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Issue Date: Dec. 9, 2001
Holiday Tradition in under 2 hours
CHRISTMAS DINNER falls at the end of a progressively hectic month for me. Although tradition demands elegance at this special family meal, I also insist that our favorite English-style dinner of beef with Yorkshire pudding and trifle for dessert be easy to pull off.
Rather than make a big bowl of English trifle, I opt for individual "triflettes," which can be made as early as eight hours in advance. Instead of preparing a time-consuming homemade custard, I use a jar of lemon curd lightened with whipped cream and lemon zest.
For the main course, I choose beef tenderloin instead of a large, boxier cut such as a standing rib roast. The tenderloin, a long, sleek cut, cooks very quickly, in about 40 minutes. So that the meat develops a good crust, I first brown it on the stovetop -- which also gives this mild roast a bigger flavor.
While the roast browns on the stove, I make the batter for individual Yorkshire puddings (popovers). The trick is to use Wondra instant flour instead of all-purpose flour so the batter won't need to rest before baking. To save time (and because this technique produces crisper popovers), I set the batter-filled muffin tins in a cold oven and bake the Yorkshire puddings as the oven preheats for the tenderloin. Then I pop the roast in the oven and start on a first course (pears and blue cheese) and vegetable (Brussels sprouts with a bit of butter and Dijon mustard).
As the roast rests before carving, I turn on the sprouts and turn off the oven, returning the Yorkshire puddings to warm and recrisp. As we sit down for pears and cheese, I smile. Everyone is impressed. Better yet, someone else is cooking tomorrow!
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Perfect Roast Beef Tenderloin With Cracked Pepper Coating and Red Wine Sauce
I buy a whole beef tenderloin (6 or 7 pounds) at a food warehouse club. This cut is thick at one end and thin at the other, so I cut two or three steaks (filet mignons) from the thick end and 12 to 16 ounces off the thin end (for a stir-fry) and freeze for later meals. I'm left with a well-proportioned roast that cooks evenly. Trim off any excess fat. To keep the meat from bowing slightly, be sure to clip the silver skin with scissors before roasting and tie the beef with butcher's string.
4-pound beef tenderloin roast (see note above), tied with butcher's string every 1 1/2 inches
Vegetable oil
2 Tbs. coarsely ground pepper (grind quickly in blender or spice mill)
Salt
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup red wine
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves or heaping 1/4 tsp. dried leaves
1 1/2 tsps. cornstarch dissolved in
1 Tb. water
Set a heavy roasting pan over two burners; heat over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Rub roast with oil; sprinkle with pepper and a generous amount of salt. Sear until well-browned, about 21/4 minutes per side, for a total of 10 minutes. Mix broth, wine, mustard and thyme in a bowl. Remove roast from pan. Pour off fat (reserving it, if you wish, for Yorkshire Puddings; see recipe, below). Return pan to stove and add liquid, stirring to scrape up browned bits. Pour this pan sauce into a small saucepan and set aside.
Put wire rack in roasting pan and set beef on it. Once the Yorkshire Puddings have been removed from the 425-degree oven, put the beef in the oven and roast until a meat thermometer registers 130 degrees for medium-rare or 135 for medium, 40-45 minutes. Remove roast from oven and let rest for 15 minutes.
Bring pan sauce to a simmer; stir in dissolved cornstarch and cook until lightly thickened. Cut roast into slices 1/4-inch thick. Serve immediately with sauce and warm Yorkshire Puddings.
Serves: 8.
Per serving: 574 calories, 39g protein, 1g carbohydrates, 44g fat (17g saturated), 0g fiber, 121mg sodium.
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Yorkshire Puddings
1 1/2 cups instant ("quick-mixing") flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups skim milk
4 large eggs
2 Tbs. melted butter (or drippings from browning roast on stove)
Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Mix milk, eggs and butter or beef drippings in a 1-quart measuring cup. Beat egg mixture into flour mixture until smooth. Return batter to
measuring cup for easy pouring. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable cooking spray. Fill each cup three-fourths full. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position; set tin on rack. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Bake, without opening door, until popovers are crisp and golden, 35 minutes. Twist gently to loosen from pan, then cool. Return to turned-off but still warm oven
to recrisp while the roast is resting.
Serves: 8-12 (12 individual puddings).
Per pudding: 102 calories, 4g protein, 12g carbohydrates, 3g fat (1g saturated), 0g fiber, 250mg sodium.
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Lemon Raspberry "Triflettes"
1/4 cup cream sherry
1/4 cup raspberry-flavored liqueur, such as Chambord
24 1-by-3-inch ladyfingers (6 ounces total), split, OR 12 slices firm white sandwich bread, crusts removed, bread quartered into strips of about 1-by-31/4 inches
1 cup (11.25-ounce jar) lemon curd
1/4 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
2 cups heavy cream
12 ounces fresh raspberries
Brush both sides of ladyfingers with combined sherry and liqueur. Arrange around sides of 8 goblets. Whisk curd and zest until smooth. Beat cream to soft peaks. Gently stir 1 1/2 cups of whipped cream into curd. Drop 5 or 6 berries into each goblet, followed by 2 Tbs. of lemon mixture, and then 2 Tbs. of whipped cream. Repeat.
Top with remaining raspberries. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. (Can be made up to 8 hours in advance.)
Serves: 8.
Per serving: 499 calories, 7g protein, 55g carbohydrates, 27g fat (14g saturated), 2g fiber, 101mg sodium.
Photo by BRIAN LEATART for USA WEEKEND
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