Marinated Tri-Tip Roast with Maple Herb Sauce

1/4 cup chopped garlic

2 cups maple syrup

1/2 bunch rosemary, rough chop

1/2 bunch thyme, rough chop

1 cup salad oil

2 cups Apple Jack brandy

3 pounds of tri-tip (usually two 1 1/2-pound roasts)

Combine wet and dry ingredients in large marinade container. Clean tri-tip and slice into 1/2-pound cuts. Marinate cuts for at least 3 hours. Reserve marinade.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Sear tri-tip in sauté pan over high heat until nicely caramelized, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer tri-tip to roasting pan and finish in oven until desired temperature is reached (about 120° F. for rare, 120 to 130° F. for medium rare and 130 to 140° F. for well done).

During cooking process, glaze meat with reserved marinade every 15 minutes. Let tri-tip sit at least 15 minutes, then slice into 2- to 3-ounce portions and fan on serving platter.

For the sauce:

1 can brown gravy or brown stock

3/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup chopped rosemary

1/4 cup chopped thyme

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

Combine ingredients in sauce pot and simmer over medium heat until reduced by one half. Strain through a Chinois or a fine sieve. Drizzle sauce over meat.

Makes 4 servings.

Holiday Beef Rib-Eye Roast

2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried rosemary
4-lb. beef rib-eye roast
12 oz. brown gravy
1/4 cup currant jelly
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard

Heat oven to 350° F.

Combine crushed garlic, salt, cracked pepper and crushed rosemary. Press evenly onto well-trimmed roast. Place on rack in shallow roasting pan. Insert meat thermometer so bulb is centered in thickest part, not resting in fat. Do not add water or cover. Roast approximately 18 to 22 minutes per pound for medium-rare to medium doneness.

Remove roast when thermometer reads 140° F. for medium-rare, 155 ° F. Let stand 15 minutes. (Temperature will continue to rise to 145° F. for medium-rare, 160° F. for medium.)

Meanwhile, in small saucepan, combine sauce ingredients: brown gravy (commercially prepared or homemade), jelly and dry mustard dissolved in 1 teaspoon water. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until bubbly, stirring occasionally. Carve roast into slices. Serve with sauce.

Serves 10.

Roasted Tenderloin of Beef with Tarragon

1 small beef tenderloin roast, 3-4 pounds, at room temperature, tied

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, cut in half

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

4 sprigs fresh tarragon or rosemary

Heat oven to 450° F. Coat meat with oil; rub all over with cut side of garlic. Season with salt and peppers. Place 2 sprigs of tarragon in shallow roasting pan. Place roast on top. Strip leaves from remaining sprigs; sprinkle over roast.

Roast until the internal temperature reaches 130° F. for medium rare, about 25 -30 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing.

Serves 6 - 8.

Nutrition information per serving:

335 calories, 52% calories from fat, 19 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 115 mg cholesterol, 470 mg sodium, 0.4 g carbohydrate, 38 g protein, 0 g fiber

Filet Mignon with Mushrooms Recipe 

3/4 lb. firm, fresh mushrooms
3 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. flour
Salt and pepper
1 cup heavy cream, heated
6 (6 oz.) Filet Mignons
6 slices French bread
6 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup Scotch

Slice mushrooms and sauté in 3 Tbsp. butter. Add flour and salt and pepper to taste. Blend well. Stir in warm cream. Keep well-heated, in a separate skillet, while you sauté the filets in hot butter for 2 1/2 minutes per side for rare; 3 - 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Sauté bread slices in 6 Tbsp. butter, turning often to prevent butter from being absorbed.

Arrange bread slices in a ring on a well-heated platter. Top with the filets and arrange the mushroom sauce in the center. Stir the Scotch into pan juices, boil up for a minute or two and spoon sauce over the meat. Additional sauce can be passed separately.

Serves 6.

Lobster Stuffed Tenderloin with Béarnaise Sauce Recipe

For the tenderloin:

1 5-pound tenderloin of beef

4 8-ounce Maine lobster tails

1 pound sorrel (spinach can be substituted)

4 egg whites

Remove the lobster from the shell. Place two tails together with tails going in different directions. Tails should form the shape of a cylinder. Wrap the lobster tails with plastic wrap and place a skewer through center of both tails so they’ll retain their shape. Steam lobster tails until fully cooked, about 8 minutes.

Clean the tenderloin and remove head and square ends. Butterfly it by making a cut down the tenderloin without cutting all the way through. You should be able to roll the meat into one flat, square piece of meat. Pound meat to even thickness.

Blanch the sorrel for 10 seconds in hot water, shock immediately in ice water and remove and dry.

Whip the egg whites to a light froth.

Season the meat with salt and pepper. Paint the meat with some of the egg whites. Place a layer of sorrel evenly across the entire piece of meat. Paint the sorrel with the remaining egg whites and place lobster across bottom side of the meat. Roll the lobster into the center of the tenderloin. Roll as tightly as possible without tearing the beef. Truss the tenderloin with butcher twine. Sear in a skillet to seal in juices.

Place meat on roasting pan and roast in 375° F. oven until inserted meat thermometer reads 120° F., about 30 minutes. Let stand for at least 15 minutes. Slice and serve with béarnaise sauce.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

For the sauce:

1/4 cup fresh tarragon, chopped

2 shallots, minced

1/4 cup champagne vinegar

1/4 cup dry white wine

3 egg yolks

1 stick butter, melted

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a small saucepan, combine the tarragon, shallots, vinegar and wine over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half. Remove from heat and set aside. In a double boiler, whisk the egg yolks until doubled in volume. Slowly add the melted butter and continue beating until sauce is thickened. Stir in reserved shallot reduction. Season with salt and pepper and set aside wrapped in a warm spot.

Makes 1 cup.

Standing Rib Roast

1 (7- to 8-pound) standing rib roast

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Two hours before roasting, remove the meat from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 500° F. Place the oven rack on the second-lowest position.

Place the roast in a pan large enough to hold it comfortably, bones side down, and generously coat the top with salt and pepper. Roast the meat for 45 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325° F. and roast for another 30 minutes. Increase the temperature to 450° F. and roast for another 15 to 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meat is 125° F. (be sure the thermometer is exactly in the center of the roast).

Remove roast from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and allow the meat to rest for 20 minutes. Carve and serve with sauce.

Serves 8.

Adapted from "Barefoot Contessa Family Style" by Ina Garten

Prime Rib

2 bulbs garlic, cloves peeled
1 tsp. salt optional
6-1/2 lbs. standing prime rib roast, fat trimmed in one strip and reserved
12 bay leaves
2 cups red wine
kitchen string

Preheat oven to 450° F.

Purée garlic in a blender or food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add salt to garlic and process to a paste. Pat garlic paste in an even layer over top and sides of roast. Place bay leaves evenly over garlic. Place trimmed strip of fat over garlic and bay leaves. Tie in place with kitchen string. Sprinkle roast all over with salt and pepper to taste.

Place in a roasting pan and pour red wine in bottom of pan. Roast 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° F. Roast about 18 minutes per pound for rare or 22 minutes per pound for medium done. Let stand 5 minutes before carving.

Serves 8.

Pepper Seared Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Cream Sauce

4 (6-ounce) beef tenderloin fillets
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon cracked pepper
1/2 cup butter or margarine, divided
2 teaspoons flour
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
2/3 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Sprinkle fillets evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt; press cracked pepper into all sides of fillets.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat; add beef, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until beef is desired degree of doneness.

Melt remaining 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and ground pepper until blended; cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Add cream, and cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute or until thickened and bubbly. Stir in horseradish and mustard. Drizzle over fillets.

Serves 4.

Roasted Beef Tenderloin With Smoky Tomato-Chile Salsa

5 Roma tomatoes, cored

2 canned chipotle (smoked jalapeño) chiles

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup minced garlic

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt, plus additional as needed

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus additional as needed

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds

2 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin, trimmed

To prepare the Tomato-Chile Salsa: Over a hot grill, on a grill pan or under the broiler, roast the tomatoes until blackened, turning them frequently as their skin blisters, about 15 minutes.

Transfer to a nonreactive mixing bowl and add the chipotle chiles.

Cover and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Add the lime juice, basil and garlic and marinate for 10 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and pulse until chunky. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the vinegar, sugar, 2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper.

Whisking continuously, slowly pour in 1 cup of the olive oil.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving time.

Put the coriander seeds in a small, dry saucepan. Over medium heat, toast the seeds, stirring them continuously, just until they are fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Immediately transfer the seeds to a small bowl to cool. Then crush them with a mortar and pestle or in a spice mill. Season the beef all over with the coriander and with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

In an ovenproof sauté pan over high heat, heat the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil until it is almost smoking. Add the beef and sear it until browned all over, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until medium-rare, 130° F. on a meat thermometer inserted into its thickest part, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, cover with foil and let the meat rest for 10 minutes.

Then, with a sharp knife, cut it across the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices and place the slices overlapping on heated serving plates.

Serve immediately, spooning the salsa alongside the meat or passing it separately.

Serves 4 - 6.

Stuffed Roll-Ups

3 (thin cut) round steaks - about 1-1/2 pounds total
2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons course ground pepper
2 tablespoons dehydrated onion
5 slices bacon (cooked and crumbled)
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
5 tablespoons ketchup
1-1/2 cups canned beef broth
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons parsley

Beat steaks very thin with mallet. Grind pepper on each steak. Sprinkle with salt.
In bowl, mix breadcrumbs, onion, bacon, and ketchup. Add parsley. Spread about 4-5 tablespoons mixture all over top of steaks.

Roll each steak starting with the small end. Tie each steak in two places with cooking string. This will prevent them unrolling.

Place steaks seam-side down in a casserole that is sprayed with Pam. Pour the beef broth over steaks. Place in oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Be sure to cover.

In small dish mix flour and water together so that it is like a paste. Remove cover from casserole and add flour mixture to liquid in casserole, mixing well. Dot steaks with butter. Correct seasoning. Leave lid off casserole and return to oven for 10 minutes. Serve hot; pour sauce over top.