Jacques Pepin and the Baseball Moms on the menu tonight. Baseball Moms first, actually, so a beer and girlie laughs as an appetizer of sorts. Then home to whip up Jacques' instant beef tenderloin stew, which I've meant to make for quite awhile and am just now getting around to. Lovely, simple recipe. Saute/steam the veggies (carrots, diced potatoes and onion, baby
mushrooms, peas) in one skillet, set aside. Saute tenderloin pieces in another for a few minutes. Deglaze the pan with a little wine and stock, serve tenderloin and vegetables together, moistened with a bit of the juices. Thin slice or two of crusty baguette. How fabulous does that sound? I'll let you know, and post the recipe in a bit. For dessert? A few luscious strawberries, so perfect right now they seem naughty, and I'm all for that.(Oh, lunch, also incredible, tiny little cup of silky - leftover - potato leek soup with sweet, tender- also leftover - crab salad, cold today, and a handful of perfect red grapes. Kill!)
Oh. My. God. The "stew" was unbelievable. I may never make "real" stew again! Like, EVAR! This was so fresh, with sauteed vegetables and steak. You must try
it, it's a total winner. Merde, Jacques, you devil. Je t'aime, and I'm already married... Menage a trois? (Just kidding, OMG, that's one of the first French phrases I ever learned, in probably 7th grade, before I even officially took French. Or experienced a menage a anything. Even now, it's just me and Jean [John], and no one else, sorry Jacques....)Oh, and for dessert, I don't even need strawberries, it was all too good. Instead, a nice stroll around the 'hood, in the dark, one of my favs. Spy on my neighbors, heh, heh, heh...
posted by Stephanie @ 3:34 PM
2 Comments:
Instant Beef Tenderloin Stew
Adapted from Jacques Pepin Fast Food My Way
Serves 4
Can also be prepared with lamb, cut into 1-inch pieces.
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 ½ c. diced (1/2-inch) potato
1 c. baby carrots (about 4 oz.)
1 c. small white button mushrooms (about 2 oz.)
1/3 c. chopped onion
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
½ c. frozen or fresh baby peas
½ tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. beef tenderloin, cut into 1-inch pieces, sprinkled with salt a few hours before cooking
2 Tbsp. wine (dry white or red; whatever you might drink with the stew)
2 Tbsp. water
¼ tsp. salt
Heat 1 Tbsp. of the butter and the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms. Cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked through and lightly browned. Add the onion and cook for 1-2 minutes longer. Add the garlic, peas, and ½ tsp. salt and cook for 1 minute. Season with freshly ground pepper. Set aside, covered, while you cook the steak.
Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. butter in another skillet over medium-high heat until it is very hot but not smoking. Add the meat to the skillet without crowding, in two batches if necessary, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until browned on all sides but pink in the middle. Transfer to a platter. Add the wine, water, and ¼ tsp. salt to the pan and boil for about 20 seconds; set aside. Add the meat (and any accumulated juices on the platter) to the vegetables. Serve steak and vegetables on plates, moistened with pan juices.
Thanks for the stew recipe, Stephanie. I will definitely try this Friday night, with lamb. We have houseguests coming for the weekend, and I bet this will taste good even if they end up arriving a couple hours late.
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