By no means gourmet

A few times a year, I can't stand it any more and I break down and buy a hunk of beef and have a dinner of roast beef, with potato, gravy and vegetables.
I did it Monday (I was away for Thanksgiving, so sadly I have no turkey sandwiches, cold turkey dinners, turkey pie, etc.) and was again reminded that beef these days isn't like it used to be 40 years ago. I had to add broth to make 1/4 cup of gravy!
Ok, it was a small roast, ribeye a bit less than two pounds. but!!!!
The gravy was good, if not abundant, and cold roast beef last night was good, too, and tonight I made old-fashioned roast beef hash. And this time I cooked it on top of the stove like Grandma (both of them) did, and it was fine, with a nice crust on the bottom.
So now I have half the pan of hash in the freezer.
I guess I'm just old-fashioned.

The hash recipe?
How much LO meat? About the same amount (or a bit, even a fair bit, more) each of diced carrot, diced russet potato, coarsely diced onion.
And a couple of cloves of garlic - maybe a clove per serving.
Put the veggies in heavy skillet with a good dollop of bacon grease and start them softening while you dice the meat. (Grandma had a grinder. Actually I still have it, but it lives in a closet.) Add the meat, salt and pepper to taste. If you like, dice enough bell pepper too.
Add enough water to wet the bottom of the pan, put a lid on it and ignore it for as long as you can stand it. I stirred it after half an hour and let it go for another half an hour. Not stirring, and the bit of water, is how you get the crust.

Blackberry cobbler a la mode for dessert.

John

It has been requested that I do an old fashioned pot roast for Xmas. The biggest problem I have had in the past is not being able to find a bone-in pot roast, much less a 7 bone one! I will start to search again in another week or two.

I found bone-in chuck at Oliver's Market in Santa Rosa.
But Mom and my grandmothers always did rolled roasts for pot roast.
It's pretty good with potatoes and turnips and carrots (and for a treat, boiling onions) cooked with the meat. And the veggies make the gravy better, too.

Ditto here. The bone is as much hassle as benefit.

I dunno, John. If that's not gourmet, then I'm not sure I want into that club. That's my idea of a really good fall meal.

Wait a little minute .....good food, a well thought out menu....what's not gourmet ????

Well, crab is finally coming in!
Cracked crab, salad and French bread tonight!!

John

Well, crab is finally coming in!
Cracked crab, salad and French bread tonight!!

John

'Bout time those guys started bringing them in! I guess there was a bit of a price dispute that caused the fishermen to hold back until later than usual. Last year was a record year, so I'm hoping this year is similar.

Ah yes the Dungness crabs have arrived. Mixed green salad first, then cracked cold crab, French bread, Clos des Briords Muscadet from Marc Olivier. We do this on average about twice a week through the season. It's my idea of gourmet every year.

The wholesalers wanted to pay $2.00/lb, the boat guys wanted $2.50. They're getting $2.25 which is a bunch better than the $1.75 they got at the opening last year.
I paid $10 for a cooked and cleaned 2-pounder at Santa Rosa Seafood. G&G is cheaper, but they take the crabs that aren't quite so nice.

I'll let everybody know how it is. I got out a bottle of '08 Hawkes Alexander Valley chard.

John

later...
I didn't know about Santa Rosa Seafood last autumn, when I had just moved here, so comparisons may be a bit awkward.
The crab I got was just about perfect. The shell was crisp and cracked cleanly with just a tap of my weighted rubber mallet. The meat was firm and juicy, not watery, and it was easy to get a whole chunk out of a leg section. Even the body meat came out in good-sized chunks.

The meat was sweet in comparison to the Chard and to the eggless Caesar salad I made. There was a slight salty taste to it, that's how freshly cooked it was.
I went down about noontime and was told they were out of cooked crabs, and I should come back about 2:30. So I did. And the crab was so freshly cooked it was still faintly warm.

So my first day of the season crab was a mighty success!!

John

It has been requested that I do an old fashioned pot roast for Xmas. The biggest problem I have had in the past is not being able to find a bone-in pot roast, much less a 7 bone one! I will start to search again in another week or two.

George, I think a seven bone roast makes the absolutely best pot roast. There is no comparison in my book.

Ditto here. The bone is as much hassle as benefit.

Jeff, from years of experience with wild large game I know how much the flavor bones give to meat when baked or roasted. In the case of wild game it is best to bone the meat when you process it. This reduces the gamey wild flavors to a desirable level. Beef today is almost tasteless and needs all the help it can get.

Bones and marrow add flavor. That is why including braised bones will make a richer stock.

With prime rib I prefer the bone in. After roasting I remove the prime from the bones and then bake off the bones with the attached meat the next day. Honestly I think I prefer the braised ribs to the prime rib!

In Argentina & Uruguay where the people consume much more beef per capita then we do, one of the favorite cuts is short rib grilled "low and slow". It takes patience and a longer time period to prepare it is considered a real delicacy . Served with a chimichurri it just doesn't get any better.

Think what American BBQ pork ribs would be without the bones. The country style boneless rib cut never will equal an actual rack.

Interesting, George. I did not know that the bones added to the gaminess of wild meat. I did know that bones improve stock a lot.

Generally, I prefer meat on the bone, whether it's beef, pork, or lamb. (I'll admit to usually having venison and veal as cutlets.) For me, however, pot roast is a fundamentally mild dish, full of meaty flavors but also root vegetables and tomato, the flavors made accessible and harmonized by a good long simmer. It is more about the stew than it is about the meat, if you know what I mean.

Interesting, George. I did not know that the bones added to the gaminess of wild meat. I did know that bones improve stock a lot.

Generally, I prefer meat on the bone, whether it's beef, pork, or lamb. (I'll admit to usually having venison and veal as cutlets.) For me, however, pot roast is a fundamentally mild dish, full of meaty flavors but also root vegetables and tomato, the flavors made accessible and harmonized by a good long simmer. It is more about the stew than it is about the meat, if you know what I mean.

Agree completely, it's all about the stew not the hunk of meat. I didn't realize that I had always thought that way but was unaware until you explained it so succinctly.

[Jenise]

Wait a little minute .....good food, a well thought out menu....what's not gourmet ????

Agreed! 'Gourmet' is the attitude and attention to detail, not the cut.