Nov 11, 2014 3 min read

When I saw the recipes that Dan Wagner, chef and culinary instructor at the Greene County Career and Technology Center, submitted for the December edition of the Greene County Living magazine, I was immediately transported back in time.

And I mean way back in time.

Wagner, who wanted to capture the flavor, so to speak, of the holiday season, chose roast beef, which he indicated it could be either a standing rib or boneless, and as a perfect accompaniment to the roast, he included Yorkshire pudding.

Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding were served at my house on special occasions, very special occasions, even though the price per pound of a roast was not near what it is today, and little consideration was apparently given to the health risks of eating red meat and Yorkshire pudding, an artery-clogging delight.

Perhaps that is why we ate this meal so seldom – a mother’s guilt that she didn’t want to kill off her family.

I can remember, though, being asked as an adolescent and then as a “growing” teenager, what would I like for my birthday dinner. Knowing just how good that meal tasted, I would say, “Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, or course.”

Now, let me put this in perspective. I grew up eating, by most standards, a healthy diet.

Vegetables were served with most evening meals, my sisters and I drank milk (no soft drinks allowed, and this was before diet soda) and we ate a reasonable amount of fish, baked or broiled, not fried. I refused, however, to eat brussels sprouts, no matter how they well they were camouflaged.

I do remember my parents eating sweetbreads, which is a fancy culinary euphemism for the thymus gland of a calf, and we would occasionally have calf’s liver. But the older I got the more I balked at eating animal organs, meaning I have not eaten liver in decades.

Yet, with some fava beans and a good Chianti, I might be persuaded to try liver again; calf’s, not human, sorry Hannibal.

Back to Yorkshire pudding for a minute. Forget that one serving contains 239 calories, 8.3 grams of fat, 3.3 of which is saturated, and 234 milligrams of cholesterol. But if it is prepared correctly, there is nothing better that soaking up those beef drippings with a hunk of Yorkshire pudding.

My advice for anyone thinking of making this great holiday meal of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding – go for it; it’s just one time a year and remember moderation is the key. We can’t eliminate all of life’s enjoyments, and roast beef and Yorkshire pudding rank right near the top.

Jon Stevens, Greene County bureau chief, can be reached at jstevens@observer-reporter.com.