Grandpa's Home Cooking

Irish Beef Stew

Farmers Market, Dingle, Ireland, August 2011

I wanted to make a good Irish Stew as soon as soon as we returned home from Ireland. How nice it would have been to buy the ingredients at the Dingle, Ireland, Farmers Market. But I found great local produce here in Durham, North Carolina.

I didn't have an Irish Stew recipe that suited me, but I found one on the Internet and then adapted it to make the stew I had in mind. Here are the ingredients I bought to make the stew. 

Ingredients:

• 8-10 nice firm red potatoes cut in bite-size chunks
• 6 carrots, peeled, sliced into thick chunks
• 4 stalks celery, cut in chunks
• 4 bay leaves
• 3 pounds stew beef (chuck) cut into bite-size chunks 
• 1 cup flour, put into a bowl to roll meat
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder
• olive oil
• 1 large onion , diced
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 32 ounce box of beef broth
• 1 envelope of onion soup mix
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 (12 ounce) Irish beer (A stout is nice!)

Note that some Irish farm folks might use lamb instead of beef as thousands of sheep can be seen as you drive through the beautiful contryside of quilted emerald green fields. They also raise beef, but you see more sheep than cows as you drive through the country. Tis lovely! 

Instructions:

This recipe requires a large crock pot and will provide at least 10 servings, so you may wish to halve the recipe. And it is good enough to have!

Put your vegetable chunks in the bottom of your crock pot. All those pretty potatoes, carrots, and celery.  Throw 2 bay leaves on top.

Pour a couple of Tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet, set it on a burner of your stove and turn the heat to a medium setting. Mix the flour salt, pepper, and garlic pepper in a bowl.  Coat each chunk of beef in flour and brown the  chunks of beef. You'll likely need to brown the meat in 3 batches. Add more olive oil to the skillet for each batch.  Toss the browned beef into the  crock pot. Keep the skillet hot.

Add the onion and garlic to the same skillet and saute the onions until they're translucent. Then scoop the onions into the crock pot. Then pour a little beef broth in the skillet to deglaze the pan, making sure to scrape up the brown bits and pour these goodies in the crock pot.

Mix the remaining beef broth with the tomato sauce, onion soup mix, and remaining seasonings. Add this goodness to your crock pot. Now pour a nice 12 ounce Irish beer intpo the crock pot. If you figure you need a little more liquid, you can open a second beer. Pour a little into the crock pot and drink the rest!

Now you can cook the stew in your crock pot for 8 lovely hours and sniff your day away getting hungrier and hungrier for a golden bowl of Irish Stew. If you don't have 8 hours, start the crock pot on the high setting for an hour or so and then turn it down to low.

Serve this with Brown Irish soda bread. If you don't have the time to bake the bread, eat the stew with a crusty peasant bread.  Serve the stew with your favorite beverage and enjoy!

Two pictures follow; 1) the Irish Stew and, 2) a picture from an Irish Pub where you might order a similar stew and enjoy some traditional Irish music while you're eating.

These locals gather at one pub just about every night to make lovely music. The guy on the drum uses about a 4" bone rod wedged between the little index finger (over his 2nd and 3rd finger) and moves his hand back and forth rapidly to make 2 beats and does it so fast that your eyes can't follow it. He is very, very good. Many, if not most, Irish play instruments and sing. There are pubs all over the place and about all of them offer traditional Irish music every night. This is an Ennis pub. We stayed in Ennis one night in route to Dingle. Ennis is a nice small, old fashioned Irish town.  Notice that one person was drinking a beer, 3 were drinking coffee, and 1 an orange juice. A good deal more patrons were drinking a Guinnis, but a t surprising number of customers were drinking coffee or a soft drink. Pubs are family places in Ireland. You'll see children their with their parents. We heard two little Irish girls, one in each of  two pubs, rise to sing a ballad to the customers. I didn't see any tipsy people in any of the many Irish pubs we visited.

Just A Monday Night Pot Roast

So what makes this roast different than your exquisite Sunday pot roast? Well, that you prepared a delicious pot roast to make Monday night special. It is also a simple meal to prepare. This pot roast was slo-roasted in my cast iron Dutch oven and in a 325 degree oven. And, the flavor of this roast was sensational.

Note: If you're only cooking for one,  you can 1) make yourself a complete pot roast. Eat what you want and freeze the extra servings. Thaw and warm the extra servings when you want them, or 2) roast a steak in a small Dutch oven, using the same ingredients, and roast either in the oven or a mini-crock pot.  Yeah, they make  and sell small crock pots for single folks. 

I browned all sides of the perfectly marbled chuck roast in my well seasoned Dutch oven.  Then I added all of the layers of flavor. I used my big fork to raise the roast enough to fill the bottom of the pot with chopped Vidalia onion. I then poured all of the liquid ingredients on the roast. Then I tucked the vegetables around the side of the meat. This resulted in a beautiful presentation and a delicious roast. I covered the Dutch oven with my cast iron lid and slid the pot into my pre-heated 325 degree oven at 2:00 pm. I forgot the pot until 6:00 pm when I took it from the oven, removed the lid, and smiled. Picture perfect. But the real reward was when we started eating the roast. There were a lot of "Oh this is delicious" remarks from those about the table.

It is important to select a well-marbled chuck roast. Don't buy too lean a roast or you'll likely serve a tough piece of meat. And I avoid picking up a roast with big chunks of fat. I look for a piece of meat that has nice thin lines of fat throughout the beef. If you don't see what you want, ask the butcher to show you "a nicely marbled roast." They'll find one!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3-4lb well-marbeled chuck roast. A 4 lb roast is pictured.
• 1 large onion, chopped (I like sweet whites, but yellow onions are also good)
• 1 10 oz can of cream of celery soup
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup water
• lavishly pour Kitchen Bouquet (liquid gold!) over the meat*
• 4 stalks celery, cut in 1-2 inch chunks
• 3-4 leeks or large green onions
• flour
• salt and pepper

* Never forget to use the Kitchen Bouquet 'gravy mix' that great grandma, grandma, and your mother used to make pot roasts! You'll likely find it on the sauce aisle of your supermarket (but not at Whole Foods). You got to go Krogering or to the Food Lion to buy Kitchen Bouquet's liquid gold. They better never quit selling this good stuff!

Instructions:

Put enough flour in a pan or on a plate to coat all sides of the beef. Press each of the four sides of the beef into flour. Salt and pepper the meatboth sides of the floured meat. Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven and put the pan on a medium hot stove burner. Brown all sides of the meat. Add the liquids. Arrange vegetables around the sides of the roast. Cover the Dutch oven and slide it into a preheated 325 degree oven.  Remove the pan from the oven in 4 hours. The roast should look beautiful and perfectly cooked and ready to carve and eat.

I set the Dutch oven on a straw pad on the table and cut and serve the meat and vegetables each person's plate at the table. We pass the serving bowls of mashed potatoes and sweet baby peas and eat the delicious Monday night meal to kick off the beginning of another happy week.

 

Kabobs!

Here's a great way to make everyone happy, happy, happy. Marta will not eat salmon or fish. Period. But she loves chicken, chicken, and chicken! Grandma loves salmon, all kinds of fish, and will occasionally tolerate beef, including steak. Grandpa loves steak! We all love vegetables. So grandpa fixed up this meal to give everyone what they like, so that everyone will be happy, happy, happy.

From the top of the picture down we have a salmon kabob, a chicken kabob, a NY strip steak kabob:-), and a family kabob of extra vegetables and chicken.

How hard is this? Not. This cooking project requires that you first broil one side of the chicken, steak, and vegetable kabob. Use your tongs to turn the kabobs to the flip side when the first side is cooked perfectly. Then add the salmon kabob to the rack (because fish doesn't require as much time to cook). You can cook both sides of the salmon kabob while the flip side of all of the other kabobs cook. When you see the first side of the salmon kabob cooked, flip it over to the second side. And when all of the kabobs are perfect use your hot pads to pull the pan out of the broiler.

And wala! All four kabobs are cooked perfectly and are ready to serve at the same time! 

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/2 inch strip of salmon fillet (a Whole Foods/other store fishmongers are delighted to cut only as much as you request).*
• 1/2 of a skinless boneless chicken breast (ditto Whole Foods/other meat cutters are delighted to cut and wrap only what you want).* 
• 1 NY strip steak
• 1 large onion cut into large pieces
• 1 Orange and/or yellow pepper cut into large portions
• 1 Green bell pepper cut into large portions
• Seasonings (Marta loves Toronto Rub which is pictured on her chicken kabob, Grandma wants just a little salt, and Grandpa wants his mix of salt, pepper, and garlic powder.)
• wood or metal kabob skewers (available at most stores) 

* If your store fish or meat counter is not staffed, ring for a butcher. Ask them to cut a package open and cut and package only what you want. I've yet to find one who hasn't been happy and/or agreed to cut and package only what you need!

Instructions:

Preheat range broiler.

Add sections of meat or fish and vegetables to kabob skewers.  Set the kabobs on a metal rack on a broiler pan or in a dish as shown in the picture. Broil one side of the meat and vegetable kabobs until the food is well done. Use your tongs to turn the kabobs. Add the uncooked salmon kabob to the broiler rack. Cook both sides of the fish kabob while the flip side of meat and vegetables cook. When all of the kabobs are broiled, use your tongs to move the skewers to a sering platter and serve immediately.

You can bet that our cat, Frisky:-), wasn't sitting in "Frisky's big chair" when this meal was served. She was at her usual place on the floor by Grandpa's feet, looking up wantonly in my eyes every time I looked down. Here's Frisky all nice and cozy in her big chair.

 

 

 

Fabulous Sandwiches On 2 Buns

Hey Joe, don't call 'em Sloppy. Try Fabulous! Put this elegant meat and vegetables with sauce combination between the two halves of a hamburger bun, plate it, and dine on gourmet. This gourmet burger will expose the ahhh ... industry standard fast food sandwich ... to be the awful cardboard burgers they are. You must also know this meat and vegetable with sauce ... provides 2 fabulous sandwich options. For the second option, trying spooning this gourmet burger combination on a hot dog tucked into a delicious bun and WOW ... the kids and adults will go nuts. Plate up either or both sandwiches with chips (the one that you can't eat just one) and an ice cold diet cherry Pepsi and ...  ♫Do da, do da ...shake on over here with another of those super sandwiches♫

But. Wait a minute. Add an optional can of pinto beans to the recipe and kick this dish up at least one notch. You can still serve the combo on sandwich buns or plate some as a meat dish.

An added attraction: Dip into your Seasoning Jar and dust a little seasoning on top of your meat and sauce. (The Seasoning Jar is a canning jar containing a mix of 1 cup of salt, 1/4th cup of coarse black pepper, and 1/4th cup of garlic powder.)

Yes! Your family will love this meal. This meal could become a Friday night special!

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 pound of 80/20 ground chuck (leaner if you like, but a little fats good)
• 1 medium size yellow or white onion, chopped to provide large chunks (see photo above)
• 1 medium size green bell pepper, chopped to provide large chunks (see photo above)
• 1 can pinto beans, drained of juice (optional)
• 1 can (15.5 oz) Hunt's Manwich Sauce (also contains vegetables)
• Hamburger and/or hot dog buns
• Cooked hot dogs (optional to provide 2 sandwich choices)

Instructions:

Brown the beef in a sauté skillet. Drain off the grease. I put a large colander in the sink and pour or spoon the burger into the colander. Momentarily set the cooked meat aside.

Use the same skillet to lightly sauté  the onions and green peppers. (Look at the picture above. You want the vegetables to be large chunks and lookin' good when you return the beef to the skillet.) Return the meat to the skillet and use a spatula to mix the beef and vegetables well.

Season the meat and vegetables with salt, coarse black pepper, and garlic powder (use the combined seasonings from your mixed seasoning jar ... refer to the above). 

Spoon the meat, vegetables, and sauce on sandwich buns. Serve immediately. 

Standing Rib Roast

There is nothing to compare with the taste of a delicious standing rib roast. But prime roasts are pricey, so when you splurge make sure you get a good piece of meat. I suggest you go to a good butcher and be specific in communicating your needs. Be generous in ordering a roast to serve your guests and family.

If you want a lean cut, ask for a lean cut. I don't ask for a lean cut and here is why. You really need some fat to get a juicy, tender roast. I tell the butcher I wish to have "a well marbled roast." This should tell the butcher you want enough fat on top and within the grain of the meat for the roast to be tender, juicy, and flavorful. The rest is up to you. Cook it long enough that it fits the taste of the people at your table, but not so long that it is overcooked.

If you demand a lean cut, expect to eat tough meat. 

First decide first on how much roast to buy. A general guideline is that you'll serve two people to a rib. Therefore, a three rib roast will serve about 6 people. 

Chefs like to serve a roast medium rare. However, most people will say they want the meat to be cooked medium, medium well, or well done. You'll often have at least one person who'll say, "Well done." So you might ask, "How can I satisfy everyone?" You may not, but here is my suggestion for coming close.

First. I suggest you not attempt to cook a pricey roast without using a digital meat thermometer. I would cook the roast until the middle is done to a temperature of 145-150 degrees. If more people ask for medium well, roast the meat until the temperature of the middle of the roast is about 155 degrees. 

Start roasting the meat at 425 degrees for 15 minutes to sear the roast and then drop the temperature to 325 degrees. I start taking temperature readings when the meat has been in the oven for about an hour. Take frequent readings. I've discovered that if the center is cooked to medium, the end pieces will be cooked to medium well or near well done. Cut and serve to your guests accordingly. Give end slices to those who prefer well-done meat. 

This plan usually works for me and it may or may not work for you. It is a challenge to meet everyones wish. It's much easier for a chef at a restaurant who can selectively heat portions of roasts to the desired doneness. 

If you want some more precise instructions and don't mind wading through a lot of detail, you might wish to refer to  http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beef/ClassicPrimeRib.htm. This site provides some nice charts to help you select your meat and determine how long to cook the meat.

Here are some do's and don'ts.

• Do rub the meat with olive oil.

• Don't salt the meat because salt draws the moisture out of meat when you roast. You don't want that. You'd like a juicy roast. Let your guests salt and pepper their meat to taste at the table.

• If you're tempted to trim fat off the roast, I'd wait until after the meat is roasted. The roast needs to be roasted with fat to make it juicy and delicious. 

• Do stand the roast bone on the rack above a pan containing about an inch of water or white wine.

• Buy roasts when they are on sale and freeze them to thaw and roast for special occasions. 

I roasted the meat pictured to medium well and was enjoyed by all. I like to roast enough meat for everyone to have their fill. If some is leftover, that's fine ... it can be sent home with guests or served at a second or even a third meal. My preference is to serve the whole roast at the table. Slice half or more than half of the roast and leave the knife on the platter. 

I like to serve mashed potatoes, green vegetable, and a nice salad with this meal.

Grandpa's Chili, Famous Since 1949

Everyone, it seems, has their own chili recipe. And many think their chili is the best! I’m not an exception. I came up with this chili recipe in 1949. After I got home from school, mother called me from her office and said, "Son, I'm tired, I don't suppose you'd like to make a pot of chili for the family dinner." I jumped at the chance. She knew I loved to cook and that I had watched her make chili many times. But I took this opportunity to make the chili the way I wanted and invented the following recipe. I'd be very surprised if anyone makes chili like I do. But you ought try it, you might really like it.

Ingredients:

• 28.5 ounce can of original Hunts Diced Tomatoes
• 15 ounce can Hunts Tomato Sauce
• 1 can of Campbell’s Tomato Soup (an 8-year old's addition and I still use it)
• 2 cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed in a colander
• 2-3 large carrots, diced
• 4 stalks of celery, remove the strings and  slice
• Chopped leaves from one stalk of celery
• Large sweet onion, diced
• Water
• 1½ pounds of ground chuck
• Bunch green onions, diced
• Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• Salt and fresh ground pepper
• A few shakes of Tobasco sauce, (or Cholula Sauce)

Mom used a little chili powder when she thought I wasn't looking and wouldn't notice.  A kid wouldn't use chili powder or hot sauce in 1949. Now I like to use Mexican Cholula sauce because it has a wonderful bright tomato taste.

This pot ought to provide 12 large servings.

Instructions:

Pour the diced tomatoes, 2-3 cans of water, tomato sauce, tomato soup, kidney beans, carrots, celery, sweet onion, onion, salt, and freshly ground pepper in a 4 qt or stock pot, and begin to heat the ingredients using a moderate setting (lower the setting if the soup starts boiling). Stir now and then.

Meanwhile, crumble and lightly brown meat in a skillet. Add salt and pepper to taste. As the meat begins to brown, add the chopped green onions, and about 5 healthy shakes of Worcestershire sauce. When the meat is browned, pour the contents of the skillet in a colander to drain off as much grease as possible. Then pour the meat mixture into the soup pot, add the spices and a couple of shots of Cholula sauce (if desired).

Finish heating until the chili is ready to be served.

I like to serve the chili with both soda crackers and club crackers and I always butter my crackers. I know. The Fat Police be on you if they catch you doing this! When I was a kid, I'd lather the butter on the cracker and then I'd spoon some of the soup solids on top and it it:-) You can't take the boy out of some men.

Now I want to tell you of something good that you can do. Make a big pot of this for folks living in an Independant Living Facility. Divide the contents of the pot into freezer containers and freeze the chili. When folks don't feel like going down to the dining room now and then, they can take a container out of their freezer, thaw it, heat it in their microwave and have a fine dinner. Provide thawing and heating instructions. 

You going to have a crowd for dinner. Make as much chili as you'll need. This is a fine meal for a crowd. They'll love being served this chili on a cold winter's night. Serve some Merlot with it, or ice cold milk if that's what your crowd might like. A glass of ice cold milk goes great with this chili.

Liver and Onions

Liver and onions were a favorite supper in my family when I was a boy. My wife said it was also a favorite meal in her family. You have to love a home cooked dinner of delicious liver and onions.

It's hard to get a good photograph of the goodness and wonderful flavor of calves liver and onions. I fixed up this plate so you'd see both the liver and the onions. Of course, when you serve it, you need to have enough caramelized onions to cover the liver.

Ingredients:

• Flour
• Calf or lamb liver (as much liver as your family can eat)
• 6 or more large onions, halved and sliced thin (I use sweet onions)
• Olive oil (you don't need extra virgin to fry!)
• 1/2 stick of butter to cook the onions; and another 1/2 stick to cook the liver 
• Salt
• Pepper
• Heavy skillet (I like to use my cast iron skillet.)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven for warming (I use 285 degrees) 

Preheat a skillet just above medium. Pour enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet (about 4-6 Tablespoons should do it). Drop 1/2 stick of butter in the skillet and mix it in with the olive oil. 

Put the sliced onions in the skillet. Use your spatula to toss the onions to get them all coated with butter. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the onions. Cook the onions, stirring them only now and then, until they are golden brown (caramelized). This should take about 30-40 minutes. The onions will be nice and soft and sticky. Turn the onions out into a glass baking dish and put it in the oven to keep them warm.

Pour a sufficient amount of flour in a glass dish to coat all of your liver (likely 2 cups or more of flour). 

Wipe out the skillet and return it to the hot burner. Coat the bottom of the skillet with olive oil. Toss another 1/2 stick of butter into the skillet.

Turn each side of each piece of liver in the flour to cover both sides well. Shake off the excess flour and lay all of the liver in the hot skillet. Salt and pepper the meat. Cook the first side for about 4 minutes. Peek under a piece now and then and if the heat's too high, turn it down. Turn the liver over and cook the other side for 3-4 minutes. Salt and pepper the second side. When the liver looks done, use a paring knife to cut into a piece of liver to make sure it's cooked well. If you still see blood, leave the liver in the skillet for another minute or so. The meat is thin, so more often than not, 4 minutes on each side is an adequate amount of time to cook liver.

Turn the liver out to a beautiful platter. Use your hot mitts to pull the hot onion dish from the oven and then cover the liver with the onions. Set the hot liver and onions, mashed potatoes, vegetable, hot yeast rolls 'n butter, Cholula sauce, and salt and pepper on the table and holler, "Y'all come!"

Meat Loaf 2010

I prepared and we ate and enjoyed this meat loaf for our dinner last night. Whether or not you use my ingredients, there are within my recipe a couple of tips that will enhance your meat loaf. Mix the meat loaf in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. You'll be surprised at how smooth and nice the finished product will be. Also, use a meat loaf mix of fresh ground beef, pork, and veal. At Whole Foods, you'll find it in the refrigerator case near the butcher's meat counter.

I wanted to update my tried and true meat loaf recipe to come up with a contemporary 2010 recipe. Use my ingredients, or do as I did and look in your refrigerator to see what might add flavor to the meat loaf.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients: 

• 1/3 pound ground chuck
• 1/3 pound ground pork
• 1/3 pound of ground veal
• 1/3 cup celery, sliced thin
• 1/3 cup onion, chopped (I like Vidalia or green pencil onions)
• 1/4 cup carrots, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes, (from a jar of sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil)
• 3 eggs
• Dry bread crumbs, plain or 365 brand Italian style bread crumbs w/seasonings
• Thick Thomas Sauce (or barbecue sauce)
• Water, enough for a 1/2 inch collar to surround the meat loaf in the baking pan 
• Ketchup (for the table)
• Salt (for the table)
• Pepper (for the table)

Instructions:

Put the meat loaf mix of ground meats in your mixing bowl. Add the celery, onion, carrots, and the olive-oil-softened sun-dried tomatoes to the bowl. Break the eggs, and add the egg whites and yolks to the mix. Use your mixmaster with the paddle attachment to mix the ingredients. Slowly add and mix in the bread crumbs until the mix clumps. Use your hands to mold the ingredients into a loaf, and place it in a baking dish. Use the side of your hand to make a lengthwise crease in the meat loaf. Fill the crease with a generous amount of thick barbecue or Thomas sauce to overflowing. Add the water to surround the meat with a 1/2 inch collar. Cover the meat with aluminum foil and put the baking dish in the 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Remove the cover and return the baking dish to the oven for 30 minutes to finish baking and brown the top of the meat.

Serve the meat loaf with mashed potatoes and a vegetable. I took the easy route last night and baked potatoes with the meat loaf. (Both will need to bake for 1 1/2 hours.) Have butter (or Brummel & Brown yogurt spread), sour cream, and chopped green onions on hand for potato toppings. If you want to make mashed potatoes, I use the microwavable Simply (brand) mashed potatoes that you'll only find at Harris Teeter (here in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area). The Bob Evans brand comes in 2nd and most stores sell them. You'll not find any at Whole Foods. I love to cook, but the prepared mashed potatoes are so good that I'd just as soon not go to the trouble to cook and mash potatoes. If you really want to make it an easy meal, bake white or sweet potatoes at the same time you bake the meat loaf. Be sure to use a fork to prick holes (steam vents) around the potatoes to keep them from exploding in your oven.

For dessert, I'd recommend serving my twice baked cherry pie! I'll post the recipe to my blog soon. Stay tuned to Grandpa's Home Cooking. And please forward the link for my blog to all of your friends. I'd love to have bunches of people tuning in and sending me their comments. I've recently heard from several people who tried my French Basil Eggs and reported them to be delicious! These comments add to the pleasure of my doing the blog.

A note about the sun-dried tomatoes: Pick of a jar of sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil. This is a versatile ingredient that I often use in my cooking. For example, you might start thinking about home made bruschetta to serve as an appetizer with a glass of Italian wine. Oh yeah, this is a definite yum!  Yeah, I'll post a recipe for this one of these days.

Here is a picture of grandpa (left) before I became a grandpa, pictured while working on site in Honolulu, Hawaii. The other fellow was a work colleague. This picture was taken on a day off and just before Nancy flew out to meet me. When Nancy arrived, we flew to Maui and were married before a district court judge in Wailuku. My how time passes. 

 

  

Pot Roast

Mom often put a pot roast in the oven before we went to church on Sunday morning. From the time she put the pot of meat and vegetables in the oven my mind frequently drifted to thinking about how good that Sunday dinner was going to be. Nowadays I love to make a pot roast for my family and hope they'll like it as much as I did when I was a boy. We ate the pictured roast for our Sunday dinner last night. Here's my recipe followed by some suggestions and my favorite 1920's picture of Mom. You'll see that she was a stylish little girl:

Ingredients:

• 3-4 pound well-marbled chuck roast
• 4 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled and split lengthwise
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 1-2 boxes of beef stock
• Bunch of fresh carrots, with stalks and roots trimmed
• 1-1/2 pounds of red potatoes, quartered
• 1/2 pound small turnips, quartered
• Kitchen Bouquet (we call it, liquid gold)
• Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4th cup chopped dried soup vegetables or onion dip mix
• Dutch oven (I love my cast iron Dutch oven)

Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Use a sharp knife and make slits in the meat to insert the 8 pieces of garlic. Rub the roast with olive oil (top, bottom, and sides). Season the entire roast with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over a medium hot burner. When the skillet is hot, sear (brown) all sides of the roast. Transfer the roast to a Dutch oven. Pour 3/4ths of the box of beef stock over the roast. Pour a generous amount of Worcestershire sauce and Kitchen Bouquet over the roast. Sprinkle the top of the roast with dried soup vegetables. Cover the roast and put it in the hot oven. Cook for 3 1/2  hours. While the meat is roasting, put the vegetables in a mixing bowl. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and toss them to cover them with oil. Add salt and pepper. After the initial 3 1/2 hour roasting of the meat, put the vegetables under the meat and return the pot to the oven for another 1 1/2 hours (if necessary, add some more beef stock). The meat and the vegetables should be done. If not, return the pot to the oven for another 30-40 minutes.

Suggestions:

Ask the butcher for a nicely marbled chuck roast. The butcher will roll his/her eyes up into their head if you ask for a lean chuck roast, for they'll know that you're going to be eating shoe leather. You have to have enough fat for the meat to be tender and flavorful. My daughter, Marta, likes to ask for a large well-marbled chuck roast. She knows enough about this recipe to pick the right piece. And she asks for a large piece so that we'll have enough leftover to have the roast 2 nights in a row. She loves this dinner so much that she asks for it on her birthday and her "Got-cha Day" (adoption day)." If you have difficulty finding Kitchen Bouquet go to the gravy and sauce section of a Food Lion or a Kroger. Ignore recipes which call for a teaspoon or tablespoon, Just unscrew the cap and pour that flavorful sauce all over the top of the meat. Ditto the Worcestershire sauce! I much prefer seasoning the meat with the Frontier dried soup mix from the Whole Foods bulk spice section. If you can't find it, use a dry onion dip vegetable mix.

You may have noticed roasted beets in the picture on the right side of the platter. I love roasted beets. Roast them in a separate dish. Peel the beets and toss them in olive oil. Add salt and pepper and bake them for an hour in the 325 degree oven.

Here is my favorite picture of my Mom when she was a little girl. Wasn't she stylish!