Delicous Sunday

Wow, we just ate the best meal I have created in months! I am so very proud of myself! :-)

We started with Italian Pot Roast a from Cook's Illustrated Special Edition magazine- Best Recipes and reviews 2008.





This recipe was delicious, comforting, and flavorful. I have made countless pot roasts in my day, but always in the Crock-Pot the way my mom always made it. This was my first go round with cooking a pot roast in the oven and it turned out beautifully, served over egg noodles.







Italian Pot Roast

Serves 4 to 6

1 boneless chuck-eye roast (3.5 - 4 pounds)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

1 pound cremini or white mushrooms, quartered

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 (14.5- ounce) can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup water

1 cup red wine

1 large garlic heat, outer papery skins removed, then halved

1 large sprig fresh thyme

1 sprig fresh rosemary

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Pat the roast dry with paper towels and season with salt & pepper.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown the roast on all sides, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer the roast to a large plate. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the onions, celery, mushrooms, and tomato past until the vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, water, 1/2 of the wine, garlic and thyme. Return the roast and the accumulated juices to the pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Place a piece of foil over the pot, cover with the lid and transfer the pot to the oven.

Cook until the roast is just fork-tender, 2.5 to 3.5 hours, flipping the roast after 1 hour. Uncover the pot and let the roast rest in its juices for 30 minutes, skimming the surface fat after 20 minutes. Transfer the roast to a carving board and tent with foil. Remove and reserve the garlic head and skim the remaining fat from the pot. Add the remaining 1/2 cup wine to the pot, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook until the sauced begins to thicken, about 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, carefully squeeze the garlic from the halves and mash into a paste. Add the rosemary to the pot and simmer until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove the rosemary and thyme springs, stir in the mashed garlic, and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the meat against the grain into 1/2 inch thick slices, or pull it apart into large pieces. Place cooked egg noodles onto serving platter and top with meat and sauce.

For dessert, Blueberry Pie, YUMMY!!! It turned out excellent as well. I used the Basic Pie Dough from pg. 180 on Baking Illustrated. This is the same recipe I used for apple pie last weekend and it turned out wonderful again.







The filling was from pg. 444 of Martha Stewart Living Original Classics. The only modification made to the filling was I added the inside of one vanilla bean. I bought vanilla beans awhile back and have been trying to think of recipes to use them in before they get dry.









I will have to make blueberry pie again (what a tragedy) and try and figure out how to make the sauce a little bit thicker. It was rich and flavorful, but needs to be a bit thicker.



This was a fabulous Sunday! I cooked pretty much all day and enjoyed the spoils when it was all over, who could ask for more.