Sunday Pot Roast
2001-08-03 @ 11:30 a.m.
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Last Sunday's dinner was one my grandmother could have proudly served. Pot roast, corn on the cob, lima beans and snap beans, and figs in butter and honey. Dessert was mixed berry cobbler with cinnamon ice cream.
Except my grandmother never served wine. Sweet iced tea went just fine with everything she put in front of us.
I'm sorry that I've waited so long to write it up because I feel so disconnected from the day now. I know that I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, and that I really enjoyed that. As usual, we had the wonderful fellowship of our family around the table enjoying each others' company at a relaxed meal. Sorry, no details.
The vegetables and figs were brought to the wine store by one of our customers. Every year they bring bounty from the garden. I say that we had lima beans because I think that's what they were. When we received them someone said they were sugar snap peas, but once I got them home I decided they didn't look like snap peas at all. I shelled most of them because they were fat and ready. Not knowing exactly what they were, still thinking they might be some sort of pea, I boiled them with snap beans from our own garden until they were all still crisp but tender to eat. They tasted like lima beans. Whatever they were, they were good. I love fresh vegies from the garden.
I bought a beef shoulder roast on sale. I felt very proud of myself for finding such a good bargain, and it was a good bargain. This isn't one of those stories that starts out with what a good buy I thought I had and how it turned out to be a disaster. It was great. I drizzled sage infused olive oil on it, salted and peppered it, and browned it in the oven at 450 degrees (F). When it was brown, I turned down the oven to 350 and added:
2 cups red wine
1 cup beef bouillon
1 cup tomato bouillon
1 onion chopped
lots of minced garlic
1 tomato chopped
2 small bay leaves
Then I cooked it in a lidded roaster for about 3 hours. It was almost falling apart when I took it out. I made a horseradish sauce to dip it in (about 1 cup of plain yogurt, about a tablespoon of horseradish and a teaspoon or so of mustard).
The wine was 1994 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle. No, I can't afford that wine. I work in a wine store, and I get deals you've never dreamed of (no, I'm not stealing it). Any Rhone wine, Syrah or Shiraz would have been great with the roast and horseradish. It needed a very full-bodied, spicy wine.
The cobbler was based on a recipe in Fine Cooking magazine July 2001. The article is centered on a Multi-Purpose Baking Mix. The author (I forgot to look and see who it was) used that as a base for several recipes: scones, biscuits and cobbler. I cheated and used three cups of Bisquick instead of making the baking mix.
Cobbler crust
3 cups Bisquick
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups heavy cream, more for brushing
1 tbsp sugar, more for sprinkling
Heat oven to 375 degrees (F). Stir together egg and cream with a fork. Put Bisquick in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add egg and cream with as little stirring as possible. Lay dough on a floured surface in a rectangle and knead twice by folding it into thirds and flattening. Pat dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Lay the dough on top of fruit that's been tossed with some sugar and a bit of flour (or cornstarch) in a 9x13 inch baking dish and trim if necessary. Brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until topping is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
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