July 04

George Steinbrenner's Birthday

George Steinbrenner was the owner of the New York Yankees. His outspokenness and role in driving up player salaries have made him one of the sport's most controversial figures. During George's ownership, from 1973–2008, the Yankees earned 10 pennants and six World Series titles.

Despite George's controversial status (or perhaps, because of it) he does appear to poke fun at himself in the media. He hosted Saturday Night Live on October 20, 1990 at the same time his former outfielder and Yankee manager, Lou Piniella, led the Cincinnati Reds to a World Championship. In the opening sketch, he dreamt of a Yankees team managed, coached, and entirely played by himself. In other sketches, "he" chews out the SNL "writing staff" (notably including Al Franken) for featuring him in a mock Slim Fast commercial with other ruthless leaders such as Saddam Hussein and Idi Amin and plays a folksy convenience store manager whose business ethic is comically divergent from that of Steinbrenner.

His frequent firings and rehirings of manager Billy Martin were lampooned in a '70s Miller Lite beer commercial in which Steinbrenner tells Martin "You're fired!" to which Martin replies "Oh, no, not again!" After one of Martin's real-life rehirings, the commercial was resurrected, only with Steinbrenner's line redubbed to say "You're hired!

George appeared as a character in the situation comedy Seinfeld, when George Costanza worked for the Yankees for several seasons. Larry David voiced the character, who talked nonstop, regardless of whether anyone was listening, and sometimes referred to himself as "Big Stein." The character's face was never seen, and the character was always viewed from the back in scenes set in his office at Yankee Stadium. In one episode , George describes Steinbrenner by saying, "No one knows what this guy's capable of; he fires people like it's a bodily function!" Nevertheless, the real Steinbrenner maintains that he is a fan of the show and that "Costanza is always welcome back."

A Yankee post roast is the perfect dish to celebrate George's birthday while watching him in the 2006 episode of Seinfield titled The Invitations

Yankee Pot Roast

There are hundreds of variations on the recipe for Yankee pot roast. The vegetables often vary. Some people may use water instead of broth. Some people will cook it on the stove or in a crock-pot. But essentially, this is a foolproof recipe .

Ingredients

4 lb beef roast
2 TB olive oil
1cup beef broth
1 cup red wine
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 large onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic, pealed and chopped

2 cups chopped plum tomato
1&1/4 lb small red potatoes, pealed and cut in half
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup sliced celery with leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300°F.
Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper. Add roast to pan, browning on all sides (about 10 minutes). Remove from pan. Add onion to pan and sauté for 6 minutes; then add garlic and sauté 2 more minutes or until browned. Return roast to pan. Add Worcestershire and wine to broth; pour over roast. Add tomato; bring to a simmer.
Cover and bake at 300°F for 2&1/2 hours or until tender. Add potatoes and carrots; cover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender

Serves 4-5