DIY: Valentines Day Meal - Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Valdeon Butter

 

 

GRILLED BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH VALDEON BLUE CHEESE BUTTER

Want to really impress your date?  Trim and grill a beef tenderloin!  It's easier than it sounds and has a real "WOW" factor!

Serve it up with some creamy mashed potatoes and french green beans and it's down right elegant!

If both trimming AND grilling the tenderloin seem like more than you want to take on, (or if it's just too darn cold for you to go out to grill), you can also get the same awesome result if you roast the tenderloin. I will include instructions on how to both grill and roast below!

* Buying a tenderloin can be an investment. I usually buy mine at Costco, which sells them in cryovac for about $11 per pound. Generally, each tenderloin is between 5-8 pounds. You can also buy a partially trimmed tenderloin from them for $13 per pound. If this is too much of an expense or more of a project than you want to take on, you can certainly get the same flavor with a nice thick cut filet.

See the great video below for step-by-step instructions on trimming and tying the tenderloin!

Valdeon cheese is wrapped in Sycamore maple leaves and has a creamy, but intense flavor, but is not bitter or biting.

VALDEON or BLUE CHEESE BUTTER

4T unsalted butter, softened
1T finely chopped shallot
1 finely chopped green onion, light and dark green part only
2-3 oz. Valdeon or other creamy blue cheese, softened


1: Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl with a wooden spoon.
2: Lay a 18"x18" piece of plastic wrap on the counter. Scrape the butter onto the wrap and gently roll it into a 4" log.
3: Refrigerate the butter until about an hour before you are ready to serve the meal.
 

GRILLED BEEF TENDERLOIN

*The key to a perfectly cooked tenderloin is a good working meat thermometer! They cost less then $10 and are worth every penny.

1 small beef tenderloin

2 cloves crushed or minced garlic
1T smoked Spanish paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1T kosher salt
1t ground black pepper 
1/4C olive oil 

1: Prepare the beef by trimming it and patting it gently with paper towels to remove any excess moisture.
2: Mix the other six ingredients together in a small bowl and mash into a paste. 
3: Evenly coat all sides of the tenderloin and place on a baking sheet. You can let the beef marinate over night in the refrigerator or at least let it sit out at room temperature with the marinade for 2-4 hours.
4: If you marinate overnight, remove the tenderloin from the fridge and let it set out for about an hour before cooking.


Look at the following article if you want even more information on the finer points of grilling this big guy! 
ALL YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT GRILLING A TENDERLOIN

GRILLING WHOLE TENDERLOIN:
1: Lightly oil, salt and pepper the whole tenderloin.
2: Place whole, tied tenderloin directly on a lightly oiled grill.
3: Turn tenderloin once or twice, about 8 minutes per side for a medium rare tenderloin.
4: After about 15 minutes, start checking the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. Rare: take it off when it reads 125º, Medium rare: 130º and so on.
The meat will continue to cook a bit after you remove it from the heat.
5: Let the tenderloin rest on a baking sheet for 10-15 minutes before slicing it.
6: With a very sharp knife, cut the tenderloin into 1"-1.5" slices.
* Be sure to have everything else ready to serve when you slice the meat. It should be the last thing on the plate.
7: Immediately place a pat of the Valdeon butter on top of the tenderloin slices.




Look at the following article if you want even more information on the finer points of roasting this big guy! 
ALL YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT ROASTING A TENDERLOIN


ROASTING WHOLE TENDERLOIN: 
These are the instructions straight from the Pioneer Woman, who says it better than I ever could:

1: Preheat the oven to 475º.
2: Lightly oil, salt and pepper the whole tenderloin.
3: Heat some olive oil in a heavy skillet. When the oil is to the smoking point, place the tenderloin in the very hot pan to sear it. 
4: Throw a couple of tablespoons of butter into the skillet to give it a nice little butter injection before going in the oven. A minute or two later, when one side is starting to turn nice and brown, flip and repeat.
5: Place the tenderloin on an oven pan with a rack. Put several tablespoons of butter all over the meat. 
6: Place it in a 475-degree oven until the temperature reaches just under 135º, about fifteen to twenty minutes. Stay near the oven and keep checking the meat thermometer to make sure it doesn’t overcook. 
7: Let meat stand ten minutes or so before slicing, so the meat will have a chance to relax a bit.
8: To serve, you can spoon the olive oil/butter juices from the skillet onto the top of the meat for a little extra flavor.
9: With a very sharp knife, cut the tenderloin into 1"-1.5" slices.
* Be sure to have everything else ready to serve when you slice the meat. It should be the last thing on the plate.
10: Immediately place a pat of the Valdeon butter on top of the tenderloin slices.



The video below is an excellent demonstration on how to trim and tie a tenderloin.






Now! All you have to do to complete this awesome meal is make some simple mashed potatoes with butter, milk, salt and pepper.  Throw some haricots verts in a pan with olive oil salt and pepper cook them until nice and tender/crisp.

Then -  be prepared to knock everyone's socks off!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

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Recipes: Chicken Corn Chowder with Roasted Poblano Peppers

 

 

POBLANO CHICKEN CORN CHOWDER

This is one of my favorite Fall recipes.  It's a great dish to serve to a large group and also have enough leftover to freeze for those cold winter days. The poblanos are just a little bit hot, but add an interesting dimension of flavor.  

In the last couple of years, we have started a yearly chicken corn chowder party tradition! About 10 of us gather right after Thanksgiving, have a big bowl of hot soup, homemade ginger snap cookies and hot buttered rum -  then we set up and decorate my Christmas tree together.













































PRINT RECIPE
 

CHICKEN CORN CHOWDER WITH POBLANO PEPPERS:

This recipe makes about 25 cups of soup, so you may want to cut it back if you aren't trying to serve a small army. :)

3 - 4 poblano chilies: roasted, peeled and seeded (The more seeds left behind, the hotter the soup.)
6 chicken breasts: baked whole at 350º until cooked through, about 20 minutes, then cut into chunks
2 yellow onions: cut into a medium dice
6 - 8 carrots: peeled and sliced (I like them sliced into medium sized diagonal coins)
3 russet or 5 new potatoes: peeled and cut into a large dice
3 cans or 3 1# bags of frozen corn: (or 6-8 ears of fresh corn, cut off the cob)

1.5C white wine
12C chicken stock
1.5t cayenne 
2T cumin
3T brown sugar
3T chopped cilantro plus some for garnish
Sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste

1: Heat oven to 500º. Place whole poblanos in oven and roast until skin blisters and pulls away from the flesh of the pepper. (If you have a gas range, you can also roast the peppers by placing them directly on the burners. Turn them with tongs until they are evenly blackened.)  Place roasted peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let sweat in bowl for 30 minutes.

2: Peel the skin off the peppers, remove the stems and seeds. Rinse them a bit in cool water and dry them on a paper towel.  Chop the peppers into 1" squares.

3: Heat oil in a large stock pot. Add onions, carrots and a couple pinches of salt and pepper.  Cook on medium heat until slightly browned.  Add chopped peppers and stir.

4:  Deglaze pan with white wine and chicken stock. Add chicken, potatoes, corn and spices and sugar.

5:  Simmer for 25 minutes or so until the potatoes are soft.  Add the cilantro and adjust salt and pepper.

6: Ladle delicious soup into bowls and top with sour cream and sprigs of cilantro.

YUM!!

Chopped Roasted Poblanos

 

 

 

The guys love it!

 

Cooking away in the pot!

Awesome guys putting the tree together

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Weddings : Kansas City Back Yard Wedding

If You Don't Want to Rent : Reinvent! 

 

Andrea and Mike decided against renting an expensive venue and all the additional charges that go along with it and decided to utilize their backyard instead.

With a few rented tables, chairs, a tent, some lovely rented vintage plates and serving pieces from The Vintage Plate Company, they turned their simple (and rather small) backyard into a wonderful, warm wedding venue.

Cakewalk Events helped with the planning and made the country farmhouse inspired dinner which we served family style and Clinton Martens/ DJ Thundercutz played music from his endless collection of vinyl - 45s and all!

Here are some lovely pictures from this beautiful spring wedding.

All photos are courtesy of Andrea Wade and Deirdre at Lo and Behold Photography. 

Andrea and I took a trip to the wholesale florist and she magically fashioned boutonnieres, the table flowers, all of the wedding party bouquets as well as the gorgeous floral piece that hung above the altar. Budget florals and a very professional result!

 

Simple bar mops and vintage plates made a lovely classic looking dinner setting.

A bountiful fruit and cheese platter shares the table with homemade cabbage rolls (the bride is from Polish descent) made a lovely appetizer table that guests nibbled on before the ceremony.

 

For dinner we made a family style presentation of oven roasted lemon garlic chicken, charcoal grilled tenderloin with melted blue cheese butter, creamy mashed potatoes, haricots verts and a hearty green salad with sliced pears, shaved parmesan and pistachios alongside the most delicious bread from Fevere Bread.

 

The couple shared a sampling from their Croque en Bouche "wedding cake"!

One of the best parts of the evening was the amazing DJ Thundercutz (Clinton Martens) and his incredible vinyl record collection.  What a great guy!  He enjoys dancing to the music almost as much as the guests do!

Please share your stories of your backyard/do it at home wedding!  

We'd love to see how you transformed your space.

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Why Hire a Wedding Planner?

Is it worth to hire someone to do something you could do yourself?  Or can you...?

This may not be news.  Hiring a professional to guide you though unknown waters can save two valuable things:

- Money
- Stomach lining

If you just got engaged, now is the time to think about talking to a planner.  But, hold on!  This doesn't mean you have to hand over your creative control to a stranger who may or may not satisfy your needs.  A planner, a GOOD planner is not there to take over the vision of your wedding and cut you out of the loop.  

The role of a GOOD planner is to be YOUR agent.  They are there to argue on your side, arrange price breaks, advise you on common pitfalls, mediate family opinions and preferences and eventually, execute your wedding plan 
 
The most valuable (and possibly unreported) asset the wedding planner can provide is objectivity.  With the ever changing landscape of wedding etiquette, a knowledgeable planner can shed light on the common traditions and help you determine which ones are meaningful to you.  They can also help you navigate the sometimes treacherous waters between mothers/mothers-in-law and anyone else who wants to give you helpful guidance. See this post for more on the editing process.  What is Essential to a Great Wedding - and What Isn't.

Many times in my life, I have been attracted to the less expensive Do It Yourself solution to problems.  Sometimes that works out just fine.  Other times, I just end up spending my money twice.  Once, for all the supplies and fixes that come with the learning curve of being an amateur.  Then, again, to hire a professional to do it correctly.  

Your wedding, however, is not going to have a second time around!  Hopefully, you nail it the first time out of the gate.  

Simply, a wedding planner can help set you on a course to realize all of your dreams without the learning curve!

- They can save you money
- They can mediate difficult family disputes about taste and tradition
- They can be there for you when members of your wedding party are too busy to help out
- They take the whole journey of creating a perfect event with you and are ultimately the one who will supervise the decoration and execution of all details that you may be too overwhilemed to deal with two days before the big day.

My opinion: 

A planner is not for everyone and everyone needs a different level of assistance with planning an event of this magnitude. Seek out a planner who meets your individual needs and consult with them. You won't regret it.

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Breakfast Birthday Party

Something Simple But Beautiful for a Birthday Breakfast Party

Sometimes all it takes to turn a simple breakfast into a special event is making a pretty display out of your ingredients. 

We just had scrambled eggs, with bagels and lox with all the condiments.  It's all about the arrangement, in my opinion.

Trader Joe's has excellent lox for a great price, a nice ripe tomato, shaved red onion, sliced cream cheese and capers. 

Also, I think adding kosher salt and pepper to the tomatoes really livens up their flavor.

 

Then, a quick visit to Andre's to get these awesome desserts.

http://www.andreschocolates.com/

A lemon tart, a classic Napoleon, a dainty almond layer cake with pistachio butter cream, a super Rummy Rumball and a hidden dark chocolate covered macaroon.  All you need to complete the dessert is a nice hot cup of black coffee.

Very easy and very delicious!

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What Every Wedding Planner Should Know About Today's Brides - Thoughts?

I found this compelling post on the My Wedding Workbook Blog. What do we think?  Is this true of you or the brides you know?

http://www.myweddingworkbookpro.com/blog/index.cfm/2011/7/27/6-things-every-wedding-planner-should-know-about-todays-brides

6 things every wedding planner should know about today's brides

Posted At : July 27, 2011 8:01 PM | Posted By : Admin
Related Categories: Wedding Trends

Brides are usually the ones who seek out and eventually hire wedding planners (grooms are usually along for the ride), and since we launched our sister site My Wedding Workbook a few years ago we have surveyed brides on a number of areas, including their thoughts about hiring a wedding planner. Here are the seven things you should know as a wedding planner about your target audience.
1. They are most worried about their budget, their dress and their appearance.
According to our research, the top three things brides worry about is the cost of their wedding and staying on budget; their dress and attire for the wedding party; and their physical appearance (physical fitness, makeup, hair, etc.). As a wedding planner, you can reassure them that, by hiring you, you can keep their wedding under their specified budget and make sure they and their big day will be elegant and beautiful.
2. The top three places they first look for inspiration are wedding-related Web sites, blogs and search engines.
In the past, the first place a newly engaged bride-to-be looked for inspiration was wedding magazines and publications. But today's bride is fully plugged in and online searching for wedding ideas within a week of her engagement. So, if you want to be found, you need to have an online presence and the ability to be found on the Web.
3. Most brides still attend bridal shows.
In fact, 70% of brides in our research attend at least one bridal show, with many attending 3 or more. So if you haven't exhibited at a bridal show yet, you should visit a local show as an attendee to see the turnout and get a feel for if paying to be an exhibitor would be worth your while (and you should definitely ask if exhibitors get the attendee list or can market to the list after the event).
4. They say cost is the main factor in considering hiring a wedding planner.
Let's break this down. Of the brides who didn't consider a wedding planner, 75% said they didn't hire one because it was too expensive. Of the brides who did consider a wedding planner, cost was the top factor in deciding who to hire. You probably already know this through your experience with prospects; however, it emphasizes the need to demonstrate to prospects how you can help them save money (through your connections with vendors and negotiation abilities) and help them get the most value from what they do spend (by avoiding pitfalls, bad vendors, etc.).
5. They're looking for a planner who they connect with, who has strong vendor relationships and who has experience.
First and foremost, brides place a premium on personal chemistry. For them, they want more than a taskmaster and a planner; they also want someone they feel a bond with. In addition, they want to hear about your relationships with vendors (so you can negotiate good rates for them) and your past experience. So in your pitch, make sure you provide plenty examples and proof of these things. Also, case studies and stories of your event productions on your Web site also help.
6. They're asking their friends for recommendations.
When brides look for wedding planners to interview, the first place they consult for suggestions is their friends and family, followed by Web sites and online wedding forums, bridal shows and search engines. This should certainly give you a road map of where you need to market your services, starting with actively and regularly asking for referrals from your past and present clients as well as industry partners (we go into more detail about this in our recent white paper, which you can download here).

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No Joking on Game Day, Even About Cupcakes.

The day you are getting the goods together for a party, the catering kitchen can be a very tense place. The light humor that usually accompanies our work kind of takes a smoke break for the day. When we would be cooking to get a party out the door, if you would ask John at Catering By Design, "Do we really have to wrap 300 shrimp in basil and proscuitto?!", he would say "No joking on game day."And that meant business.

Let me set up the real story.  Meg's wedding was fast approaching.  Meg is a best friend of mine and it was my great pleasure to help her orchestrate her wedding.  We had been working on it for nearly a year.

We were totally prepared to set up and cook for Meg's wedding.  My daughter had been dropped off with grandparents for the weekend, all groceries were bought, prep lists were made.

Then, the unexpected thing that would throw off all of our plans, that we knew would likely come up; happened. Our cake maker had a major family emergency.  No cake.  No wedding cake.  Cupcakes, actually. Two-tiered, red velvet and strawberry, individually decorated cupcakes. The idea was still alive and well in our minds, but the baker and executor of the cakes was no longer in the picture.

Now, in a matter of minutes, I was the cake maker. I scrambled.  Found a VERY competent baker and tracked down some papers and decorations.

So, many hours later, here we are.  The night before the wedding. I was working with my baker, Amy Shapley.  We were doing a couple trial cupcakes for Meg's approval.  In our overtired state, we were joking and giggling and testing out icing tips and snacking on the crunchy edges of reject cupcakes.  Amy was taking pictures of our progress and snapped one of a particularly homely cupcake that had been eaten on, and had various clumps of cream cheese frosting here and there.

We thought it was the funniest thing we had ever seen.  Meg being our close friend, we thought she would get a laugh if we sent her this picture  via text of the cupcake "prototype".


Hours later, she still hadn't replied.  Finally, we hear from her.  "Looks great. But, will it also get a second layer?"

We got her reply and both froze.  She doesn't actually think we think that cupcake looks good, does she?  Is she delirious?

She didn't get the joke.

We were kind of embarrassed by the thought that she might be trying to make nice and settle for this pathetic little bastard child of a cupcake we made in our own delirium.

Then the words of my old boss rang in my head.... "No joking on game day."  The night before a girl's wedding is no time for silly pranks.

No matter how well you know someone or how funny you think it may be, the hours before a person's big day, is not a good time to try to get a laugh.  Lesson learned.

And in the end, the cupcakes did turn out beautifully.   

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Cakewalk Event Planning and Consultation is here!

What is Cakewalk? What is The Kitchen?

Not afraid to try something new and buck tradition? We encourage people to dream big, then we do everything we can to bring those visions to life.  In a way, we look at your event like an art installation that just requires you and your guests to bring it to life. 

Cakewalk Wedding & Event Planning helps brides and hosts define and actualize their dream event; from food to flowers and from printing to photography, We are a one-stop shop for hip, cool and artfully minded. A 15 year veteran of the catering and event planning business as Catering Manager at a high-end caterer in Kansas City. 

Photo by Deirdre Hanlon Jones at Lo and Behold Photography

Photo by Deirdre Hanlon Jones at Lo and Behold Photography

Photo by Deirdre Hanlon Jones at Lo and Behold Photography

Our mission is to help the artfully-minded, independent host or person(s) of honor define and actualize their event vision. We provide day of coordination, monthly "keep-on-track" meetings, or the full meal deal, in which we take care of all aspects of planning your day with you. 

Photo by Deirdre Hanlon Jones at Lo and Behold Photography

Working in Kansas City for over 20 years, we have built an excellent list of vendors that we trust and fully recommend. We can provide suggestions or work with your chosen vendors.

We love a challenge and are excited to help you realize your vision!

Photo by Deirdre Hanlon Jones at Lo and Behold Photography

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