Easy Roast Beef Roll-Ups

Christmas at the farmhouse. The full count: Helen and me, David and Karen and Teddy, Anna, James; Sarah and Tom and Ben and Lucy. Eleven people, twelve if you count Frost. The farmhouse full and warm and louder than it is for fifty weeks of the year, and the noise is entirely the right kind.

The standing rib roast was Helen's work, as always — the two ribs, the dry-rubbed overnight crust, the high heat followed by low, the finished roast resting on the cutting board looking professional and impeccable. I made the mashed potatoes with what I consider the correct ratio of butter to cream to potato, which is a ratio I have refined over thirty-seven Christmas dinners and which I will not share in full because some things are trade secrets. They were correct. Ben had two servings. This is the second year in a row. He is becoming reliable on this point.

After dinner the children played in the yard in the December dark with the flashlights Helen keeps in the hall closet for exactly this purpose — you need flashlights when ten-year-olds and five-year-olds and two-year-olds are running across a yard at seven o'clock in Vermont in December. Lucy ran after Teddy and Teddy let her almost catch him and Lucy screamed with delight and the sound of it carried back through the kitchen window where Helen and I were standing with our coffee.

No one at the table knows this is the last Christmas like this for a long time. The next Christmas will be pandemic Christmas — smaller, stranger, the world having changed between now and then in ways none of us are ready for. But standing in the kitchen on December 23, 2019, none of this is known. The house is full. The dinner was perfect. The children are running in the yard with flashlights. Helen is beside me at the window. I do not take this for granted. I am not sure you can hold onto it with both hands the way you want to. But I am trying. I am trying very hard.

Helen owns the standing rib roast — she has for thirty years, and I have no intention of contesting it. But roast beef doesn’t have to wait for December 23rd, and after a Christmas like that one, full and warm and exactly right, I found myself wanting to carry a little of that flavor forward into the ordinary weeks that followed. These Easy Roast Beef Roll-Ups are what I landed on: nothing as grand as Helen’s two-rib masterpiece, but honest and satisfying and good enough that Ben, I suspect, would have a second serving of those too.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 large flour tortillas (10-inch)
3/4 lb thinly sliced deli roast beef
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, drained and patted dry, thinly sliced

Instructions

Mix the spread. In a medium bowl, combine softened cream cheese, horseradish, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, and black pepper. Stir until smooth and well blended.
Prepare the tortillas. Lay each flour tortilla flat on a clean work surface. Spread an even layer of the cream cheese mixture over the entire surface of each tortilla, going nearly to the edges.
Layer the fillings. Arrange roast beef slices in a single layer over the cream cheese spread, covering evenly. Scatter green onions over the beef, then add a layer of baby spinach leaves and the sliced roasted red peppers.
Roll tightly. Starting at one edge, roll each tortilla firmly and evenly into a tight log. Press gently to seal the seam side down. Wrap each roll individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to help them hold their shape.
Slice and serve. Remove from refrigerator and unwrap. Using a sharp serrated knife, trim and discard the ends, then slice each roll into 1-inch rounds. Arrange cut-side up on a serving platter and serve immediately, or refrigerate covered for up to 4 hours before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Easy Roast Beef Roll-Ups — Carrying the Spirit of Helen’s Christmas Roast