Dish number ONE.....DONE!!!!

Ok everyone, So I finally made my first dish out of Eric Ripert's book "A Return to Cooking" remember as I said, I was going to play a little bit with the ingredients so that everyone can enjoy the recipes, and I was going to adjust the Recipes so that it makes enough for TWO people not the normal four or six. I actually did two recipes, The first was a Cabbage and Apple Salad. Lets take a look at it

Cabbage & Apple Salad:
                1/2 Cup Shredded Purple Cabbage
                1/2 Cup Shredded Green Cabbage
                1 Golden Delicious Apple, cut into thin slices
                1/8 Cup Canola Oil
                1/8 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
               Salt and Pepper to taste
Prep: 15 Minutes, Plus at least 1 hour chilling time

In a Large bowl, combine cabbages and apples. in a small bowl whisk the oil and vinegar together, season to taste. combine with cabbage and apples and toss to mix, let marinate in the fridge for at least an hour


Now for the Main dish:
 The original recipe was: Venison Loin with Parsnip-Celeriac Puree and Cranberries. I CHANGED it to: Beef Tenderloin with Potato-Cauliflower Puree and Black Cherries. I made these changes because Venison is really hard to find for some people. I went with the Potato-Cauliflower puree because the Celeriac can also be difficult to find, and I went with the Black Cherries because Cranberries can be hard to find fresh this time of year. However the changes that I did make still made a tasty dish.

Beef Tenderloin with Potato-Cauliflower Puree and Black Cherries:
    The Sauce:
                2 pounds Beef Bones
                1 Bottle dry Red Wine
                1 Celery Stalk, Roughly Chopped
                1 Carrot, Roughly Chopped
                1 Medium Onion, Roughly Chopped
                2 Bay Leafs
                3 Cups Chicken Stock
                2 Teaspoons All-purpose Flour
                2 ounces Butter
    The Puree:
                1 Large Russet Potato
                1/2 Head of Cauliflower, cut into florets
                Salt to taste
                3 Tablespoons Butter, Softened
                1/4 cup Heavy Cream
    The Cherries:
                1/2 Cup fresh Black Cherries
                1/4 Water
                1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
                Salt and Pepper to taste
    The Beef Tenderloin
                 1 Pound Beef Tenderloin
                Salt and Pepper to taste
                2 Bay leafs
                1 Tablespoon Canola Oil

Prep: 25 Minutes, Cook: 2 hours and 10 minuets to rest the meat

For the Sauce: Pre-heat oven to 400, Place bones in a roasting pan and place the bones in the oven for 15 minutes, after 15 minutes take the bones out of the oven and add the Onions, Celery, and Carrots to the Bones and place back into the oven for 45m-1hr, or until they are well roasted.
             

After the Bones and veggies have roasted, remove from oven and place on a burner on medium heat. Deglaze the roasting pan with the bottle of wine. Once deglazed strain, and ad to a small sauce pan. Add the Chicken stock and simmer for 30 mins until reduced by half. Add the flour and whisk until incorporated. Set aside until needed.

For the Puree: Peal the Potato and roughly chop. Place in a pot and cover with cold water, Bring to a boil. Cook until the Potatoes are soft, about 25 Minutes. Drain and reserve the liquid. use a ricer, or food mil to puree the potatoes......you can mash them by hand, but you won't get a super smooth puree. Add the Cauliflower to the pot and bring to a boil, cook until the cauliflower is soft, about 15 mins. Puree the Cauliflower with the ricer, food mill OR in a blender until smooth,  combine the Cauliflower with the Potato Puree and season to taste with salt and pepper. set aside.

For the Cherries: Place in saucepan, add the water and maple syrup and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until the cherries burst open, about 5 minutes, season with Salt and Pepper, set aside.

For the Beef: Season the Tenderloin with Salt and Pepper. Heat a large Saute Pan over med-high heat and add the oil and bay leafs. Add the Tenderloin and sear on all sides and place in 350 oven until the center of the loin reaches 120, about 20-25 mins. Remove and let REST for at least 5-10 Minutes.

While the meat is resting bring the sauce to a boil and add the butter, whisk until fully incorporated. Gently reheat the Puree, stir in butter and heavy cream. Gently reheat the Cherries.

To serve: Slice the Tenderloin into 1 inch slices.....you should get 6 slices...three for each plate. Spoon the Puree in the middle of the plate lay 3 slices of Beef over the Puree. Spoon the Cherries over the Beef and spoon the sauce around, serve immediately. ENJOY

I almost didn't add the Cherries to the final plate, however i am glad that I did because it add a nice touch of sweetness to the final plate. I choose the Cabbage and Apple salad because the Beef tenderloin seemed like it needed some acid and I was right. Starting with the salad then going to the Beef then back to the Salad was a great balance.