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Roast Beef Dinner

Roast Beef

Let me preface this by saying I’ve only cooked a roast once before in my life. And I overcooked it a bit. Totally screwed up. Well, maybe not THAT bad but it was pretty abysmal eating leftovers for the next couple days.

But since I’m a glutton for punishment (And I like second chances too), I decided to give it another shot, this time making roast beef. Again, I need to preface this by saying roast beef is pretty easy, not much to it. But after agonizing about it for a couple days, talking to about half a dozen people and reading through double that amount of recipes, I figured I was ready. Sure enough, it was pretty easy, and this time I didn’t screw up :)

I’ve always been a huge fan of the browned bits on the edges of the roast since the flavor really contrasts well with the juicier (and hopefully redder) bits in the middle. So I used more garlic and rosemary than one probably needs to on the outside of the roast, but that’s probably ok.

And my favorite part are the leftover sandwiches! Sadly, I didn’t end up with enough juice to make a gravy…I’ll save that for next time!

Some notes:
Different amounts of meat will take either longer/shorter to cook. For me, the below method worked well with a 2.5 pound roast.
I roasted some potatoes and spinach to go along with the beef.

Roast Beef

Serves 6
Time : 90 – 120 minutes

Ingredients:
- 2.5 – 3 pound beef roast (round, sirloin, chuck)
- 6-8 cloves garlic
- 1.5 tbsp fresh rosemary
- Salt
- Pepper

Method:
1. Put the garlic and rosemary in a food processor and mix into a paste.
2. Rub the roast with the paste, sprinkle some salt and pepper on it
3. Bake at 350F in a roasting pan for at least an hour.
4. After an hour, check the roast’s temperature every 15 minutes for the desired “done-ness” (125F – rare, 130-140F – medium rare, 145-150F – medium, 155+ – well done)

Roast Beef uncut!

Time to BBQ! Jason of Bite the Bullet BBQ

MeatGuy4

With Memorial Day a couple weeks past, BBQ season is in full swing. We just got a grill for the patio and have been experimenting with it some, hopefully I’ll have some things to post soon about my own adventures.

But this post is about a fixture at a local monthly BBQ. A few of my buddies take turns hosting about 30 people and it’s always a great time, tons to eat and drink, and plenty of time for just a good time. And one of the things we always look forward to are seeing our favorite BBQ guy. Jason hauls his smoker/grill all the way down from New Hampshire and spends from dawn til’ dusk BBQing in the backyard.

Some of the various things he’s done include ribs, steak tips, pulled pork, chili, beans, and wings, all prepared generally the day of the BBQ. If we’re lucky, he vacuum-packs some ribs, puts them on ice and sells them to anyone that might be looking for a BBQ fix later on. And he always sells out!

But what’s great is how passionate he is about grilling and BBQ, even traveling to compete against other avid grillers.

Thanks Meat Guy!

MeatGuy6
Warming up the smoker
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In action, steak tips and wings
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Pulled Pork!
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Almost ready…!!!

Atlantic Fish Co

I’ve been meaning to go to The Atlantic Fish Company for quite some time now, but finally made it out this past weekend! Every other time we attempted to go it was way too busy to wait. But this time, we planned ahead and made reservations. Atlantic Fish Company, by its name, specializes in seafood dishes, and all the dishes looked great. I was in the mood for scallops, and they turned out to be pretty good. They weren’t very hot by the time the plates were served, but the taste was fantastic. The service was attentive, but I (and Dave) had a few gripes with the waiter because he was a bit pushy. The prices are a little bit higher than Legal Seafoods, but in general, I’d say that Atlantic Fish Co is a bit better, so worth the extra few bucks. Oh, and we did order a dozen raw littlenecks, but forgot to take a picture. Those were damn good. All in all, it was good fare!

Sea Scallops

I think this was cod with fish chowder

Blackened Striped Bass with pineapple salsa (special of the day)

Sea Bass and Lobster Ravioli

Chili – For cold weather and football!


There’s nothing like a hearty bowl of chili on a cold day on Football Sunday. And it’s definitely good on a day where I was just doing chores around the house and cleaning! Throw everything in and simmer for a few hours. But the only problem was that I’d never cooked chili before, though from everything I’ve heard, chili isn’t exactly the hardest thing to cook :P

After searching far and wide (there seem to be hundreds of recipes!), a buddy of mine offered up this nugget. With a few adjustments (more meat) and an extra dose of spices, I think I’ve stumbled onto something! So, after a morning and afternoon of chores, I was able to finally dig into the chili that was on the stove all day :)

Meaty, hearty chili

Serves : 6-8 people
Time : 20 minutes prep, 3-4 hours cook time

Ingredients:
- 1 – 1.5 lbs ground chuck
- 1 lb pork, diced
- 1 lb beef chuck, diced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1-2 Jalapeno peppers, chopped
- 4-6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 (15 ounce) cans pinto/kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 3 (8-ounce) cans diced tomatoes (or tomato sauce)
- 1 12-oz bottle dark beer
- 1 (14 ½oz) can beef broth
- 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1-2 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp hot sauce (or more, depending on your spicy tolerance)
- Optional : 1/4 tsp cocoa

Method:
1. Cook garlic with some oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat for 30 seconds until sizzling.
2. Add meat, cook through, add onion, cook another minute or so
3. Combine meat mixture, beans, and the rest of the ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours

Martha Stewart’s Mac-and-Cheese


Macaroni and Cheese is one of those classic American dishes that everyone probably has had at least once. In my case, I remember eating all different kinds ranging from home-made, boxed, to the restaurant mac-and-cheese at places like The Publick House in Brookline and the 50′s Diner in Dedham. I’d seen plenty of recipes all over the web but I never tried making it myself

But that all changed when I saw Smitten Kitchen’s version, also found in Martha Stewart Living Cookbook:The Original Classics. And after looking at all the various pictures and reading about it, I decided I just had to try it this once and hope for the best. And wow, it turned out well. The kitchen started smelling real good after baking for about 10 minutes and it was hard waiting the next 20 minutes for the dish to finish!

One word of warning. This recipe makes A LOT of mac-and-cheese. I’m not kidding about this, the roommate can attest. I spent the next week eating mac-and-cheese for lunch and dinner. Halving the recipe works, I was just too dumb to do it :P

Martha Stewart’s Mac-and-Cheese

Serves 12

Ingredients:
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus some more for the baking dish
6 slices white bread, crusts removed, cubed
5 1/2 cups milk (I used skim)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp kosher salt, plus some more for boiling the pasta
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cup (18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar cheese
2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyere (Can substitute 5 ounces grated Romano)
1 lb elbow macaroni

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375 Farenheit. Butter a 3 quart casserole/baking dish and set aside. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a small saucepan. Pour the melted butter into a mixing bowl with the bread and toss. Set aside.
2. Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Separately melt the remaining 6 tbsp butter in a high-sided skillet or saute pan over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Stir and cook for about a minute.
3. Slowly pour the hot milk into the skillet while whisking. Try to keep the mixture smooth. Continue cooking and whisking until the mixture bubbles and thickens, about 8-12 minutes.
4. Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups (not all) cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere. Set aside.
5. Boil the macaroni until the outside of the pasta is barely cooked. About 2 to 3 minutes. When finished, rinse and drain the macaroni, then add it to the cheese sauce.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese and the breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.