Elegant Meal: Beef Tenderloin with Parsnip and Mushroom Ragout

This particular post is rather late, considering that the elegant dinner from when this menu was served was last weekend.  Oh well, better late than never, right?  Although, that could be said a lot since I have about 2 or 3 posts in the waiting.  I can't just dump them all at once, though.  Not only would that be so tiring that by the last post I would be exhausted of any creative writing talent, which would result in a very curt and boring post, but I have to keep my readers wanting more, right?  Also, it would end up in a "tl;dr" (too long; didn't read) situation with you all and I don't want that to happen.

Anyway, Marshall and I decided to have a few of our friends over for dinner.  There were a few weeks in a row where we were hanging out at each other's house and we left one night saying that it was our turn.  We found a date and I already had a menu in mind:

Beef Tenderloin w/ Parsnip and Mushroom Ragout
Brown and Wild Rice Walnut Pilaf
Green Beans, tossed with Walnut Oil
Jam Tart

The first three items came from the "Winter" menu from a cookbook I received from my godfather's sister for my bridal shower:  Wine, Food, and Friends, by Karen MacNeil (author of The Wine Bible).  It's a great book and contains a lot of really inventive recipes and menus for all times of the year.  She also includes a wine pairing and nutritional information for each dish (all the recipes are from Cooking Light magazine).  Unfortunately when I first cracked this book open, it was in the dead of winter when nothing is in season (even in California) and we were past the holidays, so a huge holiday meal wouldn't be ideal for just Marshall and I.  The dessert for last Saturday's meal came from Smitten Kitchen, which I have mentioned here before (seriously, that girl cooks up a ton of GREAT things).  I thought altogether that this menu would be perfect for a cool April evening and it was.  Everyone was very impressed with the spread and were all extremely happy with the meal.


This was the first time where the meal I cooked all cooked at the same time.  We had a couple of friends over March for Coq au Vin, but that menu was all practically done in advance, which made it super easy.  I tried to plan so that everyone would come over and I wouldn't have to spend all my time talking from the kitchen.  I couldn't really avoid that, so I did the best I could.  In a rare move, I delegated a side dish for Marshall to cook.  He is a very willing helper in the kitchen, but I'm too much of a control-freak and end up taking care of everything.  I had him make the rice pilaf, which was simply delicious.  So much flavor and texture - it really added depth to the rest of the meal.  The tenderloin was easy to prepare and cook, but I still managed to overcook it a little more than I would have preferred (I'm a medium-rare kind of girl).  The beef was seasoned simply would salt and pepper, leaving room for the flavors of the ragout to shine through, as well as the au jus.  The ragout was flavorful, although I accidentally ended up overcooking the parsnips.  They were a little softer than they should've been, but they were still tasty and a great pair with the mushrooms.  Overall, I was really happy with how everything came out and even happier that everyone around the table enjoyed the meal, as well.

The big surprise of the meal, in my opinion, was the Jam Tart.  Oh man, that thing was delicious.  We decided on a wild-fruit jam, which included strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries "all picked from the wood" (taken verbatim from the jar label).  The deep flavor of the jam paired beautifully with the corn meal crust, which was more like a cookie crust, than a pie crust.  I was a little frustrated with the fact that I didn't reserve the right amount of dough for the top of the tart, but once I bit into the first bite, I honestly didn't care.  We were really happy having everyone over and we both agree that we need to have people over more often.  Here's to more entertaining!  :)

A huge thanks to Nicole for her photos.  I could've never gotten these ingredients and platters to look this beautiful myself.  Check out her photo blog (and website) for more totally awesome photos!

(recipes after the jump!)







Beef Tenderloin with Parsnip-Mushroom Ragout
Serves 8-12

RAGOUT:
1-1/2 Cups Boiling Water
2 Cups Dried Porcini Mushrooms (about 2 ounces)
2 tsp. Butter
1/2 Cup Shallots, chopped
3 Tbs. Garlic, minced
1 tsp. Fresh Thyme, minced (OR 1/4 tsp. Dried Thyme)
3 Cups Parsnips, coarsely chopped (about 1 pound)
12 Cups Button Mushrooms, quartered (about 1-1/2 pounds)
1/2 Cup Port Wine
2 Tbs. Fresh Parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper

BEEF:
1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 Beef Tenderloin, trimmed and cut in half cross-wise (about 3 pounds)

SAUCE:
1 tsp Butter
1/3 Cup Carrot, 2-inch pieces julienne
1/3 Cup Shallots, vertically sliced
1/4 Cup Port Wine
1 (14 oucnce can) Low-Sodium Beef Broth
1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1.  To prepare ragout, pour boiling water over porcini mushrooms, let stand for 20 minutes.  Strain through a sieve into a bowl, reserving liquid.  Finely chop porcini; divide in half.
2.  Melt 2 tsp. butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add shallots, garlic, and thyme; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.  Add parsnips, cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add button mushrooms; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add half of porcini and Port Wine; bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce head, and cook 15 minutes or until parsnips are tender.  Stir in parsley, salt, and pepper.  Set aside; keep warm.
3.  Preheat oven to 450F.
4.  To prepare beef, rub salt and pepper over tenderloin. Drizzle with olive oil and rub into meat.  Heat a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat.  Add tenderloin; cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides as best you can.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until a thermometer reads 140F (medium-rare) or other desired degree of done-ness.  Place tenderloin on a large cutting board and loosely cover with foil; rest for 10 minutes.  The temperature of the meat will rise another 5F during resting.
5.  To prepare sauce, melt 1 tsp. of butter in a pan over medium-high heat.  Add carrot and shallots; sauté for 3 minutes.  Add reserved porcini liquid, remaining chopped porcini, Port Wine, and broth; bring to a boil.  Cook until reduced to 1-1/2 Cups (about 10 minutes).  Stir in salt and pepper.
6.  Slice the meal into thin pieces and serve with ragout and sauce.

Wild Rice and Walnut Pilaf
1 Tbs. Butter
3/4 Cup Yellow Onion, finely chopped
4-1/2 Cup Water
2-1/4 Cup long-grain brown rice and wild rice mix (we used Lundberg's)
1/3 Cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
3 Tbs. Chives, chopped
3 Tbs. Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Tbs. Olive Oil
1/3 Cup Walnuts, toasted and chopped

1.  Melt butter into a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add rice and cook until fragrant.
2.  Stir in water and 3/4 tsp. of salt; bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 40-45 minutes, until liquid is absorbed.
3.  Remove from heat; stir in 1/4 tsp. salt, parsley, chives, lemon juice and olive oil.  Sprinkle atop with walnuts.

Steamed Green Beans
2 Pounds Green Beans, stemmed
1 Tbs. Walnut Oil
1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1.  Steam green beans, covered, roughly 5 minutes or until fork-tender.
2.  Drain and return to pan.  Add oil, salt, and pepper; toss to coat.  Serve immediately.

bon appetit!