Roast Beef with Corn Bread

The recreated plate from our very own le réfectoire de sharpe, inspired by...


...a fine bistro in downtown Providence.

To be fair, the original featured a lovely blueberry compote instead of grape jelly; it wasn't actually roast beef it was foie; and the "cornbread" was actually a buttery toasted brioche.

But all that aside, this humble re-make didn't end up tasting all that bad. With a little creativity and a lot of free time we hope you'll find that playing with food can be fun, and might occasionally yield edible results.

Roast Beef with Corn Bread

2 packets of grape jelly
1 slice of roast beef
1 slice of cornbread
1 peach
1 pat of butter
1 tablespoon of honey
salad greens, for garnish

Mix the grape jelly up in a small bowl. Using a fork and/or your fingers, make a smear of grape jelly on a plate. Arrange the roast beef on top. Cut the cornbread into a circular disk using an empty cup and place next to the roast beef. Crumble the rest of the cornbread and sprinkle crumbs on the plate.

To make the peaches, slice a peach into a small bowl. Add butter and honey, and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until peaches are soft and butter and sugar has dissolved. Arrange peach slices on top of cornbread.

Garnish with small salad greens.

Charlesfield Wannabe Sandwich

The Ivy Room is such a classy place to eat lunch. Everyone has his or her favorite sandwich. For us, the clear winner is the Charlesfield. Don't let those Waterman lovers tell you otherwise. The combination of mushrooms, melted muenster cheese, tangy horseradish mayo, and a generous pile of Boar's Head roast beef make this sandwich perfectly saliva-inducing. We wouldn't change a thing about it...except maybe try to recreate it at the Ratty!

Charlesfield Wannabe Sandwich

created by Yanqiang Tan

2 slices pumpernickle bread

2 Tbsp mayo (can substitute horseradish sauce, or thousand island dressing)

2 slices meunster cheese

1/4 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup sliced roast beef

1 lettuce leaf

3 tomato slices

1. Put beef, mushrooms, and cheese in a neat stack on a small plate, and nuke it in the microwave for 30 seconds or until cheese is just melted.

2. Spread mayo on both slices of bread.

3. Layer the bread with the beef, lettuce, and tomato.

4. Cut in half and devour.

Three Course Meal

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, school is once more in full swing. Is there anything better than being welcomed back into the warm innards of our faithful friend, the Ratty, and sitting down to a three course meal a la soft serve machine and microwave? Before you answer, please wipe that drool from your chin.

Dessert: Honey Balsamic Drizzled Vanilla Soft Serve with Pepitas (inspired and approved by renowned pastry chef Yanqiang Tan)

Main: Slow-Roasted Beef with Garden Vegetables, Kidney Beans, and Melted Cheese

Appetizer: Creamy Pepperjack Mushrooms (by guest chef Yanqiang Tan)

Wrong order, you say? You got a problem with dessert first? I'm sorry we can't be friends anymore...But I digress. Allow me to analyze the beauty of this meal. Beef, broccoli, mushrooms, and cheese are just meant for each other. They are like good friends you shouldn't separate. The hearty richness of the beef and creamy, milky, salty cheese create the perfect umami base for refreshing broccoli and savory earthy mushrooms. And the assertive flavors of balsamic and honey are smoothed out by bright notes of vanilla and the warm crunch of pepitas. Bon appetit!

Creamy Pepperjack Mushrooms

1/2 cup mushrooms

1 1/2 slices pepperjack cheese

1. Place mushrooms in a bowl. Top with cheese.

2. Microwave on high for 60 seconds until cheese is melted and bubbly and mushrooms are cooked through.

Slow-Roasted Beef with Garden Vegetables, Kidney Beans, and Melted Cheese

1 plate of broccoli and spinach

1/4 cup kidney beans

1/4 cup mushrooms

1/4 cup shredded cheese

1/2 cup braised beef

1. Place a plate upside down over a plate piled high with broccoli and spinach. Microwave for 2 minutes, or until veggies are just cooked through.

2. Add mushrooms, kidney beans, and cheese. Microwave for 50 seconds just to melt the cheese.

3. Spoon beef on top.

Honey Balsamic Drizzled Vanilla Soft Serve with Pepitas

1 small bowl of ice

2.1784 second swirl of vanilla soft serve

drizzle of honey

dash of balsamic vinegar

a few shakes of pepitas

1. Dispense vanilla soft serve on a bowl filled with ice.

2. Carefully dodge people holding trays as you speed-walk to the salad bar dressings. Working quickly so ice cream doesn't melt, drizzle honey over soft serve and add a splash of balsamic vinegar.

3. Shake some pepitas over ice cream.

"The Cook" Ropa Vieja

In the spirit of the upcoming TAPS play, The Cook, we made a Ratty version of a Cuban dish, Ropa Vieja, which according to Epicurious means "old clothes," describing the shreds of meat, peppers, and onions resembly a mess of colorful rags.

Here's a blurb about the play:
It is 1958 and Fidel Castro is coming to power in Havana. Gladys's employers flee the country, but Gladys promises her mistress that she will protect the house and keep it for their return. Over the course of the next four decades in one kitchen in Cuba, Gladys proves her loyalty and discovers its high cost.

It opens on Thursday April 8 and continues next weekend. Tickets can be bought here: brown.edu/tickets. Go see it!

"The Cook" Ropa Vieja

rice

diced red and green bell peppers

braised beef tips, shredded

1 sliced pepperoncini

olives, diced

stewed tomatoes

1 Tbsp tomato sauce (for pasta)

1 banana, sliced

dash of cinnamon

2 tsp olive oil

a few small lettuce leaves

lemon wedge (lime is traditional)

1. Combine rice with bell peppers.

2. Combine bell peppers, pepperoncini, beef, olives, tomatoes, and tomato sauce and microwave to blend the flavors.

3. Combine banana, cinnamon, and olive oil and microwave (this is a desperate attempt at fried plantains)

4. Plate the rice, beef, and bananas garnished with lemon wedge and lettuce leaves on the side.

Beef Pita Pocket

Just beef and veggies are good, but to make it better, we recommend adding yogurt sauce, sour cream, or hummus.

Beef Pita Pocket

1/2 whole wheat pita

shredded beef

2 lettuce leaves

3 tomato slices

3 cucumber slices

sour cream or yogurt sauce or hummus

tomato wedge, cucumber, parsley leaf, sour cream to garnish the plate

1. Spread sour cream, yogurt sauce, or hummus on inside of pita.

2. Layer on the lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and beef.

3. Garnish the plate with tomato wedge, cucumber, parsley leaf, and sour cream.

Spring Fling Egg Cheeseburger, inspired by Guillaume Riesen

This time, minus the veggies.

Inspired by Guillaume's Bacon and Egg Double Cheeseburger. As Guillaume says: "This is a very simple but mind-blowingly delicious and satisfying concoction. You simply order three eggs over-easy with cheese, then prepare a double cheeseburger (tomato slices and salad optional but somewhat frowned upon) with bacon when available. A dab of mayonnaise helps bind everything together later. You then carefully cut out each yolk, and place them in the burger - one at a time. Once one yolk is exhausted, stick in the next one. If you do it right, the yolks will well up at the front of the burger making a delicious warm sauce that replenishes itself with every bite. So. Good."

Thank you, Guillaume, for your sharing your inspirational food experiences with us.

I waited a good half hour in line for this quarter-pound Spring Fling burger plus 10 minutes in the omelette line, and one would think that after a good deal of waiting expectations should be pretty darn high. Maybe they were, but somewhere along the way I picked up a heaping teaspoon of that spice called Hunger. So when I finally got around to eating, this burger was very delicious indeed.

Spring Fling Egg Cheeseburger, inspired by Guillaume Riesen

1 burger (2 if you want a double cheeseburger)

1 plain bun

2 slices cheddar cheese

3 eggs, sunny side up

dab of mayo

dab of mustard (optional)

onion rings (optional)

1. Order 3 eggs, sunny side up, from omelette line.

2. Assemble burger: spread mustard and mayo on bun if desired, and layer patty with cheese, onions (optional). Use an upside-down plastic cup to cut out one of the yolks and place on top of patty.

3. Enjoy oozing egg yolk with each bite, replenish if necessary.

Marinated Beef with Broccoli, Mushrooms, and Roasted Peppers

Beef, broccoli, and mushrooms are a classic trio, and the tangy roasted red bell peppers add contrast and an appetizing fiery accent to the plate.

Marinated Beef with Broccoli, Mushrooms, and Roasted Peppers

4 slices marinated beef

4 broccoli florets

3 sliced mushrooms

olive oil (garlic or basil infused, if you prefer!)

black pepper

roasted red bell peppers

1. Place broccoli, mushrooms, olive oil, and black pepper in a bowl, cover with a plate, and microwave on high for 50 seconds.

2. Plate the beef, bell peppers, and broccoli in a pretty way. Eat!