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.