My Joy of Cooking

Recently, Jarrett and I have taken to having friends over once every week or two for dinner. Its a lot of fun to have people over, but also to eat good food. Its funny to think about now, because when Jarrett and I first started cooking together last summer, the results were somewhere around mediocre. I believe our first meal was pasta salad. Like I said...it was something mediocre. Definitely edible--but less than gourmet.

Our cooking largely took a break once I moved into Old Mill. The kitchen there was...undesirable. So, once I started staying at my new place in SLC, we bumped things up a notch. We've done things like:
--Lemon Chicken Broccoli Casserole
--Spaghetti and Meatballs
--Sausage Pasta Bake
--Taco Soup
--Homemade Chicken Alfredo
--Stuffed Shells
--Manicotti

The most recent addition to this list was the creme de la creme. It was.... drum-roll....

Filet Mignon with a Rosemary Cream Sauce! This was accompanied by rosemary roasted potatoes, a fresh garden salad with Gorgonzola cheese, and French bread. I'll post the recipes at the end of this entry.

I'm happy to say that this dinner was really easy! It takes a little prep time, mostly with the potatoes and also if you're chopping up fresh rosemary. But still, its not bad.

There are 2 especially great things about all of this: I feel like I've gained a lot of experience cooking, and thus become a better cook. Its really not that hard (surprisingly enough). Cooking is something that I've simply never taken the time to become good at, but when you do, you experience immediate gratification and satisfaction. Every time I cook something nice, I feel like I've accomplished something. Its a nice feeling--especially after working 8 hours in a pretty monotonous job. The other great thing is that you can do it with/for friends. Jarrett and I have made it an opportunity to invite small groups (2-3 people) over for dinner; we get to know them better and we all get good food and some good conversation too.

So, although I'm no Julia Child or Julie Powell, I have to say that cooking is fun. I have yet to master the art of French Cooking (ugh, the French), but maybe one day I'll get there.

Now, to start you on your way to deliciousness, try out our best dinner so far! The following recipes are great with salad and some bread.

FILET MIGNON WITH ROSEMARY CREAM

4 beef tenderloin filets (or medallions) 1 1/2" thick
4 tbsp. olive oil
3/4 cup dry white wine (we used a Riesling, and it worked quite well)
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped (can be substituted with dry rosemary)
1 tsp. corn starch or flour
salt & pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a pan, then cook the filets first one side until a nice brownish color is obtained, then turn them and do the same to the other side, sprinkling salt, pepper and part of the chopped rosemary over them. Turn them again, add the flavoring, then take them out of the pan and briefly set them aside.

In the same pan and without shutting down the heat (or draining the pan), add most of the wine and the remaining rosemary. Dissolve the flour/cornstarch into the remaining wine and add it along with the cream to the pan. Continue revolving until the sauce thickens. Return the filets to the pan, covering them with the sauce. Serve immediately.
(Adapted from www.cooks.com)


ROSEMARY ROASTED POTATOES

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds small red or white-skinned potatoes (or a mixture)
1/8 cup good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoons minced garlic (3 cloves)
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the potatoes in half or quarters and place in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary; toss until the potatoes are well coated. Dump the potatoes on a baking sheet or casserole dish and spread out into 1 layer; roast in the oven for at least 1 hour, or until browned and crisp. Flip twice with a spatula during cooking to ensure even browning.

Remove the potatoes from the oven, season to taste, and serve.
(recipe courtesy Ina Garten, www.foodnetwork.com)
*A few notes about this recipe: I prefer to use a casserole dish because it has high sides and is thus easy to flip potatoes in. Also, I make sure the whole bottom of the dish is covered with a layer of oil to help the roasting. :)

Hopefully this doesn't turn into a cooking blog, but I'll try and post my favourite recipes in the future. If anyone wants a recipe for one of the previously mentioned meals, let me know!