ADVENTURES IN DOMESTICITY: Pot Roast Edition

First, I should note that TAHLAH's recipe for the Ultimate Pot Roast differed slightly on the Food Network website versus what he did on his show. As such, I pretty much stuck to what he did on TV. Plus, I cross referenced with Ina Garten's Company Pot Roast, just for good measure. As you know, I'm wont to follow the Barefoot Contessa in such ordeals, but I wasn't quite in the mood for something as decadent; so I really only took one or two elements, which you'll see. Nevertheless, let's get on with the pics.

I forgot to take pics in the very beginning; so you all missed the exciting process of seasoning the meat with salt and pepper and heating up some oil in the new pot. Needless to say, it was thrilling. Here's the chuck roast browning on one side.

BEEF.

Prepping the vegetables: yellow onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and mushrooms. I almost bought leeks à la Garten, but I didn't find any at Fresh & Easy.

So far so good: solid browning action!

After both sides are browned, I commence Operation: Veggie Drop.

In go the mushrooms etc. I should note that online, Tyler's recipe calls for two garlic cloves, but on the show, he took an entire head of garlic, sliced it in half and dropped it in the pot. I obviously opted for the latter approach.

Reenacting The Crucible with thyme. Actually, I tied it in a bundle so as not to be fishing for stems later (another technique taken from Ina's recipe).

Next up: one can of crushed tomatoes — you know, to give it that "I just got stabbed in the abdomen and bled all over this pot" look. The can I used was mixed with basil — it was the only one I could find. It was perfectly fine.

Finally, I added salt, pepper, and a cup of wine. Tyler claimed that water would be fine because there was enough acidity in the tomatoes, but I went with Ina on this one, and I'm glad I did. The wine added a real depth of flavor, as Ina likes to say. Plus, it smelled fantastic. (I used cheapo Two Buck Chuck)

Lid on. Temperature low. Let the waiting commence.

An hour and a half later, the pot roast resembles a stew. The meat is nowhere near tender.

An hour later, the liquid has reduced slightly and the meat is still a bit firm.

I then check back ten minutes later, and all of a sudden, the beef is falling apart all over the place. Time to get this bad boy plated.

Oh yeah, I made some cornbread from scratch on the side whilst waiting for the braising to finish.

I then remove the roast to a plate so I can carve a few slices off for dinner.

All signs point to success...

I mean, if that's not mouthwatering, I don't know what is (although, I suppose vegetarians might be nauseous at the sight of this).

And the verdict? Surprisingly excellent! I couldn't believe how good this pot roast turned out. There were so many flavors, it was super moist, and best of all, it wasn't too tomatoey, which is my usual gripe about the dish. And let me tell you something else: it was crazy rich. I could only eat half of the portion I had allotted myself. I'll certainly have dinner for the next few nights. The recipe actually called for a three to four pound cut; so imagine if I had made that. I would have been eating for two weeks.

In terms of the sauce, after I removed the roast to sit for a bit, I turned the heat up on the stove and reduced the sauce a little. I then just poured it and some of the veggies over the meat. Tyler recommends straining the veggies out, and Ina recommends doing half and half. I kept it simple. The only thing is that you have to remember to pull out that garlic paper. I forgot to and bit into a whole bunch of it, which resulted in the egregious offense of spitting it out onto my plate. A minor inconvenience.

Anyway, if you have three hours to spare, I definitely recommend this dish. Oh, and the cornbread was good too.