FRIDAY

Truffled Filet of Beef Sandwiches  |  Sweet Potato Fries  |  Fresh Strawberries  |  Strawberry-Basil Lemonade

Okay, I know…I missed a dinner {last night}.  This week has been, well, you know…one of THOSE weeks!  Michael gone {traveling in Europe}, me left to juggle Max’s baseball and football schedules as well as the girls’ barn schedule, this little blog and that one, while keeping everyone fed and happy.  Last night, I hit the proverbial brick wall…Michael arrived SFO at noon {after 14 hours on a plane} and instead of coming home he called to tell me that he needed to go to a meeting in San José.  Yup…I lost it!  This happy camper turned evil…homemade dinner was NOT going to happen.  Michael arrived home around 7:30pm and we all piled into the car and headed out for dinner.  A wonderful Italian restaurant in Tiburon, Don Antonio’s, where we enjoyed homemade ravioli, steamed vegetables & petrale sole.  Thank heavens it is Friday.

Tonight’s dinner was a welcome respite from the intensity of this week {isn’t that what Friday dinners should be?} as well as a bit indulgent.  The focus: high-quality ingredients + simple preparation = a perfect start-of-the-weekend-dinner.  Let’s start with the evening’s beverage {for the children~Michael & I are enjoying a lovely Russian River Pinot Noir}…Strawberry-Basil Lemonade.

Strawberry-Basil Lemonade {adapted from Food52}

• 1 cup raw honey
• 4 cups quartered fresh strawberries
• 30 medium basil leaves, roughly torn
• 1 ¾ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Put the honey in a sauce pan and pour 1 cup of water over it. Heat the mixture over a medium flame until the honey has completely dissolved. Let cool, completely.
2. Combine the strawberries with the basil and ¼ cup of the honey syrup in a blender. Purée until smooth.
3. To make the lemonade, fill a glass with ice and add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of the strawberry puree, ½ cup cold water, and 1 to 2 tablespoons of the honey syrup, depending on how sweet you like it. Stir well and serve right away!

Now, for the Filet of Beef Sandwiches…

Truffled Filet of Beef Sandwiches {adapted from Barefoot Contessa}

• 2½ pounds fillet of beef, trimmed and tied
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• Sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 French baguettes, 18 to 20 inches long
• 4 ounces black truffle butter, at room temperature
• 1 {2-ounce} chunk good Parmesan cheese
• Fresh baby arugula

1. Prepare a charcoal grill to high heat.
2. Place the beef tenderloin into a well-seasoned, cast-iron skillet and pat the outside dry with a paper towel. Spread the butter all over the beef with your hands. Sprinkle the beef evenly with salt and pepper. Place the skillet onto the rack over a high-heat grill, cover {with the grill lid} and roast for approximately 24 minutes for medium-rare {or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 125°F}.
3. Remove the beef from the grill, cover it tightly with aluminum foil, and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes {allowing the meat temperature to come to 135°F}. Remove the strings and slice the fillet about ¼-inch thick.
4. Open the baguettes lengthwise but not all the way through. Spread the bottom halves generously with the truffle butter. Top with a layer of sliced beef and sprinkle it with salt and pepper.
5. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the Parmesan into thin shards and scatter the shards over the sliced beef on each sandwich. Finish with a sprinkling of arugula leaves. Fold the tops of the sandwiches over, cut each baguette diagonally in 3 or 4 sandwiches, and serve right away.

 

And Sweet Potato Fries…

And the final dinner plate…