Hello, hello and happy FALL!
The weather here in Florida is finally starting to cool off a bit. This means my taste buds are craving more sultry flavors and meals with some depth. For a lot of people this means slow cooker pot roast, braised short ribs, roasted chicken, and all other things meaty. If you've been following my blog for a long time, you will know that I am not a big meat eater. The only reason being I don't tend to crave meat. Growing up Italian, the emphasis was always on the fresh bread and salted butter, or avocado salad with purple onions, or sea salted strands of pasta.
But lately, I've been wanting to explore meat and cook it more often. I'm not sure if my body needs it or my taste buds want it, but either way I've been going to a part of the grocery store I rarely frequent--meat and poultry. Where do I even begin? I think. There are so many types and cuts and fat percentages! HELP! And then of course there is all this media attention on free range this, grass fed that... and I can't help but wonder if any of this even matters or if it is just another media trend? Don't get me wrong, I understand the necessity of humanly raised animals and local food but my God, I feel like I am being bombarded with over zealous activists and over priced pork!
After 20 minutes of browsing pink and red packages, I decided on a lean (93/7) ground round. Great for meatloaf, hamburgers, and tacos. Flavorful, inexpensive, and versatile.
I brought home my meat, mixed it with salt, pepper, onions, garlic, and parsley, sauteed it in a big skillet and served it over toasted, 12 grain french bread and melted some Italian Provolone on top. My version of a traditional hamburger. It was so satisfying and I am beginning to grow very fond of this foreign ingredient.
