Roast Beef

Home alone, but trying to cook stuff that the various night owls and later morning risers can eat for midnight snack or brunch. Tonight I decided to roast off a little bottom round - makes a chef salad, good sandwiches (forgot to buy rye bread) and is just nice thinly sliced.

Got home about 6:30, turned the oven on to 450 to preheat and took the dog for a preprandial meander. Got back, salted and peppered the roast (2 1/2 pound) pretty thoroughly. Peeled a couiple of garlic cloves, and poked holes in the roast to embed the garlic in the meat. Heated a large skillet over high heat with olive oil and butter (somewhat of a mistake) and seared the roast on all sides until nicely browned.

While that was happening, sliced up 1/2 of a Walla Walla sweet onion fairly thickly, and cut about 2 cups of mushroom caps into quarters. It was necessary to clean the burnt butter out of the skillet before putting the onions and mushrooms in and dousing with cheap red wine, just a bit to cover the bottom of the pan a bit.

Put the skillet with meat resting on the vegetable bed into the oven and reduced the heat to 350.

Set out a plate with the last of the cleaned (a couple of nights ago)greens, added radish and carrot and croutons (also made a couple of nights ago). Set the timer for 30 minutes and went to finish folding the laundry.

30 minutes later, the roast looked done (slightly puffed up, a nice browned crispiness, and a skewer stuck in center came out vaguely warm.) Moved the roast to a platter to rest and (with a hot pad!) moved the skillet to the stovetop on high heat to reduce the meat and vegetable juices with a tablespoon of butter. Makes a nice sauce.

Dressed the salad with the feta/mint/marjoram vinaigrette from Deborah Madison's book (made that the other day too...), spooned the onions and mushrooms along side, and then thinly sliced the roast beef, perfectly done if I do say so myself, to lay over the top.

And I hope there will be some left for tomorrow's sandwiches!