If you're thinking potatoes...Baby Reds with Lemon Parsley Butter? Asparagus is in season and on sale. Roasted baby spring carrots if you can get them. Think color!

Maryanne, I regret the direction this thread turned, as well as the condescending tone of my previous post. I won't say it was misinterpreted, because it was certainly intentional - a response to people picking my original post apart and alleging that I said something that I never said. Does anyone even remember my original post on this thread? Some posters here took a very simple comment of mine: "Other than the obvious differences of the U.S. product most likely being fresher and slaughtered/processed under the watchful eyes of USDA inspectors...." And from that, alleged that I was insinuating that Australian beef was "slaughtered and processed under less sanitary conditions than in the US." I NEVER said that or even implied it. NEVER! My comment regarding the USDA inspection simply referred to the fact that we don't know anything about the inspection in foreign countries. Granted, ours could be improved upon, but at least we know something about it. It's certainly possible that Australia's is as good or even better than ours, but we just don't KNOW that. And the comment I made about freshness was ONLY pertaining to the logistics of shipping. It's actually a pretty simple concept... The less distance there is between the point of a commodity's production and the point of that commodity's consumption, the fresher that product is likely to be. Not just beef, but ANY product. But, the shipping time is not even an issue for me, because I wouldn't buy the imported product under ANY conditions. I have a strong desire to support local farmers and ranchers - and not just because I'm a cattle producer. I feel STRONGLY that we should support our domestic food producers...even at the higher price. I put my money where my mouth is and do the same thing with products other than beef. We've already given much of this country's manufacturing capability to China. We're becoming more and more dependent on them all the time for fish and seafood. We depend on the Middle East for way too much of our energy needs. If we ever become too dependent on foreign countries for our food....well, I'm going to do my part to be sure that doesn't happen. Even if it costs more. Again, I regret hijacking your thread and the direction that it turned. Thanks for buying U.S. beef!

Hi, Stacy! Your post just struck such a chord with me, and I wanted to share my experience for what it's worth... My family had always (and I do mean *always*, as in for the last 100 years at least) had a huge Thanksgiving feast with turkey, dressing, ham, homemade rolls, along with countless side dishes and lots of desserts. Then we'd repeat the exact same menu for Christmas dinner. Besides hours of grocery shopping and days of cooking, there was silver to polish, linens to iron, crystal and china to hand-wash, etc., etc. Like you, we usually had a crowd of 16-18, so it was a massive undertaking. But with several good cooks and lots of willing helpers, it was always great fun -- very definitely a pleasure rather than an obligation. A couple of years after I 'inherited' hostess duties from my mother, though, suddenly the joy was all gone and it became overwhelming. Our family reached a point where the grandparents and others of their generation were too old and feeble to help. And the grandchildren were still too young to assume any meaningful responsibilities. There was absolutely nobody to help me with this huge project. Well, except for my sister-in-law, but I refuse to go there.... After serving Thanksgiving dinner that year, I was on the verge of collapse. (As usual, SIL didn't even offer to help with the dishes!) And all I could think about was the fact that it would be deja vu all over again in less than a month -- PLUS all the shopping, wrapping and decorating that makes Christmas 10 times more chaotic. In order to save my mental health, something had to give! So I did the previously unthinkable and announced that our holiday food traditions were about to change dramatically. The Thanksgiving menu would remain basically the same, but Christmas dinner would be way different. I promised them it would be elegant and delicious, but it would also be extremely simplified. To my shock and amazement, all the oldies were extremely supportive. They said it made lots more sense under the circumstances, that they were sure they'd love anything I served, and it would be fun to start a new tradition. (Pretty cool 'tude for people in their 80's and 90's, huh?) The ones who howled with indignation were my kids! I actually had wild-and-crazy teenaged boys up in my face, accusing me of "throwing generations of family tradition down the tubes..." It would have been riotously funny if they hadn't been so genuinely upset. Who knew they had even noticed the enormous effort I put into holiday celebrations, much less cared??? Despite a negative PR campaign (orchestrated by my oldest son) that would have done any politician proud, I stuck to my guns. The result? The most wonderful Christmas dinner you could imagine! I put the boys in charge of the salad. One prepped the spinach and red leaf lettuce and sliced some red onion. Another cooked the bacon and shredded the Swiss cheese, while the third mixed the poppyseed dressing. Their other assignment was to cook the beef tenderloin. (They weren't real great in the kitchen at that point, but they were already superstars on the grill.) Yes, it put a lot of pressure on them to cook such an expensive entree -- but I knew they'd step up to the plate. And they were sooo proud when the beef drew raves! For the first time, one of them invited a girlfriend to join us. When she insisted, with obvious sincerity, that she'd like to help, I accepted her offer. With me providing the recipe and a minimal amount of supervision, she prepared a wonderful crabmeat concoction for our starter course. All I had to do was layer the ingredients for a potato gratin and cook a green veggie, pop some rolls in the oven, and later pull out the cheesecake I'd made two days in advance. It was the most wonderful Christmas dinner! So wonderful, in fact, that we've repeated it every year since. For once, I was able to relax and enjoy it as much as everyone else did. And, of course, the 'cherry on top' was that my sons readily admitted afterwards that they had been wrong and that having a different menu for our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners actually made both meals seem more special. Talk about feeling vindicated!! You don't sound like you're on the verge of a mental breakdown over your menu like I was. lol But I would really encourage you to try this different approach! However, like several others have said, stick to the basics. Stuff something that needs help, not this. I've found it's best to allow 1/2 lb. per guest. Unless you have a crowd with unusually large appetites, you'll even have a little bit left over. Good luck! sm P.S. Almost forgot to share the best part of the story. The lovely young woman who so thoughtfully insisted on helping prepare that crab dish 5 years ago? To my joy, she became my DIL last month. Just one more reason our first Christmas dinner without turkey will always rank up there with the most wonderful ever!! :)

I have made this many times and it's a good special occasion dish. ROASTED SURF ÂNÂ TURF 2 lobster tails 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. seafood seasoning 1 (3 lb.) whole beef tenderloin 1 Tbs. melted butter or margarine 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice 6 slices bacon 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions (scallions) 1 clove garlic, finely minced 1/2 lb. mushrooms, thinly sliced 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup dry white wine 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (optional) or 1 tsp. chopped fresh or 1/4 tsp. dried tarragon (optional) Place lobster tails, salt and seafood seasoning in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from water and drain. Let cool until able to be handled. Carefully remove lobster tails from shells, keeping meat in one piece. Cut each piece of lobster meat in half lengthwise and set aside. Cut a horizontal pocket through the center of meat to within 1/2 inch of opposite side of tenderloin, slicing the entire length of tenderloin. Carefully stuff lobster pieces, end to end, inside tenderloin. Combine the 1 Tbs. melted butter and lemon juice; Drizzle on lobster. Fold over tenderloin to resemble original shape and tie with butcherÂs twine. Set aside. Cook bacon in a skillet until slightly crisp; drain, reserving drippings. Crumble bacon; set aside. Put beef in shallow pan and brush entire surface of meat with bacon drippings. Insert meat thermometer in center of roast so the point is right below the lobster, making sure it doesnÂt go all the way through and touch the pan. Bake at 400 degrees for approx. 25 minutes or until thermometer registers 130 degrees (rare). While roast is cooking, saute shallots, green onions, garlic and mushrooms in 1/2 cup butter. Add wine and Worcestershire sauce or tarragon (but not both). Simmer until roast is ready. To serve, remove twine and sprinkle top of meat with crumbled bacon. Serve sauce with sliced tenderloin. Note: The roast can be stuffed earlier in the day and refrigerated (uncooked). Add a few minutes more cooking time if made ahead. The sauce can also be made ahead and reheated.