Elegant Holiday: Pancetta-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin

ELEGANT HOLIDAY DINNER:

PANCETTA-WRAPPED BEEF TENDERLOIN

with HORSERADISH CREAM

1 (5-6lb) beef tenderloin [this is a $100 slab of meat, so I used ribeye steaks instead]
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp coarsely ground pepper
3 Tblsp olive oil, divided
14 very thin pancetta slices
3 garlic cloves
2 Tblsp chopped fresh rosemary
Whipped Horseradish Cream 

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Sprinkle tenderloin [or steaks] with salt and pepper. Cook in 2 tablespoons hot oil in a skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes on each side or until browned. Let cool 5 minutes. 
• Meanwhile, arrange pancetta slices in 2 rows on a large piece of wax paper, overlapping to form a rectangle. Sprinkle garlic and rosemary over tenderloin. Place tenderloin on edge of 1 long side of pancetta. Tightly roll up tenderloin with pancetta, using wax paper as a guide. Discard wax paper. Tie tenderloin with kitchen string, securing at 1-inch intervals. Transfer to an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet, and brush with remaining 1 Tblsp oil. [Since I used steaks, I seared each side in the oil, then laid on baking sheet, sprinkled with garlic and rosemary, placed 2 slices of pancetta on top of each one and stuck them in the oven that way]
• Bake at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes or until pancetta is crispy and meat thermometer instered into center of tenderloin registers 120 degrees F (rare). Let stand 10 minutes. Discard kitchen string before slicing. Serve with Horseradish Cream.

WHIPPED HORSERADISH CREAM

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup horseradish

2 Tblsp chopped fresh parsley

1/4 tsp salt

• Beat whipping cream at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer 1 minutes or until soft peaks form. 
• Fold in remaining ingredients. 
• Serve immediately, or cover and chill up to 8 hours.

"An Elegant Holiday Dinner"

from Southern Living's 

"Cooking for Christmas"
Cherry-Pecan Brie
Tossed Greens-and-Grapes Salad
Easy Asiago-Olive Rolls
Pancetta-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin with Whipped Horseradish Cream
Crispy Potatoes with Fennel
Lemon-Garlic Green Beans
Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

For the Introduction to this series of recipes, click HERE

GP: Blueberry Buckle w/ Cinnamon Bourbon Glaze

Guilty Pleasures has done it again....[this has to be my favorite so far....]

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE with

CINNAMON BOURBON GLAZE

FIRST LAYER:
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten [I used egg replacer and it worked just fine!]
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 pints blueberries

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 9x11-in pan.
• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in egg. 
• Sift flour with baking soda. Stir dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk into cream mixture. 
• Spread mixture in prepared dish. Cover with berries.

SECOND LAYER
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger

• Combine all ingredients [use a food processor] until crumbly. Crumble over berries.
• Bake 1 hour until brown.

CINNAMON BOURBON GLAZE
1/2 cup butter
2/4 cup sugar
2 eggs [again, I used egg replacer and it worked the same!]
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tblsp very hot water
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup bourbon

• Melt butter over simmering heat in a double boiler. Beat sugar, eggs, and cinnamon in bowl, then add to butter; add water, stirring until mixture coats back of spoon (7 minutes). 
• Remove from heat; cool to room temperature. 
• Beat in whipping cream and bourbon. 

Serve squares of Blueberry Buckle topped with warm Cinnamon Bourbon Sauce. Serves 10-12.

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Pomegranate Panna Cotta

This panna cotta was absolutely amazing and it really surprised me! The recipe calls for POM pomegranate juice, but I couldn't find it, so I used a different brand. The juice was a brownish color compared to the POM brand, so I added a few drops of red food coloring to make it look a bit better. I also think adding a few dollops  of whipped cream on the top would make this delectable.

POMEGRANATE PANNA COTTA

3 tblsp plus 2 cups pomegranate juice
2 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 cup sugar
peel from 1 orange, removed in strips with vegetable peeler
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup whipping cream
1-1/2 cups buttermilk

Spray ramekins or whichever cup/container you will use for the panna cotta.

Place 3 tablespoons pomegranate juice in small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over; let stand 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 cups pomegranate juice, sugar, and peel in large saucepan over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil until syrup is reduced to 1-1/4 cups, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Remove peel from pan; transfer 1/3 cup syrup to small bowl and reserve for sauce. Add gelatin mixture to remaining hot syrup in pan, and stir until dissolved. Add orange juice and whipping cream, then buttermilk. Chill until set, at least 4 hours or overnight. Cover and chill sauce separately.

Run knife around edge or ramekins; invert onto plates. Drizzle with sauce and serve.

~I left the sauce off, it was sweet and rich enough without it. And don't forget the dollop of whipped cream!

Don't waste the orange peel--its makes for an attractive garnish!

  

FBF #2: Nanny's Banana Pudding

FLASH BACK FRIDAY LINKZ is below the Banana Pudding recipe!

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This recipe has been in our family for generations. Its my brother's all time favorite thing! My Nanny (grandmother) has been making this for like.....FOREVER. =) And its taken many years to actually get it down to perfection. Now when I visit, she asks me to make it. So I'm going to share it now.

NANNY'S BANANA PUDDING

1 box Nilla wafers
6 bananas, cut into slices
1 large box of [jell-o] instant Vanilla pudding
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, room temp
3 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk the heavy cream with sugar and vanilla to make "home-made" whipped cream. Or use a pre-made tub of whipped cream--but it tastes a lot better with the homemade stuff!

In a large bowl (I use my stand mixer) pour in sweetened condensed milk and add cream cheese. Beat until its all smooth (no lumps). Add in pudding and milk and mix until well blended. Then fold in half of the whipped cream BY HAND.

In a truffle bowl, put a layer of Nilla wafers on bottom. I like making a "neat" layer of the wafers, then crumble up a bunch to fill in all the gaps. Then top with half of the sliced up bananas. Pour half of the pudding mix. Put in the fridge just for a few minutes to firm it up. Then do the layering all over again. After pouring in the last of pudding mix, top with the rest of the whipped cream. Line the edges with more Nilla wafers and crumbles on top as well. Refrigerate for a few hours. [Its best to sit overnight, in my opinion]

The key is the sweetened condensed milk. You can get the low-fat and same with the cookies and cream cheese. That little difference doesn't change any of the over-all flavor. But I say: just go all out! =D

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FLASH BACK LINKY is up again! Please welcome my co-host Micha from Cookin' Mimi

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