Seared Beef on Rosemary Crostini with Cranberry Relish

My good friend had us over for dinner and her husband (also good friend) served us this for an appetizer.  It was delicious and so I knew it would eventually make its way into my own kitchen.  He got his recipe from Chris Knight in "License to Grill", and so I worked off of that, but tweaked it slightly.  The original recipe calls for thyme, which I do like however, I love rosemary, and so I switched out the thyme.  I was surprised to see how simple the cranberry sauce was, it called for dried cranberries, vinegar and honey and required no cooking.  I decided to make my cranberry relish with frozen cranberries (couldn't find fresh) but I was very happy with the end result.  I will say that, despite this being very good, for the next time, my husband (who is in charge of the BBQ in our house) has been instructed to get a better sear on the beef, but these ones came off medium rare (which is what we wanted) and were delicious none-the-less.

Cranberry and Rosemary Relish

2 cups of water

1/4 cup good balsamic vinegar

2 cups sugar

600 gram bag of frozen cranberries

2 tsp. of fresh rosemary, chopped fine

1 tsp. kosher salt

3 garlic cloves, pressed

Dissolve sugar in water and vinegar (5 minutes).  Add berries, rosemary, salt and garlic.  Cook over medium heat till berries pop and sauce thickens (25-35 minutes).

For the Beef:

Slice beef tenderloin into thin slices (1/2 thick).  Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and let sit.  When ready to serve, grill the beef on hot grill, searing both sides.  (About a minute on each side).  Let rest for a few minutes.

For the Crostinis:

Mix 1/4 cup soft butter with kosher salt and pepper to taste and 1 tsp. of finely chopped rosemary.  Slice baguettes, spread with butter and warm in oven until slightly golden.

Top the crostinis with seared beef and a dollop of the cranberry relish.