NANNY'S BEEF BRACIOLE

1 pound beef, 4 thin chip steaks
3 tablespoons bread crumbs (Progresso), dry Italian seasoned
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon parsley, fresh, chopped
1/2 tablespoon cheese (Locatelli), Pecorino Romano, grated
salt & pepper
2 large eggs, hard-boiled
4 slices ham, thin, deluxe deli
4 ounces cheese, fresh mozzarella, sliced thin
3 tablespoons oil, extra-virgin
1 batch sauce, tomato

We start by removing the steaks from the fridge and placing them on the counter on a sheet of wax paper. The steaks are thin so we do not pound them (if they were any thicker, we would have). They are about 3 inches wide and 6 - 8 inches long.

In a bowl, we get the bread crumb mixture ready. We combine the bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Romano cheese, a little salt, and some freshly ground black pepper. We stir the mixture and taste for seasoning.

We peel our cold, hard-boiled eggs and using our egg slicer, slice them.

We get ready some pieces of kitchen string to tie the rolls. We are not great at tying, so we cut 4 pieces of string about 6 inches long for each steak.

We start the layering process with the ham by laying a slice on each steak. Next comes the bread crumb mixture. We divide and sprinkle it as evenly as we can - not quite to the edges. Then, we add the egg slices and mozzarella. Any ham that is hanging out over the edges of the meat is folded in.

Each steak is rolled as tight as possible, as we try to keep all the ingredients, especially the cheese, inside the roll. The four pieces of string are tied around each roll, three going around the roll and one perpendicular to make sure the top and bottom of the roll are secure. The long strands of string, after double-knotting, are clipped with kitchen scissors. We wash our hands.

In a large saute pan, we heat the olive oil over medium heat. Meanwhile, we heat our tomato sauce.

When the oil is hot, we salt and pepper the rolls a little bit, and add them to the pan. We brown them on all sides for a few minutes and then drain on a paper-towel lined plate.

We add the braciole to the simmering sauce and cook for about 40 minutes, at a low simmer. We want the meat to be tender.

We remove the braciole from the sauce to a serving plate, cut the strings with clean scissors, and slice. We serve alongside or after a pasta course with additional tomato sauce.

Servings: 4