Check out this month's feature for The Art of Manliness, featuring my famous Sunday Supper!
These days,
it’s rare for me to spend a weekend at home in Nashville. Between the demands of work, relationships,
and other opportunities, it seems my time is spent on the road more often than
not. Many of you know my pain of hitting
the deck at 11 p.m. on a Sunday evening just as you roll into town, only to get
back to business early Monday morning.
But such is life, and besides, travel does have its perks.
When I do
find myself lucky enough to spend a weekend in town - I tend to savor every
moment. Especially now that fall is in
full swing. I like to start my Saturdays with a long run, prepping
my body for the abuse of tailgate food, a few cold beers, and hours-upon-hours
of watching college football.
But Sundays
are different. I wake up early, clean
house, go to church, and start cooking. Many
of you were probably nodding your heads in agreement up until the cooking part
- or the waking up early part! Don’t
worry, there are always a few NFL games providing my entertainment soundtrack
while I am in the kitchen.
Cooking a Sunday Supper gives me a chance to reconnect to
the town and friends I love. I head down
to the Nashville Farmers Market
to pick up farm fresh vegetables, shoot over to Lazzaroli Pasta to chew the fat with Tom, and finally round
things out by visiting my favorite butchers
at the local market. I’m not an
outspoken foodie or ‘locavore’, but there’s something about creating
relationships behind the food that tends to make my meals taste better.
That being said, at this stage in my life, my social scene
is all over the map - friends who are single, dating, engaged, or just starting
out with young families. It’s a unique stage
- some yearning for companionship, others just looking for a break from the routine. Then there’s always the musician friend or
two that’s looking for a square meal after a solid week on the road - a common
theme here in Music City. So, I usually receive
a resounding YES when I invite
ten or twelve of my closest friends over for a Sunday Supper. In fact, most of them have grown to dislike
my busy travel schedule - for selfish reasons of course.
Sunday Suppers are always casual. I like
to make comforting meals that can be prepped far in advance, and finished off
with little to no hassle. After all, the
whole point of hosting and entertaining friends is to enjoy their company - not
to be stuck sweating away in the kitchen.
Whether you are single looking to entertain friends, or you are taking over the
kitchen duties to cook your family a hearty meal, I recommend my favorite
Sunday Supper menu below. I’ve even gone
so far as to create a shopping and prep list to assist you when making the
recipes.
Whatever your Sunday routine or meal might be, I can
guarantee your food will always taste best when shared with others. Plus it never hurts to have leftovers to
start the work week!
Cheers!
MM
Sunday Shopping
List
Produce/Vegetables Department
ð 2 Heads Whole Garlic
ð 1 Large Onion
ð 12 Whole Carrots
ð 2 lbs Fresh Green Beans
ð 5 lbs Baby Red Potatoes
ð 10 Heirloom Tomatoes
Meat Department
ð 1 3 - 5 lb Rump Roast
Dairy Department
ð 1 Package Unsalted Butter
ð 12 oz Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
ð 8 oz Heavy Cream
General Grocery
ð Black Pepper
ð Kosher Salt
ð 1 Bottle Red Wine
ð 1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
ð Dry Italian Seasoning Blend
Sunday Prep List
1) Prep,
sear, and place roast in oven for 3 - 5 hours, depending on size of the cut.
2) Watch
football for a few hours.
3) When
one hour of cooking time remains on the roast, get back into the kitchen.
4) Blanch
green beans, place in ice bath, drain, and set aside.
5) Wash,
cut, and boil potatoes and garlic.
6) Meanwhile,
add carrots to pot with roast and cook for 30 more minutes.
7) Mash
potatoes, cover, and keep warm on low heat - adding more cream if necessary.
8) Remove
roast and carrots, tent with foil. Make
gravy.
9) Friends
arrive. Table is set.
10) Reheat
green beans in butter.
11) Slice
tomatoes and season. Arrange on platter.
12) Slice
beef, and arrange on platter with carrots.
13) Serve.
Sunday Slow Roast Beef - a foolproof dish that
will make you the king of the kitchen. The garlic will slowly cook down to the
consistency of butter, lending its wonderful flavor throughout the meat. Don’t worry too much if your meat shreds more
than slices - it will be tender, juicy, and delicious.
1 3 - 5 lb Rump Roast
8 Whole Cloves Peeled Garlic
Kosher Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper
1 Large Onion, roughly chopped
2 Cups Red Wine
12 Whole Carrots, ends trimmed, unpeeled
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Next, preheat a Dutch oven over medium
high heat. Meanwhile, use a knife to cut small inserts into the beef,
stuffing the holes with garlic. Liberally season the entire roast with
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. Next, sear all sides (except fat
cap side) for 2 - 3 minutes, or until browned. Add onions to the bottom
of the pot, set roast on top, and deglaze with red wine. Cover and place
into the oven to roast undisturbed for 3 - 5 hours (approximately 1 hour per
pound). When thirty minutes remain, add carrots to the pot, cover and
continue to cook. Remove roast and carrots and tent with foil (15
minutes) prior to slicing thin and on the bias for service.
Mushroom and Onion Pan Gravy - guilty as
charged. I promise this is the ONE time
I’ll ever endorse using that canned concoction.
But damn, this gravy is absolutely delicious - and ridiculously
simple. Trust me; I’ve won over
several-a-chef friends with this gravy, many of whom have also joined me on the
dark side of canned processed goodness.
If you prefer to make your gravy the classic way, make a slurry of
flour/water and add it to the reduced drippings and finish with butter. I promise this version is better though . . .
just saying.
Beef/Wine/Onion Drippings
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
With the roast removed; skim off any fat from the top of the drippings (the
oily stuff floating at the top). Next, crank up the heat to medium high
on the stove top and reduce the drippings mixture by half. Add canned
soup to dripping mixture, reduce heat to medium-low, and whisk for a minute or
so until evenly combined. Allow the
mixture to come back up to a slow simmer (to thicken), and turn down heat to
low. Serve alongside roast beef and sides.
Fresh Green Beans - these will always beat those things out of the can
(ignore my comments above!). Again,
this is a super simple recipe that can be prepped hours in advance and finished off just prior to serving.
2 lbs Fresh Green Beans, washed and ends trimmed
Kosher Salt
Butter
Fill a large pan with two inches of water, bring to a boil over high
heat. Add 1 tablespoon of salt - blanch green beans in the boiling water
for 60 seconds. Strain beans and place in an ice bath until completely
cooled. When ready for service, return beans to the same pan and sauté in
melted butter until heated through. Season with kosher salt to taste, and
serve.
Quick & Hearty Garlic Mash - a rustic and informal version of a
traditional favorite. The garlic and
sharp cheddar flavors provide a nice contrast to the earthiness of the dry
seasonings. Topped with plenty of gravy,
this is comfort food at its finest.
5 lbs Baby Red Potatoes, quartered
Kosher Salt
8 Cloves Garlic, smashed and peeled
1 Tablespoon Italian Dry Seasoning
12 oz Sharp White Cheddar Cheese, grated
1 1/2 Sticks Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Heavy Cream
Fresh Cracked Pepper
Bring potatoes and garlic to a boil in a large pot with a generous pinch of
salt - boil for 12 - 15 minutes. Strain potatoes, and add back into the
pot with remaining ingredients. Using a potato masher, roughly mash the
potatoes until all ingredients are incorporated and combined. Season to
taste with salt and pepper. Serve.
Sliced Heirloom Tomatoes - simple and
straightforward. I find that the acidity
in the tomatoes and their cool, crisp flavor helps to cut through the rest of
this hefty meal. Besides, the colors
look killer.
10 Heirloom Tomatoes
Kosher Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper
Slice tomatoes, season with salt and pepper. Serve.
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