Last-Minute Christmas Cooking

Christmas dinner can be elegant and easy. You can whip this one up in a matter of minutes--and have plenty of time to wrap last-minute presents. The main dish is filet mignon, quickly roasted on high heat, then topped with a tangy anchovy-mustard sauce.

Because this is a holiday meal, you’ll want to add a few festive touches. Puff-pastry stars are impressive--and fast. Start with frozen puff pastry, cut out stars with a cookie cutter and bake for 15 minutes. You might garnish the meat and the stars with spiced peaches, which are available canned and in jars. Beet salad is also easy to make--and extremely colorful. Toss julienned boiled or canned beets with a dressing of one-half cup mayonnaise, two tablespoons orange marmalade and one teaspoon lemon juice. To make the texture more interesting, sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts.

Since this is a holiday feast, you’ll need dessert. Simply sprinkle some slices of pound cake with rum or Grand Marnier and top with your favorite ice cream.

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Roast Tenderloin With Dijon-Anchovy Sauce

Puff - pastry stars or crusty French roll

Spiced peaches

Julienne beets with orange-marmalade dressing

Rum-soaked pound cake with ice cream

Staples

Salt, pepper

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Mayonnaise, optional

1 lemon, optional

Shopping

1 (1 1/2-pound) piece beef tenderloin

1 (1 3/4-ounce) can flat anchovies

1 cup whipping cream

Pink peppercorns, optional

Optional Side-Dish Shopping

1 (17 1/4-ounce) package puff-pastry sheets

Canned spiced peaches

Fresh or canned julienned beets

Orange marmalade

Hazelnuts

1 small bottle rum or Grand Marnier

Pound cake

ROAST TENDERLOIN WITH DIJON-ANCHOVY SAUCE

1 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin

Salt, pepper

2 tablespoons butter

1 clove garlic

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 cup water

1/2 (1 3/4-ounce) can flat anchovies, drained and minced

3/4 cup whipping cream

Pink peppercorns, optional

Place tenderloin in small roasting pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Melt butter in small pan and add garlic. Brush tenderloin all over with garlic butter, then brush top and sides with mustard. Roast at 475 degrees 20 to 25 minutes for rare or to desired doneness. Remove from pan. Keep warm while preparing sauce.

Add water to deglaze pan. Place pan on stove top and heat to simmer. Stir in anchovies to blend. Stir in whipping cream. Heat to simmer and reduce until slightly thickened. To serve cut tenderloin into 1/2-inch thick slices. Spoon sauce onto plate and arrange slices on top. Sprinkle few pink peppercorns on sauce. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

381 calories; 330 mg sodium; 150 mg cholesterol; 26 grams fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 34 grams protein; .01 gram fiber; 62% calories from fat.