The Saturday Sip: March 23, 2024
Your etiquette tip, quote and an Emily Post Cookbook recipe to start your weekend off right!
The Tip
When a gift is delivered to you, it’s best to let the giver know it arrived, especially if you’re going to wait to open it for a special occasion. Send a quick text (or email, or give a call): “Jan, your sweet package arrived today. Thank you, I’m excited to open it on my birthday next week!” Your thank you here doesn’t supplement a thank you for the gift since you haven’t opened the package yet. But it lets the giver know that the package arrived safely in your hands. Some companies let customers know when their gift has been delivered, but with the prevalence of porch/doorstep pirates, it’s worth letting the giver know as soon as it arrives.
The Recipe
Vermont is getting hit with a cold weekend storm and hopefully SNOW!!! And we thought this Braised Flemish Steak sounded like a warm choice for a blustery, stormy weekend. We also like that Emily calls the taste “unusual”.
Emily Post’s Cookbook, 1951, pg. 73 *Please note that recipes are copied as exactly as possible, including grammatical errors and inconsistencies.
Braised Flemish Steak
Time: 2 hours
Serves: 4
Ingredients
2 1/2 lb piece of tender beef with little fat
3 tbs. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3 tbs. butter or bacon fat
3 medium onions, chopped
1 bottle dark beer (ale can be used)
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
2/3 cup chopped celery
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. thyme
Directions
Trim off any fat and cut meat into 4 pieces. Roll the pieces in the flour, in which the salt and pepper have been mixed, and brown them slowly on all sides in the butter or bacon fat in a heavy skillet having a close-fitting cover. Add the onions for the last 6 or 8 minutes of browning the meat and stir them around til all are golden.
Add 2/3 of the beer (1 cup), the celery, carrot, and herbs. Bring to a boil, reduce flame to simmering, and cover. Turn meat every half hour and add beer or beef stock if the liquid gets to be less than 1/2-inch deep.
Serve, after simmering 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender, with the liquid in the skillet as a sauce.
Cauliflower goes well with the unusual flavor of this dish.
The Quote
“Ideal conversation must be an exchange of thought, and not…an eloquent exhibition of wit or oratory.” - Emily Post
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We hope you’ve enjoyed the Sip today. What have you been cooking up lately? Are there “old-fashioned” dishes that you love? Let us know in the comments. Can’t post here? Head over to the Monday thread, where the comment section is open to everyone.
Cheers!
Lizzie and Dan
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Emily Post with her son’s, circa 1890.