Flashback Friday – Kitchen Karma

The following originally appeared on 5/29/08 at Exit 51.

Kitchen Karma

I can’t very well tease you with references to recipes that not only work but impress the heck outta folks and then leave you high and dry, now can I?

No, that would be bad.

Bad kitchen karma.

And all my future cooking endeavors would be doomed.

So to appease the Kitchen Gods…not to mention my own personal St. Anthony of Bacon…I give you the main course from Win Some, Lose Some.

I will admit that as straightforward as this recipe is, I did have a near miss roasting the beef. Not a happy thought with an expensive piece of meat. So learn from me, be sure that your thermometer is inserted correctly into the roast. Because after 30 minutes in the oven, that temperature reading really should be somewhere around 130 to 140 degrees. And I don’t know that it really takes 10 minutes to sear the meat.

We had a delay after the roast started doing its thing in the oven (near miss #2). So to keep things from going to hell in a handbasket, I pulled it at about 135 degrees, cooled the oven down, and let it rest in a low oven (about 175 degrees) until our guests arrived and we were ready to dig in (about another 30 – 45 minutes). And let me tell you, that roast was moist AND tender, more medium than medium rare, but lip smacking good.

Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Rosemary, Chocolate and Wine Sauce

Ellie Krieger – Food Network

• 1 (2-pound) beef tenderloin roast
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots
• 1 small carrot, finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Season the meat with the salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium-high heat until good and hot, then add the meat and sear until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes total.

Transfer the meat to a rack set on a baking sheet. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 140 degrees F for medium-rare, about 30 minutes, or to your desired degree of doneness. Remove it from the oven, cover with aluminum foil, and let rest until the sauce is nearly done before slicing.

While the meat cooks, make the sauce. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, carrot and celery and cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the wine and broth and stir in the tomato paste. Add the bay leaf and thyme and bring to a boil. Simmer until the liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 40 minutes.

Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a small saucepan. Stir in the cocoa and rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Serve on the side with the sliced tenderloin.

{printable recipe}