Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding and Bearnaise Sauce with Garlic Rosemary Smashed Potatoes

Every Sunday I ask my husband what he wants to eat and every week he says roast beef. Ugh. I hate roast beef. First of all, it's boring. Second of all, my dad use to make me eat it all the time and it was always overdone and dry and I just can't seem to get over it no matter how many times I've had good roast beef. 

But I got over myself and found a recipe in the LCBO Food & Drink. F&D is a magazine funded by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. Yup the government controls our liquor consumption. I'd complain, but they also put out this unbelievable magazine for FREE with the incredible recipes created by some of Canada's best culinary personalities. 

This has been one of the better recipes I've made. There have been a few that have been sort of blah, this is not one of them. I will definitely make the potatoes again. For a lesser main, the side could have taken over the plate, but not this beef. It was amazing. And the bearnaise sauce just took it over the edge.

I used this recipe for the roast beef and this recipe from Canadian Living magazine for the smashed potatoes.

First Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding and Bearnaise Sauce:

In order to have all elements of this dish come together at the same time it’s best to prepare a mise en place, French for having everything “put in its place.” It simply means to have all the ingredients washed, cut and measured before beginning the recipe.

2 eggs (for Yorkshire puddings)
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour, sifted
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
¾ cup (175 mL) milk
1/3 cup (80 mL) water (at room temperature)
1½ lbs (750 g) beef tenderloin
Salt and freshly ground pepper
¼ cup (60 mL) vegetable oil
3 tbsp (45 mL) white wine vinegar
1 egg yolk (for Béarnaise Sauce)
2 tbsp (30 mL) fresh tarragon, finely chopped
½ cup (125 mL) unsalted butter, melted
6 cups (1.5 L) arugula, washed and dried

1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

2 To prepare Yorkshire pudding batter, in a medium bowl whisk together eggs, flour, salt and milk. Once combined, whisk in water until smooth. Pour batter into a measuring jug or pitcher, set aside.

3 Season beef generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. In an ovenproof pan heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Sear beef in oil until well browned, about 4 minutes per side.

4 Place beef in oven and cook to desired doneness. Medium-rare is achieved when a meat thermometer reads 135°F (57°C), about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove meat from oven, cover with foil and let rest.

5 Increase oven heat to 450°F (230°C).

6 Using a 12-cup muffin tin place just under 1 tsp (5 mL) of remaining vegetable oil into each hole. Place muffin tin in oven and heat for 3 minutes. Carefully remove hot pan from oven and divide pudding batter equally between each hole. Place back in oven and bake until puffed and lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

7 To make Béarnaise sauce, in a small saucepan boil vinegar to reduce by half. Let cool slightly and place in medium bowl with egg yolk, tarragon, a generous pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper.

8 In same saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Once melted, skim off any foam with a teaspoon and pour melted butter into a measuring cup, leaving the solids behind in the pan. Slowly whisk clarified butter into egg yolk mixture 1 tbsp (15 mL) at a time; continue to whisk in all the butter until the sauce has thickened. Set aside.

9 Slice beef very thinly so that it is pliable and roll into “rosettes.” Tear an opening into each of the puddings and fill each with beef, allowing each to overflow from the opening. Divide arugula between 6 plates, top each with 2 puddings and generously drizzle Béarnaise sauce.

Serves 6

TIP Another option for a classic condiment for this dish is horseradish cream. Stir together ½ cup (125 mL) mayonnaise, desired amount of horseradish, a dash of Worcestershire sauce and freshly ground pepper.

Next Garlic Rosemary Smashed Potatoes with Garlic Rosemary Smashed Potatoes:

Everyone loves a good roasted potato, and this recipe does not disappoint. Boiling them ahead saves time the next day. Use the bottom of a skillet to gently flatten several potatoes at a time. These potatoes are just as delicious whole, so if you're looking for something more traditional, omit the flattening step. 

Ingredients 
3 lb (1.4 kg) small (1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches/3 to 4 cm) yellow potatoes or white potatoes, scrubbed 
1/4 cup (60 mL) olive oil 
1 tsp (5 mL) chopped fresh rosemary 
1 clove garlic, pressed or grated 
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt 
1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper 
Preparation

In large pot of boiling salted water, cook potatoes until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours; add 15 minutes to baking time.) 

Lay foil on a baking tray and gently flatten potatoes just until split. Combine oil, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper; brush over both sides of potatoes. 

Bake on foil-lined baking sheet in 400°F (200°C) oven, turning potatoes halfway through, until crisp and warmed through, about 30 minutes.

Funday Tips

1. This past week while browning short ribs for another meal I set off the smoke alarms. I Googled it and learned that it was because I used olive oil which has a low smoke point. This recipe calls for vegetable oil which worked far better for my sleeping baby.

2. The smashed potatoes recipe didn't mention the foil until after the smashing directions. I know I'm suppose to read recipes first, but sometimes when they seem easy I just work as I read. Lesson learned for the 800th time. Anyhow, I fixed the adaptation above.

3. I put the potatoes in when I turned the oven up to 450 for the Yorkshire puddings, and because they were in at a higher temperature I did them for 20 mins, 10 mins per side. They came out perfect.

Crock Pot Beef Carnitas Tacos

Today's post is inspired by my friend Jasmine who cooked it for a Christmas Party a few years back. Jas is brilliant in the kitchen, so I offer to help her whenever I can in the hopes that I'll learn something via osmosis. It must not be working because I helped with this one but couldn't remember a damn thing. So with a little Google action I came across this recipe. Be sure to check out my tips at the bottom of the page as I made A LOT of changes.

It was pretty tasty when it was all said and done. And required little to no work, a necessity as we were out celebrating my daughter's first birthday all day. I love a recipe that cooks in the slow cooker!

Enjoy!

Crock Pot Beef Carnitas Tacos

serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 lbs flank steak
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
for spice rub—
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
for serving—
corn tortillas
avocado slices
cilantro
your favorite salsa
limes

Directions:

Mix together all spices in a small bowl. Rub the spices all over your flank steak—be generous here! Then, place your steak at the bottom of your crock pot.

Cover the steak with the chopped onions, bell peppers and jalapeno pepper. Turn heat on LOW and cook for 8 hours.

After 8 hours, remove meat from crock pot and shred with a fork. It should be incredibly easy to shred. You can either stick the shredded meat back in the pot for another hour or serve as is.

To serve, heat your corn tortillas in a skillet on the stove. Spoon some carnitas on a tortilla then top with salsa, avocado, cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

Enjoy with a margarita for best result.

Time:

active time–10 min
total time—8 hours

Funday Tips

1. Jasmine used beer for hers, so I did the same. A nice dark ale. However, I think I should have seasoned it more because when I tasted it with my other foodie genius, Amanda, it tasted under seasoned. So we added a ton more of all of the spices listed above.
2. Also, we found the meat was quite tough, even after 8 hours in the slow cooker, so we added balsamic vinegar and lime juice to try to break down the meat a bit more. Next time I think I would try a softer piece of meat, like perhaps a roast beef.

Garlic Butter Steak and Chimichurri Sauce

It's Monday morning again. It's hard to write the blog after an evening of cooking, you know? You don't mind if I get a good night's sleep first do you? Good.

I love this steak recipe so much. It's so simple, but utterly delicious. It's from one of my favourite cookbooks, Anita Stewart's Canada. Anita is a 'culinary activist and gastronomer' or so says her bio. But I actually love her take on Canadiana food. She looks at recipes that have come to be a part of the Canadian food landscape due to immigration.  As a result, there are recipes from all difference cultures in the book. The only issue I have with the book is the GLARING exclusion of poutine in the potato section. I mean come on! You can't write a cookbook on Canadiana food and not include poutine! I may be a tad bit biased as it's my last meal request food. Hmmmm on that note I've yet to do a poutine yet for the blog. Mental note.

The other thing I love about this cookbook is that Anita does a little preamble to every recipe with information on where she first ate the food or tidbits about the person who wrote the recipe. So you read a little Canadiana experience before each recipe. It's so integral to the book, the recipes felt incomplete without it's inclusion. 

Frederique's Fabulous Garlic Steak

My friend Frederique Philip came to Canada from France in 1978 and moved to Vancouver Island the following year. As the co-owner of Sooke Harbour House, one of the finest inns on earth, she has very little time to cook for herself. Her dinners are simple and fast and full of flavour. She showed me this amazing recipe when she visited Elora one autumn. The amounts can be varied to suit your personal taste and how many servings you need. Grilled medium-rare with fresh garlic from the Guelph Farmers Market, it was the best steak I've ever eaten. We drank the finest Niagara red wine we could afford, and I served the steak with barbeque-roasted Bijou Rouge potatoes, a variety that will be in general distribution soon. Watch for them - they taste as though they've already been buttered. For extra zip, serve this steak with Sarah's Chimichurri Sauce.

For each serving:
1 filet or strip loin, 4 to 6 oz (125 to 175 g)
Salt
1 or 2 cloves garlic
1 tsp (5ml) butter, slightly softened

Lightly salt the steak and grill it to the desired doneness. Meanwhile, crush a clove or 2 of garlic onto the dinner plate; top with the butter. 

When the steak is done, simply lay it on top. Grind a bit of pepper over top.

Sarah's Chimichurri Sauce

After a trip to Buenos Aires, where red meat is a huge part of the day-to-day diet, Sarah Mitchell developed this recipe to serve with the wild venison and the Highland beef that her sister raises on her ranch in norther British Columbia. "Make it as spicy or mild as you wish by adding a variety of fresh chilies," says Sarah. "The only prerequisite is a tremendous amount of garlic. The best garlic is local; imported bulbs lose their pungency with travel. For additional heat, leave the seeds in the jalapeno." Being a bit of a culinary nationalist, she substituted cider vinegar but says a great red wine vinegar can also be used.

This sauce is absolutely perfect with grilled steak or filet. Actually, I rather like heaping it onto crusty bread or using it to jazz up simple barbecued chicken. One word of caution about the garlic content: if you're having guests, everyone must eat this dish!

Yeild: 4 to 6 servings

8 to 10 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 sweet red pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 or 3 green onions, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup minced fresh coriander
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp olive or canola oil
1/2 tsp salt

In a food processor, combine the garlic, jalapeno pepper, red pepper and onions. Pulse off and on to chop finely, scraping down the sides once or twice. Transfer to a mixing bowl; stir in the coriander, cider vinegar, oil and salt. Serve at room temperature. Refrigerate any leftovers, well covered!

I served the steak and sauce with my Mom's Perogie Recipe and mixed winter vegetables I bought at a local market. 

I love this bag of veg, it includes heirloom carrots, garlic scape, radishes, beets and sunchokes. So delish. I cooked them for 30 min in the oven at 350 with butter, chicken broth, salt, pepper and a bit of rosemary. So good.

Funday Tips

1. I found that the Chimichurri recipe called for FAR too much garlic. Next time I would probably go with 6 cloves. My culinary genius bestie was over and suggested we try to cook some of the pungency out of the garlic, so we put the finished sauce on low for about 20 mins. This also helped reduce down some of the vinegar, as there seemed to be a bit too much of this too. I'd probably go with 1/3 cup next time.
2. When I tried to do Mom's Perogies the other night, I defrosted them first and they stuck together. A total bummer as peeling them apart caused some to loose their filling. Last night I tried cooking them straight from frozen. This helped with the sticking issue, but they did come out a little a la dente. Not sure if I need to cook them more or if this was because they were cooked from frozen? One more bag left in the freezer to find out!

Cheers!