Beef and Dandilions

I know, I know, it's been forever since I posted on Deus. But I've been cooking very ordinary things lately. Nevertheless, I have decided to post again because Deus must march forward, forward into the kitchen where the food is prepared, forward to the plate where the food is served, forward to my mouth where the meal is consumed.

Today I cooked a beef roast and had some dandilions on the side. I know that most of you think of dandilions as a weed and not a vegetable. Well read on young kimosabe, and learn how to prepare this delictible green, and behold the roast that I ate along side it.

Let's start with the dandilions. I remember as a kid my mom cooking these up, and they were always delicious. So when I saw them at the farmer's market, I snatched them up right away. They're very simple to prepare, and they have a rich and hearty taste that you just don't get with spinach or other cooked greens. Come to think of it, maybe they should be stuffed into a pizza or calzone... hmmmm...

Basically take your dandilions and cut down the stems. Heat up a large skillet with olive oil on medium heat, and throw in the dandilions. Crush 4 or so cloves of garlic, and throw those in as well. Add more olive oil liberally. Cover the skillet and let the dandilions sweat off their moisture, and toss the greens in the skillet repeatedly. Add salt liberally, as the dandilions take it very well. You'll know they're done when they turn a dark green, and look completely wilted. Don't take them out early, or they'll be bitter. Add salt when you serve, and enjoy.

You may be wondering if you can use dandilions that you may find in your backyard. The answer is yes you can, so long as the dandilion hasn't bloomed yet. If the flower has appeared, then it's no good and you should leave it alone.

Now for the beef roast. The only way to cook a beef roast is by using a meat thermometer, perferably digital. Without it, there is simply no way for you to know what's going on inside the meat you cook. Today I cooked a eye of round roast, I think it was about three pounds. Procedures are simple, but must be followed with the meat thermometer. Just go get one if you don't have it already. Mine cost about $15.

Heat your oven to 250 degrees. If you have a dutch oven, put it in to be heated. If you use a terra cota planter and a large brick like I do, make sure they are heated as with the dutch oven. Rub the meat down with olive oil and salt and pepper. Insert the meat thermometer deep into the side of the meat so that it goes doen the roast lengthwise. Place the roast into the dutch oven, cover, and turn the heat down to 200 degrees. Wait until the meat thermometer reaches 118 degrees.

The thing to understand here is that 120 degrees is cooked but rare. 130 is more of a medium rare. So taking the roast out at just before rare allows the meat to gently rise to the appropriate temperature. Remove the roast and turn the oven up to 500. Cover roast with tin foil while waiting. The roast will reach a temperature somewhere near 130 on its own. Mine only went up to 125.

When the oven is heated to 500, place the roast back in, this time uncovered, for ten minutes. Remove the roast, wait five minutes for the meat to relax, and voila! A perfect roast every time.

If you want, you can deglaze the bottom of the pan or dutch oven and make a gravy. That's up to you. Enjoy.