Hummingbird Tongues

I should haul the good stuff out more often
but the china is stored in a closet
with a million other things that I would have to dig through in order to retrieve it
and it is such a treat to only use it for special occasions.

Christmas Dinner is one of the special occasions.

The dinner took most of the day to make
mostly due to the number of side dishes and new recipes.

No, I didn’t make enough courses to use up all the plates I set on the table
but it was pretty that way
SO I CAN SET THE TABLE HOWEVER I WANT.

Cipollini onions with herbs and two vinegars

I added them to the herbs and oil and vinegar mixture
where they marinated for a few hours.

Getting the roast started

I went through a lot of tomato paste before realizing I could freeze it.
Pictured is some of the frosty stuff.

I encountered a first world problem while browning the roast.
It was too big for the pan.

Oh, problems, problems.

Browned and ready for a long, slow roast.

Requisite Yorkshire puddings

After mixing
the batter rested for an hour and a half
then I threw it in muffin pans with hot beef fat
and stuffed it into the oven while the roast rested.

The last part is very hard to photograph
because it all has to be done so quickly
and Husband was not available to play photographer.

However
I assure you it happened
because I have proof of the end product

iPhone photo

I made some green beans with red peppers and anchovies

This is where I say to myself
“Self, mise en place photos are nice,
but let’s try to get more shots of the actual dish in progress.”

On top of not having photos of the dish in progress
I don’t have a picture the anchovies I used.

I don’t like fish
but I am not opposed to the judicious use of anchovies to pump up umami in a dish.

The nice thing about the undocumented anchovies
is that they live in a little white tube in paste form so they last for a good long time
and I do not have to deal with chopping up stinky, slimy fish
or getting the oil all over my hands.

Roast out of the oven after an eternity

Making the jus

I made mashed potatoes too
but they kept steaming up my lens
so I left them to have some alone time.

Final plating

The roast was delicious
but I find the even injection lines in the meat highly suspect.
I didn’t see that Costco marked that the meat was sodium injected
(I don’t know if they even have to)
but it is just one more reason not to go with mass produced meat.

I like knowing what is in my food.
I am a grown up and should be able to have control of that
just like the number of plates in my place setting.

Although
even with china, wine glasses, and remembering why I need to know where my meat comes from
I only grow up so much