Cooking, Roasting and Thermometers

Sunday actually turned into an OK day. DH and I were both playing Lord of the Rings Online, our normal activity, and around 1:00 pm or so, I wandered up to the kitchen to start preparing dinner. DH had purchased a tenderloin eye round roast, a piece that would be quite a bit tougher than the rolled rib steak I had bought earlier in the week. No problem - we'll have my meat for Easter Sunday (coming up at the end of the week, y'all) and we would have this one today. 

I cooked the roast properly, searing it first, then slow 
roasting it. My problem was having the oven on a 
temperature that was probably too high for the roasting 
part. I need a new oven thermometer. 

He had found and printed out a recipe he wanted me to use, which had me mixing together a lot of different herbs and olive oil into a thick paste to smear over the surface of the roast. It was actually quite tasty. I covered the roast and since I was using the oven anyway, and wanted to get my dinners prepped, I popped in some bacon-wrapped asparagus spears to cook before putting in the roast. I got those finished, ready to be reheated for my next 2-3 dinners, and put the roast into the oven. 

I purchased the supplies to make bacon-wrapped asparagus 
more than a week ago and needed to use it before the 
asparagus went bad. I grabbed the opportunity to get them 
cooked yesterday afternoon. They're going to make a couple 
of really nice dinners for me over this next week. 

The directions said to put it into a 500F degree oven for 15 minutes or so, then to cover the roast completely with foil and return it to an oven set to 170F. That's a huge jump in degrees, and, unfortunately, my oven degree markings only go to 200. After that point, it's a guessing game. I set it to what I hoped was 170F, but I suspect I was closer to 180F. I pulled the roast out after its' one hour and let it rest while cooking honey garlic carrots and garlic sauteed green beans. When I sliced the roast, it was well done, not the medium I had been hoping for. I'll know better next time, and I'll find a new oven thermometer (my old one bit the dust 2-3 weeks ago). I can cook better than this. 

I need one of these with this type of hanger. I don't 
like oven thermometers that have to sit on the 
rack - it takes space in a very small oven. I like 
them to hang onto the bottom of the rack without 
impeding sheets and dishes pushing in and out 
of the oven. My last thermometer lasted for many 
years, but I haven't found a good replacement 
yet. Amazon may be my only hope. 

Still, after dinner, I pulled out my slicer and cut the rest of the roast into sandwich slices. I'm eating them wrapped with a little mayo, I'm not sure if DH will eat them at all, since he prefers his roasted chicken for his lunches. One way or the other, though, we'll eat the rest of the roast this week. 

I've also been looking at getting an instant read 
food thermometer and also at getting a remote 
food thermometer - fancier and fancier. I've got 
standard food thermometers, but they're really 
old - inherited from my mother. They work, but 
they're slow and cause the food and the oven 
to lose heat. While I'm shopping for thermometers, 
I may as well cover my bases. 

So that's it right now - big goings-on in the household - LOL. At least DH's temper was much better on Sunday, so I'm feeling like I'm walking on firmer ground again. We'll see how long this lasts and where we go from here, but we might be over the worst of the grump for a little while. Here's hoping, at any rate. Sending *hugs* out to all of you who have helped me through last week. I really needed my friends, and you were there for me. Have an excellent day - be kind, stay safe and please wear a mask. I'll be back tomorrow.