Elegant Holiday: Pancetta-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin

ELEGANT HOLIDAY DINNER:

PANCETTA-WRAPPED BEEF TENDERLOIN

with HORSERADISH CREAM

1 (5-6lb) beef tenderloin [this is a $100 slab of meat, so I used ribeye steaks instead]
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp coarsely ground pepper
3 Tblsp olive oil, divided
14 very thin pancetta slices
3 garlic cloves
2 Tblsp chopped fresh rosemary
Whipped Horseradish Cream 

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Sprinkle tenderloin [or steaks] with salt and pepper. Cook in 2 tablespoons hot oil in a skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes on each side or until browned. Let cool 5 minutes. 
• Meanwhile, arrange pancetta slices in 2 rows on a large piece of wax paper, overlapping to form a rectangle. Sprinkle garlic and rosemary over tenderloin. Place tenderloin on edge of 1 long side of pancetta. Tightly roll up tenderloin with pancetta, using wax paper as a guide. Discard wax paper. Tie tenderloin with kitchen string, securing at 1-inch intervals. Transfer to an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet, and brush with remaining 1 Tblsp oil. [Since I used steaks, I seared each side in the oil, then laid on baking sheet, sprinkled with garlic and rosemary, placed 2 slices of pancetta on top of each one and stuck them in the oven that way]
• Bake at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes or until pancetta is crispy and meat thermometer instered into center of tenderloin registers 120 degrees F (rare). Let stand 10 minutes. Discard kitchen string before slicing. Serve with Horseradish Cream.

WHIPPED HORSERADISH CREAM

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup horseradish

2 Tblsp chopped fresh parsley

1/4 tsp salt

• Beat whipping cream at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer 1 minutes or until soft peaks form. 
• Fold in remaining ingredients. 
• Serve immediately, or cover and chill up to 8 hours.

"An Elegant Holiday Dinner"

from Southern Living's 

"Cooking for Christmas"
Cherry-Pecan Brie
Tossed Greens-and-Grapes Salad
Easy Asiago-Olive Rolls
Pancetta-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin with Whipped Horseradish Cream
Crispy Potatoes with Fennel
Lemon-Garlic Green Beans
Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

For the Introduction to this series of recipes, click HERE

Elegant Holiday: Green-Grapes Salad and Olive Rolls

For the Introduction to this series of recipes, click HERE

TOSSED GREENS-AND-GRAPES SALAD

(Salad on top right)

3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1-1/2 Tblsp Dijon mustard
1-1/2 tsp honey
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

1 (15oz) pkg spring greens mix or sweet baby greens
2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
1 cup salted, roasted cashews
2oz Manchego cheese, shaved

• Stir together olive oil and next 5 ingredients in a large serving bowl. Add spring greens and next 3 ingredients, and toss. Serve immediately. 

EASY ASIAGO-OLIVE ROLLS

1 (13.8oz) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
1/4 cup refrigerated olive tapenade
1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 Tblsp butter, melted

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Unroll pizza crust dough. Spread olive tapenade over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Sprinkle with cheese and rosemary. Gently roll up dough, starting a 1 long side. Cut into 10 (1-1/4 inch thick) slices. Place slices in a lightly greased 9-inch round cake pan. Brush top of dough with melted butter. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately.

"An Elegant Holiday Dinner"

from Southern Living's 

"Cooking for Christmas"
Cherry-Pecan Brie
Tossed Greens-and-Grapes Salad
Easy Asiago-Olive Rolls
Pancetta-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin with Whipped Horseradish Cream
Crispy Potatoes with Fennel
Lemon-Garlic Green Beans
Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

For the Introduction to this series of recipes, click HERE

Southern Living "Cooking for Christmas"

I was given the pleasure of cooking for 12 people over the Christmas holiday! And yes, I volunteered. I was actually given this cookbook from my Mother-in-Law, and I really wanted to try the recipes out. Only having 4 in my little family, most of these recipes call for 8 to 12 serving size, so this was a perfect opportunity to really test them out! 5 meals for 12 people cost about $700 in groceries, and that is considering I have all the spices and basics (like sugar, flour, ect...). The book uses expensive cuts of meat, which can be substituted for a "cheaper" cut, which I will make note of when I post the recipe. I also appreciated the fact that they use winter veggies, things that would be in season at this time of the year!

I highly recommend buying this cookbook if you plan to make a lot of these recipes. The cookbook includes a lot of cooking tips and trick and more advice that I haven't included on my posts. There is also a few more recipes in each of the meals I used that I won't be posting, so to get the full effect of the meal, again, I recommend buying the book.

The five different meals were put together in separate chapters, and there were more meals, but the 5 were the ones I chose to use over the short time I had to cook. The book also has individual recipes in the back half if you don't want to cook the entire meal. There were several recipes I looked at in the meals that I was really iffy about and not sure if we would like it, but I am so glad that I took that leap of faith. These meals were professionally put together to compliment each other and so no dish would dominate another. 

There is also drinks and desserts included with each meal....which we took advantage of as well. Like the meat, the alcohol needed for them can also be pricey, so if there is a good substitute for it, I'll will make note of that as well, but if the "fancy" alcohol is recommended, please take my word for it that its worth the extra penny.

The meal choices I made:

(the images are all my own!)

"Fondue Fun"
~Two-Cheese-and-Honey Fondue
~Tomato-and-Herb Fondue
~Mixed Salad Greens
~Mississippi Mud Fondue

"Easy Supper Club"
~Bacon-Arugula-Apple Bite
~Herbed Pork Roast
~Roasted Fall Veggies
~Puffed Mashed Potaotes
~Basil-and-Blue Cheese Salad
~Brandy Alexander Cheesecake

"An Elegant Holiday Dinner"
~Cherry-Pecan Brie
~Tossed Greens-and-Grapes Salad
~Easy Asiago-Olive Rolls
~Pancetta Wrapped Beef Tenderloin
with Whipped Horseradish Cream
~Crispy Potatoes with Fennel
~Lemon-Garlic Green Beans
~Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

"Feast with Friends"
~Quick Winter Pickled Veggies
~Deviled Ham Terrine
~Kumquat Martini
~Fennel-Crusted Rib Roast
~Roasted Asparagus
~Warm Greens with Cornbread Croutons
~Buttermilk Panna Cotta
with Zinfandel-Poached Figs

"Casual Texas Holiday"
~White Bean-and-Black Olive Crostini
~Sparkling Sipper
~Citrus-Walnut Salad
~Roasted Green Beans with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
~Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes
~Roasted Turkey Stuffed with Hazelnut Dressing
~Upside-Down Apple Tart

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