xmas dinner

I was all turkied out from Thanksgiving to roast another one nearly a month later, so I asked my father what he'd be into eating on Christmas. "A roast would be nice," he said, much to my immediate relief. Roasts are stupid easy to prepare, and taste incredible.

I bought two 2.5lb beef rump roasts for this, though I hear chuck is much better, which I will try next time. I seasoned them liberally with salt and pepper before searing them in a pan with some oil, so the outside gets nice and crispy.

Once browned, I removed the meat to this roasting pan I picked up second hand earlier in the week, as I roast chicken weekly and could use a dedicated baking vessel for it. I threw some veg into the same pan I seared the meat in, adding a bit of broth to get all the crispy meat bits off the pan (deglaze, it's called).

Once the veg has some color to it, toss it onto the roast with some more stock and a cup of red wine. Liquid should reach halfway up the meat. I threw in some garlic and thyme before putting the lid on. Roast this at 275F for four hours, until the meat flakes apart when applying gentle pressure with a fork. You can reserve the juice and make a gravy, if you'd like, just mix butter+flour in a saucepot and add a couple cups of juice and stir until thick, seasoning to taste.

I made a gooey butter cake on a whim, though I won't be remaking this one, as it needed more filling and more flavor. The dough was more like a pastry than a cake, it called for yeast and a rising time, but was easy enough to throw together. Left MUCH to be desired, however, so I'll need to tweak the recipe a bit before posting it with pride. 

The pecan pie did not disappoint, it set nicely as it cooled, and the crust didn't burn as bad this time. I covered the edge of the crust with foil to ensure it wouldn't turn a deep inedible brown while baking. Pie crust was easy enough to make, and the filling was easy to heat, though make sure it cools down before adding the eggs, or they will scramble and you'll fuck up the texture with bits of cooked egg in every bite. Not appealing, I know.

My father requested brownies with walnuts, and these did not disappoint. I tried a different method, melting butter (not oil) in a bowl resting over a pot of boiling water with the sugar and cocoa before mixing in the eggs and flour. The result was rich, fudgy brownies with a strong chocolate taste and an unbelievable amount of moisture. Sometimes brownies are like mini cakes. These are not those.

All in all, it was a satisfying meal that yielded leftovers to pick at in passing or ladle into soup bowls for a hassle-free lunch at home. I will make this again with the chuck roast and see if I can note any difference. The wine was a great choice, as was the double-boiler brownies. That gooey butter cake was a failure, though, one I will be revisiting in another post sooner or later, where I will claim victory over this finicky STL favorite.