I made my January word count goal, with weeks to spare, leaving me some space and time to work on a few other things that needed doing. To celebrate this and Bee-Girl’s first college class, I’ve decided to do a traditional roast beef dinner on Sunday. A week and a half after meeting the goal, but hey… time and all.

Not to mention I signed up to participate in WriDay on Friday, with an insane word count goal of 10k. Yeah. You read that right. I’m hoping this means the teens from Lost Spirit Canyon will let me branch off into the first choice of the choose your own adventure bit… because so far, they’ve fought me tooth and nail on that.

As characters will.

So either way, I’m going to be ready for some fantastic comfort food by Sunday evening. Who’s with me? Let’s dig in then!

Traditional Roast Beef Dinner with Yorkshire Pudding

Ingredients

Roast & Veg

1 3-4 lb beef roast (we generally use whatever is cheapest)
1 lb carrots, cut in quarters
1 lb parsnips, cut in quarters
2 stalks celery, cut in halves
4-6 sm. onions, peeled, left whole
2 lb baby potatoes OR 1 lg. baking potato per person, cut into eighths
1 c red wine
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 c beef broth
salt, pepper, herbs to your taste

Yorkshire Pudding

1 c eggs (approx. 6 lg.)
1 c milk
1 c flour
2 tbsp roast drippings
1 tbsp oil

Gravy

3 tbsp flour
3/4 c water
roast drippings
red wine to deglaze pan
1 c beef broth

Directions

Lightly coat large roaster with non-stick cooking spray. Place half the onions and all of the celery into the roaster, close together in the middle.

Add a small amount of oil to a frying pan (cast iron is best, but non-stick will do); when a tiny sprinkle of water spits when it hits the pan, it’s ready. Place the roast into the pan, searing each side until the red is gone, no longer. Place the meat on the onions and celery in the roaster, sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce and seasoning, and set into a 200*F oven for 45 minutes.

While the roast is in, begin preparing the Yorkshire Pudding mix. Blend the first three ingredients together until relatively smooth. Set into the fridge until it’s time to bake.

Remove the roaster from the oven and add the remaining vegetables, potatoes and 1/2 cup of beef broth; if the roast and veg look a bit dry, add more broth, a splash of water or better yet, a splash of the red wine! Continue cooking for another 30-45 minutes, and check the potatoes. When the fork goes in and comes out fairly easy, but the potato is still firm, they’re ready to come out, as is the roast. Set it on a cutting board to rest (covered or not, it’s your choice – we cover) and carefully scoop out the veg with a slotted spoon. These can go directly into a serving bowl or platter, cover to keep warm.

Turn the heat in the oven to 425*F. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray. Mix 2 tbsp drippings with 1 tbsp oil, and place a small amount into the bottom of each cup of the muffin tin, enough to thoroughly coat the bottom with a 1/8 of an inch or so. Set into the oven to heat. When you hear it sizzling, it’s time to take it out and pour the Yorkshire batter into each cup, about 3/4 full. Return to oven, and bake for 20 minutes. DO NOT OPEN UNTIL 20 MINUTES IS UP! They’ll fall early if you do.

While they are baking, it’s time to make the gravy. Drain the drippings from the roaster into a pot and set aside. Place the roaster on a medium-high element, bring to heat and add the red wine while using a spoon or fork to gently lift the sticky drippings, stirring well. Add the beef broth to this, and bring to a boil. Remove from the element, pour into the pot with the drippings, which can then go on the element. As it comes to heat, mix 3 tbsp of flour with 3/4 of a cup of water for the thickening – OR – if you’re more capable than I with making roux, do that from the start. Personally, I prefer the flour/water as I absolutely fail at roux. Alternatively, do not thicken at all, and leave it as a jus.

Once the dripping mixture comes to a boil, slowly add the thickening (as much or as little as you wish), stirring well continuously. It will continue to cook, so remove it from the heat as soon as your desired thickness is reached.

Carve your roast, and set it to serve with the potatoes and veg. The Yorkshire should be quite high when they’re first pulled from the oven, and then collapse into ‘gravy wells’ when they’ve cooled a little.

Enjoy!

Now I’m not sure I can wait until Sunday…

<3 JL