Beef tenderloin. It's the ultimate fancy showpiece for a holiday dinner. And a tasty one at that. But for some people, the holidays are the only time they cook a beef tenderloin. Start the day ...

Best Choice: Choose a center-cut beef tenderloin for even cooking and a melt-in-your-mouth ... but you can read a summary with step-by-step instructions and photos for each step below.

Black pepper is “such a great complement to beef” that you’d think a simple pepper crust would be the perfect preparation for beef tenderloin, said Celeste Rogers in Cook’s Illustrated.