Culinary Delights

Pot Roast

Posted on by Ang Anderson

I am a little embarrassed to admit that I have never made a pot roast.  Yes, that’s right.  I am (almost) 37 years old.  I have a husband.  I have been married for six years.  I have two children and one oven.  I have never, ever made a pot roast.   Until my favorite blogger and woman extraordinaire, Ree Drummond (also known as The Pioneer Woman) posted a recipe for the Perfect Pot Roast last week.  For some reason, Ree always manages to give me the courage I need to perform what seem to be extraordinary tasks.

First things first.  I needed a roasting pan.  I headed to our local store and grabbed a roasting pan.  (Now, this would also be your clue that I have never really roasted any meat.  Please don’t tell anyone.  I fear the culinary police may arrest me for negligence.)  I also hit up the local grocery store for a few of the necessary recipe items.  As luck would have it, I salvaged rosemary and thyme out of my herb garden just last week.  They are growing happily in the window sill above my kitchen sink.  I hope to keep them alive through the winter.  (Insert prayers for green-thumb-window-sill-magic here, please.)  This is a picture pre-roasting…

Wonderful smells wafted from my oven while the the inaugural roasting event took place.  I followed Ree’s instructions and just let it be.  I didn’t peek once.  I also followed her lead and made mashed pototaoes to accompany the roast.  Meat and potatoes man in the house?  Yes, ma’am.  Happy husband?  Yes, ma’am.

I am delighted to report that the meat was tender, juicy, and succulent.  Everything I would hope for my pot roast to be.

Who knew?  I can actually make pot roast.  Good pot roast.  (I don’t fear the culinary police quite as much now.)

I encourage you to give it a whirl.  It makes a perfect Sunday family dinner.

Click Here for Ree’s post which contains a lot more detail, with gorgeous step-by-step photos.  Enjoy!

Perfect Pot Roast

Ingredients

  • 1 whole (4 To 5 Pounds) Chuck Roast
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 2 whole Onions
  • 6 whole Carrots (Up To 8 Carrots)
  • Salt To Taste
  • Pepper To Taste
  • 1 cup Red Wine (optional, You Can Use Beef Broth Instead)
  • 2 cups To 3 Cups Beef Stock
  • 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste
  • 3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste

Preparation Instructions

First and foremost, choose a nicely marbled piece of meat.  This will enhance the flavor of your pot roast like nothing else.  Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast.

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or you can do a butter/olive oil split).

Cut two onions in half and cut 6 to 8 carrots into 2-inch slices (you can peel them, but you don’t have to). When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate.

Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.

If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.

With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up.

When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups).  Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.

Put the lid on, then roast in a 275F oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast).  For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours.

Banana Bread

Posted on by Ang Anderson

Our family is a bit into bananas. My husband enjoys eating the heck out of them. My children enjoy them now and again. I, myself, do not enjoy eating them. I find the texture a bit off putting. Due to the husband factor, finding two overly ripe bananas in my kitchen is truly a rare encounter. But it happened just last week. You may be thinking ‘if she doesn’t like bananas, why would she be interested in brown bananas?’. Well, dear friends, this means I get to bake. I don’t always bake. Only when the mood strikes and the conditions are right. In this case, the two ripe bananas and the autumn weather got the best of me.

Here she is in all her golden glory. Isn’t she gorgeous? I think one of her best assets is the smell she evokes while baking in the oven. My whole house smelled amazing. Banana bread in the oven and a gorgeous fall day. Just what nature intended.

I am pretty sure we all have recipes for the ever-delightful banana bread but this one is worth a try, if you are willing to deviate from your usual recipe. I skip the nuts because to be honest, my kids are not nutty about nuts. (That was a test to see how maybe times I could make reference to nuts in one sentence.) If I am feeling particularly naughty, I replace the aforementioned nuts with chocolate chips. I must have been feeling nice because I just baked a straight up plain version with no additions whatsoever.

Here is the Banana Bread recipe.

Bake for the love of bananas, the love of bread, or the love of amazing baking smells. Or all three. 😉

 

Muffin Buzz

Posted on by Ang Anderson

If you are looking for something to give you an energy boost this holiday weekend, may I suggest these delightful coffee-filled muffins?

If you are tired of drinking your caffeine and would prefer to indulge that addiction in muffin (or dare I say cupcake?) form, may I recommend these sweet little baked goods?

They are made with Starbucks VIA® Instant Coffee and will knock your socks off. Okay, I know it is technically still summer and you probably don’t have socks on. But if you do…well, let’s just say I didn’t warn you. I found the magical VIA® at my local Target store, which now has a Starbucks inside. *swoons for a minute*

Speaking of swooning…just look at this frosted muffin, which we can now officially crown as a glorious cupcake.

Psst…the frosting has VIA® Instant Coffee in it too, just in case the muffin alone wasn’t enough to beckon you.

And did I mention there are also chocolate chips? Here is a close up of the sweet little chocolatey bits before they were frosted up.

It’s been decided. She’s a tasty treat and good for a caffeine fix to boot, naked or dressed in frosting.

Here is the recipe, adapted slightly from The Tasty Kitchen’s post by nancypants

FOR THE MUFFINS:

  • 2 packages Starbucks VIA® Instant Coffee
  • ½ cups Warm Milk
  • ¼ cups Melted Butter
  • 1 whole Egg
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
  • 1 cup Flour
  • ⅓ cups Sugar
  • 1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 cup Chocolate Chips

FOR THE ICING (OPTIONAL):

  • ½ cups Butter, Softened
  • 2 cups Powdered Sugar, Or More As Needed
  • ½ teaspoons Vanilla
  • 1 package Starbucks VIA® Instant Coffee
  • 1 Tablespoon Boiling Water

Dissolve Starbucks VIA® instant coffee in warm milk. Stir and mash with a spoon up against the side of the bowl until instant coffee is completely dissolved. Next, add melted butter, egg, and vanilla and whisk until combined.

In another bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

Pour wet ingredients into a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir well to incorporate completely. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.  Fill muffin tins 2/3 full and bake at 375° for 17-20 minutes

For the Icing:

Start by beating together the butter, sifted powdered sugar (which you can use more than
two cups of to attain the right consistency) and vanilla. In a small bowl, mix the VIA® Instant Coffee together with the boiling water until coffee is dissolved.  Add it to the butter mixture and mix until fully incorporated.