What a great Fall weekend. Early Saturday morning was windy and rainy; then, around 11:00, the sun came out, and the rest of the weekend was gorgeous! Went out to dinner Saturday night to an amazing restaurant.....224 Boston Street. I highly recommend it if you are ever in Boston. Sunday, I started at about 6:30, changing my closet over from summer to fall. I then moved downstairs, cleaning up my kitchen. Then it was on to getting my fall decorations out. About 11:00, I headed outside to work on my roses and shrubs, that seem to have taken on a mind of their own! Before I knew it, it was 3:30 and I still hadn't gone to the store for what I needed for my dinner!
Anyway, you get an idea of what my weekend was like, right? So, I need to tell you where this dinner comes from. My mother used to always have a Sunday dinner, unlike all the dinners of the week. It was special. It was delicious. It was memorable..... Thus, the roots of my dinner tonight.
I wanted to cook a beef tenderloin. I invited my BC daughter over, and of course, she obliged! I began by getting the acorn squash ready to cook...
I cut them in half, take out the seeds, and put them face down in a pan and add about 1/2" of water. Into a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes. You just want them to cook until they are almost done. Take them out, let them cool, and then slice them and arrange in another pan. You will sprinkle brown sugar over them, and put pieces of butter all over. Into a 400 degree oven for about 20 more minutes. I finish them up with 5 minutes under the broiler.
At the same time, I peel, wash, and cut up 4 sweet potatoes. I place them in a pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with ground salt and pepper.
Along with the salt and pepper, I add some of that amazing Ras el Hanout seasoning (this one has tumeric, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, fennel, lavener, paprika, etc..) If you only have cloves, cinnamon and ginger, go for it! Those are the predominant flavors..) I have got to tell you...Go on to Colonel De's websight and order some of this, along with the other ones I have told you about. They are amazing and really make the food taste delicious!
Any way.... the squash is done, and the sweet potatoes are cooking. Nothing more to do til about 45 minutes before you are ready to eat. Time to get the tenderloin ready to cook. You need to leave it out on the counter for about an hour, so that it can be at room temperature when you cook it.
The way I get my tenderloin ready totally comes from my mom.... After you have "cleaned" the tenderloin, getting rid of extra fat and the silver membrane (you can check out YouTube videos to show how to do this, if you haven't done it before). You need to fold the thin end under so that the roast is about the same thickness, end to end. Use twine to keep it all together. Season it with salt, pepper, thyme, garlic powder, and onion powder. Spray with a little vegetable spray, then sprinkle with flour. Turn it over and keep repeating until the whole roast is covered. Then, sear it on all sides in a hot fry pan, to create a "crust" on the roast before putting it in the oven.
Cook this bad boy for at least 20 minutes at 450 degrees. Keep checking it with an internal thermometer. For medium rare, it should read about 125 degrees. If it doesn't, back into the oven for another 10 minutes and check again. My roast was 7 pounds and took a little more than 30 minutes to come out perfectly medium rare.
This tenderloin comes out so delicious and tender..... unforgettable. You can cut it with a fork, and the sweet potatoes and butternut squash compliment it so well.
So there you have it. A typical Sunday dinner..hope you try it!
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