“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain
New Year’s Eve was a rather calm evening around here, we were invited to a friend’s home to share their casual evening with friends and of course good food…John and Janet put on a fine spread of goodies that included a wonderful hot crab soup and good pot of chili. We brought a bottle of a new-found crisp Rosatello Sparkling Rosé rose wine that despite some reviews of ” too sweet” I found not overly sweet and quite pleasant served with the crab soup.
Thanks again to John and Janet! We all had a safe and happy New Year’s Eve…
Roast submerged in all of the braising goodies…in the slow cooker
I chose to end a great year of cooking with another comfort food dish that so often gets a bad rap, but has many recipe versions as there are wonderful cooks that make it, the fabulous “pot roast”. Great with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and turnips instead of the usual garlic mashed potatoes…nice change.
I started out to make my favorite short ribs Provencal but ended up digging out a nice chunk of sirloin tip roast that stood in nicely for the short ribs and certainly made for a few good “pot roast” sandwiches for New Year’s Day lunches.
Find the FULL recipe with optional additions left column in Recipes, Recipe Category (Beef) *print option available.
2 tablespoons (or more) olive oil (had Herbs de Provence EVOO on hand) 3 pounds meaty beef short ribs or sirloin tip roast (browned) 1/2 large onion, finely chopped 1 large carrot, peeled finely chopped 1 celery stalk, finely chopped 6 whole garlic cloves, peeled, leave whole 2-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon dried herbes de Provence, more after tasting last 25 minutes 1-1/2 cups Zinfandel wine or Cabernet Sauvignon with just a hint of oak
16 ounces canned pizza ready tomatoes in juice or diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
Sautéed pearl onions à la Julia
Preheat oven to 325°F. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Season ribs with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add ribs to pot and brown well, turning often, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer ribs to large bowl.
I had about 2-3 tablespoons drippings left from browning the ribs, if not add enough olive oil to pot to measure 2-3 tablespoons. Add onion, chopped carrot, and celery and cook over medium-low heat until vegetables are soft, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, flour, and herbes de Provence; stir 1 minute. Add wine and broth; bring to boil over high heat, scraping up browned bits. Add tomatoes with juices bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Return ribs and accumulated juices to pot. If necessary, add enough broth to pot to barely cover ribs. Bring to boil.
Cover pot and transfer to oven. Bake until ribs are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours 25 minutes. Add about 1/2 cup broth, peeled carrots, and olives to pot; submerge carrots in the broth. Cover, return to oven and continue cooking at 350°F until carrots are tender, about 15-25 minutes. Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs.
