You've Got to Slop It Up
The Friday Newsletter masters the art of French cooking. Sort of.
What’s the last weekend in February? It’s not anything. It’s not the Super Bowl. It’s not the last weekend of Mardi Gras. It’s not even Presidents’ Day weekend!
It’s nothing… right?
[Dana Carvey as John McLaughlin voice] WRONG!
Friends, it’s Beef Weekend.
If you’re new around here since last year, allow me to explain. For four years now, I’ve arbitrarily but forcefully declared one weekend in February to be a holiday, a holiday that only exists within The Action Cookbook Newsletter Expanded Universe.
What’s Beef Weekend, you ask? Well, it’s a weekend where you eat beef, obviously.
I dunno seems kind of ill-conceived and poorly-timed considering it’s the first weekend of Lent
Yes, yes, there is that, but counterpoint: everything I do is ill-conceived. Besides, if you’d like some meatless recipes, I covered that ground in Wednesday’s newsletter:
(Also, if you’re a fish-on-Friday eater, now’s the perfect time for you to make my Salmon Burgers, one of the best recipes I’ve ever shared here and one of only a small handful I’ve served to actual restaurant patrons.)
Previous Beefs Weekends have featured a weekend-long agenda centered on Pot Roast, an exploration of Mississippi Pot Roast, and a Coca-Cola-and-chipotle-pepper-braised beef put into tacos.
This year? I’ve got something fun and new for you.
Of course, it’s not just beef here this weekend. It’s Friday on The Action Cookbook Newsletter, and like I do every Friday, I’ve got a recipe, a cocktail, music, a book, something to watch, something to talk about and—of course—your very own pets.
It’s Friday, Friday. We’ve gotta get down on Friday.
7) Slop ‘em up!
Here’s a question. When was the last time you had a Sloppy Joe?
Maybe it’s still a staple for you, but—despite eating them frequently growing up—I hadn’t had one in years. Then, a few weeks ago, my kid mentioned having one for lunch at the elementary-school cafeteria, and it stirred loose a challenge in my mind.
Conceptually, the Sloppy Joe is a good idea—it’s a loose beef sandwich in sauce. Nothing not to like there. But the flavors are hardly subtle, and most versions rely on an overly-sweet base made mostly of ketchup and brown sugar. I wanted to try something a little more complex and refined—I wanted to fancy up the Sloppy Joe.
For a while, I’ve had a note in my files to do some kind of riff on Beef Bourguignon, and suddenly, these two challenges became one opportunity. I’d run Sloppy Joes through the Julia Child filter in the hopes of creating a version of the old favorite more attuned to grown-up palates.
It’s the Sloppy Julia.