New Year's Eve Pot Roast

If you've read much of this blog, you know I'm a big fan of the comfort food.  If you've ever seen me walking down the street, you know I'm a big fan of the comfort food, hahaha!  As I told my good friend JunBug a long time ago while in the process of ordering a huge breakfast at Peggy's Place at 2 a.m. after a little light beer drinking, (in a screeching, slightly defensive voice) "I didn't get this way by eatin' salads!"

This year for New Year's Eve, instead of going out on the town and ringing in 2012 with friends and booze, I opted to stay home and ring it in with dogs and food.  I had watched "Julie and Julia" for the first time that day, and I was tempted to try Julia Child's recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon.  But once I read the recipe, I realized that 4 p.m. was probably not the time to start such an undertaking.  I hadn't even been to the grocery store yet.   Plus I wasn't sure I would be able to find chunk bacon for the lardons in Podunk, USA.

What I mostly wanted was something involving beef and wine, and my big red dutch oven.  Enter Guy Fieri, and his recipe for his Mama's Pot Roast.  It turned out to be the right choice, even though it was almost 2012 by the time I got it finished.  Normally I do a pot roast in the slow-cooker with a little broth, carrots, onions, and potatoes.  But here, the addition of beef stock, wine, mushrooms, and shallots make it AMAZING!

The original recipe and instructions are here:   Guy Fieri's Family-Style Pot Roast Recipe.

Browned on all sides and ready for a long nap in the oven.

It all starts with a beautiful Chuck Roast.  The local supermarket had two different cuts of Chuck Roast; I opted for the Certified Angus Brand because it was a noticeably better looking cut of meat.  Probably quite a bit fattier, but absolutely delicious.  I threw some butter and olive oil in the Dutch Oven and browned the roast on all sides. Guy says to truss it up all fancy-like with some butcher's twine, but I just slapped it in there and let it sizzle.

Looking tasty with the addition of wine, beef stock and veggies.

Then I removed the roast and carmelized the onion & shallots, then added garlic & baby carrots.  I'm not a celery fan, so I skipped that part.  Stir in some tomato paste, deglaze with a little Zinfandel & beef stock, throw in some baby portbellas & fresh thyme, and you're ready to roast.



Finally, I put the roast back in and added some Baby Reds.  Shoved it in my poor old avocado green oven and said a little prayer as the oven rack bowed under the weight of all that cast iron.

Baby Reds, ready for the oven.

A little over 2 hours at 325 and it's cooked to comforting perfection.

Veggies instead of gravy. 

Guy tells you to blend the veggies and use them as gravy, but that sounded yucky to me, so I just skipped that part and dished it up as is.  It's plenty juicy and delicious. Yummy!!  Give it a try, and enjoy!