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Xmas 2024

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It was very early, but the Christmooses were playing a game of chess. There was prep to be done (dressing the beast) during which blueberry muffins were whipped up.  Moonie had the best idea.

When everyone had gathered, it was present unwrapping time.  Pretty hilarious that the presents had been wrapped for less than 24 hours.

Of course there was a huge Lego set (as has become the tradition). This year it was the Eiffel Tower.

The Legos took well over four days of real effort to build.

Kilt by the tree.

Around 2, the roast was done to perfection with help from the new bluetooth thermometer. Excellent tech.

And it was time to carve the roast beast.

Odessa and Iulie joined us for dinner and stayed for movie night. All of the kids in one place! Very nice indeed.

Xmas 2022

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The adult kids were in town from their far flung new homes (Josie in Berlin and Eli in Indiana), xmas music was on constant rotation in the living room, we had a surprise visit from a four year old, petisa was baked, a beast was roasted, the Sydney opera house was constructed, and the christmooses showed up in IU Cogsci gear.  Warm and cozy and Christmas-y.

The xmas eve eve bar spread.  Beer cheese for the win!

A little mouse visited on xmas eve and kept us up all night.  Romey reads the Moomin book as all the animals listen in.

Petisa goes best with veuve clicquot.

Christmas morning before the deluge.

One very excited granddaughter.  She graciously jumped up and down after opening each present.

Heels by the bar.

The roast beast, carved by me, not the grinch.

Roast Beef in the Wolf

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The Viking gave out after 17 years.  Ridiculously, it took a year to replace.  Something about supply chain this.  Yadda yadda.  So, no more Vikings for me.  Instead, a Wolf.

The difference is night and day.  So much better!

The shiny oven gets broken in with a roast beast.  For recipe details see this entry.

The little one is ready.

Romey does the Julienne.

The beast!

Yorkshire resting.

Yorkshire under the beef.

In the drippings.

Pan gravy with the remaining drippings.

Beef resting

Perfection.

The crowd is restless and the kitchen smells great.

And then some broth from the bones.

 

 

 

Roast Beast and Yorkshire Pudding

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Rare roast beef with Yorkshire pudding is one of my very favorite meals of all time. Heck, we’ll even have it for no apparent reason! Happy today day! Here are a few tricks to making a delicious beast.

Yorkshire pudding though incredibly simple ingredients-wise takes a couple of tricks. Trick 1: Start with warm ingredients and beat them to frothy. Cold eggs and milk will not work properly. Once the batter is beaten, refrigerate for at least an hour covered. (This allows the flour to do its gluten thing with the egg.) Remove from the fridge just about when you put the beef in so that there is time for the batter to slowly warm. Trick 2: cook it under the beast.

On the beef front, start with a standing rib roast. Don’t get it tied, rolled, or cut from the bone. The ribs provide lots of flavor.

Season the beast simply with an entire head of garlic, peeled with cloves sometimes cut lengthwise then inserted into the beef with a paring knife and a finger. Liberally apply lots of pepper and some salt.

Pop it in an oven preheated to 550. Immediately turn it down to 350. Plan to cook the beast 17 minutes per pound and no more.

Beef roasting at 350 (about 90 minutes in)

Beef roasting at 350 (about 90 minutes in)

Before adding the Yorkshire batter, turn the oven up to 400 and beat the batter to froth one more time. Remove some of the drippings below the beef to make gravy with (put into cast iron skillet). Add half a stick of butter under the roast to compensate. Then pour the batter around the beef.

The batter will rise if all is well.

Yorkshire on the rise under the beef

Yorkshire on the rise under the beef

Remove the beef on time, and check the temperature. Let the beef rest for 15 minutes.

Finished cooking and now resting. Rest your beef before carving!

Finished cooking and now resting. Rest your beef before carving!

Yorkshire with beast removed.  The drippings are ultra delicious.

Yorkshire with beast removed. The drippings are ultra delicious.

Serve to family and friends with a nice Cab.

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Et voilà.

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