English Roast Dinner

"It is widely believed that the English people’s love of beef began during the reign of King Henry the VII in 1485. His Yeomen Warders – the royal guard – would dine on fresh roasted beef every Sunday after church, and this became such a ritual that the guards were affectionately referred to as “'beefeaters'."

I'm going to take a page out of Jamie's (cook) book this time around and give you more of the story, instead of a recipe/how to guide. Sunday dinners. We all know about them and most of us have been involved with one at least once or twice. I personally, don't remember having big family Sunday dinners together as a child, but I have definitely been a part of many different types since then. The tradition of a Sunday dinner started because families wanted to spend more time together after church, and so making a huge feast and sitting down to eat it seemed to fill that requirement. Although the idea behind the Sunday dinner is the same in most cultures, the types of food made vary. If you grew up in a German household, you probably ate something like  Spaetzle or Beef Roulanden. Or if you grew up in the Deep South, it could have been something along the lines of Creole Pan Seared Meatloaf with Tomato Gravy. And I know from personal experience that if you are having a Sunday family dinner in an Italian household, you are more then likely having pasta & sauce. In England however, a Sunday Roast dinner consists of some sort of roasted meat (usually beef, but can sometimes be chicken, lamb or pork), lots of roasted vegetables, some sort of potato, gravy and something called Yorkshire pudding. Its basically a  fluffier version of a biscuit or a pop over. 

I would like to start off by saying that although I have made this dinner many times before, it is all about timing and often will come out differently each time I do it. The roast & veggies can cook together, but they both take a lot of prep beforehand. In Jamie's version of a roast dinner, the veg consisted of carrots, potatoes, parsnips, onion and celery. This is the first time I've seen celery involved. Usually the hint of green is made by brussels sprouts or peas. Which I prefer. The celery skin came out tough & stringy. 

Roasted Veg

I was surprised at how off Jamie was on his timing for the roast this time around. With the other recipes I've made lately, he's been pretty spot on with how long the meat has to cook for. This time around, he said to only cook the roast for 50 minutes for it to be medium-rare. 15 minutes less for rare. Now I know I've mentioned my struggle before, to find a balance in which to cook meat for this household. I like mine rare, and my wife would rather it be medium-well (bordering on burned). What I've decided to do for that is to take it out  when it's rare, slice some for myself, and put it back in for a little longer for my wife. This time around however, the slices I made for myself were not rare, they were still mooing! I knew that 45 minutes didn't seem like anywhere near enough time, but I placed all my faith in Jamie's words. In the end, I had to make us plates and then individually microwave them. 

Way Undercooked Roast

Yorkshire pudding is a finicky thing. I've made them many times before and they're almost impossible to master. They consist of a lot of milk, many eggs and not a lot of flour. The end result is something mimicking a pop-over, only slighting puffier. It's a nice, lighter substitute to a hunk of bread. The trick to these bad boys is to pour a splash of olive oil into each cup of the muffin tin, and to place it in the oven until it's scalding. Once you pour the batter in and place the tin back into the oven, shut the door and do not open it again! Something about the movement and the slight difference in the temperature will cause your Yorkshire puddings to act out. And boy did they ever! Because of my already temperamental, half raw cow I had cooking in the oven, I was constantly checking on it, willing it to cook faster. While in the mean time, the tops of the Yorkshire puddings were crisping up, but staying rather soggy, almost custard like in the middle. 

Ruined Yorkshire Puddings

End Result -- Not Too Pretty

I started cooking dinner around 6 pm and we didn't actually sit down to eat until after 9. Because my wife loves me, saw how hard I worked in order to salvage this meal and hates all of the take-out options in our neighborhood, she ate everything on her plate without complaint. Nothing actually tasted bad, and was surprisingly edible after a few tweaks, but I was extremely disappointed with this meal over all. 

Just to show you that I have made this meal before, and conquered it, I added a picture. Don't mind the pink tinge of the filter, this roast was actually cooked correctly! I'd like to leave you guys with one last thing. I am so appreciative of all those who continue to read about my crazy cooking adventures, and would love to hear your thoughts, comments or questions on anything. Please don't forget to comment in the section below and tell your friends!! Thanks!! :-)