Cilantro Experiment

I had an interesting phone call this afternoon, from Bob S., who from the area code, seems to live in Massachusetts. He (and some cohorts that I could hear in the background), were cooking up what sounded like a delicious feast:

Salt and herb encrusted Beef tenderloin
Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta
Small red potatoes
Squash
Rolls
Guacamole for snacking

Delicious, right? The only problem was that, even though he was reminded more than once to be sure he chose parsley instead of cilantro, he got the whole herb/salt mixture applied to the tenderloin before realizing he was using cilantro! Goodness.

Here's where the Emergency Food Hotline comes in. Somehow he found the blog, and made a quick call about his food emergency. We discussed the options. Either he could remove the crust from the tenderloin immediately and redo the whole thing, hoping the herbs had not already embedded their confused flavor into the meat....OR...he could go the experimental route (always my favorite) and follow through with his accidental flavor combination.

Bob decided that experimental was the way to go, and I thought perhaps he could use a sauce to tie the flavors together, and make one that would go with another of the dishes too. So I asked if he had any types of peppers, and they had bell peppers and a jabanero. I recommended broiling the peppers til the skins were good and roasted, then pureeing together with some oil, salt and pepper and maybe a few spices if the mood struck them. Then the sauce could be a side for both the tenderloin and the squash, hopefully bringing a splendid complement to the cilantro mixup.

Oh, and we decided they could use a bit of cumin with the tomatoes and onion in the guacamole since there was no cilantro left to brighten it up.

Bob & co., I cannot wait to hear how it turned out!