Cookerati

Even though I work out of my home, I don’t always have time to cook a really nice meal. Yeah, I can whip up some spaghetti or a stir fry, but sometimes I want my man to come home to something a  little more special. My crockpot pot roast is a little more special than our average week day meals, but it doesn’t take a whole lot of extra time to make.

As this is my own recipe, I can’t give you exact measurements, but I’ll try and get as close as I can. Besides, cooking is all about tweaking and making your own.

Ingredients:

• 1 roast suitable for potting (I’m using a top round)
• A couple of cups sliced mushrooms
• Half dozen shallots, sliced very thin
• 4 to 6 large carrots
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 cup dry red wine (I’m using a Cabernet today)

The Nitty Gritty:

1. While heating up a frying pan (make it really hot, folks) cut fat off the roast and rub in some salt and pepper. Add some olive oil to the hot pan, let it sit a bit, then add the roast, browning all sides at high heat.
2. While roast is browning, add wine, beef broth, shallots and mushrooms to the crockpot and turn on high. When roast is browned, add that to the pot as well. Leave on high for one hour, then shoot it to low for a good six to eight hours until tender.
3. At just about two hours left, make a roux by melting two teaspoons of butter and mixing two teaspoons of flower to form a paste. Mix it into the gravy to thicken. Chop carrots and add to the pot.

That’s it. Cook until tender. I sometimes add potatoes, but we also like to make mashed potatoes and use all that tasty gravy.  Note: If yo have a seven year old son, he’ll probably prefer canned gravy or ketchup.

Now, if Diana was making this, she’d probably shred the meat. I’m not a big fan of shredded meat, however. So I slice it and arrange it on a platter with a healthy drizzle of the gravy over top.  If you make it, tell us how you served it for your family and friends – and how well it went over.

Enjoy!