
I love cooking Saturday night dinner. I love the ritual, the chopping and stirring and listening to music with a glass of wine, talking to my husband while our children fight play. The time pressures which pulse us along through the week are gone, and the rhythm of relaxation can finally take over. In our new house, the best view of the fireplace roaring is actually at the stove.
What could be better on a snowy night?
And since November, we’ve had a return of the half cow (see earlier post called Drunken Cow). Our freezer in our garage is filled with a lovely animal that was chewing on Vermont grass as recently as 6 weeks ago. This makes planning and cooking a Saturday night dinner even easier. Here’s what I made last Saturday:

I love, love, love roasting vegetables. Winter vegetables keep forever in your fridge! I always have these 3 on hand, but I also use sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, and rutabaga. You can’t go wrong – just try to cut them all evenly so they cook evenly.
Mix them with this trio….

Toss them together in a bowl….

And they become a caramelized, sweet and tangy and salty glory.

Maple Dijion Roasted Root Vegetables
4 Carrots
4 Parsnips
1 pound Brussel Sprouts
4 T. Maple Syrup —-(quick tip: 4 T = 1/4 cup)
4 T. Dijion Mustard
4 T. Olive Oil
1 t. S & 1/2 t. P
Preheat oven to 425. Cut all vegetables into roughly the size of
french fries. Cut Brussel sprouts in half. Toss all ingredients in a bowl
then lay on a roasting pan. Cook for 25-30 min, turning them over half way
through cooking.
And here is the star of the meal….a lovely strip steak from the half cow. The cryovacking makes it so easy to pull out and soak in hot water for quick defrosting.

I just put salt, pepper, Olive Oil, and minced onions all over this steak, and seared it, 3 min. per side, then popped it in the still hot 425 degree oven from the vegetables for 8 minutes. My husband uses Adolph’s Tenderizer instead of salt on his steak when he grills it, and that is delicious too!
Oven Roasted Steak:
1 T Olive Oil
1 T Minced Onion
1 t S& 1/2 t P
1 Strip Steak
Heat oven-safe pan on high heat. Sear steak on each side, 3-4 min depending on thickness. Place in a preheated oven at 425 for 8 min. Serve with pat of butter or blue cheese crumbled on top. We sauteed some onions and spread this secret weapon on everything:

This sauce is so good, it is just reduced balsalmic vinegar. It was the perfect compliment to the steak, blue cheese, onions, and veggies.
I served it with 90 second rice because that’s how we roll. My husband loves sauteed onions, so we added that too, making for a very messy plate.
Even my kids devoured this meal…

Enjoy!