Beef- bet that got your attention

I went out for a decadent mid-week, Dad did the runabout with the kids, dinner with friends from Santiago, who all live back here now...like I do.  It was a great night - they're still awesome, of course they would be, and it was like two years was last week.  We're all settling back in, and it was a relief to hear from real people I know that the repatriation portion of the expat experience was challenging; and importantly, that they were meeting it.  I think we all suffer a bit more from the travel bug though - and I'm not talking intestinal parasites--that's a different post!

We fondly reminisced about expat luxuries we missed, and how some aspects of settling in were a snap, and some were a slog...we all seemed to agree that not only did we return to a "home" that had changed, but that each of us had changed too.  It's not that we're soooooo anything more/less than anyone else; but that the experience was profound, (in a number of ways that I'll not go into because their stories are their own!!)--and  we've all been altered.  I will say though-we're all faster with currency conversions than we were before.  The other interesting thing...none of us knew any of us before we moved to Santiago.  And now, we are within a couple hours drive of each other - so expat life is weird like that - friendships forged in other lands!  I know, that sounds a touch Middle Earth...but...

We were at a steakhouse, which brings me back to the continuing conversation we're having about beef.  I found a couple sites that have the kind of information I crave: time & temp basics, as well as what cuts are suited to cooking methods.  For example, I found it liberating, years ago, to know that at 425 degrees F, fish cooks for 10 minutes per inch, 20 if it's frozen.  I felt instantly more experimental and willing to try more and different ways of cooking it with this info in my back pocket.  So, for the other back pocket... here is the beef equivalent:

From Canadian Living's website, an interactive, all-inclusive:
http://www.canadianliving.com/food/cooking_school/butchers_block_cuts_of_roast_beef.php
And from the delightful Jamie Oliver, a little more scoop, with both North American and UK style instructions:
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/perfect-roast-beef/
And lastly, here's what that looks like...

Cheers and chao!