sodium canned broth
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground hot pepper
2 medium carrots, shredded
2 tablespoons rice vinegar

To make marinade, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and cook, stirring almost constantly, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool. In a mortar or on the work surface using a heavy skillet, coarsely crust the sesame seeds. Please in a large shallow dish.

Add the remaining marinade ingredients and stir well to combine. Add the steak and rub some of the marinade ingredients over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for as long as possible, at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.

To make the spicy cabbage, core and cut crosswise into ½ inch strips. Heat a large (12-inch) nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat until hot. Add the oil, tilt the skillet to coat the bottom and heat until the oil is very hot. Add the scallions ginger and garlic and stir-fry until very fragrant, abut 30 seconds. Add the cabbage, chicken broth, carrots, salt and hot pepper. Cook, uncovered, stirring often until the cabbage stalks are translucent and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vinegar. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm.

Position a broiler rack 6 inches from the source of heat and preheat the broiler. Remove the meat from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Broil the meat, turning once, until cooked to desired doneness, about 7 minutes from medium rare.

Meanwhile, pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over low heat. Simmer for 2 minutes. Set aside.

If necessary, reheat the cabbage. Cut the meat diagonally across the grain into ½-inch-thick slices. Spoon the rice into soup bowls. Top with the cabbage and then the sliced meat. Pour some of the marinade over each serving of meat and serve immediately.