First Post

So this is my first blog post ever! I'm excited.
You can expect delicious recipes, photos and little tales from my life as a cook, mother and wife living here in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
I suppose I'll kick it off with a delicious pot roast entry.
Enjoy!!

This past Sunday I made, for the first time, a pot roast. It was a chilly fall day, we had an extra hour of light, and I yearned for those comforting Sunday dinners of my childhood.
In the fridge we had the usual veggies; carrots, celery, onions, a few mushrooms and some lovely fingerling potatoes. All we needed was the roast. So we set out and found a gorgeous 3 lb rump roast.
Here's the recipe:

a boneless roast - top or bottom round, chuck or sirloin.
4 carrots
4 celery stalks, leaves removed
2 onions
12 mushrooms
1 lb potatoes
4 pcs. bacon
fresh thyme
garlic cloves
fresh parsley
salt and pepper
olive oil

For Gravy

2 c beef stock or red wine, white wine, port, sherry etc
2 Tb flour
1 Tb chopped parsley
salt and pepper

- Preheat your oven to 400.
- Heat a large, heavy bottomed pot. While it's getting hot, season your roast liberally with salt and pepper.
- Add the olive oil to the pan, about 2 Tbs. Immediately add the roast, fat side down.
- Let it brown, forming a nice crust before rotating it. Brown on all sides.
- While the roast is browning chop your vegetables. Cut the carrots in 1/3s lengthwise, quarter the onions then cut those in 1/2 across the width. Cut the celery stalks into 4 pieces lengthwise, quarter the mushrooms, peel your garlic, and slice the bacon into 1/2 inch strips.
- Once the roast is browned, add the veggies and bacon. Season with salt and pepper, toss in a few thyme sprigs, stir the vegetables around, then rest the roast on top.
- Roast uncovered in the 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes per pound for a rare to medium rare doneness.
- Once you have either taken its temperature 125 for rare, 135 for med rare and so on... let the roast rest on a plate for at least 10 minutes. This will ensure a juicy roast.
- While resting you can prepare your gravy. First remove the roasted veggies and set aside.
- Put the pot on the stove over a low heat. Sprinkle the bits with about 2 Tbs of flour. With a wooden spoon stir the flour, incorporating all of the delicious browned bits. Let this cook for a couple minutes to cook out the raw flour flavor.
- Add 2 cups of beef stock, or red wine, port, sherry - whatever you have, you may even add water. Bring the gravy to a simmer, stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper. If you like, add some chopped parsley to finish the sauce.
- Slice the roast and serve with the vegetables and gravy.
- Enjoy!!


* In the following days, I have made sandwiches, breakfast burritos, hash and salads with the leftovers. So good, again and again!