The Dish

Can I be honest with you? I'm terrified of meat. Not eating meat, mind you. I'm terrified of cooking meat. It is only now, at 33 years of age, that I am coming to terms with the fact that I really have no idea how to cook meat well. Chicken? Sure! Ground beef? No problem. But real, honest to goodness meat? No clue.

You may wonder how this happened since I am married to the world's biggest carnivore. I have no idea. Clearly, somewhere along the line I tricked him. And bless him, he doesn't bring it up. You know, just how disappointing it must be to share life with someone so clueless about beef. Don't even ask me what we ate for dinner for the first 6 years we were married, because I have no idea. Those six years were pre-kids. I worked a ton, he went to school a ton, and we ate at Ruby Tuesday's a ton. I'm sure I must have cooked dinner sometime in those years. I have a kitchen full of every gadget and utensil you could ever, ever need. I think my mind has blocked out the P.K. days (pre-kid). It's probably for the best. Remembering all the laying around I did would probably only make me bitter.

The time has come, my friends, for me to conquer the beef. I can't promise you I'll be excited to put my hands down in a big bowl of ground beef any time soon, but I'm going to learn how to cook beef.

In the past two weeks, I have made two beef dishes. The first, a braised flat-iron steak, turned out great! I even knew to slice it against the grain thanks to all those episodes of 30 Minute Meals I've watched. It's about time all the hours I've invested in Food Network paid some dividends. And tonight, I made the tastiest pot roast I've ever made. Which, granted, isn't saying much, but it was seriously delicious. I owe all the beefy goodness to the blessed Pioneer Woman. She knows about some beef, ya'll. And, thanks to her, I'm now the proud owner of a new enamel coated, cast iron dutch oven. It makes a mean pot roast.

So, beef, bring it on! I ain't skeered no more!