Tender is the Loin

After that last GTD post I needed to write something to prove I do more than just sit managing action lists all day.

I dropped Alexis off at the airport yesterday because she was flying south for a week-long archaeology boondoggle in the Mojave to attend the opening ceremonies for the newly restored Kelso Depot and then to Ventura for a conference hosted by the Society for California Archaeology. I’m glad she can get away to immerse herself in her career the same way I do regularly, and I’m glad I’m getting a weekend at home alone where I can focus on that aforementioned Ethics paper. So of course the first thing I did was to plan a big dinner “with the guys” last night.

I’d been looking for an excuse to try out what I learned from Alton Brown’s recent Tender is the Loin episode where he disassembled an entire beef tenderloin from Costco and turned it into filet mignons, chateaubriand, carpaccio, and even a tasty looking philly cheese steak. So I went to our local wholesale cavern yesterday and picked up an entire “pismo” (cryo-vac’d tenderloin primal). After 45 minutes of trimming and cleaning I was left with some very nice pieces of meat, half of which I put away to save for later, and the other half of which I carved into some nice little filets to throw on a mesquite BBQ. Matt, Heath, and Jonah came over (and Shac showed up later on) and I made a great menu of green-pea risotto, grilled asparagus, salad, and a cheese course to match these delicious little steaks. I have to say, the meat was delicious (I guess that’s what the “choice” label means), and I look forward to my next usage of the ingredient later today. Hmmm, carpaccio or cheese steak… Yum!