The Monster Island Theater Roast Beef and Apple Pie Recipes

Oxtail Soup with Potato Dumplings

Brown the meat in a 450° F oven, turning over once, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large stockpot, sauté the onion, carrrot, celery, and garlic in the oil. Deglaze the pot with the port, add red wine and bring to a boil. Add the tomato paste and parsnip tied together with the thyme. Reduce to a simmer and cook down to half.

Add the browned oxtails and coat thoroughly. Add the stock, tomato puree, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 90 minutes. Strain completely, reserving the meat to add to the soup later, and refrigerate the broth until you can scoop all the fat off the top easily and discard.

When ready to serve, prepare dumplings: Simmer potatoes in boiling water until tender (about 15 minutes), then stir in egg, teaspoon salt and flour, and beat with a fork until fluffly. Roll into 1-inch balls. Drop in gently boiling salted water and cook for about 10 minutes.

Discard the congealed fat on top of the soup, bring the soup to a boil, and add the meat to it (discarding the bones).

Ladle into bowls and spoon the dumplings into each. Serve with crusty bread, a big salad, and lots of red wine.

Note: The original recipe uses 6 pounds of kangaroo tail in place of the oxtails. If you have kangaroo tail, feel free to substitute.

Recipe courtesy of Soup of the Evening: Beautiful Soup http://www.soupsong.com/

Sesame Beef and Snow Pea Soup

Bring broth just to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add snow peas and red pepper and simmer 1 minute. Add beef, green onions and ginger; remove pan from heat. Mix in vinegar and sesame oil. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Mound rice in center of deep bowls. Ladle soup over, dividing equally.

Serves 2; can be doubled easily.

Recipe courtesy of Epicurious.com http://www.epicurious.com/

Prime Rib of Beef

Preheat oven to 400° F. Place roast in large roasting pan with two inch sides. Season to taste using salt, pepper and granulated garlic. You may wish to cut 1 inch slits in the roast with a pairing knife and force a quarter teaspoon of each seasoning into each one of the slits to ensure the meat is flavored internally. Surround the roast with the chopped fresh vegetables and cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Place in oven and reduce temperature to 350° F. Cook for 1 1/2 hours and check for doneness. An internal temperature reading of 130° F at the center of the meat will be medium rare, 145° F will be medium, and 155° F will be mediuim well.

Remove the rib roast from oven and set aside on large serving platter. Allow the drippings in the roasting pan to rest for 30 minutes and then slowly tilt pan and remove the grease rising to the surface of the natural drippings. Return the pan to the stove on medium high heat. Once the vegetables begin to sizzle, add the red wine to deglaze the pan. Allow the red wine to reduce to 1/2 volume. Add beef stock and continue to boil until flavors have blended well. Then strain the sauce, discarding the vegetables, and serve along side the roast.

Serves 12-14.

Recipe courtesy of Chef John Folse & Company http://www.jfolse.com/

Yorkshire Pudding

In a blender jar, combine eggs, salt, flour and milk. Blend at high speed for 2 to 3 seconds. Turn the blender off, scrape down the side of the jar and blend again for 40 seconds. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Preheat oven at 400° F. In a roasting pan, heat oil over moderate heat until it splutters. Briefly beat batter again and pour into pan. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 375° F and bake for 15 minutes longer or until the pudding has risen over the top of the pan and is crisp and brown. With a sharp knife, divide the pudding into portions, serve immediately.

Serves 6-8.

Recipe courtesy of Chef John Folse & Company http://www.jfolse.com/

Roast Beef Vegetable Hash

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender, 8 minutes. Drain and place in a large bowl with the beef.

Cook the bacon over medium heat to render the fat, 5 minutes. Add the onion and bell peppers; cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the potatoes and roast beef, along with the nutmeg, salt, pepper, orange zest and 2 tablespoons of the parsley. Toss.

Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the skillet, then spread the hash mixture evenly in the skillet and weight it down with something heavy, such as a smaller skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until golden brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Turn the hash over with a spatula and cook until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Spoon the hash onto six plates; top each with a poached egg and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley. Serve immediately.

Serves 6.

Recipe courtesy of Epicurious.com http://www.epicurious.com/

Cranberry-Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; stir in cheddar cheese, distributing evenly. Sprinkle with water to form dough. Shape into a ball; divide in half. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, combine sugar, tapioca and cinnamon in a large saucepan. Stir in cranberries and remaining water. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils. Remove from heat and add apples, stirring to coat. Set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 400° F.

Roll out half the dough into a 10-inch circle and place in 9-inch pie plate, letting edges hang over rim of pan. Spoon apple filling into bottom crust; dot with butter. Roll out remaining pastry for top crust; place over fruit mixture. Seal, trim, and flute edges. Cut several small slits in the top; bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbling. Cool on a wire rack.

Recipe courtesy of Cooks Recipes http://www.cooksrecipes.com/

Apple Crumb Pie

Combine flour, brown sugar, salt, and butter; blend until crumbly then set aside. Combine apples, granulated sugar, and cinnamon; mix gently to coat apple slices. Pack apple mixture into chilled crust. Sprinkle crumb topping over apples. Bake in 375° F oven until apples are tender, about 50 minutes.

Serve this apple pie with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe courtesy of About.com: Southern Food http://southernfood.about.com/

Hot Apple Pie

Pour cider into a large microwavable mug. Heat on high power for 2 1/2 minutes. Add Tuaca, stir, garnish with cinnamon stick, and serve.

Recipe courtesy of DRINKSMIXER.com http://www.drinksmixer.com/