POT ROAST REVISITED A cool spell over Labor Day made my wife hanker for some old-fashioned "roots" food, so she talked me into coming up with the kind of pot roast that our mothers used to make. Naturally this prompted the weather to warm up again. Still, it was good.
Dredge a three-pound chunk of boneless chuck roast in flour, salt and pepper,
and brown it with a whole garlic clove, sliced thin, in a little vegetable oil
in a dutch oven. Peel and cut into bite-size chunks two or three carrots, two
or three celery spears, two potatoes and a turnip, and throw them in around
the meat. Add two cups of homemade beef broth (we keep a supply frozen), a
bay leaf and a whole peeled onion. Cover tightly and braise for a couple of
hours on the top of the stove or in a 350 oven. Turn the meat occasionally and
check seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste. I gussied it up a little
with fresh thyme and oregano from the garden, but otherwise it turned out
pretty much like Mom used to make.
I think another time when it's cooler, I might try the same thing in the oven
with a lot less liquid to see if the meat and veggies would crunch up a bit.
But this version made lots of rich sauce to sop up with French petit pain
rolls. (Can't do EVERYTHING '50s style!)
A modest California Cabernet Sauvignon made a nice match with the meat, which
I also accompanied with horseradish and mustard.
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