It's hot and windy out on this September 1st, only 20 days away from fall.
My A/C is on and not only am I inside studying, (Augustine's Confessions and the Summa today, both), but I'm also cooking. I have, I think, a sirlion-type roast that I bought on sale a few months ago. It's a cheap hunk of meat that cooks up quite nicely especially in a slow-cooker.
Today's fare: French Dip.
The basic recipe is very simple, and because I hadn't made it in months, I went looking for the proper ingredients; I couldn't remember if it was made with beef broth or just water.
As it turns out, one only need place the meat into the cooker and add water. Some recipes DO call for beef broth and some particular spice packages, but I prefer to use the stuff I have in the cupboard.
So, without further ado, here's the basic recipe:
French Dip Sandwiches:
1 beef roast (you need something fatty but not too fatty...you may have to trim it)
2 C water
1/2 C soy sauce (I use lite soy sauce - lower sodium)
1 t dried rosemary
1 t dried thyme
1 t garlic powder
1 bay leaf
3-4 whole peppercorns
8 French rolls, split
Cook 5-6 hours
FYI: the official recipe says to cook on "high". I disagree. That will turn it into tanned leather. Cook on high maybe the first hour, after that turn it to "low" and you should be good. If you start really early, keep it "low" throughout. It's probably safe to "taste test" after the first hour.
I actually divert from this recipe: I add all of the above, but also some "secret ingredients" that come from having a 'fridge full of various condiments. And a few spice mixtures in my cupboard just BEGGING to be used! So, I add a dash of Worchestire sauce, some Garlic-Teriyaki marinade, and a few sprinkles of a garlic mixture I got for Christmas.
Earlier today I ran some errands and picked up some red wine, which has just been added to the meat. As a side note...NEVER cook with wine you wouldn't actually drink. The flavor the wine gives the food comes from the ingredients of the wine...not the alcohol, which cooks off. The flavor may be subtle, and as a cook I'm still trying to figure it out as an ingredient. But I DO know this; if you don't like drinking it, you won't like its added flavor to your food! (I got that info from a REAL cook!)
It'll be hours before the meat is ready, but from experience I know that it will simply "fall apart" when I remove it from the broth. I came across a recipe that suggested slicing it a bit before it's done, and re-adding it to the broth. Apparently this enhances the flavor even further. So I'll try to catch it when it can still be sliced as opposed to shredded by just looking at it.
If it comes out today as well as it has in the past, I have no problem attaching it with the highest honor: Food I would serve Jesus.
I usually serve it on French or Italian bread, and today I'll be adding a slice of Provolone cheese, and a little horseradish sauce on the side (just to see if it's good with this). I think you could probably add onions and even green peppers, or whatever you want. As long as you know that French dips are ALL ABOUT the flavorful broth!
I think Jesus would like this.
OK, off to read more of the Summa...it's about Man. "What a piece of work is a man..."
*
I actually divert from this recipe: I add all of the above, but also some "secret ingredients" that come from having a 'fridge full of various condiments. And a few spice mixtures in my cupboard just BEGGING to be used! So, I add a dash of Worchestire sauce, some Garlic-Teriyaki marinade, and a few sprinkles of a garlic mixture I got for Christmas.
Earlier today I ran some errands and picked up some red wine, which has just been added to the meat. As a side note...NEVER cook with wine you wouldn't actually drink. The flavor the wine gives the food comes from the ingredients of the wine...not the alcohol, which cooks off. The flavor may be subtle, and as a cook I'm still trying to figure it out as an ingredient. But I DO know this; if you don't like drinking it, you won't like its added flavor to your food! (I got that info from a REAL cook!)
It'll be hours before the meat is ready, but from experience I know that it will simply "fall apart" when I remove it from the broth. I came across a recipe that suggested slicing it a bit before it's done, and re-adding it to the broth. Apparently this enhances the flavor even further. So I'll try to catch it when it can still be sliced as opposed to shredded by just looking at it.
If it comes out today as well as it has in the past, I have no problem attaching it with the highest honor: Food I would serve Jesus.
I usually serve it on French or Italian bread, and today I'll be adding a slice of Provolone cheese, and a little horseradish sauce on the side (just to see if it's good with this). I think you could probably add onions and even green peppers, or whatever you want. As long as you know that French dips are ALL ABOUT the flavorful broth!
I think Jesus would like this.
OK, off to read more of the Summa...it's about Man. "What a piece of work is a man..."
*
4 comments:
Wow! Now I'm hungry. Any extras? Mail to ... AC turned off in Utah today. 45 degrees and snow on the mountain tops.
RJW ~ I have plenty! I don't think it'll keep in the mail, though.
It's 45 degrees...do you LIVE in the mountains? (Just curious...I love mountains...and skiing...although you're not a fan of the latter...)
I lived in Mexico for a semester, and the volanoes always had snow on them. It was interesting in Ocober and November to see that it had snowed overnight up there, while it was in the 80's in the city!
I live on the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains. Ben Lomond, a 9000' peak is about 1/2 mile behind me. Tara is even a bit closer to the mountain. Its an interesting place to live. 30 minutes to Snow Basin where the Olympic downhill was run in 2002. 15 minutes to the Great Salt Lake. 1 1/2 hrs to the Great Basin Desert. It is one of the most diverse places there is. It was 85 yesterday, 45-50 today and will be back in the 90's by the weekend. The old saying in Utah is, "If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes."
It sounds like a beautiful place! One of the things I have to do before I die is to compete in a Downhill...and the other is to actually ski a downhill course, whether in competetion or not. While I'm young enough to experience and love the speed and he risk. (I'm at the threshold of where I'm not young anymore or would consider such thrillseeking worthwile!)
Anyway...the quote at the end...I don't know a SINGLE STATE that doesn't quote the same thing! I've seen it in Ohio, in New York, Vermont, Wisconsin, Colorado, California, even Arizona! And Minnesota...yeah we say the same thing. It'll be 30 one day and snowing, and 90 the next! One day when I was up at Lutzen, a ski area off of Lake Superior and maybe 30 min from the Canadian border, we started our day at around 30 degrees, sunny, nice. It clouded over, went up to 40 maybe, we got rain, sleet, freezing rain, snow, thick fog...the whole thing! (And skied through all of it).
Yup...weather is fun, isn't it?
:-)
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