The "Little Dipper"

As the cold nights begin to occur more frequently our minds begin to reminisce of all the great comfort foods associated with cold weather. Osso Bucco, Shepherds Pie, Green Chile Pork, Pot Roast, and all of the other numerous wonderful and delicious slow cooked foods made with love dominate our thoughts. For now my mind is stuck on the French Dip Sandwich. What makes for the ultimate French dip? It can be broken down to three components. 1. The Bread , 2. The Beef, 3. The Broth. The buns we receive fresh daily from The New World Bakery have a great density to them and have held up exceptionally well for all of our trials of new slider recipes no matter what kind of foam, spread, dressing, slaw, sauce, or condiment we decide to dress them up with. Now some French Dip purists may cringe of the thought of our using a slider bun in place of the traditional French bread but wait a minute. We are not calling this slider a French dip... although we are attempting to one up the original. So it will all begin on our fresh toasted bun. Now onto the beef. Our plan will be to start with a beautiful all natural cut of meat from the butchers we have befriended at Central Market. As for seasonings and flavor? This is where the almighty broth comes into play. For our broth we will be going for a total umami experience. More than likely the ingredients that will go into this broth will be toasted onions, wild mushrooms, anchovies, and roasted garlic. Perhaps we will add some fresh thyme or rosemary to compliment it all. Now we could stop here and have quite a delicious little dipper but why not take it to the next level with another condiment. We will be grating some fresh horseradish and jalapenos and adding a splash of some vinegar and salt to make a nice spicy relish for our beef. Not only will it add flavor but since spiciness is often interpreted as heat and can have a warming affect on the body it should help keep everyone just a little bit warmer when walking around on East 6th street. Stay tuned to our twitter and facebook accounts to see when this special hits the streets.