Friday, September 11, 2009

Labor Day Weekend Fête - Part 1

Last Saturday we had some friends over for an end of the summer cookout so my mom and I were busy bees in the kitchen from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon. Everything from berry iced tea to shrimp kabobs to tabbouleh to roasted nuts - after lots of chopping, boiling, peeling and stirring, we were ready for our guests. Below are two collages Rebecca created with the photos she took of the food. What great talent she has!







Over the next few posts, I will tell you about what I made, beginning with the Beef Tenderloin Sandwiches.

At our house we get so many food magazines, filled with recipes that look absolutely delicious. There are way too many for us to make! I went back through the Paula Deen magazines and found this delicious recipe from a few months ago. I planned on 1/4 lb of beef per person - so that was a 6 lb loin - fortune for our party and fellowship but unfortunate for the amount of meat - more people came than I prepared for so those 6 pounds went very quickly!

This recipe serves 12

3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 (4 1/2 lb) trimmed beef tenderloin
12-15 onion rolls, split, buttered, and toasted (We used regular, poppy seed and sesame seed rolls and we didn't toast them - if I were to make 5 instead of 24, I would butter and toast them!)
arugula
Bacon Horseradish Sauce (see below)


In a large resealable plastic bag, combine soy sauce, oil, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, garlic, and pepper. Add tenderloin, seal bag, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. ** We used a big plastic container (instead of a bag) that we could keep flipping throughout the marinading processes. We let it marinade overnight and through to our afternoon cooking time.**


Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a broiler pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place rack on pan; spray with nonstick cooking spray.


Drain tenderloin, discarding marinade. Place tenderloin on prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion reads 145. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. ** Of course my mom and I argued over when it was done. I enjoy this type of beef cut medium rare, otherwise it gets tough. You will have to adjust the cooking time depending on how big your loin is but this is a very appropriate cooking temp and time.**

Spread desired amount of Bacon Horseradish Sauce (See recipe below) over botttoms of buns. Top with desired amount of arugula. Top with sliced tenderloin. cover with bun tops. Serve immediately.


Bacon Horseradish Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used like 9 slices! - my rule of thumb: ALWAYS use more bacon than called for!)
4 teaspoons prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons green onions, minced
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, bacon horseradish,green onion, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Cover and chill.

** Sauce can be made up to 2 days in advance.




The tenderloin right out of the oven, as I attack it with the electric knife! Oh and thank you to Bunny for taking over that knife for me.

We kept the beef warm in the chafing dish for serving.


The assembled sandwich.

Another creation was Carolina Coleslaw - a very colorful combination with a vinegar-based dressing.

1 head cabbage (red, green or mix) shredded
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, grated (bought a bag of the carrot matchsticks)

Dressing:
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp celery seed
1 cup cider vinegar
2/3 cup Vegetable oil

In a large bowl, toss vegetables together

In a small sauce pan, mix together sugar, salt, mustard, and celery seed. Add vinegar and oil. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Pour hot dressing over salad; toss well

Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days before serving.


All photos by Bec.

1 comment:

  1. you're the one with the talent, my friend. DELICOUS food and a great evening! thank you!

    ReplyDelete