Winter Gatherings (8 page)

Note

For a truly luxurious version, use Roquefort cheese. However, I have used less expensive Maytag Blue and Danish Blue with great success.

Roast Eye of Round with Dijon-Caper Sauce

Makes 6 servings

If there isn’t room in the budget for prime rib, don’t give up on roast beef. There are other flavorful, and less expensive, cuts of beef, too. For the best results, eye of round should be cooked no more than medium-rare, and sliced thin. Serve it with the Root Vegetables Anna (Chapter 5) and a simple green vegetable, such as steamed green beans.

R
OAST BEEF

One 3-pound eye of round beef roast

Salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

D
IJON
-C
APER
S
AUCE

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 cups beef stock, preferably homemade, or use canned low-sodium broth

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons nonpareil capers, drained and rinsed

• 1.
  To prepare the beef, trim off extraneous fat and sinew. Season all over with salt. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before roasting.
  
• 2.
  Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a carving board. Mix the thyme, basil, and pepper together in a small bowl. Sprinkle the herb mixture all over the beef. Transfer the beef to a roasting rack in a roasting pan.
  
• 3.
  Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the roast reads 130°F, about 45 minutes. Transfer the beef to a carving board. Let stand about 15 minutes while making the sauce.
  
• 4.
  To make the sauce, place the roasting pan over medium heat. Add the butter to the pan drippings in the pan and melt. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the stock and bring to a boil. Cook, whisking often, until reduced to 1¼ cups, about 6 minutes. Whisk in the mustard and capers. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a sauceboat.
  
• 5.
  Carve the beef into thin slices and serve hot with the sauce.
  

Braised Short Ribs with Dark Beer and Root Vegetables

Makes 6 servings

It really breaks my heart to see boneless cuts of meat taking over the butcher case at the market. Every good cook knows that stews made with bone-in cuts give flavor to the braising liquid, and also add body as they give off their gelatin into the simmering sauce. Here is a fine braise, chock-full of meaty short ribs (look for the ones that are cut into individual bones, and not the cross-cut flanken) and earthy root vegetables. Make plenty of mashed potatoes to serve alongside.

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

5 pounds short ribs, cut into 3-inch lengths

2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 medium carrots, 1 finely chopped and 2 cut into 1-inch chunks

1 small celery rib with leaves, finely chopped

½ cup coarsely chopped shallots

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

½ cup all-purpose flour

Two 12-ounce bottles dark beer

2 cups beef stock, preferably homemade, or use canned low-sodium broth

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

2 medium parsnips, cut into 1-inch chunks

2 large red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch chunks

Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

• 1.
  Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 300°F.
  
• 2.
  Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a very large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the short ribs with the salt and pepper. In batches, add the short ribs to the Dutch oven and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter.
  
• 3.
  Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the Dutch oven. Add the finely chopped carrot and celery, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring up the browned bits in the Dutch oven with a wooden spatula, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the shallots and cook until they soften, about 2 minutes.
  
• 4.
  Add the butter and melt. Sprinkle in the flour and let bubble for 1 minute. Whisk in the beer, then the stock, brown sugar, mustard, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat. Return the short ribs to the Dutch oven, meaty sides down.
  
• 5.
  Cover and bake for 2 hours. Remove from the oven and stir in the parsnips, potatoes, and remaining carrots. Return to the oven and continue baking until the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes longer. Skim off any fat on the surface, and serve hot, garnished with the parsley.
  

Sauerbraten

Makes 6 servings

My cousin Judy and I love to swap recipes, especially those that remind us of our family’s Austrian (actually Liechtensteiner!) heritage. She asked if I had a good recipe for the marinated spiced pot roast sauerbraten, and by coincidence, I had just developed this recipe a few days before. The trick for using balsamic vinegar comes from my German-born friend Erna Zahn, and as far as cooking is concerned, what she says goes. Remember: the beef needs to marinate for at least 2 days before braising. And, if you’re going to make sauerbraten, you may as well serve Mom’s Red Cabbage (Chapter 5) and Homemade Spaetzle with Herb Butter (Chapter 4), too.

M
ARINADE

1½ cups hearty red wine, such as Shiraz

1 cup red wine vinegar

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

4 quarter-sized slices fresh ginger

1 teaspoon allspice berries

½ teaspoon whole cloves

½ teaspoon black peppercorns

½ teaspoon yellow mustard seed

One 3-inch cinnamon stick

3 bay leaves

One 3-pound beef rump roast

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 bacon strips, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more as needed

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

2 cups beef stock, preferably homemade, or use low-sodium canned broth

½ cup crushed gingersnap cookies

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1.
  At least 3 days before cooking, make the marinade. Mix all of the ingredients with 1 cup water in a large, deep, nonreactive bowl. Add the rump roast and cover. Refrigerate, turning occasionally in the marinade, for at least 2 and up to 3 days.
  
• 2.
  Remove the meat from the marinade and pat it dry with paper towels. Season with the salt and pepper. Strain the marinade and reserve 2 cups.
  
• 3.
  Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325°F.
  
• 4.
  Cook the bacon and oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the bacon is crisp and browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour the fat into a small heatproof bowl.
  



• 5.
  Return 2 tablespoons of the fat to the Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes, adding more vegetable oil as needed. Transfer to a plate.
  
• 6.
  Add the remaining bacon fat to the Dutch oven and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the reserved marinade and stock, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the beef and reserved bacon, and return to the boil.
  
• 7.
  Cover tightly and bake, turning the meat occasionally in the liquid, until fork-tender, about 3½ hours. Transfer the meat to a platter and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm.
  
• 8.
  Skim off the fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to about 2 cups, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the gingersnaps and cook until lightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  
• 9.
  Slice the sauerbraten across the grain. Spoon the sauce on top and serve hot.
  

Cider-Brined Roast Pork with Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Makes 6 to 8 servings

This one-pot meal will fill your kitchen with the appetite-arousing meaty aroma of roasting pork and the fragrance of caramelizing root vegetables. If you can, use white-fleshed “true” sweet potatoes instead of orange-fleshed yams for this dish. Sautéed kale would be perfect on the side.

B
RINE

Two 12-ounce bottles hard apple or pear cider

½ cup table salt

¼ cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon dried rosemary

1 tablespoon dried sage

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon fennel seed

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

4½ cups ice water

One 4-pound center-cut pork loin with bones (6 ribs)

2 white-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut lengthwise into sixths

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

S
AUCE

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup hard apple or pear cider

1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade, or use low-sodium canned broth

• 1.
  To make the brine, about 8 hours before roasting the pork, bring the cider, salt, brown sugar, rosemary, sage, thyme, fennel seed, peppercorns, and bay leaves to a simmer in a medium nonreactive saucepan over medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the salt. Transfer to a large deep bowl and let cool until tepid. Add the ice water and stir well. Add the pork to the brine. Cover and refrigerate, turning the pork occasionally in the brine, for at least 4 and up to 6 hours, but no longer.
  
• 2.
  Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 450°F.
  
• 3.
  Drain the pork and pat it dry with paper towels. Place the pork in a roasting pan, meaty side up. Roast for 45 minutes.
  
• 4.
  Toss the sweet potatoes and apples together with the vegetable oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Spread around the pork and stir with the juices in the pan to coat. Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the roast reads 140°F, about 40 minutes more. Transfer the pork to a platter and tent it with aluminum foil. Let stand for 10 to 20 minutes while roasting the sweet potatoes and apples.
  
• 5.
  Stir the sweet potatoes and apples and continue roasting until they are tender, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a serving bowl, sprinkle with the rosemary, and toss gently. Scatter around the pork on the platter and cover again with foil to keep warm while making the sauce.
  
• 6.
  Leaving any browned bits in the pan, pour out the fat. Place the pan over medium heat. Add the butter and let melt. Whisk in the flour and let bubble until very lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cider, then the stock, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened and no taste of raw flour remains, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a sauceboat.
  
• 7.
  Carve the roast and serve hot with the sweet potatoes and apples, and the sauce on the side.