Thursday, December 31, 2009

Champagne and Lobster Stuffed Beef Tenderloin

It's New Year's Day for this first Foodie Friday over at Designs By Gollum!
Happy New Year!



At the stroke of midnight we'll start off with some champagne and later in the day we will indulge ourselves in a once a year meal that we've enjoyed since almost the beginning of our marriage.  If I remember correctly, it originally came from a BHG magazine spread. There are many variations of this recipe including butter/wine/Bernaise sauces, but I think the best version is just the basics of a fine piece of beef stuffed with lobster tail, a little garlic and butter.  It is superb!!




Lobster Stuffed Tenderloin of Beef

As long as you replicate these basic ingredients you can make as large or as small  amount of this as you like.  It doesn't do well as a leftover and should be consumed in its entirity.

3 lb center cut beef tenderloin
2-4 frozen lobster tails (depending on size and how impressive you want the lobster medal to look upon presentation.  More lobster is better!)
Several cloves of garlic finely minced
4 Tbls melted butter
4 slices partially cooked bacon
4-6 Tbls fresh lemon juice
Kitchen twine
Large heavy roasting pan with rack

Butterfly the tenderloin lengthwise to within 1/2 " of bottom, making sure to remove all fat and sinew(have your butcher do this if you don't have a very sharp knife)

Lay the pre-cooked lobster tails along the length of the tenderloin along one edge, drizzle with lemon juice and melted butter, top with minced garlic, then roll it up like a jelly roll, tie with twine every couple inches, lay bacon strips across top and wrap around the sides.

Drizzle roast with olive oil or melted butter, roast for 35-45 minutes in a 425F oven depending on size of roast.  Remove from oven, tent with tinfoil, allow to rest 10 minutes.

Slice in rounds at tableside. This roast needs to be served hot, so it is best if served on heated plates. Accompany with New Parslied Potatoes and a small green salad of your choice.

Parslied Potatoes - gently boil new red potatoes until tender, run under cold water, peel with sharp paring knife, drizzle with butter, return to heat in a lightly buttered skillet, brown until golden and slightly toasted, sprinkle with finely chopped parsley just before serving.

The roast and the potatoes may be prepared several hours ahead and refrigerated, allowing you to enjoy your guests, pop the roast in, set the potatoes on a simmer plate stove-top, toss your salad and enjoy this truly scrumptuous treat.


1/3 of The Year In Review

Join everyone over at Cindy's My Romantic Home for her Year In Review Party.
Mine will be a partial Year In Review, since I only have 4 months of blogging under my belt.

First you might want to check out the posts from this past Sunday - today Thursday for a monthly look at the tablescapes I've posted. Each month features a mosaic of all the tablescapes for a bird's eye view of all the 'scapes.

August 2009 Tablescapes
September 2009 Tablescapes
October 2009 Tablescapes
November 2009 Tablescapes
December 2009 Tablescapes

In addition to all the tablescapes there were my Friday Show and Tell posts over at My Romantic Home.

My Memory Board



My Quilts



Grandma's Tablecloth



Pitchers and Steins



Those French Plates



The Wine Goblet



The Three Lamps



Wooden Things



Tea Party for 8



My Nutcracker




Storybook Dolls



Hand Puppets



Christmas Bride Doll



You can see all my posts associated with Show and Tell Friday by clicking here.

Here's hoping you have a memorable and prosperous new year with friends and family to join you on your journey.

Happy New Year 2010!

Candy

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Back Issues of The Little Round Table - December 2009

This is the final post in a series of five that take a look at all the
tablescapes posted since August 2009, when I started blogging about my tablescaping.
It happens that this final review of 2009 falls on my favorite Party Day in blogland.

Tablescape Thursday for the last time this year is taking place over at
Between Naps On The Porch with our hostess Susan.



Do you have a favorite Holiday tablescape?
Or a favorite from another month? Or several favorites?

Please post a comment here on this thread and let me
know which tablescape(s) you liked best.  Even if you
have just been lurking I'd appreciate a comment on what
you've liked or not liked, so I can plan for upcoming posts.

I'll be reporting tomorrow on the Top 10 visited
tablescapes, as well as the 10 at the bottom of the
list still waiting to be discovered.


Back Issues of The Little Round Table - November 2009

This is the fourth of five posts looking back at my four months of blogging about my tablescapes.  This issue checks back on all the tablescapes for the month of November 2009.




Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Back Issues of The Little Round Table - October 2009

This is the third of five posts looking back at my four months of blogging about
my tablescapes. Here's a look at what was going on in October of 2009.




Monday, December 28, 2009

A Bittersweet Day

My heart is breaking.

Our 46th anniversary and sweet memories of my dear Ms Bonnie who left us this evening to join her other fur baby friends in the clouds of heaven.  She had a wonderful Christmas with her grand babies and family, but lost the battle this evening.

She was 15 and the best dog ever. She was surrounded at the end by the three who loved her best my DH and me and my daughter, who was her doctor.  She left us here at home with quiet grace and is now free of all suffering and pain. We will miss her always, but will remember the years of unconditional love she brought to our lives.



Sunday, December 27, 2009

Back Issues of The Little Round Table - September 2009

Welcome to another episode in the Metamorphosis Monday
saga being hosted by Susan over at Between Naps On The Porch.
AND
Another Mosaic Monday over at Little Red House hosted by Mary
(visit Mary, even though she's taking a little break from Mosaic Monday)
AND
Let's join all the fans of Blue Monday over at Smiling Sally's,
since there surely must be enough blue dishes here to qualify.

That would make it a triple play
ready made to reveal The "Naked" Little Round Table.

In its unadorned state The Little Round Table is a vintage iron garden table base
with its original green chippy paint topped with a glass round.  Mister TLRT actually
prefers it naked, but since I'm in charge of the kitchen.....well you've seen what
The Little Round Table looks like all dressed up for meals. It's a true metamorphosis.

The kitchen is recovering from the chaos of a Christmas meal for 16
and way too much champagne and merry making!


There are still remnants of Christmas dishes and decor, but it will soon be back to normal.
After a full month of the Merry Merry Miscellany of the season, I'm ready for the
minimalist look or as close to it as I ever get!

The other two dining tables that sometimes appear in place of The Little Round Table
aren't avaialbe for photos today ...... one is covered with bins of the "de-cluttering" process
and clearing the Christmas decor, while the other is covered with holiday tablecloths
being washed, pressed and folded to be stored away for next year.

The vintage Fiesta lives in the kitchen now that their original home in the pantry hall has
been given over to the tablescape "stuff."  More about that later in January.


I've often been asked how I get to the dishes in the upper cabinets.  I use a plain old step ladder, after considering a library rail and ladder system for months when designing this kitchen.  The floor space the systems require and the wear and tear on the pine flooring were the main reasons I chose to not include a ladder system. The everyday dinnerware is kept in cabinets on the sink/dishwasher side of the kitchen, as well as the pantry hall which backs up to the wall of cabinets which hold the vintage Fiesta.

This is the second of five posts looking back at my four months of
blogging about my tablescapes. Here's a look at what was going on in September of 2009.







Saturday, December 26, 2009

Back Issues of The Little Round Table - August 2009

Welcome to Sunday Favorites being held over at Happy to Design

This is the first of five posts looking back at my four months of blogging about
my tablescapes, starting off with August 2009.



Here's a snapshot view of all the tablescapes that appeared in August 2009, did you miss any of them?



The Day After

We're still washing dishes and putting things away after a wonderful holiday meal with family and friends.  Happy Holidays to you all and I'll be back playing with my dishes very soon.  First I need to tidy up a bit ...... the elves have been overworked and have told me they are on vacation for the entire month of January!

Tune in tomorrow Sunday December 27 - December 31 for a look back at my 4 months as a blogger. Four months of tablescapes is a lot of dishes and tablecloths!

Candy

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Bride Doll 1948

It's Christmas Show and Tell over at My Romantic Home. May all your Christmas wishes and dreams come true.



Do little 5 year old girls still dream about Santa bringing them a bride doll?  That was the only thing I wanted the Christmas that I was five.  I was celebrating my first Christmas in Germany after my family moved there with the Department of Defense.  Times were very lean and there weren't a lot of goods available, certainly not a lot of bride dolls.

As was pretty common at the time, a woman came to our door selling some of her belongings to make ends meet.  My mother purchased this china head doll with composite body and made the bridal outfit.  My bride doll was delivered by Santa in her very own Puppenwagen (baby carriage) and she was my pride and joy!







When I was about 8 she made a trip to the Puppen Krankenhaus (doll hospital) to have her makeup redone.  She made another trip to a doll hospital in Illinois when I was about 15, after my little 2 year old sister poked out one of her eyes!  And sometime in the intervening years she has lost her bouquet and her veil, but retains her petticoat, her dress and her bare feet.  Never pregant, but still bare footed after all these years.




Her head is dated 1894 and she was Made In Germany.

Merry Christmas to all!

Merry Christmas



Heidelberg in the snow circa 1950

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

A Nutcracker Christmas Eve

A very special Tablescape Thursday hosted by Susan at Between Naps On The Porch on this Christmas Eve. From our house to yours here's wishing you the merriest Christmas celebration.

While I finally pulled out the dust cloth, the vacuum, and the total spiff-it-up kit to make magic in the land of dust bunnies, The Claus family was baking up a storm in my kitchen.  I do hope they clean up their mess and leave the kitchen sparkling!!


They came to me in that nice brown truck that brings presents, directly from Kohl's for the special
price of $34.  I'm so happy to have them on my team as we prepare for our Christmas Eve dinner right beside the Christmas tree.


Visions of sugar plums, ballerinas and toys under the Christmas tree join my childhood Nutcracker from a recent Show and Tell Friday on this vintage tablecloth depicting the scenes and characters from "The Nutcracker."


Italian glass chargers, Scarlet Post 86 Fiesta and Williams Sonoma salad plates.  Stemware from Pier 1, flatware from Macy's, napkins and napkin rings from Crate and Barrel in the late 80s.












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