Tuesday's Tale

It was another overcast, chilly day on Tuesday. With all the flooding going around, I guess I can’t really b*tch, but I am getting sick of this!

When I left work for lunch, I was walking to my car when a hawk flew just over my head, like a dive-bomber. It flew in from behind me so it scared the crap out of me! He neared the ground, reached out and snagged a squirrel! Then he flew back up, clutching the squirrel, whose tail was hanging down. Wow!

When I got home from work, it still looked crappy. But, I thought I could cut “some” of the back lawn (avoiding the lake). But, by the time I got changed and ready to go outside, it was raining again. Damn!

I made one of my easiest, but most favorite dinners: French Dip Sandwiches. I took out a pound of deli-sliced rare roast beef to let it come up to room temperature. Then I diced up a good-sized shallot. I melted two tablespoons of butter in my skillet, put in the shallots and sautéed them for two minutes.

I added a tablespoon of flour and cooked that a minute longer. Then I added a jigger of cooking sherry (you could also use regular dry sherry), whisked it in and then cooked the liquid out. Then I slowly whisked in two soup cans of beef consommé. I brought that to a boil, and then turned it down to simmer while I got everything else ready.

I spread out the roast beef on a plastic cutting board (BTW, the original recipe called for 1 1/2 pounds of roast beef, but that always seemed excessive to me) and seasoned it with Montreal Steak Seasoning (or you could use just salt and pepper). I got out a small ramekin for the au jus dipping sauce and two split torpedo rolls. Then, using tongs, I dipped some of the meat into the warm au jus in the skillet and piled it onto the rolls.

I ate dinner watching TV, happily dipping my sandwiches between bites. Damn, that was good! And, I have two more left! Content, I went to bed around 10:30 PM.