2009.08.04
A treasure trove
Bringing beef back to life
Remember the barbecue-braised pot roast I wrote about a few days ago? Well, the chunk left in the fridge last night didn't look very appetizing, but I didn't want to let it go to waste. Hubby had a great idea: Why not make burritos out of it? I was a bit skeptical about the sweet, mustardy glaze working in a burrito format, but it turned out great.
I sliced the roast into pieces and warmed it with a little of the glaze, some sriracha and some chopped fresh cilantro. The sweetness of the glaze ended up marrying beautifully with the spiciness of the hot sauce. With a little black beans, some cheddar cheese, sour cream, lettuce, my first ripe yellow tomato of the season and some leftover grilled corn salsa, an unappetizing chunk of leftover meat turned into one of the best meals of the week. I hope this inspires someone else with a chunk of leftover meat!
On another note, my wonderful editor, Kathy Lu, turned up at work today with a bag full of chanterelles for me. She and her husband filled one and a half Kroger bags with the delicious delicacies while hiking this past weekend. I've heard from several people over the past couple of weeks that this has been an odd yet rewarding wild mushroom season. Chanterelles usually pop up much earlier in the season, so hunters had assumed they weren't going to find any this year. But all that rain we've been getting brought the forest to life again.
If you're an experienced mushroom hunter, you may want to take advantage of this. If you are not, you should be extremely careful before EVER, EVER eating a mushroom you picked in the woods. You'll definitely need your liver for the rest of your life.
I went hiking to the Casades in Giles County this weekend and found lots and lots of wild mushrooms. They were everywhere. I didn't gather any, though as I am not familiar with the different varieties and it is a National Forest Area.
Comment by Melissa — August 4, 2009 @ 1:20 pm