Elevated Americana: A Celebration of 39 Years of Marriage
Thank you so much for your votes in Project Food Blog Round 2 -- Willow Bird Baking is one of only 200 blogs going on to Round 3, and I'm beyond grateful. The challenge for round 3 was to create a luxury dinner party, and thankfully, it fell on the perfect weekend to celebrate my parents' 39 year wedding anniversary.
The menu was designed to elevate American classics in celebration of my parents' first meeting at Gooch's soda shop in Piedmont, Missouri.
Amuse Bouche: “American Pie”
Deconstructed Pizza Bite: French bread cube, tomato, mozzarella, basil, pepperoni
Appetizer: “Movie Theater Favorites”
Saffron Buttered Popcorn
Gourmet Texas Nachos
Entrée: “Burgers & Fries”
Fresh roast beef and Gorgonzola sliders with arugula, Swiss, and caramelized onions
Herb-salt roasted fingerling potatoes
Dessert: “As American As . . .”
Apple Puff Pastry Pie with Almond Whipped Cream
Fancy Beef Sliders
Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking, with roast beef adapted from Simply Recipes and slider technique by Annie's Eats
Yields: ~30 sliders
Roast Beef Ingredients:
3 to 3 1/2 lbs of Boneless Rump Roast (pick a end cut with a lot of fat marbling)
Olive oil
8 slivers of garlic
Salt and pepper
Slider Ingredients:
potato slider buns (or dinner rolls of your choice)
baby arugula
Swiss cheese, sliced
Gorgonzola cheese
2 sweet onions
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil for caramelizing onions
melted butter
Directions:
Prepare the roast beef: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Let roast sit out for an hour before cooking so that it begins at room temperature. When ready to begin, rinse the roast and use a sharp knife to cut 8 small incisions over the surface, inserting a sliver of garlic into each. Rub the roast with olive oil and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place roast in baking dish with lid (or you can use Elise's on-the-rack method) and bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.
After 30 minutes, turn heat down to 225 degrees F and continue cooking uncovered until a meat thermometer reads 140 degrees (Elise says this takes 2-3 hours, but for me, it was more like 1.5 hours. I was nervous that I might need to slow it down, but it came out perfect. So just keep an eye on it). Remove roast from the oven and tent with foil. Let rest at least 15 minutes before slicing into very thin slices. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F at this point, in preparation for the sliders.
While the roast cooks, caramelize your onions. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. When it's hot, add the onions and stir so that they all come into contact with the bottom of the pan. As they start to brown, stir them every 15-30 seconds. Add balsamic vinegar and stir. Continue to brown for 10-20 minutes until they're well caramelized.
In the meantime, prepare slider assembly line. Set out baby arugula, Gorgonzola cheese, Swiss cheese, and mayonnaise. Set slider buns onto a baking sheet. On each bun, place roast beef and all the toppings, including caramelized onions. Brush tops of sliders with melted butter and bake at 400 degrees F for about 10 minutes, or until melty. Serve warm.
To hear the gorgeous story of my parents' early relationship, see why the memories they told me about were so special, and see more of the food, please head over to Willow Bird Baking!
P.S. Voting for Round 3 starts tomorrow and I'd love your vote. I'll stick a reminder on my next post -- which is a yummy breakfast item :)
x-posted to bakebakebake, food_porn, cooking
The menu was designed to elevate American classics in celebration of my parents' first meeting at Gooch's soda shop in Piedmont, Missouri.
Amuse Bouche: “American Pie”
Deconstructed Pizza Bite: French bread cube, tomato, mozzarella, basil, pepperoni
Appetizer: “Movie Theater Favorites”
Saffron Buttered Popcorn
Gourmet Texas Nachos
Entrée: “Burgers & Fries”
Fresh roast beef and Gorgonzola sliders with arugula, Swiss, and caramelized onions
Herb-salt roasted fingerling potatoes
Dessert: “As American As . . .”
Apple Puff Pastry Pie with Almond Whipped Cream
Fancy Beef Sliders
Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking, with roast beef adapted from Simply Recipes and slider technique by Annie's Eats
Yields: ~30 sliders
Roast Beef Ingredients:
3 to 3 1/2 lbs of Boneless Rump Roast (pick a end cut with a lot of fat marbling)
Olive oil
8 slivers of garlic
Salt and pepper
Slider Ingredients:
potato slider buns (or dinner rolls of your choice)
baby arugula
Swiss cheese, sliced
Gorgonzola cheese
2 sweet onions
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil for caramelizing onions
melted butter
Directions:
Prepare the roast beef: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Let roast sit out for an hour before cooking so that it begins at room temperature. When ready to begin, rinse the roast and use a sharp knife to cut 8 small incisions over the surface, inserting a sliver of garlic into each. Rub the roast with olive oil and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place roast in baking dish with lid (or you can use Elise's on-the-rack method) and bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.
After 30 minutes, turn heat down to 225 degrees F and continue cooking uncovered until a meat thermometer reads 140 degrees (Elise says this takes 2-3 hours, but for me, it was more like 1.5 hours. I was nervous that I might need to slow it down, but it came out perfect. So just keep an eye on it). Remove roast from the oven and tent with foil. Let rest at least 15 minutes before slicing into very thin slices. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F at this point, in preparation for the sliders.
While the roast cooks, caramelize your onions. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. When it's hot, add the onions and stir so that they all come into contact with the bottom of the pan. As they start to brown, stir them every 15-30 seconds. Add balsamic vinegar and stir. Continue to brown for 10-20 minutes until they're well caramelized.
In the meantime, prepare slider assembly line. Set out baby arugula, Gorgonzola cheese, Swiss cheese, and mayonnaise. Set slider buns onto a baking sheet. On each bun, place roast beef and all the toppings, including caramelized onions. Brush tops of sliders with melted butter and bake at 400 degrees F for about 10 minutes, or until melty. Serve warm.
To hear the gorgeous story of my parents' early relationship, see why the memories they told me about were so special, and see more of the food, please head over to Willow Bird Baking!
P.S. Voting for Round 3 starts tomorrow and I'd love your vote. I'll stick a reminder on my next post -- which is a yummy breakfast item :)
x-posted to bakebakebake, food_porn, cooking