Holiday Leftovers!

If you're like me, you have a mom who is like Barefoot Contessa on steroids.

No?

Well, my mom IS LIKE Barefoot Contessa on steroids. Every year at Christmas she hosts our entire family AND makes a meal fit for a king (or 40 kings) -- the fringe benefit, of course, being that I get a LOT of leftover homemade food to play with.  This year, the holiday menu of Mama C was:

1. Beef tenderloin (a perfect, PERFECT medium rare)  with gravy or horseradish cream
2. Broccoli gratin
3. Squash gratin
4. Artichoke hearts with capers
5. Fruit salad

And that, folks, is what's piled up in my freezer now!  So, what to do with it all?  Well, I'd love to make mini beef wellingtons with that beef tenderloin...or maybe stir fry...or just salad toppings. The broccoli gratin will be used in a traditional broccoli-chicken-cheese-rice casserole for my husband (who has professed a love for such a dish) and the artichokes with capers will be used to stuff ravioli (I got a ravioli maker for Christmas!!). The squash?  Well, the squash will be used somehow.  Maybe to stuff ravioli too. But we'll start with the artichoke hearts, shall we?  I am using the artichoke hearts bake that my mom sent home with me as a filling, but you can make your own. This is via Smitten Kitchen at http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/01/artichoke-gaga/

Artichoke Ravioli with Tomatoes...

For pasta:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons water

For filling:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 small onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1 (10-ounce) box frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and patted dry
• 1 ounce finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup)
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten with 2 teaspoons water (for egg wash)

For assembly:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3 medium plum tomatoes, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch dice (3/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 ounce finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 

• Special equipment: a pasta machine; a 3-inch round metal cookie cutter; a shallow oval 2-quart ceramic or glass

Comments

[Erin]

I would love to see what you end up doing with your leftover tenderloin - I have an 8lbs. one in my fridge that I'm cooking for New Years, and I anticipate lots of leftovers! I think these look delicious: http://userealbutter.com/2008/12/03/beef-tenderloin-wraps-recipe/, and so do these: http://userealbutter.com/2009/02/12/beef-roll-sushi-recipe/ !