this begins the story of the day my best friend dot got married, told mostly through food and flowers. what better storytellers are there? it is also the story of how i successfully transported three pounds of beef tenderloin from san diego to carmel to make dinner for dot (aka lolo) and her husband to be. not even airport security could stop me.
before we get to ravishing wedding gowns, romantic roses, and oysters and pearls (and trust me, they are coming), i'll tell you that mother nature must love dot and c. california has its share of beautiful days, but only a few are magical. every day hugging and including their wedding day was that. sunlight married everything it touched and they became something more together.
this is january, people.
two days before rings were exchanged and kisses were kissed, gorgonzola dolce was stuffed into bosc pears and broiled until bubbly under a crust of hazelnuts. when dot & c were engaged a year ago, i started thinking about the pre-wedding dinner i wanted to make them.
while i love nothing more than making dinner with dot (see here, here, here, and here), the only thing i wanted her to lift were her dancing feet. i somewhat successfully warded her off from her own kitchen, only to bug her nearly constantly for the location of peelers and pepper, parchment and the like.
my beef tenderloin was tsa-approved, wrapped in an entire roll of saran wrap and snuggled into an insulated bag before it arrived in carmel to be tied with sprigs of thyme and slow-roasted for 2 hours in a low oven. i love my butcher in san diego, and i especially love the no-fuss, never-fail slow roasting method for tenderloin. just for the record, raw beef tenderloin is not considered a threat of terrorism.
also accepted by airport security was a chocolate stout cake i'd made the night before. dot had to help me unlodge it from the bundt pan and chocolate ganache cloaked any wounds endured by travel. conclusion: double stout, molasses, and flying all make chocolate taste a little better.
so does love.
notes
* find the recipe for pears stuffed with gorgozola and hazelnuts and mixed greens with pancetta here. i served it as a first course, but it would make for a lovely cheese course or end of a meal.
* the method for slow-roasted beef tenderloin is here. i like it served with shallots and red wine.
* can you tell i love fine cooking magazine? chocolate stout cake here.
* of the dot & c story - there is more to come...