Our family has started a tradition of having roast beef tenderloin for Christmas dinner and this year was no exception. This year’s menu was:
- 3 lb beef tenderloin roast, rubbed with pepper, thyme and garlic
- cranberry-pear chutney sauce
- garlic mashed potatoes
- rosemary carrots
- fresh green bean casserole
This is my 4th year making the roast in the same manner and it came out a little drier than usual. I think the internal temperature got too high (150+ range) which caused it to loose moisture. Next year I’m going to try searing it first and then 200 in the oven until it hits 140-ish.
As my wife will tell you I detest green bean casserole, but I found a recipe at Cooks Illustrated that solved all my issues. The green beans were crisp, not soggy; the sauce was made from fresh mushrooms and tasted wonderful; the home made bread crumbs complimented the only prepared ingredient - fried onions. I even ate left-overs the next day! It’s certainly a green bean casserole I can get behind.
For dessert mom and I attempted a cherry cobbler using Bing cherries. Let’s just say that mom’s crust was magnificent and the filling was – well – interesting.