just in time for sunday dinner

A few years ago, my mother passed on a recipe to us that had been passed on to her by my Aunt Bunny. Who happens to be married to my Uncle Ed. Who happens to be my mother's older brother who is in his 90's and still does yoga every day and two years ago was hit by a car while riding his bicycle. He broke a couple ribs and was pretty bruised up, but that didn't slow him down for long. Uncle Ed being the strong man that he is, was back riding his bicycle within a few months.

I wouldn't be surprised if this incredibly easy recipe for the perfect roast beef is what gives him the protein he needs to be so strong and agile. This recipe is surely one of our favorites and I thought this Saturday eve would be a good time to share it, whilst giving a preview of our cozy little kitchen and adorable 45-year old oven.

First, you need to buy a roast beef, as pictured below.



Once you're ready to prepare the roast beef (and not a minute before), you need to turn your oven on to 500 degrees.



After you remove the roast beef from the packaging, you can rinse it off and blot it dry with a paper towel. Then, peel a few cloves of garlic and slice them in half, long ways.



Cut small slits in to the roast for your sliced cloves of garlic.



Plug in the sliced cloves of garlic.



Find a nice cookie sheet and line it with tinfoil. Please do not forget this step because you definitely do not want to clean a cookie sheet that has been baked in a 500 degree oven WITHOUT tinfoil. Especially a cookie sheet that has a roast beef on top that is about to be smothered with Gravy Master. (I think they call this counter top "speckled gold laminate" or "white gold textolite.")



Coat the roast in approximately 1/3 bottle of Gravy Master (or approximately three tablespoons. Maybe four. Highly doubt anything more than five.)



Make sure it's nice and coated.



Sprinkle salt on the top.



And a little pepper.



Then, place the uncovered roast in the 500 degree oven and bake it for SIX MINUTES per pound. (See our oven? Isn't it cute? It's not much larger than our toaster oven. Although this oven is almost five decades old, it works GREAT. For that matter, so does our 20+ year old dishwasher, and 30+ year old refrigerator. Does anyone remember all the hassles we had with our fancy top of the line computerized dishwasher in California? That thing broke 10 times in three years and five times in one year, before we complained so much the manufacturer finally replaced it under the Lemon Law. All this to say, it's a fact things aren't made as solidly now as they used to be. )



In our case, our roast was 2.5 pounds so 2.5 x 6 = 15 minutes.



After your timer goes off, turn the oven off and leave the door closed for TWO HOURS. When you open the oven and remove the roast after exactly two hours, it will be the most perfectly cooked, juicy and moist roast beef you've ever tasted.



This is an incredibly great and exceptionally easy recipe for anyone. Unless, of course, you are a vegetarian. In which case, I'll post an equally great recipe for eggplant parmigiana next time.