Adventures in the kitchen.

I knit yesterday.  I did other things too, but mostly I knit. The sweater is going wonderfully well.  

Later in the afternoon, I made dinner and I wanted to tell you about that.  I wanted to because I did something brand new and different for me.  Almost revloutionary for any kitchen I had anything tio do with.

First off, I am not a big beef eater.  I never was but I loved the very fine grain of venison and have found it impossible to go back to the much more open grain of a beef.  I never liked steaks.  Only on rare occasions have I ever had one that I would call rememberable.  Prime rib was never my thing.  I like ground beef.  And once e ery couple weeks, stew.  But mostly ground beef.  

Living with the landlord here as I do, means that occasionally, I end up doing something very different.  He left my kitchen as a teenager and became this guy who like things I never made!  He ate out.  He ate in the kitchen of international spouces of friends and brothers.  

The landlord came home with a really nice looking beef roast a little while ago, and asked for a nice roast beef dinner.  I could do that.  I love roasted potatoes and carrots.  Yum.  But somehow I got the idea to try making yorkshire pudding.  When I was young the hotel I worked in served Prime Rib and Yorkshire pudding and I have never forgotten catching glimpses of the chef making the puddings.  It was always fascinating and I meant to try them one day.  My sister in law makes them occasionally too, but other than that, this has been a puddin free zone.  

But yesterday, this happened.  Several times through the day, I watched Jamie Oliver's Yorkshire pudding video.  I carefully timed the roast so I had precisely a half hour left before supper to make the puddings while the roast sat before slicing.  

I did Jamie's trick with the pan and the oil.  That alone was worth the price of admission.  By the time the puddings were ready to go in the oven, the landlord was home so we sat and drank wine and watched these pretty little things puff up and be the magic they are.  

I was pretty pumped by the result, with a few caveats for the next time I make them.  I think our oven temperature is just a wee bit lower than Jamie's.  Next time, I am going to raise the temperature a few degrees and I will bake them 5 minutes longer.  I don't think the extra 5 minutes would have helped here to make them perfect but it was a pretty darn good first try and not nearly so fussy as they seem in recipes.  

I can see them being a wonderful carrier for much more than gravy.  Jamie likes them with smoked salmon and lemon juice, but I was thinking that a nice creamed chicken or beef with lots of rich tasty creamy vegetable filled goodness might be perfect for serving Yorkshire puddings with.  Maybe a creamed salmon too.  

Anyway, there will be more adventuring in food.  Because why not.