Beef tenderloin is always my go to for a dinner party. It is an expensive piece of meat, however you can feed a crowd easily with one tenderloin. For an appetizer buffet, I slice the tenderloin thinner, for a dinner buffet, I slice it thicker. The key is a meat thermometer. I have an old standard one with an attached probe- they are cheap, get one! I don’t bother setting mine, I just occasionally walk by the oven and look at the temp. You do not want to ruin an expensive piece of meat by overcooking it.
You can buy a tenderloin trimmed or untrimmed. Trimming is not hard, you are just removing the silver skin, and trimming the loose meat and any fat. The silver skin will pull off easily with a dry paper towel. I like to buy untrimmed because it is cheaper per pound and I like to chop the trimmings up and cook for breakfast the next day with fried eggs. If trimming intimidates you, buy the trimmed.
Last Saturday was our 6th wedding anniversary, so we invited some close friends to come over for what I like to call a “whoop-de-do”, or what others might call a nice dinner. I love to set the table and bring out the good wine. My house is not fancy and neither is my cooking, my dishes or serving platters. I stick to the basic white platters, I find food looks the best on them and they look good in my black China cabinet. Just in case I run behind or guests come early, I always set my empty platters out and place a label on them so that others can help place things on the right platter if needed. It also helps me to remember what I am serving- yes, I have left things in the oven before!
Also- not everyone likes their meat medium rare. I keep a skillet on the stove so if anyone wants their meat cooked more, I can toss their slice in for a minute or two on medium heat.
Anytime I entertain, I channel my inner Ina Garten. I have all of her cookbooks and I am a huge fan- I love her. Ina’s food is not pretentious, it is simple food that people love and she has great entertaining advice. And of course, she loves a good cocktail and wine. Ina taught me how to make by first beef tenderloin using the “fast method”. Some time later she showcased a great “slow method”. I prefer the slow method, although you will be surprised how fast the slow method is. For time management purposes, give yourself an hour to cook and rest the meat.
The wine… when Jay and I started dating we decided to give wines with weird labels a try. I know that is silly, but we loved wine and we loved trying new wines- we still do. It was during this time we discovered Orin Swift. So for this whoop-de-do, I opened one of our favorites, a bottle of Orin Swift Mercury Head Cabernet, 30 minutes before dinner was ready. Mercury Head is a dry, rich cab with notes of thyme and blackberry with a smooth finish. The bottle actually has a mercury head coin imbedded. I love Orin Swift almost as much as I love Ina Garten. Some of our other Orin Swift favorites are 8 Years in the Desert and Machete. And yes, they all have strange labels and they are all top notch wines, they are memorable. I love to give a bottle of Orin Swift wine as a gift, housewarming present or hostess gift. I love turning someone onto something remarkable.
Don’t be intimidated by a beef tenderloin, invite those you love over and open a glass of good wine. Share the love!
Beef Tenderloin
Ingredients
1 whole beef tenderloin
olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
kosher salt
Directions
Make this recipe your own. Rub with butter instead of olive oil, try different seasonings. Toss fresh rosemary in a pan with olive oil or butter and cook for a few minutes and brush onto the cooked tenderloin. Truss or don’t truss and cook to the temperature you like.
