Cowboy-Approved Holiday Recipes

WITH KRYSTA PAFFRATH Cowboy-Approved Holiday Recipes

Welcome back to another edition of Krysta’s Kitchen! I hope you all know by now that whatever comes out of my kitchen are meals that anyone can cook as well. With that being said, this edition is no different but instead of one recipe, I am sharing two! These recipes were crafted to even impress the toughest cowboys.

ROASTED RED PEPPER & GOAT CHEESE PINWHEELS

This appetizer was a huge hit with my party guests (even those who weren’t huge fans of goat cheese). The great thing about this recipe is you can add or switch out any of the ingredients you want. You can also pre-mix the filling the day before so all you have to do is put it together and then bake it. Let’s get into it!

Time

• 1 Hour Total (Prep + Cook)

Ingredients

1 block of cream cheese (8 oz) 1 package of 4 oz goat cheese 1/2 cup cooked pancetta or bacon 1/2 - 3/4 cup of roasted red pepper 2 sheets of thawed puff pastry

Recipe

• Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. • Mix your cream cheese, goat cheese, bacon/pancetta, and red pepper together in a bowl. You might need to warm up your cream cheese to make sure it’s easily spreadable. This can be done the day before and refrigerated until you’re ready to bake. • Make sure your puff pasty is completely thawed out. Unfold one sheet and gently spread half of your filling on the dough in an even layer. • Starting with the end closest to you, roll the dough into a log and gently cut the log into 10 slices, about ½ inch thick each. It’s okay if they smoosh a little, just reshape them before laying them flat on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. • Repeat with the second puff pastry sheet • Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.

If you are new to Beef Wellingtons, then here is a crash course. There are four main layers to a Beef Wellington, the beef tenderloin, the mushroom Pâté, prosciutto, and puff pastry, in that order. While I skipped this in the recipe today, I do recommend pairing this Wellington with a sauce of some kind, a red wine reduction would be delicious. Additionally, this recipe’s cook time is for those that enjoy a medium - medium rare steak. I encourage you to do your research on steak temps to get the cook your family likes best.

Time

• 2 Hours Total • Prep: 20 mins • Total Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins • Chilling Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

FOR THE BEEF

Center Cut Beef Tenderloin (8 ounces of meat per person) Salt and pepper to taste 2 TbsP Brown mustard 2 Tbsp Olive oil A digital meat thermometer

FOR THE MUSHROOM PÂTÉ

1 1/2 lbs of mushrooms (any kind will do) 2 TbsP salted butter 2 TbsP olive oil 2 medium shallots roughly chopped 6 sprigs fresh thyme leaves 4 cloves garlic Salt and pepper to taste

FOR WELLINGTON ASSEMBLY

12 thin slices of prosciutto 2 Sheets puff pastry thawed 1 egg beaten 1/2 TSP flaky or coarse sea salt 1 bunch finely minced chives (for finishing)

Recipe

Tenderloin Prep

• If the butcher prepared the beef for you, it shouldn’t have any silver skin or a lot of fat on it. If it still has some, make sure to trim that away before searing. Additionally, have the butcher tie it with butcher’s twine at 1-inch intervals.

Season generously all over with salt and pepper. • Heat a large skillet over high heat until smoking hot, then add the olive oil. Once hot, sear the tenderloin on all sides for about 2 minutes per side. Resist the urge to move the meat around, you want to get a really good crust on it so it will seal in all the juices. • Remove the seared tenderloin from the pan and cut off the twine. Brush it on all sides with the mustard while the meat is still warm. Set aside.

Make Your Mushroom Pâté

• You can use a food processor for this, but a good ole fashioned knife does the trick as well. I chopped all of the mushrooms into pretty small pieces. The goal shouldn’t be to taste the mushrooms themselves, they really just give the meat a great umami flavor to the beef. I had several anti-mushrooms eaters at my table and none of them complained! • Finely chop your shallots, thyme leaves, and garlic and combine them with your mushrooms. • In the same pan used to sear the tenderloin, heat the butter and olive oil until melted. • Add your mushroom mixture and season with salt and pepper. Cook them on medium heat for 8-10 minutes until the mushrooms have released their liquid then continue to cook the mushroom mixture for an additional 4-5 minutes to brown the mushrooms. • Remove from the heat and let cool.

Wellington Assembly

• Lay out two large pieces of plastic wrap, slightly overlapping each other. You want them long enough to have 1-2 inches on each side of your tenderloins and enough to wrap all the way around it at least once. • Lay out your prosciutto in slightly overlapping rows to form a square that will be large enough to wrap the tenderloin in. • Spread the mushroom mixture evenly over the prosciutto, then place the tenderloin on one end. • Use the plastic wrap to help you roll the tenderloin in the prosciutto and mushrooms, wrapping it tightly to form a log. Tuck in the ends of the prosciutto as you roll it up. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap closed, then place the tenderloin in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to help make sure it will all hold together. • Preheat oven to 425°F. • Make sure your puff pastry is completely thawed, you will need both sheets to make one large sheet. Roll out the thawed puff pastry with a rolling pin to give yourself an extra inch or so on each side. • Press the edges of the two sheets together with a little egg wash or water to seal. It should create a rectangle large enough to wrap the prosciutto-wrapped tenderloin. • Remove the tenderloin from the plastic wrap, then place it on the puff pastry. • Roll it up first, then make sure you have enough on the ends to cover your roast entirely. I had extra pastry on the end, so I cut off the excess, and wrapped the ends like a Christmas present, tucking the ends under and brushing the beaten egg over the long edge to seal it all up. You don’t want a ton of overlapping pastry as you will end up with partially uncooked dough. • IMPORTANT: Cut diagonal slashes every inch or so down the length of the pastry to allow steam to vent while the wellington is baking. • Transfer the wrapped beef wellington to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the top with the remaining egg wash. • Sprinkle the top with flaky salt or coarse sea salt. • Bake until golden brown on the outside and the tenderloin reaches 130-135°F on a digital meat thermometer for medium-rare doneness. This is typically around 40 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of your tenderloin.

Remove from the oven and rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.