Eight Maids a' Milking

Yeah! No more fowl! I’ve done enough fowl to last me until next Christmas! It’s time for some good ol’ fashioned beef. I love beef. Who doesn’t? Oh yeah, vegetarians. Well, no ‘teef’ here. That’s ‘tofu-beef’. No tofu at all. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Just pure unadulterated beef, just the way I like it. I’m sure you noticed what the Grinch served on Christmas day. Not Who-goose. Not Who-turkey. Who-beaat. (I’ll just pretend he meant Who-beef). And it’s roasted, of course. Not grilled. Not broiled. Not stewed. Not ground and squashed into balls. Not even smoked, although some smoked prime rib sounds good about now. I’m not even talking about pot roast. I’m talking about roast beef. Medium rare, nice and red, shaved thin and piled high on some rye bread with some nice hot mustard, muenster and provolone and…got a little side-tracked, there.

Anywho. Back to beef. My family hails from Normandy where we were known for our apple orchards which still stand today…I think. I suppose I should’ve researched that out. Oh well, too late. At any rate, even today, Normandy cuisine is known for it’s use of apples and the four C’s. - Cider, Calvados (an apple brandy), Cream and Cheese, specifically Camembert which is a soft cheese relative to brie. Get them maids milkin! I need some cheese!


Eight Maids a’ Milking

Roast Beef Normandie with Apple Compote and Camembert Crème Sauce

Roast Beef

1 3-4 lbs top round roast
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 325° F. In a heavy skillet with a little olive oil, sear the roast on all sides until nice and brown, about 3-5 minutes each side. Place on an oven broiler pan and roast for 1 ½ hours or until a meat thermometer reads 120-125° F. Remove from the oven and let it rest, tented with foil. While the roast is in the oven you can work on the compote and Crème sauce.

Apple Compote

3 apples, cored, peeled and chopped
2 cups apple sauce
1 cup apple cider
1 T brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ cup Calvados or cup water and 1 tsp rum extract

Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce the heat and let simmer until apples are soft and sauce is thick.

Camembert Crème Sauce

¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
1 quart heavy cream
1 8 oz round Camembert, shredded
Dash nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

In a small sauté pan, gently melt the butter. Whisk in the flour until smooth and let simmer for a minute. Set aside. This is the roux (as in Kanga and Little Roo) to thicken the sauce. In a sauce pan, combine the cream and nutmeg and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cheese. Stir continuously until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Whisk in the roux and simmer just until the sauce is thick like a gravy.

To serve, slice the hot roast beef as thin as you can. Shaved, we call it. Top with the apple compote and then the Camembert Crème Sauce. Serve with some roasted red potatoes and carrots. Bleu cheese, while a very different in flavor from the Camembert, is a good substitute that goes great with apples.