Family Food for Feast and Feria

Today is the Optional Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker. This is also known as "May Day" and begins the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

May 1st has gone through a lot of changes over the years, first being a pagan fertility rite, then the focus shifted to Mary, Mother of God, with the focus on Mary all through the Month of May. Industrialism and Labor Unions promulgate this day as Labor Day, so Pius XII gave this feast to give a role model of a worker and protector.

St. Joseph was mainly in my thoughts today. I plan on doing other Marian activities through the month. Alice at Cottage Blessings has two wonderful projects, Miniature May Altars and May Baskets for Our Lady and St. Joseph, as the marvelous suggestions from 4Real Learning Forums, such as Marian May Baskets and Mary in May. I want to create a few sweets, which is a definite challenge when you have to bake Vegan style.

But tonight I wanted to honor my husband, the main worker and protector of our family, since today would be his feast day. I was thinking of this conversation "In Praise of Husbands" today as I planned my menu.

I have owned this cookbook Italian Cooking in the Grand Tradition by Jo Bettoja for a while. I have had the section Una Cena Per San Giuseppe (Saint Joseph's Day Dinner) earmarked for a few years and finally tonight I made the main course. Dh loves meat and potatoes, particularly pot roast. It's funny how simple meals can be so pleasing. I made the Beef braised in Coffee, mashed potatoes and broccoli with biscuits for dh. I adjusted the recipe to cook in my slow cooker. It originally calls for cooking for 5 hours on low heat on the stove and oven. I'm not up to all that! The meat was tender and delicious, and the gravy wasn't overpowering. There was no dominant coffee or wine flavor.

Stracotto al Caffe
Beef Braised in Coffee

"The beef is simmered in red wine and espresso, an unusual combination that produces a wonderfully rick, dark gravy and a tender, succulent meat. The recipe, which comes from Anna Maria's grandmother, originates in the north of Italy."

Coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
3-4 pounds boneless beef roast (various cuts work fine: rump, chuck, eye of the round -- whatever is on sale)
1/2 cup safe margarine (or unsalted butter if you can)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large thinly sliced red onion
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 cup strongly brewed Italian espresso coffee (if no espresso, strong coffee works fine)
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional, tastes fine without)

Add salt and pepper all over roast and rub in.

Melt butter or margarine and olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook until soft, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and slowly cook for 1 minute.

Turn up the heat and add the meat to the skillet. Brown the meat on all sides, turning occasionally.

Add coffee and wine to slow cooker and add meat and onions and oil and cook for 6 hours on High, or longer on low heat. Turn meat occasionally and cover with juices.

Remove the meat, cover with foil, and let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before carving into thin slices. Serve on a platter, with the gravy poured over the meat. Serve hot. My husband likes the onions, so I include them on the serving dish.

If you cooked longer, sometimes the meat is just fork tender and can be pulled apart, instead of sliced.

I made mashed potatoes to accompany. I now boil whole russet potatoes in salted water until tender. Strain, and then peel the potatoes before putting through a potato ricer. Put the pot back on the stove and add margarine (or butter) and melt. Add the riced potatoes back to the pot. Add chicken stock, salt, pepper and garlic powder and stir until potatoes are a smooth consistency and serve.