By The inspection happened Wednesday. The house passed. The inspector was thorough, the report came back Thursday, and there is a short list of small items (a circuit in the basement, the gutters need cleaning, one downstairs window needs a new gasket) and no big items. No knob-and-tube. No rotting sills. Roof is in good shape. The retired teacher who owned this house maintained it the way teachers tend to: deliberately, on schedule, with receipts. Sean and I sat at the kitchen table Thursday night and looked at the report and drank wine and did not say much. The closing is scheduled for the third week of January. We are going to have a house. We are going to move in the winter, which is a terrible time to move in New England, and I do not care. It is the right house. I know in the way I know these things.
Christmas Eve at the three-decker. Maureen made prime rib because she had been making prime rib every Christmas Eve since 1988 and she was not going to stop because she was turning seventy-five next year, please and thank you. Seán Sr. carved. Patrick and Danny arrived with the kids -- Patrick with Colleen, who is now eight months pregnant and who sat in the armchair with a footstool and was waited on in shifts by the rest of us, which she accepted with good humor because she has given up on productivity in the final stretch and is conserving energy for the baby. Meghan and Brian and Aidan. Sean's mother and sister stopped by at 7 with a pie. Father Donnelly came to midnight Mass with us. The church was packed. Liam stood on the kneeler and sang every carol at full volume and out of tune. Nora slept through the homily and woke up for communion and pointed at the priest and said "mine" which got a laugh out of the family in front of us.
Christmas morning was at home. Sean and I did the stockings after the kids were asleep, which took an hour and involved minor contention over whether Nora's stocking should have the same quantity of items as Liam's (Sean's position) or scaled to her age and interest level (mine). We compromised. She got a stuffed sheep, a book, a small wooden spoon, a chocolate coin. Liam got a fire truck Matchbox, a book, new mittens, a chocolate coin, and a tiny LEGO set that Sean assembled at 11 PM with a glass of wine and a level of concentration I have not seen him apply to anything else this year.
Liam opened presents for forty-five minutes and then sat down on the couch and said "I need a break." Three and a half years old. He needed a break from Christmas. I have never been prouder of anyone in my life. Nora opened three presents and then commandeered the wrapping paper of the fourth, which she mashed into a ball the size of her head and carried around the living room for the next two hours with an expression of sovereign ownership. She never opened another present. We opened them for her. It is fine.
Christmas dinner was at my parents'. Pot roast. The full spread. The family at the table. Sean and my father talked about the house. Sean Sr. asked about the basement, the furnace, the roof. Sean answered each question with the specific care of a man who knows he is being evaluated not as a homeowner but as the protector of two grandchildren who will be growing up there. Sean Sr. nodded. That was the approval. That was all that was needed.
Maureen’s prime rib is untouchable — thirty-seven years of Christmas Eve and she’s not taking suggestions — but what I keep thinking about in the days after, the quiet mornings between the big meals, is something in that same spirit: beef, potatoes, warmth, no fuss, enough for everyone. We have a house coming in January, a real house with a kitchen where I will cook things on a schedule of my own choosing, and this Beef, Potato & Egg Bake is exactly the kind of recipe I want waiting there for us — the sort of thing you pull together on a slow morning when the kids are still in pajamas and there’s nowhere to be.
Beef, Potato & Egg Bake
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef (85/15)
- 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- 6 large eggs
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
- Par-cook the potatoes. Place the diced potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook for 6—8 minutes until just barely fork-tender. Drain well and set aside.
- Brown the beef. Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned through, about 6—8 minutes. Drain any excess fat.
- Saute the vegetables. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion and bell pepper to the skillet with the beef and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Season with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes if using.
- Combine in the baking dish. Spread the par-cooked potatoes evenly across the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with the beef and vegetable mixture, spreading into an even layer.
- Make the egg mixture. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk until fully combined. Pour evenly over the beef and potato layer. Scatter the shredded cheddar over the top.
- Bake. Transfer to the preheated oven and bake uncovered for 28—32 minutes, until the eggs are fully set in the center and the cheese is golden and bubbling at the edges. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Rest and serve. Let the bake rest for 5 minutes before cutting. Scatter fresh parsley over the top and serve directly from the dish.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 390 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 19g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 520mg