How to Make a Yorkie

If you didn't already know, today was Father's Day. But you probably did know because, likely, your Facebook homepage was flooded with generic "Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there" status updates just like mine.

Our Father's Day actually started yesterday. Saturday morning was the morning we did the Daddy's breakfast choice meal. Actually, he didn't choose anything because I was sneaky and bought him something he's been begging for off and on for quite awhile now. Any guesses?

Well, SPAM of course. SPAM and eggs with rice, to be exact. It's a Filipino thing...along with the Hawaiians. They just love their salty nitrated meatish products. It was my first time. That's right. Until yesterday I was a virgin SPAMmer. But no more my dears. I've now experienced that famous WW2 gelatinous pink slice. Not too bad in crispy fried form. The lesser browned pieces were a bit too smooth, though.

The reason we had to have Saturday morning Father's Day breakfast is because my newly mohawked husband had to help rock the flock this morning at Lighthouse. This responsibility required him to get up very early...much too early for a special breakfast!

But we made up for it tonight with a true Daddy's Choice dinner. Of all the options, he was most excited about a Roast Beef complete with potatoes, wine gravy, and Yorkshire pudding (a first for me).

I've been making this Roast Beef recipe for quite a few years. I originally got it out of a Jamie Oliver cookbook...he has some pretty good protein (meat, fish, poultry) ideas. Anyways, this one (modified as always) goes as follows:

Roast Beef with Potatoes

Season with salt and pepper:

One 5 lb sirloin beef roast
(his has bones and all...but I've done many versions...tonight's was boneless and only 2 lbs)

Preheat the oven to 450. Using a casserole dish that can go on the stove top, heat a couple of teaspoons of olive oil over moderate heat. Add the roast and brown on all sides. It only takes a couple of minutes per side but it adds great flavor and sears in the juices. Remove the roast and add to the pan:

1 or 2 red onions, quartered or chopped into large chunks

Season the onions with a pinch of salt and some pepper, then add the roast back on top. Place the roast dish in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat up a pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and add:

about 5 potatoes, peeled and chunked

Boil for 10 minutes until partially cooked through. Drain in a metal colander, shaking to "chuff" them up. The uneven parts get nice and crispy in the oven later.

Remove the roast pan from the oven. Add in the potatoes and rub the roast with:

4 cloves garlic, squeezed through a press
2-3 thumb sized pieces of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Replace the pan in the oven and roast about another hour.

***NOTE: depending on the size of roast, cooking times vary significantly! Jamie suggests 12-15 minutes per pound, plus another 20 minutes at the end no matter the size. So, for my 2 pound roast...24 minutes plus the extra 20...about 45 minutes. We like it fairly rare!

While it is roasting, prepare your Yorkie batter.

1 scant c flour
a good pinch of salt
1 1/4 c milk
3 eggs

Mix together in a bowl.

When your roast reaches your desired temperature (rare is about 140), remove the pan from the oven. Set the roast on a board to rest, covering it lightly with foil. Remove the potatoes to a bowl. Set the roasting pan with the onions and drippings aside to make gravy later.

In a "popover" pan (I used a regular muffin tin), add about 1/4 inch of oil (plus a little butter if desired) in each cup. Set the muffin tin in the oven (still at 450) for about 10 minutes to preheat the oil. Then divide the Yorkie batter between the cups (I filled about 11 of the 12). Place the muffin pan in the oven and DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR AGAIN until the batter is baked.

Watch with amazement as the batter rises like a souffle! Jamie says to bake them 30 minutes, but mine seemed done way before that. It only took about 15 minutes.



While they bake, make your gravy. Take the onions in the roasting pan and add about 2 tsp of flour, mixing it in. Heat the pan over moderate heat, then add a cup or two of a big:

Red wine (plus beef broth if desired)

Bring to a simmer, cooking 10 minutes or so. Pour the gravy through a sieve, discarding the onions and other bits. Serve in a gravy jug.

Remove the Yorkies from the muffin pan with a fork (they come right out). Slice the meat and serve everything together. It's best with a mouthful of meat, potato, and Yorkie all covered in the gravy.