Asian pot roast

In my opinion, wintery Sundays in December exist so we can cook large, tough cuts of meat for hours, until they give up their toughness to reach their soul-satisfying destiny. I believe every culture has their own version of a long-simmered stew, braised meat dish, pot roast, etc. One of my personal favorites is a Korean dish called galbi jjim, braised beef short ribs. The flavors of this dish are soy and sugar. The end result is hearty, familiar, and a crowd-pleaser. However, I was not able to acquire the necessary short ribs in a timely manner. Instead, I picked up the ever-dependable, always available, chuck roast. This is one of my favorite cuts of beef, so I was not really disappointed. When cooked properly, you will be rewarded with an extremely flavorful and tender piece of meat.

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Korean BBQ-style beef

I call this Korean BBQ-style because, in my opinion, to have the real Korean BBQ experience, you have to use short rib (Kalbi). I'm not actually sure what cut of beef I am using here because it was labeled "sandwich steak." But, it looked nice and thin and figured it would marinate nicely in a Korean BBQ marinade. Meat that has been flavored this way is always a crowd-pleaser, whether it's a crowd of adults or a crowd of kids.

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Butternut squash pancakes

It seems that most cultures have some form of pancake in their culinary repertoire, just like most cultures have some form of a filled dumpling - ravioli, gyoza, pierogi, potsticker, etc. Some of these pancakes are made from grains such as our own breakfast pancakes or French crêpes. They can be made from a legume such as chickpeas. They can also be made of shredded vegetables. Potato pancakes, or latkes, are probably the best know of this genre. In Korean cuisine, there are a few variations on this type of pancake, made with various vegetables. Today, I'm focusing on butternut squash.

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