812-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 13, 2003
Virginia Woman Wins $25,000 In National Beef Cook-Off
GAY BROWNLEE
Virginia Correspondent
FORT WORTH, Tex. When
Lori Welander’s original recipe
for “Grilled Steaks Balsamico’’
won the 25th National Beef
Cook-Off recently, the Richmond
woman was somewhat dazed.
“I cannot even fathom how I
won the grand prize,” Welander
said. “1 was absolutely in shock.
At least in mind it was the easiest
recipe.”
Welander was delighted that
Eric, her 15-year old son could
join her in Texas for the cook-off
event. His attendance was un
planned, but the result of Hurri
cane Isabel, which closed district
schools.
Charles Welander, Lori’s hus
band was unable to attend, but he
had this to say about his wife’s
winning recipe, “It’s a keeper.”
The preparation time for the
steaks was minimal. For two
hours the steaks were marinating
inside a zip-lock plastic food bag
with a prepared balsamic vinai
grette to which, for a really
unique flavor, Welander had
added fig preserves.
Over ash-covered coals the
steaks were grilled to a perfect
doneness, accompanied by plump
little red and yellow pear tomato
kabobs that were grilled on the
side.
Lori dressed up the entire
works with rosemary leaves and
served the steaks with a herb and
garlic cheese sauce that she melt
ed using a package of soft cheese.
“My garnish was rosemary
leaves and red and yellow toma
toes. I love working with fresh in
gredients,” she said.
Actual preparation was
30-minutes.
Some time ago when Lori dis
covered flat iron steaks, a new
cut of beef.
“It’s an awesome cut,” she
said, describing the flat iron as
lean and fast cooking. “It’s a rel
atively new cut, second in tender
ness to beef tenderloin.”
Someone has dubbed the flat
iron steak the “darling” of steak
houses. Consumers frequenting
supermarkets are also giving it a
thumbs up.
Shelf
Jth A L
and magazines of interest to Cancaster farming readers
ANDY ANDREWS
Editor
ANGUS ART: The American
Angus Association, text by
Keith Evans. American
Angus Association, 2003,
70 pp., no price listed. No
ISBN.
Bold, black cattle. Eye-appeal
ing, realistic art. Attention to de
tail. A smooth canvas.
The classics of good livestock
art are all here in this big, bold
book called “Angus Art,” pub
lished by the American Angus
Association from St. Joseph, Mo.
As the book notes, one man
made a lot of people happy and
influenced perhaps legions of
generations.
The book notes: “The heart
and soul of the Angus art collec
tion, however, is Frank Murphy’s
paintings and drawings. Born in
1920 in Vinton, lowa, Murphy
grew up near Brownsville, Texas,
founded in the 1850 s by his ma
ternal great-grandfather. In
spired by his artist mother, Lucile
Champion Murphy, he developed
an interest in art and drawing at
Lori Welander, Richmond, Virginia, said her priority in
developing her contest recipe entry was that it be tasty,
nutritious, and fast and easy to prepare. A taste of Grilled
Steaks Balsamico convinced judges that it was worthy of
the $25,000 prize.
Before she nailed down the
recipe, Welander’s homework
was to experiment and analyze
her ingredients. In the contest re
quirements, the limit was eight
ingredients.
Instead of figs, she economized
with fig preserves.
T love figs as a component of
the marinade,” she said.
Her priority in developing the
an early age. Some of his first
models were the mounted display
animals at Chicago’s Field Muse
um of Natural History.”
There’s a great deal more
about Murphy and how this art,
collected and on display at the
association headquarters in Mis
souri, came to be. Other artists
are portrayed as well, including
great work by Steve Zipp, Steve
Van Dyke, Galen Struve, K.S.
King, Gretchen C. Meyers, and
others, in addition to sculptures
by Jim Reno.
The beauty lies in the repro
duction of the artwork on heavy,
coated paper, of the individual,
very colorful paintings. It is fasci
nating to watch the progression
of the breed, from the big old fat
animals in the middle of the pre
vious century to a leaner, muscu
lar, dominating type of beef from
the 1980 s to the present day.
Order from American Angus
Association at 3201 Frederick
Ave., St. Joseph, MO 64506,
http://www.angus.org, or call
(816) 383-5100.
recipe was that it be attractive to
women who are caught up in
fast-paced lifestyles. The recipe
had to be tasty, nutritious, fast
and easy one she wouldn’t hes
itate to promote among her own
circle of friends.
“I love to cook but I have a lot
of friends who don’t,” she said.
“Family dinners are so crucial.
So many families are moving
away from family dinner time.”
AMISH LANE: Poems From
The Earth, by Thomas Irvin
Maust. Brothersvalley Pub
lishing, 2003, 79 pp., no
price listed, no ISBN.
Perhaps this collection of poet
ry was written out of homesick
ness for the hills of Pennsylvania.
It was a journey away from his
homeland taken as a 4-H’er,
through an international farm ex
change program, that Maust met
his Norwegian wife, Kirsten.
Twenty-one years ago, Maust
went to Norway because Kirsten
was homesick.
Many things happened since.
Maust learned to speak Norwe
gian. He kept his English sharp
by writing poems.
But he couldn’t stop thinking
about why he loved Pennsylvania
so much.
As a result, we have “Amish
Lane,” a book written out of love
for Thomas Maust’s native
Brothersvalley home in Berlin.
Lane, what Maust calls “poems
from the earth,” recalls red cur
rants, snapping turtles, catty
whompus, snakes in the lilac, lis
tening to the corn grow, Christ
mas dinners, cracking hickory
nuts, and countless other bless
ings.
These are light, beautiful
poems that instill in us a sense of
wonder about the place that, for
many of us who live in Pennsyl
vania, sometimes take for grant
ed.
Order from Brothersvalley
Publishing 244 Stony Creek Rd.,
Berlin, PA 15530, (814) 267-5350.
For more information, contact
Charlene Murray in Berlin at the
Grilled Steaks Balsamico vir
tually invalidates excuses for
“not having the time,” to prepare
a meal. While sharing notes
about the day, family members
can sit down to dinner and enjoy
it in a convivial manner.
The steaks lend themselves to
being served with crusty bread
and a fresh green salad, for light
er fare. Give the family a more
substantial meal by adding a
hearty potato or rice entree, and
top it off with dessert.
“I’m not in anyway a trained,
formal cook,” says Welander,
who holds a part-time position
with a consulting firm.
The simple recipe tingled the
taste buds of connoisseurs who
had convened to judge the com
petition in Cow Town, USA.
They discovered that a serving of
Grilled Steaks Balsamico was
mighty succulent eating.
Because beef is their business,
the Beef Cook-Off activities were
popular with cowboys who had
taken leave from their surround
ing ranches in order to enjoy brief
sojourns in town.
They were eager to know
which of the 20 finalists would
take home the $50,000 contest
grand prize. A General Electric
Profile Oven with Trivection
technology was amongst the gifts
to Welander.
“The National Beef Cook-Off
strength is that it gives an oppor
tunity to meet real people,” We
lander said. “Every finalist has a
hostess. It really puts a personal
note into the contest. It is phe
nomenally organized.”
About 3,000 entrants partici
pated in four categories; One
Dish Meals, Grilled Beef, Hand
held Kid Pleasers and Quick and
Easy Beef. The recipes were
judged on taste, ease of prepara
tion, and appearance.
The primary sponsors were
NBCO (fact sheet and history are
on web site) and the Beef Check-
Off program funded by beef pro
ducers through their sl-per-head
check-off and produced for the
Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state
beef councils by the American
National Cattle Women, Inc.,
same number, or crc—
41@yahoo.com.
THE SLATE ROOF BIBLE:
Understanding, Installing,
and Restoring the World’s
Finest Roof, by Joseph Jen
kins, 2nd ed. Jenkins Pub
lishing, 2003, 318 pp.,
$40.00. ISBN
0-9644258-1-5
Jenkins has a hard time, some
times.
He has a hard time under
standing what people think and
believe, especially about slate
roofs.
A constant theme, especially
early on in this book to end ail
books about slate roofs why do
people ignore slate roofs’ critical
value? Why do some, almost at a
whim, want to remove perfectly
good, absolutely long-lasting,
home-value-improving, durable
and lovely slate roofs, to replace
them with cheap asphalt shin
gles, which have a maximum
20-year life?
And that look ugly and are
costly besides?
Jenkins provides a lot of an
swers. He also provides more
photos and more descriptions of
the best slate roof designs
throughout the world in this book
than in any book previously.
“Slate Roof Bible” is exactly
what the name implies; every
thing you could possibly care to
know about the history, designs,
colors, shapes, textures, mainte
nance, and sheer beauty of an en
durable, aesthetically pleasing
slate roof.
Jenkins has taken great pains
to provide photos and descrip-
and the National Cattlemen’s
Beef Association; Albertsons;
General Electric Company;
Weber-Stephen Products Com
pany; Texas Beef Council; and
the Fort Worth Stock Show and
Rodeo.
To learn more about the Na
tional Beef Cook-Off on the in
ternet visit: www.beefcookoff.org.
Here is the winning recipe.
GRILLED STEAKS
BALSAMICO
4 beef shoulder top blade (flat
iron) steaks (6-8 oz. each)
or boneless beef chuck eye
steaks, cut 1-inch thick
1 package (5.2 oz.) herb and
garlic soft spreadable
cheese
Garnish:
V/i cups mixed red and yellow
tomatoes
4 rosemary branches or bam
boo skewers soaked in
water
Marinade;
Vi cup prepared balsamic vin
aigrette
X A cup fig preserves (or chop
ped dried figs)
Place marinade ingredients in
a blender or food processor fitted
with a steel blade. Process until
blended. Place steaks and mari
nade in a food-safe plastic bag;
turn to coat. Close bag securely
and marinate at least two horns.
Thread tomatoes on the four
rosemary branches, removing
leaves as necessary.
Remove steaks from marinade
and discard marinade. Place
steaks on grill over medium ash
covered coals. Grill steaks cov
ered for 10-14 minutes for medi
um rare to medium doneness,
turning occasionally. Season with
salt and pepper as desired.
Five to seven minutes before
steaks are done, place tomato ka
bobs on outer edge of grid and
grill until heated through, turn
ing once. Garnish with rosemary.
Heat cheese in small saucepan
over medium low heat 2-4 min
utes, until melted, stirring fre
quently. Serve steaks with sauce.
Makes 4 servings.
tions of types of slate, examples
of roofs from all over the world,
picking the right kind of slate, in
stalling slate, and working on
methods to improve and ensure
the beauty of slate.
There are even ads for busi
nesses in the slate roof industry.
Along with an index of slate in
formation, of course.
If you could earn a doctorate
in slate roof, this is probably the
only book you’d need.
Order from Jenkins Publish
ing, P.O. Box 607, 324 Old Beech
Road, Grove City, PA 16127,
(866) 641-7141, e-mail maiKSjen
kinspublishing.com, or look at
the Website, www.jenkinspubli
shing.com.
MEETING WISDOM: Tap
Into The Wisdom and In
sight of Thousands of
12-Step Meetings In A Sin
gle Book, by Brian L. Meet
ing Wisdom Publishing,
2002, 181 pp., $16.95,
ISBN 0-9718779-1-2
Without trust, Brian L. notes
in “Meeting Wisdom,” life isn’t
much worth living. And happi
ness, for the most part, has very
little to do with circumstances
it is simply a state of mind.
The book has a lot of thought
ful, experience-laden sayings that
can prove helpful through the
stressful holidays.
Order from Wisdom Publish
ing, P.O. Box 320786, Los Gatos,
CA 95032, (866) STEPS 12, or e
mail orders@meetingwis
dom.com.