Beef Tenderloin

I was going to get chicken but Fern wanted two batches of ice cream made for a birthday meeting tonight so I wisely grabbed steaks instead.  I would usually have gotten something a little less prime but time was short and tenderloin looked like the best value. So I blew the budget on them and picked up mushrooms to go with them.  I fried the mushrooms in oil and butter. The vegetables were steamed till half done, then run under cold water to stop cooking.  

When the steaks went on the BBQ I put the vegetables on medium low heat with olive oil, salt and black pepper and regularly shook the pot so they reheated and cooked the oil evenly. Bario extra virgin olive oil has a bitter after taste that cooks off and leaves an amazing flavour behind. I just noticed that there is a bitter smell in the pot till it is cooked out of the oil. If extra virgin olive oil is over heated it becomes really bitter so, be careful. (that's why you don't fry with it!) 

The mushrooms were fried in rice oil and butter. The oil prevents the butter from burning. The steaks were seasoned with salt and black pepper, then barbecued over high heat for 2 minutes, rotate, 2 minutes, turn over, 2 minutes, rotate, 2 minutes and they're done with crossed grill marks. A watch with a timer function is really helpful here.

Here's my BBQ shelter, it's right out the kitchen door. In spring I open it a few panels at a time as it warms up outside. Over the winter the storm vinyl covers the whole thing.   It has withstood hurricane force wind gusts and provides a warm wind proof shelter all winter long.  The forth enclosing side is visible on the right edge of the photo. Even though it has no door it is tens of degrees warmer in the shelter than outside it. It costs $30 to cover it in vinyl each fall. The vinyl is held in place with 1x2 's screwed down on top. It cost about $600 in materials to build the 5x8ft shelter. It keeps parsley, chives, oregano, thyme and rosemary growing slowly all winter and provides a comfortable place to sit in any weather.

That isn't this steak in the photo. Today's steak was wonderful as were the vegetables. I frequently over cook the vegetables but doing them the 'professional way' of stopping cooking with cold water then reheating in oil works perfectly every time. If the veggies are over cooked it's because I said to myself, "sure, I can time everything exactly so the veggies will be perfect at the exact moment I need to plate them!" and then failed to achieve that goal.