Foolproof Roast Beef

I used to be afraid of cooking roast beef. There's such a huge expectation associated with its outcome. Slightly overdone and that beautiful, tender, juicy cut is turned to a tough fibrous hunk of meat. So sad. Unlike turkey at Thanksgiving or Christmas, which, in my opinion, is just a vessel for stuffing and an excuse to cook at least 5 different side dishes to go with a protein, roast beef is usually the star of the show, the centre of the meal, from which all other dishes stem. It has to be good!

So how did I overcome my fear? I tried and failed, and tried and failed again, until I finally got the knack of it. I also had a little help from Jamie Oliver who makes a mean roast beef. His recipe was the inspiration for mine. I follow it in my head loosely every time and that, coupled with a good meat thermometer, gets me the ideal medium I'm looking for. I have also discovered that two herbs are key- rosemary and sage- and that the best root vegetable to use is a parsnip. Yes, a parsnip. Something about the flavour it imparts of the beef makes it taste so unbelievably yummy I can't help but go back for seconds (and practically drink the gravy you can make from the drippings).

Unlike something like a pot roast, which can use any cut of meat really, go for quality here. Sirloin, prime rib- they're the best for this recipe. Grass-fed if you can! You can taste the difference in the meat compared to conventionally raised cattle. Don't forget, you are what you eat eats...

Foolproof Roast Beef

Prep Time: 15 minutes (30 minutes if you count needing to let the meat sit at room temperature for about a half hour before roasting)
Cook Time: 1-1.5 hours, depending on the size of roast you're cooking
Weeknight Feasibility: Poor. Leave this to Sunday night roast dinner.

Ingredients:
1-1.5kg good quality beef
1 cooking onion, quartered
2 celery ribs, stems cut off and chopped in half
2-4 of either parsnip, carrot, turnip (a combination of parsnip-carrot, parsnip-turnip is ideal), cut in half lengthwise
5 whole cloves of garlic
4-5 sprigs each of fresh sage and rosemary
Olive oil for drizzling
Salt & pepper 

1. Preheat oven to 240C/475F.
2. In a roasting pan, lay the onion, root vegetables, garlic cloves and herbs. Drizzle liberally with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Drizzle olive oil and rub salt and pepper all over the roast. Place roast on top of the vegetables, fat side up. 
4. Place roast on centre rack of oven and immediately turn temperature down to 200C/400F. Roast until a meat thermometer shows an internal temperature of 130-140 for medium-rare/medium (about 45-60 minutes depending on the size of the roast). Remove roast from oven and transfer the meat to a cutting board. Place a sheet of aluminum foil over the roast and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Slice thinly and serve.

A note for making gravy: I found the best way to extract the most flavour from the roast drippings is to take a potato masher and mash up all the veggies that were used to roast the meat on. Once everything is well mashed, strain the mixture into a bowl and use the resulting juices as the gravy base. Flavour central!

Salad and Antipasto

Every once in awhile it's a nice treat to have an easy antipasto dinner. I say every once in awhile because generally the meal is:

1. High fat (hello salami, prosciutto- not exactly your leanest cold cuts)
2. High salt (any olive, cured meat and cheese is laden with delicious I MEAN bad for you sodium)
3. Costly- a selection of good meats, cheese and toppings will set you back about $5-$8 per portion for 2 adults. If you want a couple of meats, a few cheese and your goodies along with some good bread and a nice bottle of wine to go with, it's not exactly a budget friendly meal.

But it is oh so good. Pair it with a salad (because you can never have enough veggies) and it's a low prep meal that is easy any night of the week.

This is what our plate looked like:

It was around Valentine's Day, hence the heart shaped salami :) I would say ours is a broad interpretation of antipasto given that we added pate and a selection of hard and soft cheese (not fresh mozzarella or provolone) but hey, it's my dinner table and I'll plate the way I want to.

For more inspiration, head out to Googleland my friends. Photos abound!

Menu - January 19, 2013

Here's my first menu! Where possible/necessary, links to the recipes are included below.

Menu

Saturday - Roasted Vegetables, Sausages and Spaghetti 

Sunday - Salmon with Raw Beet Salad and Rice

Monday - Lamb and Beef Chili with Crusty Bread

Tuesday - Chinese 5 Spice Roast Chicken Breast with Asian Slaw and Mashed Potatoes














Wednesday - Store Bought Tortellini with Salad

Thursday - Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Potatoes, Runner Beans and Apple Sauce














Friday - Homemade Squash Soup & Sandwich

The Verdict

A couple of nights were really easy- obviously the store bought pasta night was a cinch, I simply had to boil water, heat up sauce, and make sure that I had a salad on hand. Roasted vegetables/sausages/noodles was also an easy one as the prep required is pretty minimal (some chopping) and can even be done the evening prior. Then it's just a question of tossing everything on a baking sheet and throwing it in the oven. At the halfway mark, turn everything over and get the pasta going and you're set. It gives you a couple of longish segments of time to pay any required attention to the kidlets who may be needing it. 

Some other nights, like chill and roasted chicken, could also work provided that the meal was done on the weekend (chili is easy to do on the weekend and have either frozen or just sitting in the fridge waiting for an early weeknight) or the prep was done beforehand. Same with the soup. In the case of the chicken, it's the Asian slaw that needs a bit more chopping time. If that can be done the night before then you only have to make the dressing and toss together, something which takes 5 minutes or less. 

The pork tenderloin is probably the most labour intensive and requires the most time in order to get really nice roasted potatoes. It's one of my all time favourite meals, but it should probably be done on a weekend when you have a bit more time.

Links to Recipes

Where possible, I've included links to the recipes. Where there is no link, it generally means I've just done something standard that is pretty easy to find anywhere online if you're unsure how to prepare your own version. Or I cheated and I bought it from a local store that makes things from scratch (for instance I buy all my stuffed pasta from Parma Ravioli). Eventually, maybe, some day, I may just get a link for everything on the menu. Something to aspire to... :)

Saturday
Vegetables, Sausages and Spaghetti

Sunday
Beet Salad

Monday
Lamb and Beef Chili
Crusty Bread - to Janet's bread I added roasted garlic (a whole clove roasted the previous day when I was cooking the sausage and noodles dish), about 1/2 cup of coarsely grated parmesan cheese, and 1/2 cup of diced green onions.

Tuesday
Chinese 5 Spice Roasted Chicken Breast
Asian Slaw - I've made this salad a few times now and it's such a keeper. So yummy.

Chinese 5 Spice Roast Chicken Breast

I had decided to make the Asian Slaw salad one night and wanted a kind of chicken to go with it that had an Asian flare to it. Something more than just plain old roasted chicken, which is what I had (2 chicken breasts, skin on, bone-in). I started picking through my spice rack and found the last remnants of Chinese 5 spice that I had mixed myself when I needed just a small amount to make another baking recipe at Christmas. Since I wasn't sure I would like what I baked and rarely, if ever, use C5s, I didn't want a jar of it sitting in my spice rack taking up space and going stale.

I have since purchased a jar. No chance it will go stale now.

Chinese 5 Spice Roast Chicken Breast

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25-35 minutes
Weeknight feasibility: Good

2 skin on, bone-in chicken breasts

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup honey, plus another tbsp to drizzle

2 tbsp canola or grapeseed oil (something without a strong flavour)

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp minced ginger

1 tsp Chinese 5 spice

1. Preheat oven to 180C/375F.
2. Whisk the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl. In a ziplock bag or a bowl/container that will allow the chicken to be immersed in the marinate, add in the chicken and the marinade. Lets sit for 2 hours or overnight.

3. In a roasting pan, place chicken breasts skin side up. Discard remaining marinade. Drizzle some honey (about a tbsp) on the chicken. Cook for 25-35 minutes or until skin is nicely golden brown and juices run clear.

Serves 2.

Lamb and Beef Chili

Chili is one of those stick-to-your-ribs meals that keeps you warm on those cold winter nights. It's also one for which there is no real standard recipe. Some like it chunky, spicy, runny, thick, with beans, without- the list goes on. I think everyone has been to at least one chili cook-off or knows of someone who has. It's a popular meal. To date my traditional chili has been of the thick and chunky with-beans variety. For whatever reason, I was inspired to try something a little different. I must have been watching a lot of Food Network or something (I'm a total Triple D and You Gotta Eat Here addict). I came up with a runnier variety that is perfect for soaking good bread in. It also features lamb- something I discovered is less than traditional. You can opt out of the lamb and just increase your beef quantity to compensate but I feel it loses a bit of heartiness by doing so. Lamb is a fatty, rich meat that is packed full of flavour- sometimes a bit too much so, but when combined with the beef and spices the combination is lip-smacking good. The chocolate is an extra touch that adds a hint of sweet to balance the spicer chili flavours.

Lamb and Beef Chili

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50-60 minutes
Weeknight Feasibility: Poor if from scratch the day-of, Very Good if reheating!

1 lb lean or extra lean ground beef
1/2 lb ground lamb
1 medium cooking onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 can of crushed tomatoes, about 19 ounces
1 can of tomato paste, about 5.5 ounces
2 cups beef stock
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
Water, to thin
1 ounce of dark or bittersweet chocolate, finely grated

1. Begin by browning your meat in a large soup pot on medium heat. Once the meat has browned and some of the liquid evaporated, add the onion, cooking until onions are translucent. Add garlic and carrots and cook 4 minutes more.
2. Add the crushed tomatoes, paste, stock, and seasonings. Bring to a slight boil then continue to simmer 20-30 minutes. At this point, add water if you feel the chili is still too thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once the desired consistency has been reached, add the finely grated chocolate.
3. Serve with crusty bread.

Serves 4.

Best if served the next day as all the flavours have time to meld and mature.

Raw Beet Salad

Beets and I don't really get along. There are very few vegetables that I am not friends with, among them avocado (unless in guacamole format), artichokes, and swiss chard (though we're on speaking terms). Something happens to the taste of beets when they get cooked or pickled. It's like everything good that was once in them evaporates through the cooking or pickling process. The red ones are especially hard for me to handle. Something about being forced to eat them at a daycare I despised when I was little. I have, however, learned to tolerate the yellow and orange varieties when roasted then cooled in a beet salad tossed in and among other things. That's about the only way I will eat them cooked.

Then I signed up the get a basket of local organic veggies that is delivered year-round. Knowing the kinds of vegetables that would be appearing in my winter basket, given my northerly geographic location (hello snow 6 months of the year... or so it feels), I had a feeling that I may come face to face with beets. I could do one of three things: give them away (cheater), let them perish slowly in my pantry, or bite the bullet and find a way to use them. Not being one to back away from a challenge, I started thinking. 

Inspiration hit when I remembered a salad I had for lunch one day at work. My colleagues and I went to a little cafe near the office that presented beautiful salads topped with curly strands of carrot and, my dearest friend, beet. I figured what the heck, they didn't taste all too bad then- maybe the issue all along has been the cooking process.

Out came my new food processor (birthday present from the hubby <3 ) and in went the beets. In the basket that week I happened to have a beautiful candy cane striped beet and an orange one, along with some purple and red carrots. I whipped up a quick creamy dressing to go with it and threw on some green onions for a bit more flavour. The result? A very tasty and colourful beet salad that I have repeated using any variety of beets (and carrots!) I may have on hand. Though I still shy away from the traditional red beets..... 

Raw Beet Salad

**Note: This is NOT a good salad to make ahead of time. Both the beets and the carrots starts to brown once they've been shred. Best to make this right before serving.**

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: None
Weeknight Feasibility: Fair. Though the prep time isn't too bad, it makes for a lot of clean up because of the food processor (those nooks and crannies can be a pain to clean!)

3 medium sized beets, any colour, peeled
3 medium sized carrots, any colour though preferably different from the beets, peeled
2 green onions, finely diced
2 tbsp mayonnaise (full fat or light, but preferably not Miracle Whip)
1 tbsp dijon
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
Salt & pepper to taste

1. In a food processor on the fine grate setting, shred the beets and carrots into long fine strands. You may need to cut the beets in half or quarters in order to fit it into the funnel. Empty the contents into a bowl and add the diced green onion.
2. In a small bowl, combine the mayo, dijon, olive oil, vinegar, and seasonings to make a light dressing. Adjust the flavours as needed and add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Toss the salad with the dressing. Serve immediately.

Serves 2-3 adults.

Roasted Vegetables, Sausages and Spaghetti

You know when you've used a recipe so often you have it memorized and can't remember where it originally came from? That's what happened here. I can't take credit for it as it was originally from a recipe, but I can't recall from where... I think Today's Parent. Since their magazine redesign back in 2012 their food section features a buffet of goodies that I regularly pick from. They don't require complicated ingredients, they're time-friendly and best of all, kid-friendly too. 

You start by chopping up a red onion, 2 small peppers (whichever colour is preferred in your household), 2 carrots, and 3-4 sausages into 1 inch dice. Throw them onto a baking sheet and add to that 5-6 whole garlic cloves and a pint of cherry tomatoes. Toss the entire mixture with olive oil, basil and oregano (dried in this case, which is super convenient because not everyone always has fresh on hand). Your mixture will look like this:

 It already looks so yummy! Into the oven it goes at 200C/400F for about 20 minutes. At this point I usually put a pot of water on the stove to boil. If it boils before the 20 minutes is up I just turn it off until I'm ready to take everything out, give it a shake, and stick it back in for another 15-20 minutes. At the first 20 minute mark, take out the tray and give everything a toss and turn. Return to oven. Put your noodles in to cook. Once cooked, drain and reserve until your vegetable and sausage mixture is
done. Take the tray out and add the pasta to the tray directly, like this:

Toss the pasta so that it gets coated in the lovely natural sauce created by the veggies and sausage. The flavour of the vegetables is so rich as they've just been steam roasted with the delicious flavours from the herbs and sausage. Serve warm with some freshly grated parmesan cheese on top.

Roasted Vegetables, Sausages and Spaghetti

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
Weeknight Feasibility: Very Good

For this recipe you will need:
1 small red onion
2 small peppers, any colour, or 1 large 
2 carrots, peeled
5-6 garlic cloves
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
3-4 sausages, any kind, more depending on your taste and desire for a little or lots of meat
2-3 tbsp olive oil (or what I call a liberal drizzle)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
250g spaghetti

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
2. Dice the vegetables and sausage into 1" pieces. Toss the vegetables and sausage along with the pint of whole cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves onto a baking tray. Toss liberally with the olive oil and dried herbs, ensuring that everything gets coated. 
3. Place tray on centre rack of oven and roast for 20 minutes. 
4. Meanwhile, set a pot of water to boil for the pasta.
5. After 20 minutes, remove the tray and toss the mixture, unsticking vegetables and sausages if necessary and flipping everything about. Return tray to oven and continue to cook for another 15-20 minutes.
6. Cook the spaghetti until al dente and drain.
7. Remove the tray from the oven and toss the spaghetti into the mixture, ensuring it gets nicely coated with the juices from the vegetables and sausages. Serve warm with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Serves 3 adults and one toddler.