FOR ADAM’S BEEF STROGANOFF RECIPE, GO TO BONAPPETIT .COM /STROGANOFF
What could go wrong?
That’s what I was thinking. I had offered to make Christmas dinner for my wife’s family in Buffalo. I would roast a beef tenderloin—the ultimate centerpiece, with its crisp, burnished exterior; tender, rosy interior; and no fat whatsoever to scare off hesitant eaters.
On Christmas Eve morning, my father-in-law, John, and I drove to Niagara Produce, a cavernous food warehouse with a big take-a-ticket butcher counter. We picked out a hefty tenderloin, the white-coated butcher tied it up for us, and we were on our way.
One great thing about tenderloin is that it doesn’t need much—lots of salt and pepper, a really hot oven to produce a sear, and then medium heat for steady cooking.…