291970 Fri Feb 21 13:26:01 -0800 2003 13 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1591720 I've done it now. A friend that has tried my cooking on a few occasions informed some mutual friends that I am a great cook and now, after much harassment, I've agreed to host a dinner party at my place in early March. Here's my menu: Oyster Shooters Fresh Tortilla Chips w/homemade guacomole, green and red salsa N.O. Style Barbeque Shrimp Wedge Salad w/homemade blue cheese dressing Vegetable Lasagna Beef Tenderloin Sandwiches on Frend Bread w/fresh horseradish dressing, arugula and parmesan reggiano cheese Various Wines & Desserts I've done all of these before, but I have some concern about the best way to prepare the vegetable lasagna and to marinade the beef tenderloin. I recently prepared a vegetable lasagna with the vegetables being portobello mushrooms and eggplant. The result was good, but didn't have the punch I was looking for. I have at least one vegetarian in the group and I would like to serve a very memorable lasagna that all will appreciate. I've also found an excellent marinade for the beef tenderloin from one of my Emeril cookbooks which I used about a year ago, but like to hear about any knockout marinades for beef that will kick up my sandwiches "another notch". Also, curious about marinade times that are sure to produce a very tender beef tenderloin. All suggestions are greatly appreciated. Fri Feb 21 13:26:01 -0800 2003 0 Bacchus 1 1591727 Kick up a notch... heh heh heh... small cooking tip- if you want something a bit more authentic New Orleans style, don't take advice from a guy who has a restaurant there and still pronounces the city "noo OR-lee-uns". I heard him say it once and just about fell off my chair laughing. Anyway, on to the main part of my post- marinades. Conventional cooking wisdom states that a marinade will increase flavor and also make things more tender. Alas, the CCW is wrong. The three main types of marinade are acid-based (vinaigrettes), oil-based, and brines. Oil-based marinades are going to make things, well, greasy. Acid based marinades tend to add a bit of flavor, but their effect on the meat is detrimental- instead of tenderizing, it cuts into the meat and makes things mushy instead of tender. Brining is a very, very popular method of marinating (the guys over at Cook's Illustrated have practically raised it to fetish levels), but isn't appropriate for beef- cow meat has a pretty strong flavor of its own and plenty of juice, and doesn't benefit as much from a brine as poultry, pork, or some seafood does. Your best bet on red meat is to use a dry rub- take whatever spices you'd like to use, a little salt, massage it into the meat, and let it sit. The longer you let it sit (24 hours in the refrigerator is wonderful), the more the spice penetrates the meat, and the more powerful the rub's flavor is. Another thing to remember with beef is to give it a good sear- the Maillard reaction (where compounds in the food break down and combine to form other, more flavorful compounds when heat is applied) works WONDERS, especially on a milder cut of beef like the tenderloin you're working with. If you're working inside, give it a couple minutes on each side in a hot skillet before finishing cooking it in the oven. If you're working outside (VASTLY preferred), build a two-level fire in your grill- pile the charcoal (real hardwood charcoal, please, and skip the lighter fluid- use a starter chimney instead) high on one side, and lower on the other- cook it for a few minutes on each side over the high coals, then slide it over to the low side, cover, and let cook until the tenderloin has reached the desired temperature. The sandwich sounds very good- I was thinking I might appreciate a little bit of Maytag blue cheese on the sandwich instead of the reggiano parmesan, but that's an opinion akin to hot fudge vs. caramel on a sundae. One thing that would DEFINITELY make a good addition to the sandwiches would be some sprinkles of fleur de sel- it would add an unexpected but not unpleasant crunch to things, and would enhance the flavors quite nicely. Fri Feb 21 15:02:26 -0800 2003 1591720 0 JK Grence (the Cosmic Jester) 2 1592179 Great advice! Thanks and I will add the fleur de sel since I have some willing and ready. Thanks to all who responded. I feel much more confident about my dishes. Tue Feb 25 14:23:08 -0800 2003 1591727 0 Bacchus 1 1591733 For vegetable lasagna, (spinach and roasted red peppers) I generally use a combo of lots of fresh garlic (as a layer) and a few fists of roasted garlic mixed into the ricotta (with a splash of balsamic and juice of a whole lemon). Beef tenderloin, i'd switch out with flank steak, then just heavily salt and pepper it and grill it.... thm Fri Feb 21 15:20:59 -0800 2003 1591720 0 THM 1 1591739 I would not bother marinating the beef tenderloin. It's a very tender cut of meat to begin with; I think any more tenderizing would produce mush. If you just want to use a marinade for flavor, that's a different story, but definitely leave out any acids. As for the veggie lasgana, I think the two most important points are to season well and take extra effort to cook out excess moisture from the veggies. I would also try mixing in some sharper cheeses into the usual bland ones. If you want to get away from the standard Italian-American tomato-sauced based lasagnas, try searching around for some recipes that highlight sheets of homemade noodles and a couple key ingredients (maybe roasted squash and sage, or a certain combination of cheeses, etc). Fri Feb 21 15:54:28 -0800 2003 1591720 0 Jujubee 1 1591761 Bacchus, David Rosengarten did a marvelous zucchini lasagna on his old Food Network show, "Taste." I've got the recipe on my computer and would be happy to email it to you, if you like. (I hesitate to post it because I don't know if it's copyrighted.) Deenso Fri Feb 21 18:39:52 -0800 2003 1591720 0 Deenso 2 1592178 Thanks! You can send it to my e-mail address. Tue Feb 25 14:15:59 -0800 2003 1591761 0 Bacchus 1 1591766 I used to make a mushroom-asparagus lasagne with a bechamel sauce that people seemed to like. It's fairly sumptuous, definitely a special-occasion dish. I'll post the recipe if you're interested. Fri Feb 21 19:27:52 -0800 2003 1591720 0 C. Fox 2 1592176 Please share. Tue Feb 25 14:12:14 -0800 2003 1591766 0 Bacchus 3 1592280 OK, here 'tis: Blond Lasagna 1/4 pound butter 6 tablespoons flour 1 quart milk 3/4 pound mushrooms salt and white pepper nutmeg 9 lasagna noodles 1 pound asparagus 1/2 pound mozzarella cheese -- grated 1/4 pound parmesan cheese -- grated Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make a bechamel sauce: Melt butter over medium-low heat in a 2-quart saucepan. Add mushrooms and saute until they release their juices. Stir in flour. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Meanwhile, cook the noodles al dente, with a little oil to keep them from sticking. Snap off the woody parts of the asparagus and cut the rest into 1-1/2 to 2 inch pieces. Set aside 9 tips for garnish. Use a 13x9 inch pan, preferably Pyrex. First layer: 1/3 of the sauce; 3 noodles; 1/2 of the asparagus; 1/2 of the mozzarella; 1/3 of the parmesan. Second layer: 3 noodles; 1/3 of the sauce; the rest of the asparagus and mozzarella; 1/3 of the parmesan. Third layer: the rest of the noodles; the rest of the sauce; the rest of the parmesan; then the asparagus tips arranged attractively on top. Bake ~45 minutes. VARIATION: Omit mushrooms and nutmeg. Stir a little basil (1/2 tsp dry?) into the sauce. For the asparagus, substitute a pound of zucchini cut in thinnish quarter-slices and 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes. Tue Feb 25 22:59:27 -0800 2003 1592176 0 C. Fox 1 1591768 For a memorable veggie lasagna, how 'bout replacing the noodles with eggplant slices and using portobello mushrooms as your meat substitute? Fri Feb 21 19:47:21 -0800 2003 1591720 0 Gras Hound 1 1591900 There's a great recipe from Commander's Palace for roasted vegetable 'lasagna' in the commander's kitchen cookbook. It has no pasta, just roasted veggies, but it's oh so tasty. it's also listed on the Off the Menu tv show website, link provided below. Link: http://www.turnersouth.com/off-the-menu/story/0,10907,590,00.html Sun Feb 23 15:20:14 -0800 2003 1591720 0 john 1 1591901 There's a great recipe from Commander's Palace for roasted vegetable 'lasagna' in the commander's kitchen cookbook. It has no pasta, just roasted veggies, but it's oh so tasty. it's also listed on the Off the Menu tv show website, link provided below. Link: http://www.turnersouth.com/off-the-menu/story/0,10907,590,00.html Sun Feb 23 15:20:21 -0800 2003 1591720 0 john 1 1592171 For vegetable lasagna I make all the layers different, to make more exciting. Sauce is just tomato/garlic marinara. Do try a recipe with different layers, if not this one. Layer one: sauteed spinach, onions, leeks, crumbled feta, nutmeg Layer two: roasted eggplant, zucchini, garlic, sweet red peppers, ricotta salata, fresh ricotta Layer three: steamed broccoli, sauteed mushrooms and shallots and garlic, locatelli or parmesan I use parmesan bechamel for the top, in the European manner, because I feed people who don't like melted mozzarella (!?). Also, I love the ready-to-cook lasagna noodles, though others have voices objections to their texture. I think they're one of the greatest inventions since they started putting eggs in those cute little shells. Tue Feb 25 13:56:12 -0800 2003 1591720 0 lucia