A quest for world domination.

It was Thanksgiving on Thursday and it seems that although I don't live in the US, I have a lot to be thankful for over there at the moment. My latest book "Movie Dinners" was lucky enough to be featured on the Entertainment Weekly website.

Have a look, some great quotes, photos and comments. Sorry, you will have to bear with me blowing my own trumpet but you have to realise in the world of Primary school teachers recognition on this scale is a rarity.

It is almost sold out on Amazon.com (fear not more are on order) and has had a couple of great blog reviews. Wish me luck with my mission.

How did I celebrate? With roast beef, green beans and purple potatoes. If we hadn't been so greedy yesterday I may have had enough for this recipe below.

On holiday this year we visited a brilliant diner in Baltimore, sadly not the one in the movie but just as great. For the record one of did have roast beef!

Diner (1982)

Roast beef sandwich

Avoiding the realities of life by hanging about with like minded truth dodgers is all part of growing up. For five boys living in Baltimore in the late 1950's the place where they manage to hide longest is the diner. Warm and well fed they discuss the important issues of the day, mostly their sex lives, either real or imagined. Venturing out to the cinema, on a date or occasionally back home they all seem happiest when wrapped in the warm fug of the Diner. You can recreate the same warmth and fug with these beef sandwiches and don't forget the side order of fries with gravy.
If you have seen the movie you won't need reminding to get your own box of popcorn the next time you visit the cinema.

Cast and crew

makes 12 to 15 rounds of beef sandwiches.

1.5 kg piece beef rump

(for each sandwich you will need)

2 slices of thick white fresh bread

100g thinly sliced roast beef

Butter

mustard, preferably English but Dijon if you have to. Never, ever use squirty mustard from a plastic bottle.

To serve

crisps (potato chips)

dill pickle spear

Mise en scene

Heat the oven to 200*C or gas 6

1. Place the beef in a large roasting tin. Roast for 1hr and 20 minutes. This will give you a rare roast, most suitable for sandwiches in my humble opinion. If you really have to, cook the meat for another 15 minutes for a medium finish.
2. Remove the beef from the tin and lay on a plate. Cover with foil and allow to rest. When the beef is a room temperature slice thinly for the sandwiches
3. Place the two slices of bread onto a large plate. Spread both slices with butter and then smear one buttered side of bread liberally using the mustard. Fill the sandwich with huge quantities of beef, wafer thin and still at room temperature is beat. It allows the butter and mustard to melt together, basting the beef from top and bottom in buttery juices.
4. Slice the sandwich in two. Impale each half with a frilled cocktail stick to hold it all together. Arrange a handful of crisps (chips) artfully as a garnish. Sit back and talk to the guys.
5. If you ordered something different and now covet your friends sandwich ask them straight out for a bite. Don't beat about the bush. Say the words, "I want that roast beef sandwich."

Voice over

Save the pan and the meat juices for making gravy. The boy's accompaniment of choice to beef sandwiches seemed to be chips (fries) and gravy. Tip the pan and drain the fat and juices to one corner of the pan. Remove the majority of the fat. I aim to leave about 1 to 2 tablespoons of fat in the pan. Place the roasting tin on a very low heat on the hob and tip in 1 tbsp flour. Using a wooden spoon or a whisk cook the fat and flour together to create a paste. As you do, scrape all the tasty dark bits up from the bottom of the pan. After a minute of cooking out the floury taste add 300ml of warm stock to the tray and allow to bubble. If you need to add more warm stock a little at a time until the gravy is the thick enough to stick to the chips. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Anoint those fries and share with your besties.