Pot Roast Truce

As most of you already know, I am pretty conflicted about Food Network. While I love Ina, Bobby Flay, Duff, and generally like Giada, I am not a fan of Rachel Ray ("yumm-o?" blech), Sandra Lee (artfully arranging store bought pie and serving a la mode is NOT cooking), and Paula Deen. Why hate on the sweet southern grandma, you may ask? Yes, she seems very kind and motherly, and the story of how she got her own show is actually really impressive, but I just cannot condone the fact that her staple ingredients are mayo and butter. Until... I came across this pot roast recipe during one of my red meat cravings. I've been looking for awhile now for a good, old-fashioned roast. When I saw that this one impressed Harry Connick Jr. and did not call for butter or mayo, I had to give it a shot. Pot roast for Easter dinner- why not?

Verdict: Simple, delicious, flavorful, and makes for great leftover sandwiches (I even ate one for breakfast :P). Highly recommended for anyone who is busy, feeding many, or just wanting a hearty meal of meat and veggies. So Paula, I declare a truce- hat's off to you!!!

Classic Pot Roast
(adapted from Paula Deen, FN)

• 1 (3 to 4-lb) round roast (less fatty than chuck roast)
  
• salt
• black pepper
• garlic powder
  
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup thinly sliced onion wedges
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup (I used low sodium, low fat)
  
• 1/4 cup red wine (Didn't have any on hand, so substituted with Chinese white wine)
  
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• beef stock (beef broth will also do)
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• carrots, thickly chopped
  

Directions:

*if using oven, preheat to 350 F.

1. Dry meat. Rub on all sides thoroughly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
2. Heat oil in large skillet and brown the roast, searing all sides. Place meat in roaster pan or in slow cooker pan.
3. Saute onions and garlic in same skillet for 1-2 minutes to absorb leftover roast juice. Also add a splash of wine to deglaze pan. Place over the beef.
4. Combine mushroom soup, wine, Worcestershire sauce and 3/4 cup beef stock in bowl. Pour over the roast. (**Note: if using slow cooker, liquid should cover about 2/3-3/4 of roast. Add more stock if needed).
5. Add potatoes and carrots to pan.
6. If using using oven- cover pan with foil and bake for 3 to 3 1/2 hours at 350 F or until meat is tender.
If using slow cooker, cook on low heat for 8 hours.
7. Serve. Meat should be tender and fall apart quite easily. (**Note: I found that the gravy needed to be a bit thicker when serving. To thicken, remove meat from pan and pour gravy into saucepan. Mix 2 TBS of cornstarch with a little cold water. Bring sauce to boil and thicken by adding cornstarch mixture. Stir constantly until consistency smooth).

















nothing says cross-cultural like pot roast served chinese-style, over rice!