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By Root 668 0

this, but in the nineteenth century, men were generally too busy to eat lunch; they ate a big breakfast and a big dinner and nothing or a small snack in between. You weren't a real man if you ate lunch — that was only for women and children. Men everywhere should be grateful that this has changed… and today, as everyone knows, lunch is the light meal eaten between breakfast and dinner. In some countries, dinner is eaten in the afternoon and then a light supper is eaten in the evening, but it seems that at Hogwarts both lunch and dinner were heavy-duty meals. All that wand-waving and magic-making must really stimulate the appetite.

The Roast Beef of Old England

Ron has just discovered that leprechaun gold is fake, and he rants about it as he serves himself roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. As always, nothing spoils his appetite, and even as he complains about being poor, he continues to scarf down potatoes (see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 28).

The English developed a reputation for excellence in roasting beef. Roast beef is so important to the Britons that they even have a song about it called “The Roast Beef of Old England,” which in turn inspired a famous painting of someone holding a humongous chunk of raw beef. Interestingly, the U.S. military plays this song when roast beef is served at formal dinners.

1 4- to 5-pound rib roast (or shoulder roast if you want a leaner meat)

3 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon fresh coarsely ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a roasting rack and place it in a roasting pan.

Rinse the roast and pat it dry with paper towels. Generously sprinkle the roast with the salt and black pepper. Place the roasting pan in the oven and cook until the thermometer registers 120°F for rare, about 1 hour and 20 minutes; 125°F for medium rare, about 1 hour and 30 minutes; 132°F for medium, about 1 hour and 35 minutes; or 145°F for well done, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Remove the roast from the oven and tent a piece of aluminum foil over the roast. Let the roast rest 15 to 20 minutes before carving and serving. The resting time is important, as the roast will continue cooking for a few minutes due to residual heat; the resting time also allows the juices to redistribute themselves throughout the roast.

Serves 8

To prevent food-borne illness, it is recommended to cook roast beef to an internal temperature of at least 145°F.

Yorkshire Pudding

Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding go together like peas and carrots. They are almost always served together, and lunch after a niffler lesson with Hagrid is no exception (see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 28).

There was only so much meat to go around, so how to serve less of it but still leave the dinner table satisfied? Thrifty housewives always served the Yorkshire pudding before the roast beef at the traditional Sunday dinner to take the edge off the appetite. In the old days, when they cooked the roast on a spit over an open fire, they used to put a pan under the roast to catch the drippings, and the batter was poured into the hot drippings. As it baked, it soaked up the juices that continued to drip down from the meat.

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Whisk together the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth, then whisk in the butter, then the milk. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Pour the vegetable oil into an 8-inch pan or baking dish and put it in the oven while it's preheating. The oil needs to be hot before you pour in the batter.

Remove the batter from the refrigerator. It may need to be whisked again for a few seconds. Carefully pour the batter into the hot baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F and continue baking for another 10 minutes, until it puffs up around the edges and the edges are golden. Serve hot or warm.