Dinner Party with Friends

Every year my friends and I always get together for a little holiday celebration. For the past three years I have hosted it at my house. The first year I made baked ziti and salad and was so excited to use my new wedding china. Last year, due to hectic schedules we had a lovely champagne brunch. This year, due to low funds, we are having a potluck dinner. I am still hosting because I love to have dinner parties. I am making the main course, a delicious roast beef with a spicy parsley tomato sauce, courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis. I have pasted the recipe below. This is a great dish to entertain with. I have made this once before and the sauce is so good, perfect on roast potatoes as a side dish. Any leftover sauce could be used another night on sauteed chicken breasts or your favorite fish.

Roast Beef with Spicy Parsley Tomato Sauce
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Beef Roast:
1 (2 to 2 1/2-pound) sirloin tip or chuck beef roast
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 Roma tomatoes, cut in 1/2
2 teaspoons herbs de Provence (you can find this in the dried spices aisle of any grocery store)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Spicy Parsley Tomato Sauce:
1 1/2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

To make the beef roast, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Season the beef with salt and pepper. Season the tomatoes with salt, pepper, and herbs de Provence.

Place a medium, heavy roasting pan or Dutch oven over high heat. Heat the olive oil. Sear the beef over high heat on all sides. Turn off heat. Place the seasoned tomatoes around the seared beef and place the pan in the oven. Roast until a meat thermometer reads 130 degrees F. for medium rare, 135 for medium, about 30 to 40 minutes. Take the roast out of the oven, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. The internal temperature of the meat should rise 5 degrees F more and the juices will redistribute into the roast.

To make the sauce, place the parsley and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the parsley is finely chopped. Add the red pepper flakes, salt, red wine vinegar and the roasted tomatoes from the beef pan and process until pureed. Add the olive oil in a steady stream with the machine running. To serve, slice the roast and place on a serving platter. Drizzle a little sauce over the meat. Serve the remaining sauce in a small bowl alongside.