This is another of Bruce Aidells’ recipes from the December 2011 issue of Bon Appétit that I used for our Christmas dinners last week.

One important tip when roasting a whole beef tenderloin is to tuck under the tail end. Because the tenderloin narrows at one end, the thin portion must be tucked under itself and secured with a little kitchen twine, so that it will cook at the same rate as the rest of the roast.

Roast Beef Tenderloin with Caesar Crust

4-pound whole beef tenderloin, fat and silverskin trimmed
Kosher salt
4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper plus more for seasoning
2/3 cup fine fresh breadcrumbs made from day-old white bread
2/3 cup finely grated Parmesan
2/3 cup mayonnaise
4 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained, finely chopped
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, peeled

Season tenderloin lightly with salt and pepper. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate overnight.

Uncover tenderloin; let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Set a rack inside a rimmed baking sheet.

Pulse the 4 teaspoons black pepper, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, mayonnaise, anchovy fillets, mustard, lemon zest, Worcestershire sauce and garlic  in a food processor until well blended.  Evenly spread and pack Caesar mixture on the top and sides of the tenderloin.

Transfer tenderloin to rack and roast until the crust is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of tenderloin registers 120-125 degrees for medium-rare, about 30-40 minutes.

Transfer to a carving board. Let rest for 20 minutes. Cut into 1/2″-thick slices, taking care not to lose too much of the delicate crust, and serve.

Serves 10 to 12

Happy New Year’s Eve! I offer up a toast, to you, followers of this blog. Thank you for another wonderful year and here’s to an even better 2012!

We are having a NYE Brunch today, I’ll post some recipes and pictures next week. Until then, please stay safe… and if you live in Arizona and are going out tonight, remember that AAA Arizona offers a NYE “tipsy tow” service. It is a free one-way ride and tow home, up to 10 miles, for drivers and one passenger, who have been drinking. It is open to everyone, not just AAA members. CLICK HERE to learn more!

This delicious pork roast recipe and the beef tenderloin recipe that I’ll be posting in the new year, are both from the fabulous Bruce Aidells and were featured in this month’s issue of Bon Appétit.  I did make one major and one minor adjustment to the pork recipe. Mr Aidells’ version used a double rack of pork and I used a boneless pork roast. And the original used oranges, whereas I’ve used tangerines.

Wishing you a safe and festive New Year’s Eve!

Pork Roast with Burnt Tangerine-Caramel Pan Sauce

Pork
4 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 pound boneless pork roast
6 tangerines
Sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh tangerine juice (from about 6 tangerines)
1/4 cup Jack Daniel’s
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pork:  Pulse oil, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper in a food processor to form a paste.

Place roast on a work surface. Using a small knife, score the fat 1/4-inch-deep with six 3-inch-long diagonal slices. Rub roast with herb paste, massaging some into each slit. Let rest at room temperature for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, use a microplane or grater to zest the orange colored peel from the 6 tangerines and set the zest aside.  Cut the remaining peel and white pith from the same tangerines. Slice the tangerines into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and place the slices in the center of a large oven-proof skillet.

Arrange an oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Place pork roast in skillet atop tangerine slices.

Place skillet in preheated oven and roast until meat is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the pork registers 145 degrees, about 40 to 45 minutes more (temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees as it rests). Transfer pork to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 20 minutes.

Sauce:  Meanwhile, stir sugar and 1/4 cup lemon juice in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high and cook without stirring, occasionally swirling pan until caramel is deep amber, about 8 minutes.

Remove pan from heat; gradually whisk in tangerine juice and Jack Daniel’s. Set pan over medium heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in reserved tangerine zest, broth, and marmalade. Boil until reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes. Set caramel sauce aside.

Whisk cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water in a small bowl; set aside. Transfer tangerine slices from the skillet to a warm platter. Spoon off and discard fat from drippings in skillet. Place skillet over a burner, set on medium heat. Pour in reserved caramel sauce; set the saucepan aside, do not wash.

Using a spatula, scrape up any browned bits from bottom of the skillet. Boil for 30 seconds, then return sauce to reserved saucepan. Off the heat, stir in Grand Marnier. Return to heat and bring sauce to a boil; whisk in cornstarch mixture. Boil, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt, pepper.

Slice roast and arrange on top of the tangerine slices on the serving platter. Serve with burnt tangerine–caramel sauce.

Serves 10 to 12

You may recall that I used a bunch of pie pumpkins in my Thanksgiving table setting and on my kitchen island fall display. Soon after Thanksgiving, I roasted those pumpkins and froze the flesh – with the knowledge that I’d be making pumpkin soup for Christmas.

This recipe serves eight, so you will only need 2 small pumpkins, but since I had five to work with, I more than doubled the recipe.

For the garnish I used THESE sweet and spicy pepitas, but toasted pepitas (readily found at Trader Joe’s) work just as well.

Pumpkin and Chipotle Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, peeled diced
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
5 cups fresh (*recipe below) or canned pumpkin puree
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

Heat a large pot over medium heat. When hot, add oil and then sauté the onion and garlic until soft and translucent. Add the chipotles and cumin. Stir to combine.

Add pumpkin puree, broth, and half-and-half. Simmer until heated through. Transfer, in batches, to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Return to the pot.

Cover and let simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve with pepitas sprinkled on top.

Serves 8

Oh, and check out the beautiful individual covered pomegranate soup tureens I received from my darling family on Christmas morning! We used them for our soup later that afternoon! LOVE them! An extra big bowl of thanks to my sweet Marissa for all the trouble she went to gathering them from various bay area Williams-Sonoma stores, after she found out that they were sold-out online! xoxoox

* Roasted Pumpkin

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut each squash in half.  Scrape out seeds and strings with a large spoon and discard. Coat flesh with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay halves cut side down on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast, turning halfway through, until golden brown on both sides, about 30 minutes.

Use a large spoon to scrape out all the flesh and then discard the skins.  May be frozen for up to 4 months.

I found this recipe in an issue of Bon Appétit three or four years ago and tucked it away. When I stumbled upon it right after Thanksgiving, I knew it would be a perfect side for the pork roast I planned to serve on Christmas Eve. Not only because the flavors would compliment the pork so well, but also because I had a kabocha squash and a butternut squash laying around that I had used in my Thanksgiving table decor. I’d also used several pie pumpkins in the decor that I’d already roasted and frozen for use in a pumpkin soup I planned to serve. It is so gratifying when you can use such gorgeous vegetables twice… first to decorate and then to eat!

Just as with yesterday’s post, this dish my also be prepared a full day in advance. Assemble completely in the baking dish, cover and refrigerate, then bring to room temperature before baking.

Roasted and Maple Glazed Squash and Parsnips

2 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled kabocha squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 cups 1/3-inch cubes peeled parsnips (about 12 ounces)
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup coarsely chopped Marcona almonds

Butter a 13-x-9-x-2-inch glass baking dish. Combine the kabocha and butternut squash and parsnips in large bowl. Melt the butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the maple syrup, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Pour over the squash mixture and toss to coat. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover baking dish with foil. Bake covered 40 minutes. Uncover; bake until all vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes longer.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with the almonds before serving.

Serves 8

This is one of the two side dishes we had for Christmas Eve dinner to accompany a pork roast.  I also served a pumpkin and chipotle soup. The soup, the second side, and the pork recipes will be posted in the next couple of days, but this corn pudding was, by far, the favorite dish of the night!

Ham and Poblano Corn Pudding

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus 1/2 cup (1 stick), melted, slightly cooled and additional for buttering the pan, divided
1 small red onion, peeled and diced
1 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons Panko breadcrumbs
2 cups frozen corn, thawed and divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
Large pinch of baking powder
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup cubed ham (1/4-inch cubes)
1 cup coarsely grated Manchego cheese
2 large poblano peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced

Melt the 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet and sauté the onion until soft and translucent, add garlic and sauté for 1 more minute.  Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish and then coat with the Panko.

Combine 1 cup of the corn, the eggs, 1/2 cup melted butter, salt, and baking powder in blender. Blend until almost smooth. Transfer mixture to large bowl.

Add cooled onion mixture, sour cream, whipping cream, and corn meal; stir until blended.  Stir in ham, cheese, peppers, and remaining 1 cup corn. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish.

Bake until corn pudding is puffed and golden brown in spots on top, about 40 to 50 minutes.

Serves 8

I usually post a vintage image for each holiday, but for this Christmas how, about a photo recipe? Only a photo… no actual recipe to needed.  I’ll be serving this during our appetizer happy hour today. Isn’t it pretty and perfectly festive?

Sending each of you my best wishes for not only a beautiful Christmas day with your family and friends, but a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. xoxo

Yesterday’s Les Dames d’Escoffier International bake sale at the Phoenix Public Market was a grand success! Yeah, we made $744.00!!!! Man, we can bake! But I must say, a whole lot of credit goes to Gwen, my sales partner, that girl can sell! I would even buy a beet from her, and I HATE beets!

I took pictures of the tables right after I set up my cake pops and by the time I got down to the end were I had set them up, there were only 5 left for sale! I was making a few sales down at the other end for a moment or two… but wow!

These two little cuties were my favorite customers. Aren’t they adorable?!  Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, all my cake pops were gone. Yep, the cake pops sold out within minutes after I arrived with them. I’m talking maybe 15 or 20 minutes, and all 40+ were gone!

Here they are, before I packaged them.  Plus I made a little Christmas tree display, which turned out to be a mistake… people kept asking to buy them, but since I hadn’t pre-packaged them… no sale!

That’s the thing about cake pops, they are the “in thing”.  I made a couple dozen more to take to last night’s family Christmas party. As my cousin, Ty, said while he was eating one, “This is a very efficient cake delivery system.”  I could not have said it better!

Weekly Tip #9

I think I may have missed a week of “tip time”.  We did have “game time” last week though. To make it up to you, an extra tip this week.

Holiday Baking Special Edition

With all the holiday baking, sometimes a couple of your cookies may end up over-browned or even burnt on the bottom in a few spots.

Solution – gently grate off the burnt areas with a Microplane grater.

If you’re making custards like crème brûlée or pots de crème, you know they are cooked in a water bath to ensure slow and even cooking and the lush creamy texture.  The trick is safely getting the ramekins out of the scalding water without burning your fingers or messing up the surface of the custard with potholders.

Solution – slip rubber bands around the tips of your tongs.  The rubber bands insure a good grip for easy and safe removal.

Happy Holiday Baking!

Although it has taken me much longer than usual to get into the Christmas spirit this year, here is what finally motivated me to just “do it!”  It is an essay written by my daughter, Marissa, when she was in elementary school. It used to hang in my bedroom, but was taken down quite a while ago.  Luckily, I ran across it yesterday, just in time. I hope it warms your heart, it certainly did, mine!

A Christmas Kitchen

    At Christmas time my mom’s kitchen is gorgeous.  There are frequently pots, pans, plates, and food on the counters but it still looks pretty.

    When you first walk in you feel the warmth from the oven. You look up and see minature cloth people all bundled up on rolling pins or holding cookies.  The smell of cookies baking and beef roasting makes your mouth water.  You better be careful though because there is mistletoe at the entrance.  There is a little Christmas tree with glistening glass fruits and sparkling silver teapots hanging on it.  On the window sill, above the sink, you will see dozens of silver and copper cookie cutters.  You will hear pots banging and timers beeping.

    My mom’s kitchen is the best place in the house at Christmas. I love my mom’s kitchen at Christmas time and I bet you would too.

By Marissa Hopkins
December 1998
11 years old – 4th grade

Thank you for the inspiration, sweet girl.  It is exactly what I needed. Can’t wait to have you and your brother home with me for Christmas! xoxo

… your homemade vanilla extract.  That is, if you made it back on October 1st when I posted THIS.  Even if you were a few days or even 2 weeks behind me in getting yours in the bottle, don’t worry, go ahead and package it up today.

Here are the six little bottles I made. I used a small funnel to transfer the liquid into each container then folded each of the vanilla beans in half and stuck one into each container before closing. 

Next, I printed out and laminated little tags and tied them on with decorative ribbon. Six gifts down, dozens more to go!

Luckily, that was easy, because the really big project for the weekend is to get this house decorated.  Here is what I am up against!

This is Connor’s bedroom wall with the Star Wars mural. (Oh how my little boy loved Star Wars!) Behind that innocent wall, through that little opening on the left is a crawl space the entire length of the wall.  Here is a look inside.

Way back there in the back corner are 8 boxes of garland that I have yet to remove. To give you some idea of the size of the crawl space, I left a box of Christmas “on the rocks” glasses back there too… actually I just didn’t feel like crawling back in to get that one little box.  I mean we have at least 8 dozen Christmas “on the rocks” glasses,  so seriously, who’s going to miss one box of them?!?

The point is that yesterday – all by myself – I emptied that crawl space… and here is what came out of there, sans the garland boxes!

Can you believe it? This is what I have to look forward to, unpacking all of those bins and putting all that Christmas stuff up. 

And pulling down all my “everyday” decor and stuffing it into those bins and then shoving it all back into that crawl space…. Just to do it all in reverse order again in a mere three weeks! Christmas Eve is two weeks from today!!! How did I let this get away from me?

Yeah, I’m ranting and feeling sorry for myself, but tomorrow I will share with you what it is that has me motivated to get this done and then relish in the prettiness of it all. Be sure to come back and see, because it will warm your heart.

To be continued…

In the top photo, you are feasting your eyes upon Peggy’s scrumptious “Feliz Navidad” wreath. And below is my “Joyoux Noel” banner, not yet attached to a wreath.  I still need to get to Trader Joe’s to pick up my fresh wreath… I’ll get there…

Peggy and I are proud to be called copy-cats. We happily admit that we copied, not quite to the letter, the idea for our quick, rustic, and easy Christmas wreaths from our favorite decorating blog, Vignette Design. You can check out the sweet “Merry Christmas” wreath that decorator-extraordinaire, Delores made HERE.

At least I had the webbing on hand. I purchased it a couple months ago HERE. You can also find it on Amazon.

We purchased the stencils and the red ribbon that we used to tie the webbing onto the wreath at Hobby Lobby. If these photos are detailed enough instructions for making your own wreath. CLICK HERE to get Vignette Design’s step by step guide.

Happy Decorating!

Individual Warm Sticky Toffee Cakes

Toffee Sauce
1  1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1  1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup pure maple syrup

Ramekin Prep
Softened butter
Granulated sugar

Toffee Cakes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
Pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons packed dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
3/4 cup pitted and coarsely chopped dates
8-ounce container mascarpone, lightly whipped

Toffee Sauce: In a large heavy saucepan, combine the cream, butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup.  Bring to a boil over high heat, whisking frequently.  Once the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat.  Transfer mixture to a blender and blend until thickened and emulsified.   Makes about 4 cups

Ramekin Prep: Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Butter ten (3-ounce) ramekins with softened butter and dust with granulated sugar. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. And place prepared ramekins on the baking sheet.

Toffee Cakes: Whisk the baking soda into the boiling water.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.

In the bowl of a standing mixer beat the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and beat until fully incorporated. Over low speed, add half of the dry ingredients, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the remaining half; scraping again to make sure the batter is well mixed.

Over low speed, slowly stream the hot water into the batter.  Add the dates and continue mixing over low speed until the batter thickens.

Use a ladle to divide the batter between the prepared ramekins. Try to give each ramekin equal amount of dates and then go back and finish by filling about 2/3 full with the remaining batter.

Bake in the preheated oven until the cakes are a dark, caramel color, about 38 to 40 minutes.

Remove the ramekins and cool for 7 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the inside edge of each ramekin and then invert the cakes onto a rack that is set over the same foil lined baking sheet.

Pour the hot toffee sauce onto the cakes until they are saturated.  Then glaze the cakes a second time with the sauce that has pooled at the bottom of the foil lined baking sheet. Set the cakes aside for about 30 minutes to set up and cool.

To serve, place each cake into a small serving bowl, pour about 1/4 cup of the warm toffee sauce.  Serve with a generous dollop of whipped mascarpone.

The cakes can be made a few hours in advance, loosely covered with plastic wrap, and left at room temperature.

Serves 10  

According to the “source of all knowledge” – Wikipedia – “Crème fraîche originates from Normandy in France, where the crème fraîche from a defined area around the town of Isigny-sur-Mer in the Calvados department of Normandy is highly regarded, and is the only cream to have AOC (‘Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée’) status, which was awarded in 1986.”

Crème fraîche is a matured thickened cream with a slightly tangy, nutty flavor and a velvety rich texture, thicker and richer than sour cream. Crème fraîche is particularly useful in finishing sauces in French cooking because it does not curdle.

Although you can find it at Trader Joe’s and many other grocery stores today, that was not the case only a few short years ago. What’s a French loving person to do?  Make your own, of course! And I often still choose to do so.  It is easy and less expensive, and with the holidays on the doorstep, I am sure to be using plenty of it.  And what a wonderful hostess gift to give to a cook! I love the packaging in that top photo… I just may have to do this!  GO HERE to order the labels and HERE for the tags, if you would like.

Homemade Crème Fraîche

1 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
2 tablespoons buttermilk OR 1/2 cup *sour cream, room temperature

Combine the heavy cream and buttermilk (or sour cream) in a medium to large jar; tightly screw on the lid and shake well to combine.

Set aside at room temperature for 24 hours. Once thickened, refrigerate for at least 8 hours before using.  Will keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

Makes 1 cup

* Sour cream based crème fraîche is slightly less tangy than buttermilk based crème fraîche.