My First Beef Tenderloin

Oh. My. Gosh. After mentioning to a cooking friend that I had never attempted beef tenderloin, she emailed me her recipe. I tweaked it just a bit and have to say this is so moist and tasty you will want to make it more often than is affordable. It's not as expensive as prime rib, but it is right up there. I made this for our anniversary last week.

Serves 4-6 depending on portions.

A day ahead, kosher salt and pepper both sides of 3 lbs beef tenderloin and marinade in a ziplock bag with lite soy sauce

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
Fresh thyme sprigs
3 TBSP unsalted butter
3 shallots, thinly sliced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups merlot wine
2 TBSP red wine vinegar
4 cups low sodium beef broth

DIRECTIONS:
Let beef sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Heat oven to 250. Re-salt and pepper both sides, lay meat on top of fresh thyme in roast pan (let marinate liquid sit in bottom of pan), cover top with more thyme sprigs. Bake for one hour and check meat temperture. Using instant read thermometer, place in thickest part of meat. Continue to bake until temp rea
ds 130 for medium rare, approximately 30 more minutes.

RED WINE SAUCE:
Melt 3 TBSP butter in large skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in garlic and shallots until translucent, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Heat turned to high, add the wine and vinegar and boil til syrupy consistency, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add broth and heat another 20 minutes. (My friend's recipe called for the sauce to be strained, we didn't do that. It also called for more thyme to go in the sauce. We didn't do that, either.)

We sliced this thin and served it with garlic mashed potatoes, lemony green beens and red-tip lettuce with a vinegrette. I am salivating as I write this.

One of Spot's new fav's! 4 paws for sure.

Danny's Favorite Meal: Bacon Bourbon Chicken Wings

It's been so long since I've cooked something new because I am still full from Easter! Last week while watching The Chew, a daytime foodie show I record, I saw a really cool wings recipe. Even though I am highly allergic to bacon (and all pig food), our son's fav food group is "bacon" and I thought it would be fun to make something that he really digs. He had to help me because I can't even come in contact with bacon, but I did the sauce, adjusting the recipe to what we had. My hubby had to go buy some Bourbon, came home with Whiskey Bourbon. Don't know if there is a difference, but when we make this again, that's what we will use.

What a hit! Our son kept thanking me over and over after his first bites. My hubby keeps growling like a happy bear. This is a keeper - even if I can't eat it! "How can this get much better!?! Bacon and wings!!!" - Daniel

INGREDIENTS
24 chicken wings
Vegetable oil and a deep fat fryer
12 slices of thick bacon, cut in half (get 2 short fat pieces)
toothpicks

WINGS PART I:
Cook wings in batches til golden brown (but not fully cooked) at 370 degrees. Depending on your deep fat fryer, this will take up to 11 minutes a batch. (Our fryer does not hold heat well) Place cooked wings on paper towel covered paper bag to cool slightly while you cook the rest of the wings.

SAUCE:
While wings are cooking, prepare and heat sauce in medium sauce pan. Over medium low heat, melt 4 TBSP unsalted butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 5 cloves finely chopped garlic, 1 tsp+ horseradish, 1/3 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 3/4 cup bourbon, 3/4 cup ketchup. Heat and stir infrequently for 10 minutes. Turn to lowest setting and keep warm til you finish the wings.

WINGS PART II:
Tightly wrap a piece of bacon around the "fat" part of each wing, secure with 1-3 toothpicks. You don't want the bacon to fall off when you cook the wings again. Use enough toothpicks to adhere the bacon. Cook the wings again until bacon is done, approximately 3 minutes per batch.

FINISHING:
Using tongs, dip each wing in the sauce, coat well. Set wings on plates and chow down!

This recipe made 24 wings and served two. My hubby and my son.

Spot gives this 4 paws for sure. She even tripped me on the stairs as I was heading toward the kitchen to cook!