Friday's Great Read

 

Rouladen Recipe – A Guest Post by Chrys Fey

 

Growing up, my family always had Rouladen, sans pickles, for our special Christmas Day feast. I can still recall the smell of the bacon grease from the fried bacon and the scent of chopped onions lingering in the air. And, oh boy, there was nothing like the flavor of the thin meat wrapped around the bacon and onion stuffing, held together by three toothpicks. That’s coming from a vegetarian, too, who no longer eats meat—GASP! But, hey, we never forget the things that made our taste buds go wild as a child, and I am comfortable admitting that the smell of bacon is still ah-mazing.

 

My mom got the recipe from her mom, who got the recipe from a couple who came to Michigan from Germany. (Although, my maternal grandma was German, herself.) After she got the recipe, my mom only made Rouladen once a year as well, since it involves a lot of cooking and the meat can be quite expensive.

 

My mom kept that tradition for us while we were growing up, so I decided to give that tradition to Donovan’s mom and grandma, who live in Michigan, too.

 

EXCERPT:

“Here. I also wanted to give this to you.” Meredith reached into her apron pocket and pulled out an index card.

 

Beth took it. On the top it read, “Rouladen— Goldwyn Family Recipe.” It was the recipe passed down to all Goldwyn women.

 

“I should’ve given it to you a long time ago,” Meredith said.

 

“I wouldn’t have known how to make it if you had.”

 

Meredith patted her hand. “When you make it the first time, we can video chat, and I can walk you through it.”

 

“We may have to do that the second time, too.”

 

“As many times as you need.”

 

Beth tucked the index card into her pocket with the snowball cookie recipe.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

The timer for the last batch of cookies went off. Meredith pulled it out of the oven, not knowing how much those two recipes in Beth’s pocket truly meant to her. They were a Christmas present on their own, more valuable than anything that could be bought in a store.

 

 

Rouladen Recipe:

 

Ingredients:

-        8 pieces round beef slices, 6 inches, ¼ inch thick

-        ½ cup minced onion

-        ½ pound of fried, cut-up bacon

-        Pinch salt

-        Pinch black pepper

-        Quartered, peeled potatoes

-        For gravy, you’ll need flour and water.

 

Instructions:

 

1. Cut up bacon and fry.

 

2. Remove bacon. Sautee minced onion in the bacon grease.

 

3. Remove onions from pan. Keep the bacon grease in the pan.

 

4. Mix bacon with the onion in a bowl. Sprinkle on salt and pepper.

 

5. Lay out prepared beef slices. Add a generous heap of the bacon and onion mixture into the center of each slice.

 

6. Roll up the beef slices. Use toothpicks to secure each end and the middle shut. Three toothpicks usually do the trick.

 

7. Brown the rouladen bundles in the bacon grease, on all sides.

 

8. Remove the rouladen bundles and put in a roasting pan. Add some water to the bacon grease pan. Scrape up all the goodies. Pour over the rouladen bundles. Don’t drown them, just enough to reach half-way.

 

9. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

 

10. Halfway through the baking time, add the quartered, peeled potatoes around the rouladen bundles, into the juices.

 

11. It’s done when the potatoes are tender. Transfer rouladen and potatoes to a dish or platter.

 

12. Gravy: Add more water or substitute beef broth to the pan if a lot of the juices cooked down. Put pan on burner and boil. Now, in a separate bowl, mix flour and water together. Add the flour mixture to the boiling juices until thick. If you need to thicken it more, make more flour and water mixture and then add to the juices. Keep mixing.

 

QUESTION: Did you family have a special meal for Christmas (or any other time of the year)?

 

 

When disasters strike around every corner, is it possible to have a happily-ever-after?

BLURB: Beth and Donovan are expecting their first child. Life couldn’t get any better…until a stalker makes his presence known. This person sends disturbing messages and unsettling items, but it isn’t long before his menacing goes too far.

Hoping for a peaceful Christmas, Donovan takes Beth to Michigan. Days into their trip, a winter storm named Nemesis moves in with the goal of burying the state. Snowdrifts surround their house, and the temperature drops below freezing.

Except, the storm isn’t the only nemesis they must face. Everyone’s lives are at stake—especially that of their unborn child. Will they survive, or will they become a frozen crime?

BUY LINKS: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iTunes

  

***HUGE DISASTER CRIMES GIVEAWAY*** 

 

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Giveaway Ends: October 30, 2020 12:00am Eastern Standard Time

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***FREE EXCLUSIVE EBOOK***

 

To get the exclusive prequel to the Disaster Crimes series, sign up for Chrys’ newsletter. By signing up, you agree to receive Chrys Fey’s newsletter. After you confirm subscription, you will receive an email (so check your inbox and spam folder) with directions on where to snag your eBook copy of THE CRIME BEFORE THE STORM.

Click here to sign up and get The Crime Before the Storm FREE!

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Chrys Fey is author of the Disaster Crimes Series, a unique concept that blends disasters, crimes, and romance. She runs the Insecure Writer’s Support Group Book Club on Goodreads and edits for Dancing Lemur Press. https://www.chrysfey.com

Author Links:

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