Between the challenging past two weeks and the gale winds and rain yesterday, we never made any dining reservations for Valentine's Day. So I simply picked up a tray of beef tenderloin from Costco and oven baked it based on a video posted on FB. Oven baked!? Yup, oven baked!
Simply season your steaks with salt and pepper then place on a rack and bake at 275 degrees until the internal temperature is in the 120 to 125 degree range (for medium rare).
Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes...
While heating a cast iron skillet on medium high.
Brush with a little oil then sear on the first side for 1 minute...
Flip and sear the other side for another 1 and 1/2 to 2 minutes.
It almost was a kitchen fail as the digital thermometer I was using to gauge the internal temperature actually died about half way through baking. By the time I noticed it was dead, the internal temperature of my steak was already at 125 degrees... WHEW!
I also did the traditional pan seared tenderloin for two pieces marinated in red wine, herbs and spices...
Perfect medium rare throughout the whole steak almost like the sous vide process but a lot faster. I think I will continue to employ this cooking method more most of my home cooked steaks...
Of course, perfect medium rare tenderloin begs for red wine so I uncorked a 1995 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon which had semi-dried red fruit with a touch of... citrus? It was almost like the nose of a Lambrusco but with drier red fruit instead of fresh fruit. Or like sangria made with aged Cab. Whatever it was, it had me so intrigued that I didn't sip for almost 10 minutes simply taking in the nose... then it had a seamless palate flow with fruit and acid in balance transitioning into a long finish. My only bottle... Oh well, wine is meant to drink, not simply meant to keep...
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