Who Are You?

The Ranting Wife has vivid dreams. Strange dreams. Strange, vivid dreams. Me? I probably remember four dreams a year, but she is always relaying to me some strange combination of events that happened in her mind while she slept.

One night a number of years ago, I awoke in the middle of the night to my wife saying “no….no….no…”. She wasn’t screaming, but sounded scared. I hadn’t heard her talk in her sleep before so this was a new twist, but I decided that I would try to comfort her.

The dream started with my wife waking up and seeing a young girl standing next to the bed. As we don’t have any daughters and this girl looked somewhat creepy, my wife became scared that others were in our house and started saying no.

I rolled over and started to put my arm around her to hold her and try to comfort her during what must have been a nightmare.

She looks over and sees a large man who she does not recognize with his arms out. He is coming to get her. Knowing that she needs to get away, she screams and jumps out of bed.

As soon as my arm went around her, she screamed and jumped out of bed. She flees to a corner of the room.

Not recognizing where she is, she runs and finds herself trapped. 

Knowing that she needs comfort more now than even before, I get out of bed and follow her to the corner, my arms outstretched to hug her.

The big man chases her and she can’t get away. He grabs her and she screams again.

I put my arms around her and she screams again. I hold her tight.

The big man has her. Not knowing who he is, she speaks…

“Who are you?” she asked. I immediately reply, “your husband”.

There is a pause…another pause and she said “turn on the light.”

This is why she doesn’t keep a loaded gun in her nightstand. I’d be dead if she had.

Swiss Steak

And if I had been shot, I would have never been able to make her this luscious Swiss steak.

There is quite a bit to this recipe, but it is rather easy.

I used very thin cuts of beef and tenderized them.

They cook quickly being so thin.

Lots of onions.

And tomatoes.

All together.

So delicious! Maybe she can dream of this instead!

Swiss Steak

Prep Time: 45 min | Cook Time: 2 hr 30 min | Servings: 4 to 6 servings | Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

2 pounds beef bottom round, trimmed of excess fat
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil or bacon drippings
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups beef broth

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Cut the meat with the grain into 1/2-inch thick slices and season on both sides with the salt and pepper. Place the flour into a pie pan. Dredge the pieces of meat on both sides in the flour mixture. Tenderize the meat using a needling device, until each slice is 1/4-inch thick. Dredge the slices on both sides once more and set aside.

Add enough of the bacon drippings or vegetable oil to just cover the bottom of a 4 to 5-quart Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the steaks to the pan, being careful not to overcrowd. Cook until golden brown on both sides, approximately 2 minutes per side. Remove the steaks to a plate and repeat until all of the steaks have been browned.

Remove the last steaks from the pot and add the onions, garlic, and celery. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine. Next add the tomatoes, paprika, oregano, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth and stir to combine. Return the meat to the pot, submerging it in the liquid. Cover the pot and place it in the oven on the middle rack. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the meat is tender and falling apart.

Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/swiss-steak-recipe.html