I have a friend who has been crazy about a guy for the longest time. He is one of those cute, funny, attentive fellows that makes a girl feel special on an almost constant basis. I have never wondered "what's the attraction?" when she talks about him. I get it. I totally get it.
That said, their relationship has taken the slowest boat to come to fruition in recorded history. If patience is a virtue, my friend should be a saint by now.
It's not through any fault of his or hers that their relationship took its snail-like course, it's more the circumstances of life that blew the ship onto it's non-linear path.
When they first started hanging out, he was a very good friend of her husband-to-be. He was part of the type of large pack of friends that seldom hung together long after high school. But, here they were, post high school, post college and still together every weekend. When she was introduced to her fiance's friends, there was no delay in getting folded into the group. They hung out together every weekend, drank at the same watering hole, took group trips together and when it came time to tie the knot, everyone was on hand to celebrate.
Though they had a pack mentality and did everything together, there was always something special about him. He had a way of standing out amongst all the big personalities in the group. She felt an ease with him, a pull to be with him. But, since she was now married and he always had a girlfriend in tow, the attraction was just that, and nothing more. But she wondered, does he feel it too?
Years went by, relationships and marriages came and went and through an unexpected encounter, he and she reconnected. Their first phone conversation in twenty years lasted for four hours and ended with a promise to get together. The type of promise that she suspected might be a hollow and polite ending to a long conversation. Turns out, it was anything but.
What came next over the ensuing year was a series of epic hangouts that would last for hours and hours, complete with drinks, dinners, shows, and long, deep talks that did nothing but reveal the seemingly endless list of things that they had in common. What it never did was end in a goodnight kiss. It looked like a date, it smelled like a date, it walked like a date, but it never ended like a date.
On one of their "dates" she went to his place afterward and he offered to send her home with some of his world famous crock-pot chili. She declined, but made a mental note that not only did he share her interest in food, that he actually took the time to cook meals for himself. They later had long conversations about cooking and she found out that he was something of a crock pot genius. A short time after that discussion, he gave her a recipe.
He did not give her this recipe the way the rest of us might, emailing some snippet from the NY Times food section or texting a link to something on Epicurious. Instead, he handed her a piece of paper, that contained a hand written recipe, which on inspection was unlike any recipe that anyone had ever given her before.
When she opened up the folded piece of paper, she saw the words "German Pot Roast" centered at the top. The title was written larger than the contents below it. The contents below the title were lined up in three neat columns of caligraphy-style text. The first column had the quantities for a small crock pot, the center contained the ingredients and the column to the right, the quantities for a large crock pot. The print was immaculate and perfect, the columns in perfect alignment and the footnotes at the bottom, instructing the cook in variations on and additions to the dish, perfectly centered to the title. He had taken what must have been hours out of his day to lovingly hand-write this recipe. The signs were clear, he was demonstrating his feelings by way of a recipe.
At least that was what we all thought as we watched what turned out to be a year of intense flirting, long conversations, hugs and hand holding and a tall tower of stacked up similarities and shared interests. Then one day, he pulled the bottom brick out of the Jenga tower and the whole thing came crashing to the ground. What started out as what looked like it may have been the great, romantic love story of our generation, ended abuptly with his offer to introduce my friend to his girlfriend. He revealed that they had been dating for a few months and now that he was sure that she was "the one", he was ready to introduce her to all the important people in his life, including my friend.
The wave of devastation that washed over her was intense. She cried more than I had ever seen anyone cry before. And understandably so. He had carelessly toyed with her feelings, without so much as a shred of self-awareness or empathy. Or possibly worse, he knew exactly what he was doing and wanted to keep my friend on the line until this other girl showed a vested interest in him.
Initially, when he had given her the pot roast recipe I was impressed because it was what seemed like a loving gesture and was so beautifully hand written. The other day, I pulled out the copy of the recipe that she had texted to me. I printed it out and inspected it more closely. As I read the recipe line by line, I took note of the fact that it used convenience ingredients such as packaged gravy mix and beef bullion cubes. This was not a recipe for a lovingly prepared pot roast, but rather a 1970's housewife's quick fix slow cooker dinner. Something where you chucked all the ingredients into a pot, set it and forget it. Which upon reflection of how he treated my friend, seems like just the recipe for him.
Showing posts with label pot roast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pot roast. Show all posts
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Pot Roast Fra Diavolo
Welcome to the Pedestrian Palate. This blog is all about my attempts to become a better cook and a more adventurous eater. I will be writing about the restaurants and bars that I visit and I will be cooking and sharing recipes that I come up with. In addition, I will write about my experiences cooking recipes that I find in books and online. All of this is aimed at upping my game as a home cook and broadening my palate, which, I'm not gonna lie, would have been very happy if Hostess never went out of business.
Being that this is my first introduction to you, I figured that I'd start off with a recipe of my own. As a somewhat improvisational cook, I am learning to stop and write things down so that they become repeatable. My first public offering of one of my written recipes follows below. Please read on as I share my adventures in Pot Roast. There's always room at my table.
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Adventures in Pot Roast:
Today is my brother's birthday, so I am making him a Pot Roast for dinner. For as long as I can remember, we have had Pot Roast on my brother's birthday as it is indeed one of his favorite meals. Unfortunately, it is not one of mine. Because of this, I have been tinkering with my recipe to address the things about i that I don't like. I belive that this recipe addresses those things. These are some of my changes:
1) No Carrots - sacriledge, I know. Every Pot Roast recipe has carrots. Well, guess what? Not mine! I have removed them from the mix. Carrots add a sweetness and flavor to the gravy that I just don't like. If I want sweetness, I will get it more directly from maybe a shot of golden syrup, a little aged balsamic vinegar or a spoonful of brown sugar. Carrots can bite me.
2) I have sometimes skipped the browing step - Why would I do this? I dunno, I have in the past out of pure laziness or stupidity, but no more. There will be fond. Oh yes there will.
3) Savory flavors - Pot roast has never satisfied that craving for something deeply rich, savory and flavorful. I have set out to inject as much flavor into the mix as I can. I do this with a combination of dried and fresh herbs and a gaggle of tasty liquids in the pot. What? You don't like the word gaggle?
Not unlike the carrot, you too can bite me.
This recipe can scale as necessary and if you feel strongly about it, add some carrots. What the hell, it's your roast (I will, of course make fun of you behind your back. Live with it.).
Oven at 275 degrees
1 4 - 5 lb bottom round roast
1 1/2 teaspoons * Profumo Del Chianti - or 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 a large red onion -medium dice
2 or 3 ribs of celery (enough to be equal with the amount of onions) - medium dice
3 medium to large garlic cloves, crushed under the blade of a knife
2 Tablesoons Tomato Paste
1 cup of a hearty red wine. I like Chianti, you can use any dry red that you like to drink, drunkie
1 25 ounce jar prepared fra diavolo sauce (or make your own if you insist on showing off)
1 14.5 ounce can beef broth (refer to snide remark above)
1 4 inch sprig of fresh thyme
1 6 inch sprig of fresh rosemary
1 dried bay leaf
2 teaspoons of an Italian Seasoning Blend
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (Or to taste. Heat is a very personal thing.)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
salt and black pepper to taste
Heat the olive oil in the bottom of a dutch oven over medium high heat. Season the roast on all sides with the Profumo Del Chianti or salt and pepper. Sear the meat on all sides being sure to develop a nice brown crust around the roast. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion and celery. Saute until the veggies soften and the edges start to turn golden brown. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant (about 30 seconds), then add tomato paste and cook that for another 30 seconds or so.
Deglaze the pot with wine, scraping all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the roast to the pan and fill up with the fra diavolo sauce and broth until the meat is aprox three quarters of the way submerged. Add the remaining ingredients and bring the pot to a gentle simmer. Once the pot comes to a slow bubble, cover the pot and put it in the pre-heated oven.
Cook for 5 or 6 hours or until the meat is tender.
Remove the meat to a platter and tent it with aluminum foil. While the meat is resting, skim the fat from the gravy and pass it through a strainer. Return the strained gravy to the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the gravy by half and taste for seasoning. Adjust as necessary. You can thicken the gravy with a slurry if you want it thicker or use it as is if the thickness is to your liking. There will be plenty of gravy, so slice the roast and serve it with mashed potatoes or egg noodles or anything that will sop up the tasty gravy.
*Ok, so what is Profumo Del Chianti? My short answer is - it's a miracle. A revelation. It is the most spectacular tasting, perfectly balanced salt and seasoning blend, made by this brilliant madman. It is a tiny little jar of genius. A blend of fennel pollen, sea salt, bay, rosemary, thyme and who knows what else, ground to a fine powdery consistency. It is so fine and powdery that you may be tempted to snort it. Resist this temptation at all costs as it burns like a mother...or so I've been told.
Being that this is my first introduction to you, I figured that I'd start off with a recipe of my own. As a somewhat improvisational cook, I am learning to stop and write things down so that they become repeatable. My first public offering of one of my written recipes follows below. Please read on as I share my adventures in Pot Roast. There's always room at my table.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Adventures in Pot Roast:
Today is my brother's birthday, so I am making him a Pot Roast for dinner. For as long as I can remember, we have had Pot Roast on my brother's birthday as it is indeed one of his favorite meals. Unfortunately, it is not one of mine. Because of this, I have been tinkering with my recipe to address the things about i that I don't like. I belive that this recipe addresses those things. These are some of my changes:
1) No Carrots - sacriledge, I know. Every Pot Roast recipe has carrots. Well, guess what? Not mine! I have removed them from the mix. Carrots add a sweetness and flavor to the gravy that I just don't like. If I want sweetness, I will get it more directly from maybe a shot of golden syrup, a little aged balsamic vinegar or a spoonful of brown sugar. Carrots can bite me.
2) I have sometimes skipped the browing step - Why would I do this? I dunno, I have in the past out of pure laziness or stupidity, but no more. There will be fond. Oh yes there will.
3) Savory flavors - Pot roast has never satisfied that craving for something deeply rich, savory and flavorful. I have set out to inject as much flavor into the mix as I can. I do this with a combination of dried and fresh herbs and a gaggle of tasty liquids in the pot. What? You don't like the word gaggle?
Not unlike the carrot, you too can bite me.
This recipe can scale as necessary and if you feel strongly about it, add some carrots. What the hell, it's your roast (I will, of course make fun of you behind your back. Live with it.).
Fra Diavolo Pot Roast
Serves 8Oven at 275 degrees
1 4 - 5 lb bottom round roast
1 1/2 teaspoons * Profumo Del Chianti - or 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 a large red onion -medium dice
2 or 3 ribs of celery (enough to be equal with the amount of onions) - medium dice
3 medium to large garlic cloves, crushed under the blade of a knife
2 Tablesoons Tomato Paste
1 cup of a hearty red wine. I like Chianti, you can use any dry red that you like to drink, drunkie
1 25 ounce jar prepared fra diavolo sauce (or make your own if you insist on showing off)
1 14.5 ounce can beef broth (refer to snide remark above)
1 4 inch sprig of fresh thyme
1 6 inch sprig of fresh rosemary
1 dried bay leaf
2 teaspoons of an Italian Seasoning Blend
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (Or to taste. Heat is a very personal thing.)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
salt and black pepper to taste
Heat the olive oil in the bottom of a dutch oven over medium high heat. Season the roast on all sides with the Profumo Del Chianti or salt and pepper. Sear the meat on all sides being sure to develop a nice brown crust around the roast. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion and celery. Saute until the veggies soften and the edges start to turn golden brown. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant (about 30 seconds), then add tomato paste and cook that for another 30 seconds or so.
Deglaze the pot with wine, scraping all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the roast to the pan and fill up with the fra diavolo sauce and broth until the meat is aprox three quarters of the way submerged. Add the remaining ingredients and bring the pot to a gentle simmer. Once the pot comes to a slow bubble, cover the pot and put it in the pre-heated oven.
Cook for 5 or 6 hours or until the meat is tender.
Remove the meat to a platter and tent it with aluminum foil. While the meat is resting, skim the fat from the gravy and pass it through a strainer. Return the strained gravy to the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the gravy by half and taste for seasoning. Adjust as necessary. You can thicken the gravy with a slurry if you want it thicker or use it as is if the thickness is to your liking. There will be plenty of gravy, so slice the roast and serve it with mashed potatoes or egg noodles or anything that will sop up the tasty gravy.
*Ok, so what is Profumo Del Chianti? My short answer is - it's a miracle. A revelation. It is the most spectacular tasting, perfectly balanced salt and seasoning blend, made by this brilliant madman. It is a tiny little jar of genius. A blend of fennel pollen, sea salt, bay, rosemary, thyme and who knows what else, ground to a fine powdery consistency. It is so fine and powdery that you may be tempted to snort it. Resist this temptation at all costs as it burns like a mother...or so I've been told.
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