Sunday Dinner - Braciole!

I am very blessed to live across the street from my Mom and Dad. I am also very blessed that my Mom is a wonderful cook and has taught me how to cook. We have a traditional Sunday dinner at my Mom's every Sunday after church. Sunday dinner is always a big mid-day meal (usually so big we don't each another meal that evening) and my Mom gracefully feeds me, my siblings and our spouses, and our kids. There are 13 of us total, including the kids. We are loud, entertaining, annoying and we like to eat. We are Italian, after all. If my parents invite another family to join us for Sunday dinner, we warn them that they will get dinner AND a show. This past Sunday my Mom made one of my favorites, Braciole. Traditional Italian Braciole is a thin rolled meat stuffed with bread crumbs, cheese and sometimes eggs. Since my Mom and I do not care for eggs, she has made her own version without them that is a family favorite.

Mom's Braciole

Ingredients:

1 pound beef eye round sandwich steak

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, diced small

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups Italian style bread crumbs

Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

In a large skillet, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the onion and lightly saute until soft (about 2 minutes). Add the minced garlic and the bread crumbs. Turn the heat down to low and stir until the crumb mixture is moist and lightly browned. You may need to add more olive oil if your bread crumbs are still dry. Remove from heat and set aside.

Here is the beef we use to make Braciole. It is very affordable even when it is not on sale.

Prepare your meat by pounding between plastic. Pounding the meat will help tenderize it, as well as thin it out to make it easier to roll. If you do not have a meat tenderizer you can use the back of a big metal spoon to pound it. Be sure to pound from the center to the outside. Do not tear the meat. Be forceful, but gentle.

You want it to be about 1/4 inch thick.

Spread one to two tablespoons of the bread crumb mixture over the meat. I am really generous here because I prefer mine stuffed. My Mom is more of a minimalist here. Totally personal preference.

Roll up the beef an place seam side down on a baking sheet. I sometimes use a toothpick to secure them shut but then you have to remember to remove the toothpicks before serving. Again, totally optional.

Place your rolled beef about a half inch apart so they cook evenly.

Drizzle Worcestershire sauce all over the braciole. This gives wonderful flavor and moistens the meat. Cook on top rack for about 8 minutes at 500 degrees

Serve on a big platter and drizzle additional Worcestershire sauce over top, if desired.

Some of the braciole may open during cooking, no worries! They taste good too.

Wonderful Sunday dinner, or any day of the week dinner, really.

A traditional Italian dinner with lots of flavor AND lots of love. Thanks, Mom!