Marinate the beef and make the cake 1 day ahead to minimize last minute preparations for this menu.

Your Menu: Serves 6

Herb-Marinated Beef Tenderloin
Palmer House Carrot Cake

Test Kitchen Tips:

To remove skins from tomatoes, place in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds; remove with a slotted spoon to a colander and rinse with cold water. Peel the skins off with a paring knife. To remove seeds, quarter the tomatoes; hold over the sink and use a spoon or your fingers to remove the seeds.

If you can't find yellow tomatoes, substitute red tomatoes.

You will need approximately 1-1/2 pounds of carrots to get 4 cups of finely shredded carrots. Use a food processor with a fine shredding blade to shred the carrots for the cake.

Shopping List for: Beef

• 6, 6-ounce beef tenderloin steaks, cut 1 inch thick
• 1 package shallots or 1 bunch green onions
• 1 package fresh thyme or 1 container dried thyme
• 1 package fresh rosemary or 1 container dried rosemary
• 1 package fresh basil or 1 container dried basil
• 1 container whole black peppercorns
• 1 bulb garlic
• 6 medium yellow potatoes
• 3 medium red tomatoes or 12 red cherry tomatoes
• 3 medium yellow tomatoes or 12 yellow cherry tomatoes
• 1 package fresh chives (optional)
• 1 package sliced bacon

Pantry Items:

• Salt
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar

Shopping List for: Cake

• 1 dozen eggs
• 1, 2-pound bag carrots
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese
• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1, 1-pound box powdered sugar
• 1 jar apricot preserves

Pantry Items:

• Shortening
• All-purpose flour
• Granulated sugar
• Ground cinnamon
• Baking soda
• Ground allspice
• Cooking oil
• Salt

Equipment Needed:

For Beef:

• Cutting board and knife
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Small bowl
• Shallow glass or plastic container
• Broiler pan with rack
• Tongs
• Fine mesh strainer
• Small saucepan
• Large saucepan
• Colander
• Large skillet
• Paper towels
• 6 shallow bowls

For Cake:

• 3, 8x1 1/2-inch round baking pans
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Fine shredder or food processor
• Medium mixing bowl
• Wooden spoon
• Large mixing bowl
• Electric mixer
• Rubber spatula
• Wooden toothpick
• Serving plate
• Thin metal spatula

Cooking for Two

Most recipes serve four or more, which leaves too many leftovers for a cozy party of two. No matter what the season, we've got recipes just for the two of you.

Missing an item in our equipment list?

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