i don't care if it does kill me—i love me some red meat. in keeping with my involuntary expensive taste, the best part for me is always the tenderloin. i mean, just look at it. that is a beautiful piece of meat. these came from a nice old dude at whole foods for $34. nomnomnom. the way i saw the weirdo barefoot contessa (ina garten) prepare it, she used fleur de sel to coat them. i knew fleur de sel takes caramels over the top, so i figured it would take my hefty steaks over the top as well. then i discovered eight ounces of fleur de sel is $20. [scratches head] you know me, though, throwing money around like i'm not in debt. i had to get it, and yes, it's pretty delish. well, ina heated an iron skillet over high heat to sear her steaks, but when i put mine onto the hot iron smoke billowed from the pan. even though i had the hood on, it poured from the kitchen into the dining room into the living room. it took f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to get it all cleared. it didn't ruin the meat thank god (though some parts did get cooked more than i wanted), but i still want to cunt punt ina garten for telling me to do that. we're not going for high heat next time... i also made what owen claimed to be the best mushrooms he's ever eaten. not to mention my galaxy-famous roasted 'tatoes. also of note for today, i chopped my hair off. rather, an adorable little queen chopped it off. i also caved and bought the $100 star wars trade federation mtt lego set. it's got 1326 pieces, though! how am i supposed to resist?! oh, and then the pokemon toy i bought bumped my total up to $114. ugh! you just can't let me loose in a toy store! 1/11/09 21:03

Tenderloin of beef served with a shallot red wine reduction sauce. ($30.95) Notes: The tenderloin was sadly over-cooked. I had asked for it medium-rare - but it came out medium. Disappointing for a $30 piece of meat. Otherwise, the meat was tender and still juicy. The shallot red wine reduction was nice and thick - not overwhelming or cloying. Interestingly, it started to congeal a little as it got cold -making me wonder if it had been thickened from cornstarch or if it was truly gelatinous from stewing bones... the consistency would suggest the latter. Just like the sea bass, the filet came with mashed potatoes, broccoli and carrots. The mashed potatoes were light and fluffy - buttery and had a very sausage-y flavor. It tasted as if the potatoes had been boiled with kielbasa, or pork sausages. That may sound weird, but it was so good! The broccoli had been steamed and the carrots had a sugary glaze with a curiously menthol-like flavor. I couldn't quite put my finger on the exact herb - very piney-woody-menthol-ly.... odd. Not bad. Just, odd.