A Little Day

Today I met my daughter in law and grand littles at my CSA farm for a day of apple and pumpkin picking.

We fed all the baby animals.

Climbed on mountains of hay bales.

Took a hay ride up into the orchard and picked apples.

It was glorious.

And fun.

The girls were silly.

Just like we were once.

And Hannah and Jillian picked their very own pumpkins for Halloween. My only rule was they had to be able to carry their pumpkin of choice their very own self. That was always our rule. They chose wisely. A Nani (and a Poppie) has to have at least one rule.

I didn't think I could do it. TBHITW and I and the kidadults have always made a pilgrimage, every year, to pick apples, eat apple cider donuts and haul pumpkins together. Fall was his favorite time of year.

But I did it. And I had fun. So the tradition continues.

TBHITW would have smiled.

Memories:

Two Days To WWW - and Tenderloin

These are the women of WWW. Women's Wine Weekend (notice there is no H in Wine).

That's me, the first on the right

It's two days until we convene and commence to, well, whatever we want.

Today I am going to buy the beef tenderloin and this is how I'm going to make it for WWW Saturday Dinner:

Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Rosemary, Chocolate and Wine Sauce

1 (2 to 5 pound) beef tenderloin
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons olive oil
½ cup chopped shallots
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups dry red wine plus more for drinking (duh)
2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Tenderloin:

Take meat out of refrigerator 1 hour before roasting. Season meat with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add meat and sear until well browned on all sides.

Transfer the meat to a rack set on a baking sheet. Roast until desired doneness (140 – medium rare, 150 – medium). Take meat out of oven 6 degrees below desired temperature. Tent. Residual cooking will bring to desired temperature. Let rest AT LEAST 15 minutes before carving.

Sauce:

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, carrot and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for 2 more minutes. Add the wine and broth and stir in tomato paste, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer until reduced by half (about 30 minutes) Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Discard solids. Return sauce to pan, whisk in cocoa. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Serve on the side with the sliced tenderloin.

Tomorrow: All the sides.