The Alternate Thanksgiving of Amazingness for Two

Happy Thanksgiving (belated a day...I was busy thanking & snacking)!  Never being one who was overly enthused by turkey, my Thanksgiving menu is both yummier (in my opinion) and faster to make!  My plans this holiday to hang out with my dad and step-mom were also shot (due to one bad back and one really bad cold) so this dinner is for two (though technically like, 8 people could have probably eaten this all and been completely satisfied).

The Menu:

Appetizers:

Baked Brie with Figs

Dates

Soppressata salami (yes!)

Entree:

Mixed Peppercorn Beef Tenderloin with Shallot-Port Reduction

Sides:

Brussels Sprouts with Currants and Pine Nuts

Smashed Potatoes with Goat Cheese and Chives

All I can say is this is one of the most fantastic meals I and my uber-wonderful co-chef have ever made (yes, I allowed him to graduate from sous chef since he actually does a lot more than Tarot-the-cat.  Similarly, our cat slept in the corner the entire day and only came out of his coma to eat a small piece of beef and later barf on the carpet after eating his cat food too quickly for the second day in a row).  The recipes came mostly from Cooking Light's Nov 2008 issue for those who want to know but I've changed a few things around of course.

Baked Brie with Figs:

I made this earlier in the day since I knew it would be way too much at dinner. It's really easy. Get a wheel of brie at the store...mine was actually a relatively big one at 14 oz, but I believe they also come in 4 and 8 oz sizes as well. Preheat your oven to 350.  Put the brie rind and all on a pie pan (I had a glass one, but I'm sure putting it on a cookie sheet would be fine too) and brush a little melted butter on it.  Arrange slices of fresh figs (if you live in California) on the brie and pop in the oven for about 10-12 minutes, or until it feel nice and soft when you press on the center of it.  Take it out and remove the slices of figs and put to the side.  Take a fig spread (our favorite is the Organic Adriatic Fig Spread jar with the orange top) and slather on a nice amount right on top of the wheel (again leave the rind...I swear rind is good this way). Put your cooked little figgy slices back on top for decoration.  Eat with baguette slices!

Prep Work:

It would have been easier if I had done it this way instead of the kitchen madness that ensued. But it was damn worth it.

-Chop about 4 big shallots up finely...you will need 1/4 cup for the reduction and 1/4 cup for the brussels sprouts so do it all at once.

-Chop up about 3 tbs of fresh chives for the potatoes.

-Take out about 3/4 cup or 6 oz of goat cheese from your fridge.  Let it get more room temperature.  I got one of those little medallion sized goat cheeses and that seemed about the right amount.

-Peel about 2 lbs of potatoes (in my case I believe this was about 5 medium sized taters).  We went for red, but any baking type should do.  Chop them into 1" pieces so when you boil them they won't take forever to get soft.  Put your pot of cold water on to boil and hey, toss the potatoes in while you're at it for good measure as they should start out in the cold water.  Add a pinch of salt in there. Once they boil they should take about 15 minutes of simmering to get soft.

-Chop up a tsp of fresh thyme.

Step One: Start your reduction.

In a saucepan (or in my case I used my medium sized cast iron skillet...just make sure whatever you're using is deep enough to contain all the liquid) combine:

-2 cups of ruby port or other sweet red wine (we went for Krohm Porto ruby port wine)

-1 1/2 cups of fat-free, less-sodium beef broth

-1/4 cup of finely chopped shallots

-1/8 tsp of salt (like I would measure this out...just toss a pinch in!)

-2 sprigs of fresh parsley

-1 spring of fresh thyme

Bring to a boil and let reduce to 1 1/4 cups for about 15-20 minutes.  While that's reducing we'll keep going.

Step Two: Get your steak on!

Take out your steaky!  First of all I felt a little confused as to what part of the cow a beef tenderloin is, but felt it had to do something with filet mignon. Basically, I think I learned the filet is the end of the entire tenderloin, but the important thing is: Can I find it in a grocery store?  So while perusing the meat dept. at my local Safeway I only found giant 6 lb tenderloins or individual filet steaks.  Quite the discrepancy.  My recipe calls for a two lb tenderloin so if you're making this for two I suggest taking it down to 1 1/2 lbs or maybe even 1 lb.  The thing is, this meat came out so good you may want the 1 1/2 just for after dinner, pre-Thanksgiving coma snacking.  Which is exactly what I asked my Safeway meat girl.  She came back with a 1 1/2 lb filet mignon but all in one piece (instead of in individual steak or medallion size) and it was damn pretty.

Ok, now press about 1 tsp of salt and 1 1/2 tbs of cracked mixed peppercorns into the outside of your steak.  Instead of making this in the oven in a shallow roasting pan as the recipe called for, we decided to heat our oven to 350 and then sear the tenderloin for about a minute on each side in a cast iron skillet with a little olive oil on the stove.  Once that's done just toss it in the oven for about 20-25 minutes in the same skillet (NOTE: this only works if you have a cast iron skillet.  Non-stick varieties need not apply).  If you'd rather the original method the recipe called for putting it in the roasting pan with some spray oil for 33 minutes at 450.  But I like my steak a bit rarer.

Now this is when the lightning speed happened.  I actually had to turn my steak off and just let it chill for a while because my reduction was taking too long.  I don't want that to happen to you so....that's why I'm having you start the reduction first.

Step Three: I'm be-SIDES myself!

So that last step is really quick.  Hopefully your potatoes are soft now.  Technically your boyfriend did this part of the meal so he should have to write this up but he looks busy connected to his laptop.  So!  (Status update: He is editing the photos for this post!  Love him!)

Before we do that we are going to toast some pine nuts and get the sprouts started.  I purchased about 1 lb of sprouts I believe but whatever looks good to you.  We also always search for the littlest sprouts since they will be more tender and leave the others for people who believe bigger is better (seriously, does it always have to be about size with you?).  

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat and add 1 tbs of pine nuts (I added a little more since I like them).  Cook about 2 minutes or until toasted then chop coarsely.  I added a tiny bit of olive oil and NOW I realize why that didn't seem to work so wonderfully, though the nuts still came out fine, I just had to blot them off in the end.  Melt some butter in a pan over medium-high and then add 1/4 cup chopped shallots.  Let these saute for a minute, stirring frequently, and then toss in your sprouts (George always cuts a plus sign into the "stem" part so they cook faster), 2 tbs of dried currants, 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme (you chopped this in the prep part), 1/4 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of black pepper.  Toss and add 1/2 cup of fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth.  Cover, reduce heat and let cook for around 7 mins.

Meanwhile, drain your potatoes and return them to the same pan or pot you boiled them in (and remember, in Courtney's kitchen peeling your potatoes is always optional, though this time we did) on low heat.  Add 1 tsp of salt and 2 tbs of butter.  Mash those babies!!  Then put in the goat cheese you let soften up and 1/4 tsp of black pepper.  The heat should still be on low so it shouldn't take all that long to get melty.  Stir in 1 cup of 2% milk and let cook 1 minute (this way is nice because then the milk won't make your hot potatoes turn room temperature!)  Lastly, stir in the chives you chopped up earlier.  Them taters are done!

Step Four: Finishing up

Your reduction should be ready to take your relationship to the next level. Strain the mixture through a sieve (or in my case a colander) and remove all the solids.  WHAT?  Remove all those tasty shallots!?  I know.  I thought that was whack too so I tossed my herbs, but put my shallots in a nice little bowl to throw on my steak later.  Combine 1 1/2 tbs of all-purpose flour and 3 tbs of water in a separate little bowl.  Return your port mixture to the pan and add the flour mixture to it while you whisk it in.  Whisk it!  Whisk it good.  Bring it to a boil again until it gets nice and thick (I swear I looked away for a second and then it was perfect, so it happens pretty fast) then remove it from the heat and whisk in 1 tbs of butter and a dash of balsamic vinegar (about 1/2 a tsp). Holy eff you're reduction is done!  Your steak probably is too, so I hope you took that out.  Carve into it to make sure it's done the way you like.  Doing it my way was perfect.  It was nice and pink, but redder toward the center so there is something for everyone.

Also, just finish up your sprouts.  Uncover them and cook about 4 mins or so until your broth evaporates.  When I uncovered mine my broth was ALREADY evaporated, so I took this as a sign that god loves me and wants to continue to shower my life with beef tenderloin.  When they look good and tender ( I love how green they get a minute after you first put them in) they are done!  All that's left is to sprinkle on your chopped toasty pine nuts.

Now that may seem like a lot of steps, but it's a great alternative to cooking a turkey for four hours.  With good planning this meal hardly takes more than a hour to make.  Which leaves more time for the greens (come on guys, vegetables!) California is so known for.  Plate everything, light your instant-romance candles and enjoy!  The reduction sauce has a tendency to get a skin on the top of it as it's cooling.  After you slice some beef portions and put it on the plates, just stir the sauce before you ladle it over the meat.  I absolutely LOVED the sprouts too because the shallots, pine nuts and currants mixed together amazingly and taste like candy.  And mashed potatoes with goat cheese have such an awesome tang.  I was really happy (and thankful) everything came out to perfection, and the meal was so good that I didn't even feel the need to contemplate dessert.  We just ate everything!

 (All photos by George P. Macklin.)