Grilled Beef Tenderloin Steaks With Asparagus & Risotto Cakes, Smothered In Gorgonzola Sauce

I've been anxious to try out a new recipe for Gorgonzola sauce and at first, I wanted to serve it over chicken. But, a friend suggested that I try it with steak and boy was she right. Mr. Snooty and I do love our sauces and this has become our new favorite. I swear if I thought I could get Mr. Snoots to lick it off, I'd cover my body in it. Yes, we *old farts* do have our fun now and then. However, that's another story, for another day.



I make my Risotto cakes either the day before or earlier in the day, then refrigerate, uncooked. This makes for a much less chaotic time making dinner. I'm all for no chaos, aren't you?



You can go ahead and rub the steaks with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and put in fridge. If you cook on an outside grill, go ahead and get the coals started in your chimney so that the coals will be ready in approximately 45 minutes. If you haven't heard of a chimney, you need to go in search of one. We've been using the same one for more than 10 years and it totally eliminates the need for starter fluid. I know Academy Sports sells them at a low price.


During this time, I heat up the oil for the Risotto cakes, cook them, and keep them in a warm oven until dinner.


Next, I prepare the asparagus spears, place them in a steamer inside a pan of water and set aside. The sauce doesn't take long to make, perhaps 10 to 15 minutes. When it's ready, I cover the pan and keep the heat as low as it goes, stirring when I have a chance.




By now the fire is ready so it's time for the steaks to go on. This is the time I start steaming the asparagus, letting it steam after turning the heat off, for about 7 minutes total. We like it to still be a bit crisp.


Steaks should be done about the same time as the asparagus.


Gorgonzola Sauce:

Ingredients:


3 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of flour

3 cups of 1% milk (yes, it works just fine)

1/2 cup of Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

salt, to taste

 pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons of fresh parsley, minced


Directions:


1. Melt butter in a saucepan over a medium high heat.

2. Stir in flour and milk with a whisk and heat until it begins to thicken.

3. Stir in cheese, cook until it is melted and reaches the desired consistency.

 4. Stir in salt, pepper and parsley until blended.

5. Serve drizzled over the entire plate.

Hearty Homemade Beef Bourguignonne Beef Stew

One of the best things about winter is having wonderful homemade soups and stews to warm you when it's cold outside. So, it just makes sense to start with a hearty beef stew. I learned this recipe at my grandmother's hip, although I've made a few changes to the recipe over the years. Let's get to it, shall we? 




INGREDIENTS:


1 Lb. stewing meat, chopped into bites sizes


1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 large baking potatoes, chopped

15 to 20 baby carrots, sliced

3 to 4 celery ribs, sliced thin

4 to 5 cloves of garlic, crushed

1/2 cup of fresh parsley, finely chopped

1/2 cup of green bell pepper, chopped

2 cups green beans, chopped

1 - 12 oz. can of tomato sauce

2 - 12 oz. cans of diced tomatoes

1 carton of beef broth

3 to 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet

1 large or 2 small dried bay leaves

salt and pepper, to taste

Olive Oil

1 to 1-1/2 cup of Red Wine




DIRECTIONS:


1. Place flour, salt and pepper in brown paper or plastic bag, adding meat and shaking, in batches, until all meat is coated.


2. Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of a dutch oven, over a medium heat.

 

3. Begin adding the meat and browning, adding the onions next. Cook until meat is lightly browned and onions aren't quite transparent.



4. Add the entire carton of beef broth, allowing the mix to boil, then turning heat down to a simmer.



5. Next, add the diced tomatoes and the tomato sauce, stirring.


6. Add the Kitchen Bouquet, the bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste, and allow to return to simmer. Let this mixture simmer for one hour.


7. Add the remaining vegetables to the stew and let simmer for an additional two hours. 8. Approximately ten minutes before serving add the cup of red wine and stir.

Perfect Beef Tenderloin... Every Time

When my mother-in-law was still alive we always went to holidays at their house and she was a superb cook. Unfortunately, she never shared her secrets with me, then we lost her to cancer before I was ever able to get the chance to get them out of her.


Since then, I've never had much success at the whole traditional turkey and trimmings thing. I can smoke a mean turkey and I can deep fry a whole turkey, both to perfection. However, neither of our children likes turkey that much, so we started a new tradition of having beef tenderloin in place of turkey, for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. It has made holidays much easier with less stress, which I love.



This is my family's favorite thing to eat ever and it is the easiest recipe ever. We call it the "30-30-30 Method".  


The beauty of this recipe is that once you learn it, you'll never forget it and it never matters how large or small the tender is. Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. I dare you to challenge me on this. Truly.


Ingredients:

1 Beef Tenderloin (you can have the butcher trim it up for you if it isn't already)

1 Bottle of Pickapeppa Sauce (I usually use about 1/2 of the bottle on a good sized tender)

Garlic Powder

Black Peppercorns, freshly ground

1 Sheet of Aluminum Foil 


Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 
2. Spread a sheet of aluminum foil over a cookie sheet and spray with Pam or other cooking spray.

3. Flop the uncooked tenderloin onto the foil and cover in Pickapeppa Sauce.

4. Next, sprinkle garlic powder and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

5. Place the tenderloin in preheated oven and close the door. Set the timer for 30 minutes exactly. DO NOT OPEN OVEN FOR ANY REASON.

6. When the first 30 minutes is up, DO NOT OPEN DOOR. Turn off the oven for an additional 30 minutes.

7. When the second 30 minutes is up, you then remove the tender from the oven and place it in an area where it won't be in a draft for yet another 30 minutes, allowing the beef to *coast*.

8. When the third 30 minutes is up, you can slice and serve. You will have medium well done on the ends, slowly going to medium rare in the middle.

9. You can adjust time for more or less done, I suppose. But, this is perfect for a wide spectrum of tastes, trust me. Tried and true.