Tags
allspice berries, arrowroot, bay leaves, chuck roast, dried garlic, dried sour cherries, herb sprigs, ketchup, onion, orange zest strips, port wine, red wine
This is an extraordinary pot roast. I was thinking about our trip to Portugal and remembering some of the fabulous meals we enjoyed, hence the Port, the oranges and the cherries. This seemed like just the thing to use for our Zoom dinner with friends to celebrate getting the vaccine. Everything is relative and one has to find joy in the little things. Continue reading
I love lamb. I have always felt that the reason others don’t enjoy it, is because they’ve had over-cooked lamb. Gray-colored meat is all that appetizing to anyone. Admittedly, lamb has a distinct flavor and can be a tad gamey…maybe that’s why I like it so much! 
Lamb makes a wonderful sauce to splash over pasta, or better yet, cheese-filled tortellini. This version of ragú is wonderfully complex, with a deliciously interesting combination of herbs and spices. This is company fare. 
I know we’ve talked about this before…I am a dyed-in-the-wool lamb lover. It’s special and it’s delicious. Lamb tends to be a bit more expensive than beef or pork, but shoulder chops are an economical option. They can be fried quickly, but braising them really develops some lovely flavors. 
Nothing says Sunday dinner like a nice hunk of roast beef, right? Some good gravy, roasted or mashed potatoes, maybe some green beans, asparagus, carrots or rutabaga…these, however will only be bit players. It’s all about the meat. Now, doesn’t that just scream “Sunday dinner, call the kids”? 
Salisbury Steak is just a lovely way of saying that we’re looking at a thick hamburger “steak” with gravy. And I’m all over that. I hate those thick burgers, that in order to eat them you have to unhinge your jaw, like a python. I always eat those types of burgers with a knife and fork anyway, so why not add some terrific gravy? 
I was reading a blog the other day, and I ran across something called Pašticada. So, what’s this about? Not being Croatian, this was new to me, but from what I was reading, this dish is a pretty big deal. For the non-Croatian palate, this may seem like an odd combination of flavors to use with beef—lemons, nutmeg, cloves, prunes and other dried fruit—all braised slowly in red wine and plum brandy. 
Last year I shared my recipe for one of The Spicy Honey’s favorite dish, 
For us, pot roast is winter. It offers such a bang-for-your-buck flavor-wise, with its warm, rich flavor, its rib-sticking meatiness and it’s just so simple to prepare. It is truly the perfect Sunday dinner, on a cold winters day. And not to be forgotten, the house smells fantastic and you can spend the afternoon doing a jigsaw puzzle. 