The Roast Beast Master with Crispy Onions and Creamy Horseradish Sauce

There's a good chance I made this sandwich just because it's called The Roast Beast Master (come on, that's pretty hard to resist). It feels powerful (and I guess with fried onions and horseradish sauce, it is). It's definitely satisfying, but not exactly an everyday sandwich, since it requires deep frying the onions. But I think they're a huge part of the appeal since you get to eat the extras on the side.

 

THE ROAST BEAST MASTER WITH CRISPY ONIONS

AND CREAMY HORSERADISH SAUCE

Yield: 4 servings

Creamy Horseradish Sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup prepared horseradish

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Crispy Onions:

2 cups buttermilk

2 onions, thinly sliced root to tip

vegetable oil, for frying

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne

2 teaspoons paprika

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sandwich Build:

4 large fresh onion rolls, buttered and toasted until golden

4 thick slices sharp cheddar

1 pound good-quality rare roast beef, sliced thin

1.      For the horseradish sauce: In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, horseradish, honey and Dijon. Season with salt and pepper.

2.      For the onions: Pour the buttermilk over the onions and let them sit for about 30 minutes.

3.      Heat 3 inches of oil to 350º F in a medium Dutch oven.

4.      Whisk together the flour, cayenne, paprika and some salt and pepper. Remove the onions from the buttermilk and toss them in the flour until thoroughly coated. Fry in batches until the batter is golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Let drain on paper towels and season with salt while hot.

5.      For the sandwich build: On the toasted onion rolls, begin with a slice of cheddar, pile the meat high, add as many crispy onions as the sandwich will hold and schmear the top bun with a healthy portion of horseradish sauce.

barely tweaked from Jeff Mauro

horseradish sauce ingredients

horseradish sauce

onions soaking in buttermilk

I decided to soak my onion in a ziploc bag and then pour out
the buttermilk. I probably should have drained the onions instead
because I think a little too much buttermilk may have stayed behind.

flour and spices

I poured the flour mixture right into the bag of soaked onions
and it was a little gummy. That's why I think there was too
much buttermilk left behind in the bag. But I moved ahead.

onions frying

fried onions

cheddar cheese layer

roast beef layer

Actually, that's london broil (it looked
better than the roast beef at the store).

onion layer (about to be topped off with a
bun top slathered with horseradish mayo)

I didn't have onion rolls, but I'll bet that's great.

The Roast Beast Master with Crispy Onions
and Creamy Horseradish Sauce

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Grits with Corn and Vidalia Onion

The corn from the farmer's market has been so sweet lately, we've been eating it on the cob at least once a week. I wanted to take advantage of all that fresh corn while it's still available, so I joined it up with more corn (in the form of grits) and made this creamy side dish. I just love the technique of grating the onions. It's perfect for when you have a kid who doesn't (or at least thinks she doesn't) like onions. They kind of dissolve into the dish and you get all the flavor without the oniony texture. The perfect crime.

GRITS WITH CORN AND VIDALIA ONION

Yield: 6 to 8 (side dish) servings

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 onion, preferably Vidalia, grated

1 cup kernels scraped from 2 ears fresh sweet corn

2 cups whole milk

2 cups water

coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup stone-ground or coarse-ground grits

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 3 oz.)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1.      In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until transparent, about 2 minutes. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kernels become soft, about 5 minutes.

2.      Add the milk, water, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Whisk in the grits, decrease the heat to low, and simmer, whisking occasionally, until the grits are creamy and thick, 45 to 60 minutes. Stir in the butter, cheese, parsley, and chives. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.

from Bon Appétit, Y'all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking by Ellen Silverman and Virginia Willis

grated onion

shucking corn

corn kernels

onions cooking

onions and corn kernels

milk, water and salt added

adding the grits

whisking

thickened

Mine took more like 30 minutes to thicken.

parsley and chives

whisking in butter, herbs and cheese

grits with corn and vidalia onion

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Red Onion Marmalade

I'd say on any given day that I have somewhere between zero and one red onion in the house (maybe two, if I'm up to something). But the other day I was walking by the ol' hanging vegetable basket when I noticed there were six red onions in there. Don't ask me how that happened (I'm pretty sure they don't reproduce like tribbles). I didn't spend much time on cracking that mystery (pretty boring as far as mysteries go) and quickly shifted my energy to figuring out what to do with them all.

This marmalade was the perfect solution. It's sweet & savory and tastes amazing with meat, fish, vegetables and cheese. It really livens up sandwiches, hot dogs and hamburgers too. I've even served it on a slice of tomato tart. It could be the new ketchup. Although it will never be the new ketchup fountain — this stuff is way too thick to flow (as if that's the reason it wouldn't catch on).

RED ONION MARMALADE

Makes 2 1/2 cups

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

6 cups thinly sliced red onions (about 3 1/4 pounds)

1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup dry sherry

1 1/2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger

1/2 cup raisins

1.       Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions and dried red pepper. Cover and cook until onions are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

2.       Add brown sugar, vinegar, sherry and ginger. Cook uncovered until onions are very tender and mixture is thick, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes.

3.       Add raisins and cook until mixture is very thick and dark, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes.

4.       Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool completely. Can be prepared 4 days ahead; cover and refrigerate.

from The Winds Cafe (Yellow Springs, Ohio)—Bon Appétit, February 1997

red onions

adding crushed red pepper

onions tender

grated ginger

adding brown sugar, vinegar, sherry and ginger

I think it would taste great with
balsamic vinegar (either half or all)

adding raisins (I had golden, so that's what I used)

it's marmalade

up close in the jar

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