September 12th: Bacon-wrapped Tenderloin, Fennel Potatoes and Corn Bread

As has become evident on this blog, as of late, I am quickly preparing to remove myself from the center state and return to a life of relative ease in the suburbs. Relative being the key term in that sentence. As I live here, I'm seeking to find a way through the next couple weeks. Seeking home via cooking, video games, music and drinking seem like good ideas all the time. Unfortunately, some seem like better ideas when they really shouldn't be. I noticed I've been cooking a lot of "comfort" food, recently. Chex-mix being a blatant reminder of the good times I've had with my family, the burgers and biscuits being a mixture of "family get together burgers" and "down home, southern biscuits," attempting to assuage the feeling that I belong nowhere at this given moment. That I'm currently living on borrowed time in this apartment that I once shared with someone I loved.

Well, tonight really wasn't any different, except I ain't reaching for a bottle. 'Least, not yet. I had no idea what I wanted to cook, so I ran to Meijer and ran around the store looking for things to cook. Beef tenderloin caught my eye, an extremely similar cut to Filet Mingon (I believe Filet comes from the tenderloin cut) and I got to thinking "when was the last time I had Filet Mingon?"

That last time I had it, I was about 17 and in North Carolina with my family. I had Filet Mingon at the Breakwater restaurant and it was served with sauteed veggies and red potatoes. Plus, bacon wrapped. So, I decided I'd do a similar thing. My family often vacationed in the Outer Banks and that restaurant was a must visit every time. It was a much better time for me, back then, than it is right now.

I coupled that with some red potatoes and used this recipe I found on the Food Network's website. And the second side became cornbread. Something that my mother would make, quite often, while I was growing up. A box of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix came home with me.

The meal took longer to prepare than I thought it would. The meat took forever to cook. I seared it on both sides, then put the pan in the oven with the corn bread. The corn bread even took a while to cook. The potatoes were actually done first, which is something that rarely happens with my cooking... how odd.

The meal turned out to be really good. The Fennel Potatoes didn't really taste all that different from just boiled potatoes, at least after tasting something with a bolder taste. Next time, I'll have to roast more fennel seeds to produce a stronger flavor. Before eating the beef, the potatoes had a distinct flavor, afterwards, not so much. To top it off: my corn bread didn't really rise too much. It was flat, but tasted fine. I think a single box of jiffy isn't really enough to make corn bread for more than one person. Lucky for me, I'm cooking single, now.

Eh, can't really wait to be moved back in with my parents and have this whole chapter of my life over with. Talk about putting yourself into a tight position.