Recently it was found that when mankind shifted from hunting to agriculture our lifspan and health went down. Teeth rotted early and all sorts of other problems. Since both groups worked hard, it was diet that did it and mostly the extras that meats carry and veggies do not. Any good vegetarian diet has loads of suppliments, otherwise you will have problems. Personally, I prefer steak.
= )
Don't get me wrong: I'm not anti-beef. I love New York strips (medium rare, please) and good cheeseburgers (also medium rare, where permitted by law, and by the way, isn't it amazing that state governments should have the power to tell me how I can have my burger?). But I don't delude myself into thinking that these items are particularly good for me.
A little lean meat in the diet won't hurt most people. And if you're not at all overweight, get lots of exercise, and have good cholesterol and blood pressure numbers, I suppose red meat every day won't hurt. But if we're honest with ourselves, most of us don't fit into that category.
When I hear an overweight person (probably with elevated cholesterol and blood pressure numbers, too) extol the virtues of the Atkins Diet, I just have to shake my head. Our capacity for self-delusion is boundless. It's pretty obvious that eating fat makes you fat, and that eating cholesterol-rich foods raises your cholesterol.
Steaks are yummy
Truth
Really tender cuts especially baby beef (veal) are extra yummy
Truth
Less tender cuts are also really yummy (like london broil) and brisket
Truth
I don't care what anyone says, beef tastes good
I eat well over 200 pounds of beef a year. I will not eat veal because I consider it cruelty to calves being locked in a 4'x3' pen until they are slaughtered. (Just a ranchers opinion) I like my beef bleeding all over the plate. Just skin the cow, brown the edges and put it on the plate. Anything over rare to medium rare is too well done.
Probably eat over 100 pounds of pork in a year. Maybe 20 pounds of chicken and turkey a year. Potatoes and meat are a must for dinner. Wheat bread only, I can't hack the taste of white breads. In a week I'll eat a dozen or more fried eggs. I eat all the fat on steaks, roasts, and pork chops and pork roasts. I love hot spicy peppers, spicy barbecue sauces and truly love garlic. I love fresh homegrown vegetables. In a day I try to drink at least half a gallon or more of water and at least 8oz. of fresh milk. Fast food is garbage in my opinion.
I weigh 160 pounds and am 5'10". My doctor tells me that all my numbers are right in the middle for a middle aged man and some of them are much better than average. I smoke , rarely drink alcohol, beer is a must with Mexican foods we all know, so one bottle is good for me. I don't eat between meals. I only have two meals a day, lunch at 11:00 dinner btween 6 & 7. This is the lifestyle I have led all my life. If I see that I am getting fat I'll drink a glass of water before dinner and in a couple of weeks it's gone. For the past 6 years I have been crippled up with a bad spine. The examing doctor was shocked that I didn't get fat, well I for some reason eat according to my activities. When I was busting my butt from sunup to sundown I ate like a teenager, now I eat like a office worker. The less physical activity, the less I eat. I never work out with weights, never jogged as an adult, I just worked hard physically. What does this prove? Well, probably nothing. My Dad and his Dad were both skinny most of their lives but they didn't eat junk foods or candy either. I found that eating a piece of candy is good for a 20 minute energy boost when I was tired during the day, but have no desire for it normally.
Now I am hungry.
Some say it was his favorite meal, and others claim it resembled the boots that he wore. Whatever the case may be, the Duke of Wellington has a grand dish named after him, which became the entertaining extravaganza of the 1960s.
In a heavy skillet cook the mushrooms in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until all the liquid they give off is evaporated and the mixture is dry, season them with salt and pepper, and let them cool completely. Spread the fillet evenly with the pâté de foie gras, covering the top and sides, and spread the mushrooms evenly over the pâté de foie gras.
On a floured surface roll 1 pound of the puff paste into a rectangle about 20- by 12- inches, or large enough to enclose the fillet completely, invert the coated fillet carefully under the middle of the dough, and fold up the long sides of the dough to enclose the fillet brushing the edges of the dough with some of the egg white to seal them. Fold ends of the dough over the fillet and seal them with the remaining egg white. Transfer the fillet, seam side down to a jelly-roll pan or shallow roasting pan and brush the dough with some of the egg wash. Roll out the additional dough and cut the shapes with decorative cutters. Arrange the cutouts on the dough decoratively, brush them with the remaining egg wash, and chill the fillet for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.
Bake the fillet in the middle of a preheated 400°F oven for 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 350°, and bake the fillet for 5 to 10 minutes more, or until the meat thermometer registers 130°F. for medium-rare meat and the pastry is cooked through.
Let the fillet stand for 15 minutes.
In a saucepan boil the reserved pan juices and the Madeira until the mixture is reduced by one fourth. Add the arrowroot mixture, the broth, the truffles, and salt and pepper to taste and cook the sauce over moderate heat, stirring, being careful not to let it boil, for 5 minutes, or until it is thickened. Loosen the fillet from the jelly-roll pan, transfer it with two spatulas to a heated platter, and garnish it with watercress. Serve the fillet, cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices, with the sauce.
Serves 8
*The Sercial is the last of the grapes to be harvested in September, it produces the driest Madeira Wines.
**Hunting the Truffle