Recipe Lust: Rare Roast Beef

I couldn't tell you when the March Food & Wine arrived in the mailbox, but I do know it was waiting in all it's glory on the dining room table as I was walking out the door for work last night.

Food & Wine is my own personal food porn. It's disgusting that I can sit for hours pouring over the magazine admiring the pictures and reading every recipe page by page, word for word. This recipe had me from the moment I laid my eyes on it. I plan on trying this very soon. As soon as my very busy schedule allows, that is.

Rare Roast Beef with Fresh Herbs & Basil Oil

via Food & Wine

1 1/2-pound beef eye of round roast

1/2 cup mix of finely chopped rosemary, mint and tarragon 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 

2 cups fresh basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 475°. Generously coat the roast with half of the chopped herb mixture and season with salt and pepper.

In a large ovenproof skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over moderately high heat. Add the roast and lightly brown it on all sides, about 3 minutes. Wipe out the skillet, return the meat to it and roast in the oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 110°, about 25 minutes. Transfer the roast to a cutting board and season again with salt and pepper. Cover loosely with foil and let rest for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil and fill a bowl with ice water. Blanch the basil in the saucepan for 15 seconds. Transfer the basil to the ice water; drain well and squeeze out all of the excess water. Transfer the basil to a blender. Add the remaining 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt and blend thoroughly.

Thinly slice the roast and drizzle each portion with 1/2 tablespoon basil oil. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup chopped herbs and serve.

baby.love.

Our nephew is already a month old. We live closer than the rest of the family, but still too far away to see him as often as we'd like with our busy work schedules.

When I see new pictures his mommy posts on Facebook, I just want to snuggle him up! Kiss his little head, admire his little nose and let him squeeze my finger with those tiny little hands.

Oh, how this sweet little one just makes my heart burst! Totally love him ♥

Day away from home.

On Friday I spent a day out with my mom and sister. We headed to a little town called Snohomish to hit up a big antique mall that was having an annual sale. I love old stuff.

First stop was a little shop across the street that had a ton of great looking stuff in the window. I really loved this little dish on the left. I still keep thinking about it and of course, the sale on it is over now. Not to mention it's almost a 2 hour drive away from home. I don't know what it was, but I'd put cupcakes in it. It was like a cake plate, but the sides were a little too high for cake cutting. I also really loved this old chandelier taken from an old estate in my home town. Very pretty, very expensive and very not practical for my house!

Back over at the Star Mall there were about 90 booths of antique dealers. Lots of really awesome stuff. Old colorful hats, lots and lots of vintage aprons, and pyrex of course. I scored just one small little find after lots of digging through a bunch of old linens. No photo now, but I have a project in mind for it that I'll post when finished.

If you live in the Northwest and you enjoy antiques, absolutely make a trip to Snohomish. There were many more shops in view from the corner where I took this photo. It would make for a really great day out!