Have You Ever Heard of Sirloin Spoon Roast?

     I needed something for supper, so I checked the Whole Food weekly flyer online.  This week they were featuring a sirloin spoon roast, priced $5.99 per pound, which was 50% off.

   In all my years, I've never heard of this before. I decided I'd get one, but I normally wouldn't pay six dollars a pound for something unless it was really special. 

   Thank goodness for the Internet. I did a search on spoon roast recipes. The first method I looked at called for cooking the roast at 225 degrees for 6-8 hours. Since it was already late afternoon, I knew this method wouldn't for me. It also said that this method yielded little to no juices. So I scrolled down to the next search result.

   Here I found what I was looking for. A fool proof method for cooking this amazing piece of beef. You choose a roast that's 4-8 pounds. Set the oven to 500 degrees. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes per pound. I used a heavy glass baking pan, oval shaped.

    My roast was 4.30 pounds. There were only two roasts to choose from, and I chose the larger one. These roasts have no bone, it's all meat and not too much fat.  I coated the meat with salt, pepper, and flour. Normally, I would've put an onion in, but with this method I couldn't.  I did throw a couple chunks of butter under and on top.

    The meat cooked for just over 20 minutes. I could hear it sizzling away. Here's the fun part: Shut off the oven, and let the roast sit for two hours. Voila!! When the two hours are up, you have a medium rare, juicy chunk of meat!  It made it's own gravy too. All I had to do was heat it up in a saucepan. The meat was still warm, but I didn't want it to cook any further. So I used to gravy as a  dipping sauce, which heated the meat enough.

    The article called spoon roast "a poor man's prime rib, or better". I would have to agree, it looked just like prime rib when I went to carve it! You know that solid pink, super tender look that prime rib has. Mmmm.  And they call it a spoon roast because you're supposed to be able to cut it with a spoon. I didn't actually try this, but I will say it melts in your mouth!

   I wish I had taken picture of the roast, in all stages of the cooking process. I know I'll be going back to Whole Food for a few more of these while they're on sale, and I'll post pix the next time I cook one. 

  From the comments on the sites, Whole Food seems to be the only place that sells them. My next stop, the Restaurant Depot. Wonder if they have them there!

  So what's for supper tonight? Leftovers, of course! I served last night's meal with real mashed potatoes (as opposed to instant), and organic carrots. Tonight I'll probably make rice and maybe spinach. Bon Appetite!

See something you like? Be a Copy Cat!

I don't know about you, but I love to eat. I like to try new foods, and most of all, if there's something unusual or expensive that I like, I want to learn how to make it myself!

Why? First, because it's fun, second, it's a challenge, third because it's often better than what you can buy pre-made. Plus...it's often much less expensive to do it yourself! And nothing feels better (to me, anyway) than to save money.

Lately, I also find the research on how different recipes are made very educational. For example....the other day at work, there was a container of chocolate covered coffee beans. What a delicacy, especially when I needed a pick-me-up.

 

Crunchy, decadent, mocha delight! I thought there must be a special trick to it, so you don't break a tooth on the coffee bean. I was wrong! I looked up the recipe online-I only looked at about ten, there were probably 10,000. But the bottom line, it's as easy as pie! You just use high quality beans and high quality chocolate.  Dip, dry and enjoy. So today I bought a bag of espresso beans and a bag of chocolate chips.   When I have a chance I'll make them and share with all my coffee loving friends and family. And I saved a fortune, too. To hold me over, I ate a small handful of chips and two espresso beans. If you're really lazy, you can just keep a container of each on hand, and it tastes about the same!

 

Another recent snack binge I've been on is beef jerky. It's tasty but very expensive.  It's relatively easy to make, and even easier if you have a food dehydrator. We have one somewhere, but I think it's time to get a new one.

 

Lastly, it's just fun to recreate candy--there are dozens of websites devoted to copycat candy recipes.  Just google it, and pick out the ones you like. I like to make copycat Mounds bars. Yummy!

 

So, whatever meals or snacks strike your fancy, check for a copycat recipe and give it a try!

A Yummy Chocolate Cake!

     I can't believe how long it's been since I wrote an article here. I've been devoting what little time I have to my other blog. But I thought it was time to get to work!  And what better way to start then to brag about my triple layer chocolate cake!

    It was a pain in the neck to make, but the results were worth it. First I had to go and buy new cake pans with  three inch high sides. 

   I used vanilla butter-cream frosting for the layers, and a chocolate ganache for the top and sides!

   I didn't wait long enough for one of the cake layers to cool, so when it broke, I had to repair it with ganauche. My grandmother used to say it all looks the same when it hits your stomach.

  Anyway, here are the pictures of my cake. Making a cake from scratch isn't as convenient as a mix, but the texture is really something worth working on! Most cake mixes have pudding in the mix, so they're moist. But a real cake is tender and the mouthfeel (I hate that word, but I can't think of a better way to describe it) is superior.

So it's not perfect, but it sure tasted good!

Look at the gleam on the ganauche!

 This is the way it looked while I was fixing the broken part. I was fortunate that the ganauche was liquid, and poured over the top.     I don't have the recipe handy to share, but I got it from the Better Homes and Gardens magazine. It was an old Christmas issue. The original recipe called for peppermint cream cheese frosting inside.     Until next time, happy baking!