Private Party August 13, 2024

Roasted Blackberry Beef Tenderloin

Scalloped Potatoes

Chopped Salad

Creme Brulé

Beef with blackberry sauce

Yield 2:

Beef tenderloin

Salt and pepper

 oil

Blackberry Sauce

1/2 cup red wine

1/4 cup roasted blackberries

¼ cup beef stock

2 tablespoons butter

Season Beef with salt and pepper. In a pan over medium high heat, add oil and beef. Cook until desired internal temp is reached.

Remove from pan and add red wine, roasted black berries, jam, beef stock and reduce down by half. Add butter and swirl to melt. Once melted turn heat off and serve on beef.

Scalloped Potatoes au Gratin

yield: 2 servings

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Pinch ground black pepper pepper

½ cup whole milk

¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup white potatoes, peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick

½ teaspoon shallot, minced

1 teaspoon Italian parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

  In a small saucepan at low heat, melt butter and when butter subsides, add shallots. When shallots are soft and translucent, add flour and cook for 3-5 minutes stirring constantly. Add milk, cheese, salt and pepper and continue to cook until cheese is melted and sauce thickens. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper if needed.

  Arrange potatoes in a shallow baking dish so equally layered. Ladle sauce over top, careful not to overflow. Gently move potatoes to allow sauce to separate the slices and wipe inside rim of dish to avoid burning.

  Bake uncovered for  45-60 minutes, until potatoes are tender and sauce is bubbling brown but not too dark. Transfer half to a warmed dinner plate and garnish with chopped parsley

ice and serve

Italian Chopped Salad

yield: 2 servings

Salad:

4 oz romaine lettuce, cut in 1 inch bite-sized pieces

8 slices hard salami, cut in ¼ inch pieces

¼ cup English cucumber, diced in ¼ inch cubes

¼ cup grape tomatoes, diced in ¼ inch cubes

2 pepperoncini peppers

¼ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

¼ cup blue cheese, crumbled

Dressing:

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon mixed fresh herbs in equal amounts (thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano, parsley), minced

1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic

¼ teaspoon shallot, minced

Pinch crushed red pepper seeds (optional)

Sea salt and ground black pepper

  In a small mixing bowl, combine vinegar, herbs, red pepper, garlic and Dijon mustard. Whisk for 1 minute to extract flavor from shallots and work out any lumps of garlic. Drizzle olive oil into bowl at the slowest steady stream possible while whisking vigorously. If oil begins to pool, increase whisking speed and stop drizzling until pools are gone, then resume adding oil. When all oil has been added, dressing should be slightly thickened and not separated. Taste and adjust flavor with salt and pepper if needed.

  Add all chopped ingredients to a small mixing bowl and add half of dressing. Toss or fold contents to evenly coat with dressing, adding more if needed or desired. Evenly divide salad between two chilled salad plates and top with crumbled bleu cheese. Serve immediately.

Classic Crème Brûlée

yield: 8 servings

4 cups heavy whipping cream

8 large egg yolks

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons real vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

½ teaspoon lemon zest

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Granulated sugar for Brûlée crust

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

  In a small mixing bowl, add egg yolks and beat well, whisking until yolks turn a pale yellow color.

  In a Medium saucepan, combine sugar and cream and heat on medium until mixture is approximately 170-180 degrees but do not boil. When steam begins to rise and small bubbles begin to form around the rim of the pan, turn off heat. Move bowl of yolks up against saucepan to limit spillage. Scoop 4 oz of hot liquid with a ladle and drizzle it into yolks while whisking it in. Add another ladle full being sure to whisk as it is poured to prevent eggs from cooking, gradually increasing speed. Repeat until ¾ of liquid has been added and bottom of bowl is hot. Return egg and cream mixture to saucepan and whisk to combine.

  Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup. Pour 4oz into each ramekin and set in roasting pan. Top off each ramekin with remaining custard. Fill roasting pan with 1 inch hot water around ramekins and place on oven rack in upper 1/3 of oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until custard is firm but jiggles when shaken. Remove from water bath and set on cooling rack for 15 minutes, then transfer to cooler to chill.

  Sprinkle top of each baked custard with granulated sugar and using a torch, broil sugar until medium brown and bubbling. Let stand 3 minutes for candy crust to harden and serve.