Please sir, can I have s'more?

So... it's been quite a while since I've posted anything that I've cooked at home. I'm not saying that I haven't been cooking (how else would I survive?), but just that I haven't been cooking anything worth posting. In any case, here's my first venture into the world of traditional British food: Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding!

I've had roast beef before, but usually it's the sliced lunch meat you get on sandwiches. And it's not usually my favorite. I'm a salami kind of girl. I have heard of roast beef for dinner growing up, but my mom (or rather my grandmother) never made it. I don't think she knew what it was, and she'd probably laugh at the idea of having sandwiches for dinner. I never knew what Yorkshire pudding was, and I assumed it was some sort of dessert (being an ignorant American, and all). Obviously, it isn't. It's a side usually served with dinner, and I'm not quite sure yet how I feel about it. I think if we ate it right away out of the oven, it would have been spectacular, but we had to wait a while because Ben went for a jog. Perhaps better results next time.

Here are the recipes, courtesy of Nigella Lawson.

Roast Beef:

Ingredients
1 roast of beef (enough to feed whoever is coming over - your choice of part)
olive oil
rosemary
salt and pepper
Essence (optional)
Vegetables to roast with (optional)

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Rub seasoning and oil and rosemary all around the roast. Place on a rack in a roasting pan. Scatter vegetables around. Roast for 15 minutes, then lower heat to 350 degrees F, and continue to roast until an instant read thermometer yields 115 degrees F when inserted into the middle of the roast. Remove from the oven and cover with foil. Let sit while you make Yorkshire Pudding.





Yorkshire Pudding

Ingredients:
1.25 c milk
4 eggs
salt and pepper
1 T vegetable oil
1.5 c flour

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place your baking dish in the oven to heat up. Whisk together milk, eggs, salt and pepper, and oil. Let sit for 15 minutes. Whisk in flour, a little bit at a time, until you get a smooth batter. Pour into your heated baking dish and bake for 20 minutes, or until puffy and golden. "Bring to the table triumphantly!"





The result was pretty good, which makes me happy! :) What makes me even happier is SPRING!!! The big trees on my street have been blooming for about a week, and it's glorious. Yesterday was a beautiful day, so I took some pictures of it. I'm not sure what kind of trees these are, but they have the awesome little white flowers that just brighten up the street.





Also, the egglings I got for Christmas from Ben are finally sprouting (after I had to plant the reserve seeds that come with them). YAY! They're so cute!