Meal No. 544: Bittersweet Beef Tenderloin

At the Roediger House tonight, a celebration (Jen Martin's birthday) and a sadness (Beau Ward's departure). The fitting dinner menu for great occasions here gravitates most towards a healthy beef tenderloin in wine sauce, with a creamy spicy horseradish sauce, layered green bean casserole, and the Jones family favorite: company mashed potatoes.

I didn't get around to making dessert, but boy-howdy, the gelato at Caffe Prada has been mighty fine, so we took a stroll to this great shop behind the house, on Broad Street, for our sweet endings.

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"Beef Tenderloin in Wine Sauce" (p. 296) and "Spicy Horseradish Sauce" (p. 295) from The All-New Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. Compiled and Edited by Julie Fisher Gunter. Oxmoor Press (2006).

"Layered Green Bean Casserole," a long-time Jones family favorite.

"Company Mashed Potatoes," a Jones family favorite.

Meal No. 540: Lamb Köfte

Tonight was another set of meatballs, but this time it was a return to the always-amazing lamb köfte with yogurt tahini sauce, sautéed onion, and roasted red pepper muhammara.

I captured this picture in the glorious early evening sun coming into the back of the kitchen from the west, while out front a partial rainbow stretched across the city skyline towards the south. This delicious dinner preceded a stroll up to the downtown arts district for Gallery Hop, followed by a huge heaping of Euro yogurt from the guys at Caffe Prada.

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"Lamb Köfte with Yogurt Sauce and Muhammara" from Bon Appétit, January 2010. Recipe Online.

Meal No. 539: Independence Day Meatballs

Last night's dinner was a version of meatballs she first served to our family years and years ago on New Year's Day, so I've always called them New Year's Day meatballs. They are absolute olfactory murder while they are cooking (for two hours!). The amazing aroma kicks in about 15 minutes after they go into the oven, and I start muttering in spite of myself: "I wish I could blog smells. I wish I could blog smells."

Another longtime family favorite was also on the menu: company mashed potatoes. They may be the most-frequently-made side dish in the Roediger House repertoire. Finally, I tried out a recipe for garlicky seared green beans, and several around the table favorably compared them to the ones they love to get at P. F. Chang's. They were pretty darned good.

After the meal ended, we all had full bellies now and could not devote any energy to considering dessert. Which was good, because I didn't get around to making any.

Yard Update: This heatwave and dry spell are taking their toll, but I don't seem to have lost more than some of the little annuals that were struggling from the start. I'm having to keep a close eye on my rhododendrons; they're not any where near self-sufficient yet and especially vulnerable to any lack of water mixed with the oppressive heat.

Today was also the first time in nearly a month that I cut the grass...the dry, dry, parched, struggling grass. That's No. 10 for 2012.

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"New Year's Day Meatballs," from Carol Fultz of Indiana (2001).

"Company Mashed Potatoes," a Jones family favorite.

"Garlicky Green Beans," in Cuisine at Home, Issue No. 93, May/June 2012, p. 34.

Meal No. 538: Grilled Pimento Cheese Sandwich

Today's lunch:

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"South Carolina-Style Pimento Cheese." Recipe worked out by me, based on Sharon's Palmetto Pimento Cheese.

Meal No. 537: Chicken Tikka Masala

I could claim to have quite a run of international meals of late: Italian risotto, French yogurt cake, Caribbean pork shoulder roast, Mexican arroz con pollo. Last night, it continued, with the Indian-inspired chicken tikka masala. Alongside, attached at the hip: roasted cumin-coriander cauliflower.

Beforehand, an appetizer of sorts: mango lassis.

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"Chicken Tikka Masala," in Cuisine at Home, Issue 85, February 2011, p. 14-15.

"Mango Lassi," by Jamie Oliver. Online from The Food Network.

Meal No. 536: Unexpected Brunch

It's really terrific having Andrea and Mark Bailey spending time here as they make the journey from New Orleans to see Andrea's folks in New Bern, NC. I fretted privately that they'd feel too pushed to get up and get gone this morning, and I wanted them to hang out here a while. Bless 'em, they gave me just what I wanted.

I'm not beyond taking advantage of a good situation, so I got an early start this morning and worked on a partial construction of the standard Roediger House brunch meal. Couldn't put all of the usual pieces together, but I hope it was sufficient to please the brunch palates around the table.

On the menu: blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, zucchini bread (thanks to a recipe from Laura Thomas), bacon, and creamy cheese grits.

I'd been meaning to make blackberry buttermilk cake again, and it seemed like a good option for a brunch dessert. It seemed to come out particularly tasty this morning, if I can say so myself.

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"Blackberry Buttermilk Cake," in Bon Appétit, July 2011, p. 109 (pictures on p. 106).

Meal No. 535: Pork Shoulder Roast with Citrus Mojo and Green Sauce

On the menu tonight: a long, slow-roasted spice-rubbed pork shoulder, shredded and mixed with a citrus mojo and dipped, topped, or roll-slathered with a cilantro-lime green sauce. It required a large group to consume it, and that's just what the convergence of schedules allowed to happen.

The composition of the group might change from visit to visit, but I persist in referring to (at least part of) tonight's gathered group as "The New Orleans Crew." It was great to have Tim Schwarz return but also to have Andrea and Mark Bailey [pictured, with that awful Duke shirt on Andrea] here for the first time, as a stopover on their trip to see her family in New Bern. Also on hand were a couple of Wake Forest graduates (Bradley '07 and Chris '12) and the always-present Ward brothers.

I got adventurous with a new recipe, although it's a cousin (methinks) to the Cuban sandwiches with cilantro-lime mayonnaise that I made for Meal No. 502. That previous recipe was for the slow cooker and was considerably more simple than what I put together for tonight.

I brought back the eggy potato salad that I went a bit nuts with earlier in the summer, and I also made a family favorite recipe for a layered green bean casserole.

For dessert I offered up French yogurt cake and chocolate frostie homemade ice cream from the freezer/churn. Some opted for the two together, but my choice of serving plate was a poor one. Others got them in separate dishes.

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"Pork Shoulder Roast with Citrus Mojo & Creamy Cilantro-Lime Sauce," by Alex Roberts of Brasa (Minneapolis, MN). Recipe in Food & Wine, May 2012, p. 152, 154.

"Eggy Potato Salad with Pickles," by Jenny Rosenstratch and Andy Ward. In Bon Appétit, May 2012, p. 36.

"Layered Green Bean Casserole," a long-time Jones family favorite (received December 2001).

"French Yogurt Cake," by Andrew Knowlton. In Bon Appétit, May 2012, p. 30.

"Chocolate Frostie Ice Cream," found in the discussion threads on Southern Living Blogs.

Meal No. 534: Asparagus Risotto

Asparagus Risotto

Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

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"Rich and Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing," from Cook's Illustrated. Published May 1, 1999.

"Asparagus Risotto," from More Than Gourmet, online.

Meal No. 532: Sirloin Pork Roast

Mostly because I'd never cooked one before, the sirloin pork roast in the fresh meat section at the Harris Teeter caught my eye and I thought I'd give it a try. It's not very expensive but it will feed four. Tonight I managed to take my maiden voyage with this meat with the good fortune of a darned good recipe for it.

It started with a smashed garlic rub, supplemented with dried rosemary, kosher salt, and cracked black pepper. Browning of all sides in the skillet upped the flavor and gave the vegetables something to sauté in. I deviated from the recipe in my vegetable selection, since I do not like celery and since I had other things on hand. I used baby carrots, wedges of onion, garlic, purple sweet potato, cremini mushrooms, and regular sweet potato, all browned and softened and finished in red wine. Then the pork goes back on top and the whole thing goes in the oven, roasting for two hours at 250°F. (The sirloin roast is pretty lean and can be tough or chewy if you're not careful.)

When it's done, you pull out some of those vegetables, bring 'em to a soft boil in more red wine, and then puree it to make a sauce to put on the slices of pork.

I love having a rice cooker and sometimes forget that it's also a great vegetable steamer. I added broccoli florets to the meal using that steamer feature. The best item on the menu, though, were the cat head biscuits, that came out as perfect as I've ever made biscuits.

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"Sirloin Pork Roast," by Kevin Weeks. From Seriously Good Food That Demands Attention.

"Cat Head Biscuits," by Cali Rich. In Cook's Country, April/May 2010, p. 12-13.

Meal No. 531: 2 x 2 Soup

A hearty thanks to my cousin Betsy Pierce, who lives over in Greensboro, for passing this recipe on to me. It made for a delicious and easy-to-manage meal tonight while a Being Human (US version) watching party was going on.

Previous occurrences of this fine soup since the new kitchen was added (and blogging began!):

Meal No. 15
Meal No. 37
Meal No. 152
Meal No. 405

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"2 x 2 Soup," from various sources.