Dwight Schrute & Beef Tenderloin

When you are gifted the most precious gift a human can receive - the gift of a beef tenderloin - and given freedom to cook it however you like, you best treat it with the respect it deserves: all the butter. It is in moments like this that one realizes the universal truth of Dwight Schrute's motto: K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple, Stupid. When the quality of the food product you are handling is so high, you really don't need to do a lot to it. 

found here

So below, a Dwight-approved recipe for making a juicy, tender, crispy, peppery Christmas/Special Occassion Filet. Enjoy! And sorry not sorry for the blurry photos - it was Christmas and I began drinking glögg at noon. 

K.I.S.S. Filet 
Feeds 4 normal people or 2 of me 

INGREDIENTS
2 lb beef tenderloin (US) / filet (UK) 
2 tbsp black peppercorns 
1 stick / 4 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
salt to taste 

EQUIPMENT
mortar & pestle
cast iron skillet 

METHODA few hours before you are going to cook the beef, take it out of the fridge. It needs to be at room temperature when you apply heat to it in order to ensure tenderness. While you're at it, take the butter out too - so much easier to mix and spread when it's not ice cold. (Secret just between us - I always forget to take the butter out. Not just with this recipe - always. Just put the stick in a mug and microwave for 10 seconds.) 

Preheat your oven to 450°F. Preheat your cast iron skillet over medium heat so that by the time you're done prepping the beef it'll be nice and smoky hot. You don't need to put any fat in the pan because the beef will be coated in butter. 

I always forget to bring my butter to room temperature. So if you are like me, at this point just pop the butter in the microwave for a few seconds. Nobody needs to know. 

In a mortar & pestle, grind your black peppercorns until they are still coarse but have broken down a bit and released all their delicious aromas. Move them into a small bowl and mix in the butter and salt to taste. 

Slather this succulent compound butter all over your piece of meat. Place it in the skillet and do. not. touch. Wait 1 minute, then turn it onto another side. Repeat until all surfaces, including the top and bottom, are browned. Then place it in the oven, in the skillet, until a thermometer stuck into the middle of the beef 

Let it rest.  If you cut into it too soon the beef will be dry and tough and the only way to get it juicy will be with your tears, because you've ruined it. Leave it be for 15-20 minutes, so the juices can redistribute into the meat. 

This'll give you a beautiful, even medium rare. I'm not going to give you temperatures for more cooking because if you want well done beef you can GTFO. 

Buttery Oats

It's winter. You are expected to work on snow days (and your inner kindergartener is not happy about it). Your heating bills are extortionate. You arrive at any and every location both freezing and dripping with sweat. It's pitch black all the time. 

found here

You deserve to put a lil' butter in your oatmeal. This is a winter oatmeal recipe, full of whole milk, salt and butter. Enjoy.

Wintery Buttery Oats 

serves 1 

Ingredients 

1/4 cup steel cut oats 

1/4 cup rolled oats 

1 cup whole milk 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 tbsp butter 

Sprinkling of sugar, for garnish (you can use honey, but I like the crunch that sugar adds)

Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the salt and all your oats. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring on low heat to make sure nothing burns on the bottom of the pan. Pour into a bowl and garnish with sugar, butter and, if you're feelin' fancy, an extra sprinkle of flaked sea salt. Feel warm and bubbly inside. 

New Year's Niçoise

Happy 2015! 

I had a chunk of time off for Christmas and New Year's, and used the time to think about nothing except eating and my cats. Some highlights: 

Then suddenly it was January 1, and I realized I had been eating chocolate fondant, roast beef, foie gras, ham, champagne and more ham for 8 straight days. It was time for a salad. 

Salads are deceptive. To make a good one requires a lot of thought. You'd think you could toss leaves with a basic dressing, but more often than not that turns out boring and sad. A good salad has crunch, the right amount of dressing and enough variety in its ingredients to make eat bite interesting. 

Enter the Niçoise. This is a meat lover's salad. Creamy soft boiled eggs, sharp anchovies and a variety of vegetables make it more exciting and filling than a regular ol' green salad. There's also a little bit of cooking involved (poaching tuna, boiling eggs), which makes it feel like a "real meal" and not a side dish. 

A note on salt: I have a salty palette, so I have added a lot of extra anchovies, olives and capers. If you don't share this trait, just dial back on those ingredients (same goes for garlic) - but always season to taste! 

SALAD NIÇOISE 

Feeds 4 

                   INGREDIENTS                     

For the tuna 

8 oz tuna 

1/2 onion 

1/2 lemon 

2 bay leaves 

S+P to taste 

For the dressing 

1 tsp fresh tarragon

1 tbsp red wine vinegar 

4 cloves garlic 

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice 

Zest of 1 lemon 

3 cherry tomatoes (or 1/4 regular tomato) 

1 scallion 

4 black olives, pitted 

5 anchovy filets 

2 tsp capers 

Freshly cracked black pepper

1/3-1/2 cup olive oil 

METHOD
Start by poaching the tuna. Place 6 cups water in a small pot, add the bay leaves, onion, lemon and salt and pepper, and bring the whole thing to a simmer. Add the tuna and let it simmer for about 10 minutes, until still a bit rare on the inside and cooked on the outside. Set aside and let it cool. 

For the 6-minute eggs: The 6-minute egg is one of the most delicious and satisfying ways to prepare and eat an egg. Bring water to a boil, drop the eggs in and set a timer for exactly 6 minutes. Halfway through, add the green beans. Then pull the eggs and beans out and put them all in cold water to stop them cooking. Peel the eggs and once cool chop them in half - look at that sunshine-y yolk. Y.U.M. 
       


                                    




Easiest dressing ever: put all the ingredients except the olive oil into a food processor or blender. Let those go until they've formed a paste, then add in the olive oil slowly. Set aside until ready to serve. 















All that's left is assembly. Place the greens on the bottom of a platter. Arrange the other ingredients however you like, and flake - don't chop - the tuna. Pour the dressing on top right before serving (otherwise the whole situation is going to be soggy and sad instead of crisp and fresh). Since you're eating so many veggies, serve with a glass of wine and a brownie.