Mad Men eat real meat

After the excitement of finding and buying my first standing rib roast in about fifteen years, I had to take a good look at it and decide how to cook and serve it. European beef in general is much leaner than I am used to because it is younger and not fattened on corn in feeding yards, but pretty much wanders around eating grass all its days. For a nice rib roast I’m expecting to see a nice fat cap over the outside and about ¾ of an inch inside another band of white fat, as well as perhaps some marbling throughout the meat.

This roast was almost all an unvarying pink color and almost without fat, showing it to be a young animal that hasn’t been fed up. That is Italian beef and it’s best to work with it. I’m sure it’s healthier.

Frankly, that’s pretty meaty even for an omnivore!

I decided I would age it. That meant keeping it unwrapped in the refrigerator for some days and then cutting the outermost part away which might be lessened in quality or have absorbed odors. That part was easy except for giving up so much space for five days in a tiny fridge. It really could have stayed much longer.

I decided next that I would cook it low and slow. I would get up early to take it out, prepare it and let it come to room temperature, then cook it at 200°F or 93°C for an hour per pound, or loosely half kilo. Just who has an oven that can be set at 93°? I never saw one. In the end this roast took an hour less than prescribed to reach 130°F in the center, at which time it is pink. You cannot cook such lean meat past that point because it becomes tough and dry for lack of internal fat.

I thought of making up a special rub for it, but then I noticed a new one I recently bought and had a look: salt, rosemary, sage, garlic, bay laurel, oregano, parsley, juniper, basil and marjoram! How would I ever beat that? It’s “Don Jerez insaporitore per arrosti”, it smells very pungent and I think it’s good. If I did it again I would add some paprika for color, but I didn’t miss it.

That looks better, yes?

That really was all it took to make this roast, and it was quite good. I knew it would be mild in flavor because it is such young meat, but I planned a sauce to help with that. I think everyone liked the sauce the most of anything.

With the meat course we drank a most delicious wine that Larry had bought during our trip in Puglia last autumn. It’s from Il Visconte line and is called Brindisi, which is both a Pugliese city and the word that means toasts. Cheers! It turns out the wine of 2006 won a prize, an wat we drank was 2007. I give it my prize because it was just delicious.
Vinicola Mediterranea San Pietro Vernotico, Brindisi Doc Rosso “Il Visconte” . If you are in Puglia or going there, look this place up and get a bottle ot hundred.

With the roast I served Yorkshire Puddings, made like this photo. Remember those?

Our salad, served in 1940s salad bowls.

We also had a salad of romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion and blue cheese dressing. I think blue cheese or Roquefort dressing was the glue that held our part of the 1960s together. It wasn’t all hippies and Beatles, I can tell you, or watch Mad Men and you’ll see that we gals were wearing girdles, garters and stockings from age fifteen and those pointy bras weren’t invented for Madonna. When I was married I had beautiful lace-trimmed and embroidered aprons to wear over my crinoline bouncy skirts and with my 3.5 inch spike heels. Yes, while cooking. My clients should be rolling in the aisles at that image. Although you must admit I wear great jewelry when I cook.

Horseradish Sauce

½ cup or 125 ml heavy cream (panna da montare)
1 teaspoon/cucchiaino Worcestershire sauce
few drops/gocce of Tabasco
3-4 heaping tablespoons/cucchiai colmi horseradish or raffano, prepared in a jar from the supermarket

Whip the cream until fairly stiff and then gently stir in the rest of the ingredients. Taste for salt and correct if necessary.

Blue Cheese Dressing

4 oz./100 g blue cheese—Gorgonsola dolce here
4 oz/125 ml plain yogurt
2 tablespoons/cucchiai apple cider vinegar (don’t use red vinegar because it will look like a lab accident)
½ cup/125 ml OR MORE extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mash the cheese roughly with a fork then stir the yogurt in evenly. Add the vinegar and stir, then mix in the oil, stirring until completely distributed. Taste and adjust to your tongue. Adding oil makes it milder, although this dressing is supposed to be quite a lot stronger than the bottled kind. Use less on the salad than you do the mild stuff.

This entire meal except for the Yorkshire puddings was acceptable on a low carbohydrate diet. I wouldn’t say it was okay every day, but what is? I suppose in a couple of months season four of Mad Men will be starting up. I think you should make a Betty Driver Roast Beef Gourmet Dinner to celebrate. How about it?