Pot Roast For The Kids

When it came to Gram's pot roast, the kids just loved, loved, loved it.  We all did.  She would serve it with mashed potatoes and a couple of different veggies.  The gravy from the pot roast was rich and delicious.  It was just right for pouring over both the mashed potatoes and the roast.  It was delicious.  I have been experimenting with getting my pot roast to mimic hers.  I think I am pretty close, but I want to hit it out of the ball park just once before I make it for the kids.  One thing I know she used was cream of mushroom soup.

These are the ingredients I used.  I am adding a few things to the meal that I think will be nice additions.  Like the fresh mushrooms for one.

3.5 pound chuck roast

8 ounces of button or cremini mushrooms

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

1 envelope of Lipton onion soup

1 cup of water

1 tablespoon of chicken stock

Vegetable or Canola oil

And of course Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Slice the mushrooms somewhat thick.

Mix the dry Lipton onion soup mix with the water.

Then add the two cans of cream of mushroom soup and mix all together.

Brown the meat in vegetable or canola oil over a medium high heat.  Let the oil and the pan heat up before adding the meat.  If you have a dutch oven, like the one below, that is the best pan for this.  But any heavy pan with a lid will do.  Or you could cover it with heavy duty tin foil.

Be sure to brown the top, bottom and all the sides.  After all, brown food is delicious food!  That is one of many things I learned from Anne Burrell on her show, "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef".

Side note:  While I was working on this, UD was outside doing something with the boat hitch.  He opened the back door and said "Is something burning in there?".  Well, I never!  I yelled back "Only if you call creating delicious flavors burning!".  Luckily for him, he smiled and went back to what he was doing. 

When it is brown and caramelized all over, remove it from the pan and put it on a dish until you are ready to put it back into the pan.

See all the brown bits on the bottom?  That is the best flavor around.  Add the mushrooms and swirl them around the pan for about a minute.

Then add just about a tablespoon of chicken broth to help deglaze the bottom of the pan.  Stir all that around for 2-3 minutes.

Add the meat back in, and be sure to add any of the juices that may have dripped onto the plate it was resting on.

Then add the soup mixture.

Cover the pan and put in a 250 degree oven for 6-8 hours.  After about 3 hours I pulled it out and turned the roast over.  Then I left it alone. 

As I return to finish this post, I feel that something might need some splaining, as Ricky Ricardo would say.  l am sure you are aware that pot roast is considered comfort food.  You would think it is the middle of January, and I am feeling gloomy and disheartened and just need some comfort food to get me through it.  However, we all know it is the middle of May.  But here on the Rocky Coast, we have experienced what feels like 40 days and 40 nights of rain, drizzle, showers, downpours, blah, blah, blah.  Any who, it has been miserable and depressing.  So yes, I have felt the need for comfort food.   But I digress.  Let's march forward with dinner.

These are the ingredients for delicious pan roasted brussel sprouts.  See the post "Chateaubriand, Salad And Sweet Brussel Sprouts With Mushrooms " for the details.  This evening I omitted the mushrooms.

As I mentioned in my last post "Fiddleheads", I think I ruined the flavor of the fiddleheads by boiling them.  So I was bound and determined to try them roasted.  I will let them share the oven with the green beans.

I treated them both with EVOO, salt and pepper.

The beans take twice as long as the fids, so I put the beans in a 425 degree oven for 10 minutes, pulled them out and added the fids to the pan.  And just as I had hoped, fiddleheads are soooo much better roasted. 

Onto the mashed potato.  This is even more decadent than the way Gram used to make them, but I wanted to go all the way.  Now don't judge me, you have to remember the 40 days and 40 nights!

UD peeled about 4 or 5 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes.  I think they are best for mashing.  I cut them into approximately 1.5 or 2 inch pieces.  Boil steadily in salted water until they are fork tender.  Usually that's between 10 and 20 minutes.

Drain them and return them to the same pot.  I added a couple of tablespoons of butter, pepper, salt and about 1/4 cup of light cream.  Mash it with a hand masher, or whip it with an electric mixer.  When you have your desired consistency, add a couple of tablespoons of sour cream and as much freshly grated cheese as you want.  Blend it all together and you will have the tastiest, most decadent mashed potatoes ever.

Here is the pot roast when I removed it from the oven.  I put it in at 11:30 AM and pulled it out at 6:30.  It was seriously delicious, and the gravy was fantastic.

Rather a big serving dish! Oops a daisy.

The veggies were delicious also.

UD took this shot of the repast.  We were so happy while eating it, and so full shortly into it.  But there are plenty of leftovers, and they certainly won't be wasted.

My conclusion is, the ball has been hit out of the park!  This pot roast is ready for the big leagues, the kids.

A bientot!  See you soon.

Fiddleheads

I was at the supermarket today, looking for a vegetable to roast tomorrow, to go along with a pot roast I am planning on cooking.  The brussel sprouts and green beans looked terrific.  I couldn't choose between the two, so I decided to bring them both back to the house that Nellie sold us.  While I was bagging them, there was a woman there frantically bagging an odd looking vegetable I had never noticed before.  She appeared a little frazzled and rushed.  I didn't want to add to her stress, but I couldn't help myself.  I asked her what the veggie was that she was bagging, and she said Fiddleheads.

I mentioned that I had been hearing about them, but didn't know anything about them.  All of a sudden, she seemed to calm a little, and it turned out it was because we were talking about her most  beloved vegetable, FIddleheads.  She mentioned they were in the supermarket for a very small window of time, and that she buys pounds and pounds and freezes them.  They are abundant on the Rocky Coast, and a few other areas in the country.  Well I decided to bring home another vegetable.  I asked how she cooked them, and she said to boil them and season with salt, pepper and vinegar.  Hmmm.  The vinegar threw me a little, but what the heck, I bought them anyway, because that's how I roll.

When I got home, I looked them up on the Internet.  They said to clean thoroughly and to continue rinsing until the water ran clear.

Then boil them steadily for 10 minutes.

They also said season with salt, pepper and vinegar or butter.  I went with butter.  I think them came out overcooked and rather bland.  Which can happen when you boil vegetables. 

I had to add more salt than I usually would to other vegetables, and that really told me they were overcooked and the boiling probably ruined them for us.  UD gave them a "Blah", and I gave them a "??". 

I went back to the Internet, and checked about roasting them.  There was a recipe to roast at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.  I will let you know what I think tomorrow!

A bientot!  See you soon.

For My Veggie Loving Meat Free Nephew

My nephew T is a veggie loving, meat free type of guy.  His Mom inquired as to whether I would mind posting a vegetarian meal that didn't necessarily include pasta.  I thought a veggie fried rice might fit the bill. 

I am starting with 6 different vegetables.  You can add or subtract anything you want.  I am using scallions, peas, pea pods, broccoli, carrots and asparagus.

                           

You need 3 eggs - 1/2 cup of Oyster Sauce - 2 tablespoons of Tamari or Soy Sauce - Canola, Vegetable or Peanut Oil.  I have a piece of ginger there, but I didn't get to use it.  They say you can store it in the freezer, and it will stay fresher longer.  However, I think this piece must have encountered some water, because it was a little mushy.  But if you have some, grate a couple of teaspoons and add it when the veggies go in. 

Lightly beat the egg.

You also need about 6 cups of cold leftover white rice.  Now here is where I had a problem.  When I cook rice in the rice cooker, I use Jasmine rice and I do a ratio of 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water.  That gets it nice and sticky.  I love it like that when it is just for a side of rice with dinner.  But for fried rice you need it to be dry and sort of crumbly when it is cold.  If I had done a ratio of 1:1, everything would have been fine.  As it was, the flavor was fine, we just didn't love the texture of the rice.  Oil well, c'est la vie!

Cut the vegetables to approximately the same size.  Don't obsess over this, approximately is the key word.

Mix the Oyster Sauce with the Tamari or Soy Sauce.  The only difference between the two, is that Tamari is supposed to be a premium Soy Sauce, so either will do just fine.

Over a medium high heat, pour the eggs into the pan and let it spread out.

You want the egg to be fried rather than scrambled, but you want it to be fairly thin.  Again, no obsessing, it is just eggs.  Remove them from the pan and set aside.

Now here is where Auntie Martha took a little deviation.  Don't look T and Sister E.  Just quickly and calmly move down by 3 pictures.

For UD and I, I am adding shrimp.  I have 20 jumbo, just because that is the size I had in the freezer.  I would recommend smaller, but I will just cut these in half once they are cooked.  I use Hannaford brand frozen shrimp.  They are raw with the shell on.  But they have been deveined, so they are easy to peel.  And I think they have great taste and texture.

Heat a few tablespoons of EVOO and a dab of butter for sweetness.  Add 5 or 6 crushed cloves of garlic.  I remove them once they have infused into the oil, but you can leave them in if you prefer.

Cook them a few minutes on each side and set aside. 

Hi T and Sister E.  Welcome back!

Over high heat, add the broccoli first.  After a minute or two add the rest of the veggies

When the veggies are just starting the soften, add the leftover cold rice and the Oyster/Soy Sauce combo. 

Stir all around until the rice warms up.

Add the egg (and the shrimp if you are using it) and mix it all together.

At this point, you could drizzle a touch of sesame oil over the top.  It's a nice finishing touch.  Bon Appetit!

A bientot!  See you soon.

The Rock - Phase III

The planting is complete around the rock.  Now we just wait for everything to grow mature, and I think it will be beautiful.

The day it arrived.

 After Arms cut the circle around it.

 Now, with the flowers all planted.

A bientot!  See you soon.

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin And The Reinvention Of Leftovers

UD and I love pork tenderloin, and I suggested having it again the other night.  UD said "What else can we do with it, besides just grilling it?".  That gave me pause.  What to do, what to do.  Stuff it!  That's the ticket.

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I decided to stuff it with spinach, mushrooms and Peccorino Romano cheese.  I pulled out a box of Green Giant spinach and defrosted it in the microwave.

I wrapped it in a clean dish towel and squeezed every bit of water out of it.  Then I separated it so that it would spread out evenly on the pork.

I sauteed the mushrooms in Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

When they were just about browned, I added the Kosher salt and ground black pepper.

Pork tenderloin usually comes packaged with two tenderloins, so I vacuum sealed the second one and started butterflying the one we were using that night.  Cut into the tenderloin length-wise, without cutting all the way through.  It should open like a book. 

Put some parchment paper over the butterflied pork and pound it with the smooth side of a mallet.  I pounded until it was between a 1/4 and a 1/2 inch thick. 

I put the spinach down first.  Don't place the stuffing layers right up to the edge, or it will seep out when you start rolling it.

Then the Peccorino Romano cheese.

And the final layer was the mushrooms.

Roll it up as tightly as you can without having the stuffing come out the sides.

I had soaked some toothpicks in cold water for about 15 minutes, so they wouldn't burn while the pork was cooking.  Be generous with the toothpicks, so it stays perfectly rolled up.  I covered it with plastic wrap and left it in the fridge until I was ready for UD to grill it.

I moved onto the side dishes, which were left-overs from my disappointing attempt at the roasted bone-in, skin on chicken breasts.

Since the sweet potatoes were already cooked through, I started with the Idaho potatoes.  I placed those, with the already cooked onion, in a pan over medium heat, with EVOO and a dab of butter.

When they were cooked through, I added the sweet potatoes and heated everything through.  They were delicious after becoming hash browned potatoes.

Then I took the undercooked asparagus and laid it out on a tin foil lined cookie sheet and cooked them for 5 minutes at 425 degrees.  I pulled them out of the oven and turned them over and cooked for another 5 minutes.  They were perfectly done now.

I tossed some mushrooms I had saved from the stuffing, with the asparagus.

I went out back and cut a few sprigs of parsley.  I am so happy I started growing Herbs this year.  They make such a difference.  You can actually taste the freshness.

I chopped it up, and put it aside for garnish.

UD did wonders on the grill.  He said he used a medium high temperature, and turned the pork often.

Dinner was served!

Bon Appetit. 

A bientot!  See you soon.