You must make this amazing dish this Holiday Season!
It is delish.
From The Christmas Kitchen by Tammy Maltby with Anne Christian Buchanan.
There’s no law that says Christmas dinner has to be turkey! This is a truly special-occasion dish, a wonderful alternative for Christmas dinner or a Holiday party. I love to serve this meat with old-fashioned buttermilk mashed potatoes, broccoli with a squeeze of lemon or lemon-butter, and baby carrots flavored with cardamom . . . and don’t forget the chocolate cake!
1 whole filet of beef (4 to 5 pounds)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbsp. each kosher or sea salt and coarsely ground pepper (I like to use Pensey's Four Peppercorn Blend adds festive color and flavor to any dish where one would use fresh ground pepper...and I usually double the pepper! They have a whole line of great pepper and pepper mixes).
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
4 cups heavy cream
½ pound Cambozola cheese, chopped (this is a wonderful mixture of brie and blue cheese; I buy it at Whole Foods but if you can’t find it, use 3–4 ounces brie or blue cheese)
3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
3 Tbsp. minced parsley
Preheat oven to 500º. Pat the filet dry with paper towels and place on a baking sheet. With your hands, spread the butter all over the filet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Rub into the meat. Roast for 22 minutes for rare, or 25 for medium-rare. (This cut is so tender that it shouldn’t be cooked beyond a medium-rare stage.) Remove beef from the oven and cover tightly with foil. Let meat rest for 20 minutes, then slice thickly.
To make the sauce, soak the sun-dried tomatoes in hot water for 15 minutes, dry as well as possible with paper towels, then chop. Bring the cream to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil rapidly for 45–50 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and add the cheeses, salt, pepper, and parsley. Whisk rapidly until cheeses melt. Fold in tomatoes and serve sauce with beef.
Simple Idea
If you prefer turkey to beef for Christmas and you’re cooking for a crowd, I suggest buying two birds—a big one and a little one. Roast the larger bird well ahead of time (I actually buy it when on sale at Thanksgiving), carve the meat, and freeze in double freezer bags to prevent freezer burn—I like to add a little broth to the bags to keep the slices moist. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat in a covered pan. Then roast the smaller bird for a beautiful presentation at the table.
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