Chef Ira Dole commanded The Brown Palace kitchen in the 1950s and was said to be one of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s fishing buddies. Dole devised this recipe just for Eisenhower, who often stayed at the hotel for six to eight weeks at a time. Ike liked the dish so much that he once requested it for both lunch and dinner in the same day.
Ingredients
1 pound butter
2 teaspoons sugar
Salt and peeper to taste
24 baby carrots, peeled
1/2 cup cooking oil
6 pounds beef tenderloin, cut in 2-ounce slices
2 pounds fresh mushrooms, sliced
6 shallots, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
16 ounces Burgundy wine
1 quart Demi Glace (separate recipe)
Directions
Melt 1/2 pound of the butter with sugar, salt and pepper in a 10-inch pan. Add baby carrots. Add water to cover. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender; keep warm.
Place 1/2 pound butter and cooking oil in a 12-inch skillet over moderately high heat. Season beef with salt and pepper. Quickly brown individual slices of beef so the meat is still rare. Place slices in a chafing dish and keep warm. Add mushrooms to drippings in skillet; simmer 10 minutes. Add shallots and garlic; simmer 5 minutes longer. Add Burgundy wine and Demi Glace. Simmer 1 hour.
Pour sauce over beef slices in chafing dish. Arrange carrots on top. Bring to a boil before serving. Makes 12 servings.
Demi Glace
Ingredients
1 pound Veal bones
1 pound Beef bones
1 stalk celery
1 large onion
1 large carrot
1 bay leaf
½ cup flour
1 cup cooking oil
Stems from one bunch parsley
Directions
Cut celery, onion and carrot into small pieces. Put cooking oil in hot roasting pan. Add beef bones, veal bones and vegetables. Roast for 20 minutes uncovered in a 350-degree oven. Add flour, bay leaf, parsley stems, and cook until golden brown. Add 1 gallon of water, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook until liquid is reduced to 1 quart. Strain through fine sieve.
Source: Debra Faulkner, hotel historian, The Brown Palace Hotel
