Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Pesto Crusted Roast Beef

I love Sundays when there is nothing to do but be lazy and relax.
This translates for me into a day of cooking a really delicious meal for my family, without the rush of getting everything onto the table for "dinner time". I can take my time and play all day in the kitchen!

Sunday's  rules are different from the weekday rules.

When we were kids we ate our Sunday dinner no later than 3 in the afternoon.
Our parents didn't have to deal with softball practices, or soccer games, or any other sports activities. Sunday was a day of rest and there were no activities planed, except  for Church and family!

Today our schedules are so busy, it doesn't matter what day of the week it is!
Give me a rainy Sunday when everyone is sleeping in, cozy and relaxed without running off somewhere and I am so happy.

It gives me the opportunity to make a Sunday dinner like we had when we were kids.
First you start with an antipasto, then a pasta, followed by a meat, with the vegetables and a salad.

This past Sunday gave me the perfect opportunity to make one of those big Sunday meals.
I haven't made a roast beef in a very long time. The other day my son, Stephen said it would be nice to have roast beef so he could make sandwiches with the left overs.
So for this Sunday dinner I decided to make a Roast Beef and wanted to give it a different twist.
I seasoned the meat with salt and pepper. With a pastry brush I spread pesto all over the roast. More chopped garlic went all over the roast and then I rolled the roast beef so it was coated with french onion flakes. I don't know why I had these in my pantry, but they were there and I thought, why not?
I put the roast in a preheat 450 degree oven for 15 minutes and then turned the heat down to 350 degrees. I added a couple of peeled carrots, an onion and mushrooms to the pan with beef stock and 1/2 cup of Sweet Vermouth.

I cooked the roast until it reached an internal temperature of 135- 137 degrees and then let it sit, tented.
In my opinion, the meat was a little overdone after letting it rest.


Next time, I'm taking it out at 125 degrees, letting it rest so the roast will be medium rare. This was more of a medium to medium well.  It was still tasty, tender and most delicious.

Enjoy!

Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine

1 comment:

  1. What cut of beef did you use? I usaully make a paste of garlic (that was pressed), salt, pepper, olive oil, and some chopped fresh herbs, and then shmear it all over like you did. I recently got a large professional electric meat slicer, and want to make a big roast beef to try it out. I can never hand slice it thin enough for sandwiches. Also, if you let the meat repose for 10-15 minutes, which is best for keeping it juicy, I will take it out before it hits 125 degrees to insure it's medium rare. It will rise up to 10 degrees when it sits. The juice in your pan must have been loaded with great flavors.

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