Peppercorn-Crusted Beef Tenderloin, Celery Root with Melted Onions, and Honey-Glazed Cipollini Onions

Someone asked me recently how far I had made it through the book.  After counting, this is the 41st of 251 recipes.  251 sounds like a heck of a lot but it really isn't as bad as it sounds.  For example, cooking eggs is considered a recipe since it is technically listed separately even though it is really just a component of another recipe.  I will start listing a countdown of recipes with each post to keep track of exactly how far to go.  Matt has promised me a trip to California to eat at Thomas Keller's restaurant when I make it all the way through...talk about inspiration!  I hope to finish all of the recipes within a year so we'll see.

Tonight I cooked the peppercorn-crusted beef tenderloin, celery root with melted onion, and honey-glazed cipollini onions.  As you can see I had to tackle the melted onions again which didn't turn out so well in a previous recipe.  Previously, my melted onions burned and were crunchy rather than creamy.  This time I added a lot more onions to the pan and they did melt rather than burn...

 

After completing the melted onions, this was the finished product. 

 

 Next I started working on the peppercorn crust for the tenderloins.  I cooked a handful of peppercorns in canola oil over low heat and then strained the oil for another use and reserved the peppercorns.  The peppercorns were crushed using my mortar and pestle...

I then rubbed the beef tenderloins with the peppercorns and allowed them to come to room temperature.

The tenderloins were seared in oil and then transferred to the oven to cook to medium-rare.

I was excited to see celery root at my local store this week and grabbed them for this recipe.  I wasn't excited about the price.  One celery root costs $6 which is a lot of money for this ugly thing...

 I cut the flesh out of the celery root (which resembles potatoes) and then cooked the pieces over low heat with thyme and smashed garlic. 

After the celery root was cooked, I drained the fat and added the melted onions to the dish along with a little chicken stock.

The cipollini onions were browned in the pan and honey, thyme, and garlic was added. 

I then added chicken stock which made a glaze and transferred the onions to the oven to finish cooking.  The finished dish...

The finished celery root dish...

And last but not least, the beef tenderloin...

The flavors were really nice and the beef was cooked to a perfect medium rare.  I have to admit though the richness of all of this butter and canola oil in these dishes we have been eating is starting to wear on us.  A lot of the recipes have French influence and the French are definitely known for using butter and oil.  I may alter up the recipes a bit going forward to make them slightly healthier.  We aren't used to eating like this and I don't want to get burned out by clogging our arteries. 

This will be my last post for two weeks or so.  We are traveling for the holidays but look for more dishes over Christmas break.  Happy Holidays to All!