Cold Weather Food

Well, it is really here now—the COLD weather. “Welcome,” is what I want to say to that. What it really brings out in my house is fun warm foods that I would normally not make until I want the house to smell warm.

So get this, I have been somewhat obsessed with making roast, of all things. I made a nice one for the sorority I work for and they really liked it. I thought hmm, maybe I can work with this meat. I have never been a BIG meat or beef cooker. I leave that to Mike. Then I realized that with the Crock-Pot and also my “well equipped kitchen” cookware, I can make any meat taste amazing. The only problem in my world is to know what cut of beef to purchase. I am just clueless about beef cuts, unless it has Prime Rib,  Ribeye or New York steak on the label. Sad isn’t it?  Okay, I am sure you know what I have to do. Yes, call Mike. He will let me know.
Now, today I placed a nice roast in the oven of a friend and thought, “I wanted one too.” SO off to the store I went and purchased a really good cut. I asked the meat person if what I had was a good cut. It was a sirloin roast, she said, and well yes it was. I again asked her how I needed to cook it. I say again because the last time I shopped for meat, I spoke to the same person, who so kindly gave me the same information. Today I told her “sorry” ahead of time , because I know I will ask again. Lucky her.
So when I got home I was so excited about this adventure. I braised the beef after, of course, putting on kosher salt, Spanish paprika, cracked pepper, fresh garlic and a very hot pan of Canola oil. I prefer it to olive oil. While I did that, I had a pot of boiling water with cubed red potatoes and thin baby carrots boiling to get tender, but not cooked all the way through. After I braised the meat, I put it aside and used the fat and oil to sauté one medium onion, and brown the potatoes and mushrooms—good ones—sliced. I use A LOT of mushrooms.
Then I placed half of everything in the bottom of my “well equipped kitchen pot,” and topped it with half a small can of petite diced tomatoes. To round it off I then put some pressed fresh garlic in the mix. Now it was time to place the yummy beef on top of this. I, of course, tried to get every drop of the drippings from the meat plate into my pot.  Then I just topped the meat with the same ingredients that I started with.

Here is where, again, I decided to follow my own path on how long to cook it and what temperature. I like to cook my meat really slowly; however when I am putting a roast in the oven in the middle of the afternoon, I put the oven on convection bake at 280 degrees.
Now I just waited for that wonderful aroma to fill my house. I will have to let you know how it turned out. So what I am saying is that comfort food and cold weather are some of my favorite things .
With the holidays coming up so soon, really soon, I look forward to having and going to those parties where I will get to sample other comfort foods.  I hope that you all have a great week and stay safe.
Oh, one more thought, speaking of parties. I was just in Bismarck for the Pride of Dakota show. Mike and I were able to stay at a good friend’s house who actually threw us a party! Well, I am very excited to write about that, as soon as I get the full menu from her. But I bring this up because before I left, I went to our favorite cheese stop, The Green Market. I asked Peter Kelly to set me up with the best three cheeses he had. I know NOTHING about cheese, another something I leave up to Mike. Well,  I have to say that not only were my friends embarrassed, my girlfriend got out of her chair and looked at the unopened cheese and said, “You got this where?” Her husband was very excited and named all the different countries the cheeses were from and had a story about each of them. Yep, we have it here right in the FM area, and I am so very glad we do. Thanks, Peter.

Ok, until next week. Any questions or concerns email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)