Mother's Day 2011: Kathleen's Roast Beef

Last year I discussed Mother's Day's role as a food holiday and told you a little bit about my own mother. This year I'd like to shine a bigger spot light on my Mommy (yes I still call her mommy a lot) and share one of her tastiest recipes. As you may remember from my first Mother's Day post, my mom has been the most influential person in making me the culinary enthusiast I am today. In October she accompanied me to the New York City Wine & Food Festival-- where we had an unforgettable time! She has been my biggest fan in terms of the blog and even had a special talk with Santa to get me a Cuisinart food processor for Christmas! 

In all, my mother is an indispensable part of my life. As such, I wanted to share one of my favorite things she makes with you all. Since I was little one of my top 10 meals has always been my mom’s roast beef with brown gravy, french-cut green beans, mashed potatoes and rolls (yes, exactly that way). My mom does an exceptional job cooking her roast beef to just above rare doneness and it is so, so good. I asked her for the recipe, telling her it was so I can make my own roast for sandwich meat (not untrue, but not my main purpose), so I could post it here to celebrate what a wonderful cook she is! A lot of the preparation is in the way she seasons the meat and then cooking it for just enough time and letting it fully rest. 

So here is the recipe for roast beef. You can serve it hot or make it for cold sandwiches. If enjoying it hot I’d be sure to whip up some brown gravy and your favorite side dishes—don’t forget the veggies! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. 

[FYI, this is straight from the horse’s mouth, she doesn’t write things down and this hasn’t been tested, so like I will always tell you trust your instincts!]

My mom in Little Italy in December 2010

Delicious! (Sorry for the bad lighting!)

Kathleen’s Roast Beef

Half of 1 full eye of the round roast at room temperature

Seasonings: 

Yellow mustard

Oregano

Italian seasoning 

Cracked pepper 

Onion powder

Garlic powder

Salt

Olive oil

Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 325° F. Whisk all seasonings together until smooth and well mixed.  Have roast at room temperature. Completely cover roast with mixture, rubbing it in.  

Place roast in a non-reactive pan. Add a small amount of water to the bottom of the pan.  For half of a full eye of the round, roast at the 325° for about 40 minutes then turn oven up to 400° for 15 minutes.  Let the meat rest for 20 minutes. If being served hot, slice and serve with sides of your choice (like I said, I like mashed potatoes and green beans).

If making gravy, deglaze the hot roast pan with beef stock (or water) to use for brown gravy base.

For sandwiches let rest and cool.  Place in refrigerator overnight before slicing for sandwich meat.


----------------

For Mother's Day dessert, my friend Julie of Sweet & Sassy Confections whipped up one of my mom's favorite desserts: Key Lime Pie! Check her out for great sweets and treats in the Capital Region (NYS)!