You know the food is good when your boyfriend does this.....

Italian Beef



I got this recipe from Geoff's mom, and we absolutely loved it! I actually made it with an English Roast the first time, and a rump roast the second time. We preferred the English, but both were great. The carrots in the pic were so easy and turned out so delicious (notice the HUGE serving, hehe) I have to share the method of how I cooked them:

From the Barefoot Contessa Family Syle cookbook

2 pounds carrots
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or flat-leaf parsley

Peel the carrots and cut them diagonally in 1/4-inch slices. You should have about 6 cups of carrots. Place the carrots, 1/3 cup water, the salt, and pepper in a large (10 to 12-inch) saute pan and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and cook over medium-low heat for 7 to 8 minutes, until the carrots are just cooked through. Add the butter and saute for another minute, until the water evaporates and the carrots are coated with butter. Off the heat, toss with the dill or parsley. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

I omitted the dill or parsley simply because I didn't have any.

Okay, now to the BEEF.

Italian Beef Roast

5 1/2 lb. rolled chuck or rump roast
1 Tablespoon. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. organo
1 1/2 tsp. fennel
2 1/2 Tablespoon salt
1 1/8 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. anise
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1 1/2 tsp. accent
1 1/8 tsp. blackpepper
1 1/8 tsp. paprika
1/8 can tomato paste

Place beef in a heavy pan (like an enameled cast iron). Add all ingredients. Add 5 cups of water. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Turn oven down to 300 degrees and continue for another 3 hours. The juice is great over mashed potatoes.

Christmas

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great Christmas, as I did. I cooked a big meal on Christmas Eve, but I haven't uploaded the pics yet. I will post them, as well as a recipe, later on today or tomorrow.

As for gifts this year, I got plenty of food related items, including 2 new books. One is by Harold McGee, called On Food and Cooking, and the other is called Hidden Kitchens by Nikki Silva and Davia Nelson. I am excited to dive into both! I am off work until January 2nd, so I will have plenty of time to read and relax until then.

I also got the 12 quart stockpot I wanted, so I will be able to make chicken stock, a cast iron grill pan, and a new digital camera! Hopefully the camera will help me get some better quality pics of my food. Okay, I will post more later!