damn good for an asian pot roast

i have a friend. her name is michelle. her husband is a chef and she is his hot wife. she gave me her recipe for her pot roast after finding out that nick's favorite dish EVER is, well, pot roast. and i am sharing with you! woo!

and also, its valentines day. which means nick gets his favorite. we dont go out to dinner because as much as we deal with the public in our every day jobs, we definitely dont want to deal with the masses in excess when we're oooddling and oooogling over each other at dinner. so this lady popped into the grocery store, got what i needed, dressed cute, and had a nice romantic meal with the husband.




INGREDIENTS:
2 lb chuck roast
carrot, celery and yellow onion, cut in large pieces
1 can diced tomato (sweet onion, roasted garlic, whatever you like)
beef stock (2 boxes "Kitchen Basics" stock, each box is 32 oz)
russet potatoes, cut in large pieces

garlic cloves (1/2 cup)
fresh thyme, basil, cilantro and rosemary, tied together in a small bunch (bouquet de garnis)
Optional ingredients: fresh ginger root, jalapeno, bay leaf, bock beer, red wine
flour
salt and pepper
olive oil
butter







STEPS:

1. season roast with salt and pepper and sprinkle with flour. for all you non meat eaters reading this for shits and giggles, look: meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat




heat some olive oil in a large stock pot on medium-high heat. sear roast in pot until browned on both sides. remove from pot and set aside.

*optional: loosen "brown bits" at bottom of the pan with 1/2 cup of bock beer or a heavy red wine, like cabernet. allow alcohol to simmer for a minute, then add vegetables, garlic, stock and tomato. stir, then add roast, season with salt and pepper and float bouquet de garnis on top. skip to step 3

nick was happy that i chose to use shiner instead of any of his other "awesome, cool, hip" beers that were in the fridge.

 

2. add garlic, carrot, celery, and onion in same pot right after removing roast. season with salt and pepper (add 2 bay leaves, if desired) saute for about 5 minutes until vegetables soften a little. add about 2 tablespoons of butter, stir until melted. sprinkle in about 1/3 cup of flour and stir to form a paste. gradually add about 2 cups of beef stock and stir until paste dissolves. place roast back in pot, add can of tomato, season with more salt and pepper, add remaining stock and float boquet de garnis on top. enough stock should be added to just cover the meat and vegtables. you may have some stock left over. if preferred, add 2-3 slices of ginger root and 1 jalapeno, halved to pot.

3. bring entire pot to a boil, make sure stock is seasoned to taste. which i didnt do, i trust michelle on the ingredients, plus the idea of "tasting" raw stuff in beef broth, sickens me out. lower heat to a simmer and cover. allow to simmer for at least a few hours (like, 3 hours).





add potato during last 30-45 minutes of cooking. which, by the way, i used little new potatoes. they're cute and there is a less chance of chopping my fingers off while cutting the bigger potatoes. roast is done when meat pulls apart with a fork. aka, flakes of deliciousness.

i had a giant loaf of french bread that i googled a way to make. you simply slice it into big slices, put a pad of butter on each one and put it in the over for 20-30 seconds on the high shelf on broil.

and thats it! its done! succulent asian pot roast! yum!