Merry Christmas! In honor of the holiday, I’ve chosen to share a “fancy” one with you today: 8-42: Beef Tenderloin Deluxe. I’ve had requests for this recipe in the past (prior to posting it) from folks preparing for holiday meals, so now it’s time to share it with all of you. Consider these essentially individual Beef Wellingtons–perfect for a special occasion.
This is one of those recipes that you plan for in advance and cook to impress your family and friends–it’s not just for another Wednesday night dinner.
I’ll say now that the veggies are optional–the ones they’ve got here would indeed make a nice fall/winter accompaniment, but if you’re not into carrots or parsnips (or it’s a different time of year), there are other options out there.
Ingredients. I had made this in the spring (breaking the 4th wall here), so I chose to use asparagus instead of the suggested veggie mix. I don’t have REAL beef tenderloin (being actual meat and all), but I do have some “beaf” tenderloin I made for just such a dish. The peppercorns were a purchase just for this dish, and I don’t think I’ve used them again since making it.
Sliced the mushrooms (you still need to include those, that’s not part of the optional veggie assortment).
Sautéed them as well.
Added in the peppercorns (not peas, I totally thought they were peas while editing and couldn’t remember where peas came into the recipe).
Browning my tenderloin slices.
Sliced in half as directed.
Rolled out my puff pastry sheets (fun fact: Pepperidge Farm puff pastry is vegan/dairy free).
Placed a tenderloin half in each square and topped it with the mushroom/peppercorn mix.
Placed the tops of the tenderloins back onto the other halves.
Folded each square into an envelope as instructed.
Brushed each “package” with the butter-soy sauce mix.
Placed each onto the baking sheet. If I did it again, I’d probably flip them over first. You’ll see why.
While they bake, I’ll work on sautéeing my asparagus.
Looks good to me–I tend to like these skinny ones more instead of the fat woody ones.
After removing them from the oven. This is why I thought it would have been better to flip them over. Less aesthetically-pleasing without the fold, but they would have stayed closed.
We all know this is the shot you came for, since Simply Delicious couldn’t even deliver it for you. That lovely cross-section.
Final plate. Now I’ll be honest–I DID just make this for a random weeknight dinner. But it’s Christmas, so we’ll pretend it was something fancier than that. It was good, very fancy, etc.
Hope you have/had a wonderful and SAFE Christmas holiday, and let’s all look forward to a happy and peaceful 2022!
Grade: A
