Serious Cooking

It must be getting close to Christmas because I have two pots of rouladin bubbling in my kitchen. My father drove over this morning and we set up an assembly line with Shawn and my dad and I to get the rolls made. It went off like clockwork, with a minimum of mess and drama and it only took us two hours to get them made. We missed my Mom in the kitchen, but the frying meat makes it too hard for her to breathe.

Naturally we made beef and chicken, the chicken being done with my heart healthy diet in mind. For those who are interested, this is our family version of everyone’s favorite dish.

Beef – slice thin, dredge in seasoned flour and pound until thin enough to stuff and roll. Smear mustard, add a pinch of pickle relish, sautéed onions, mushrooms, peppers, bacon. Roll and secure with a toothpick. Fry until outside is crusted. Put in pot and cover with water, simmer until meat is falling apart tender. – serve over rice, noodles, or spetzela.

Chicken- slice thin, dredge in seasoned flour and pound thin with side of hammer. Smear mustard, add turkey bacon, onions, peppers, mushrooms. Roll and secure with toothpicks before frying until crusted. Pile rolls into pot and cover with water. Simmer for 4-8 hours. Serve over rice, noodles or spetzela.

You can add booze to the sauce, play with the relish types, take out the mushrooms or the bacon, use gray, brown, yellow, or even green mustard. But no matter what, enjoy and remember this is one dish that many hands make light work.