Sunday Lunch, Transposed

When I was planning my weekend last week (my transformation to fair weather LARPer is practically complete) I invited Jo and Arwel round for a meal. Also joining us where Anne and Paul, Marcus and Sue and Mark and Helen. The choice of Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding seemed to be popular as well as giving me a chance to practice this traditional classic.

I spent most of the day shopping for various bits and pieces. Of most importance was securing a decent joint of beef. I got the meat from a butchers in Sale recommended by Helen earlier in the week. It is always a good sign when the butcher can tell you which farm the meat came from which makes a difference from the anonymous pieces of meat you find in most supermarkets. I completely failed to find a pie funnel from our supper sized Asda (but I did walk away with a new radio).

The actual cooking wasn't too hard although juggling roast potatoes, meat, yorkshire puddings and apple pies with only one oven did provide certain logistical issues. I did learn that waiting for ground nut oil to smoke prior to adding the batter can take a long time. However it didn't seem to affect the final result which considering the voracious appetite for Yorkshire puddings around the table was probably a good thing. The meat came out just right, pink and tender in the middle. I did have to whisk away the carving board the first time to drain the blood into the gravy as apparently some of my guests don't like to see it. I was quite pleased with the whole meal even though I did let Mark make the custard for the Apple Pie at the end which gave me a chance to just to sit down and let someone else run around for a bit. Hopefully my Mum will be proud :-)