The Roast Debate

Since the beginning of my marriage there has been a great debate...the roast debate. My husband likes roast cooked in the crock pot with a can of cream of mushroom and Lipton onion soup mix. I like my roast cooked in a dutch oven with herbs and carrots and potatoes (recipe below). In the beginning, I always made roast his way; because I loved him and just wanted him to love what ever I cooked. But really I find his way rather dull and tasteless.

Well, a couple months ago I decided it was time. It was time to do it my way. Too bad if he didn't like it. After almost 4 years together, I deserved to have the roast my way. To my surprise, he loved it. He even admitted that it had much more flavor, while still being "fall-apart" tender.

I'm just thrilled that I can once again look forward to Sunday pot roast!


HERB STUFFED POT ROAST
(Recipe adapted from Cuisine at Home)

For the roast:
1 beef chuck pot roast (2 ½ - 3 lbs.)
3 T. fresh rosemary, chopped
2 T. garlic cloves, sliced
1 t. kosher salt
½ t. pepper
2 T. olive oil

For the sauce:
2 medium onions, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
1 T. tomato paste
¼ C. all purpose flour
3 C. beef stock
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. Dijon mustard
1 bay leaf

For the veggies:
2 C. baby red potatoes
2 C. Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Trim the exterior fat from the roast. Pat the meat dry.
3. Combine rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper.
4. Cut 1 inch deep slits into the meat with a paring knife, in several areas all over the roast. Stuff the herb mixture into the slits. Season the roast well on both sides with salt and pepper.
5. Heat oil in a large, oven proof pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear roast on all sides until well browned, 8-10 minutes. Transfer roast to a platter.
6. Sauté onions, celery, and diced carrots in the pan drippings, stirring often, until onions start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste; stir until it starts to brown on bottom of the pot. Stir in flour.
7. Deglaze the pot with beef stock. Scraping up any browned bits. Bring liquid to a boil; return seared roast to the pot. Cover pot, place in the oven, and braise for 2 hours.
8. Remove pot from the oven. Transfer roast to a platter. Strain sauce, discarding vegetables. Stir Worcestershire, Dijon, and bay leaf into sauce. Return sauce and roast to the pot.
9. Add potatoes and carrots to the pot. Cover pot; return roast to the oven. Cook until meat is fork-tender, 1-1 ½ more hours.
10. Remove from the oven and transfer roast and vegetables to a platter. Bring sauce to a simmer; skim off and discard fat. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
11. To serve, spoon sauce over pot roast and vegetables.