Pot roast is a savory winter meal
So far, it’s been a typical winter here in Chattanooga, with a dusting of snow and, some days, just enough frost in the air to light a fire, something not absolutely necessary but certainly welcome.
In other words, it’s perfect pot roast weather.
After years of watching my mother assemble a pot roast — a Sunday dinner staple — and going on half a century of making it on my own, I never even glance at a recipe. Yet, except when I really need that comfort that only food can provide, it rarely comes out exactly like the pot roasts of my childhood.
The lovely thing about dishes like pot roast is that once the basic technique has been mastered and deciding on which flavors work best together, you’re free to be in the moment and just experience the joys of random cooking. We’re also free to let the culinary influence of other cooks who’ve touched our lives through the years — such as mommas and grandmothers — be part of the mix.
I joked to a family member recently that the pot roast I was serving for dinner that night was “part my mother, part my grandmother and part me.” But it wasn’t really a joke: All the people who touch our lives influence the way we cook. And a Sunday pot roast is one of the best ways I can think of to remember them all.
Sunday Pot Roast
2-3 pounds beef chuck, sirloin or rump roast
1 tablespoon bacon drippings or olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon crumbled dried or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 large or 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 large or 2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine
4 medium or 3 large ribs celery, sliced into 1-inch chunks
4-5 medium or 3 large carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
1-2 generous splashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 small bay leaves
1 cup red wine (pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon or merlot)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups beef broth
6 medium potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
2 tablespoons all-purpose or instant-blending flour
Wrap the beef in several layers of paper towels, gently press it and let sit for at least 15 minutes. Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat to 300 degrees. Put the bacon drippings or olive oil into a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, and warm over medium heat. When the fat is hot but not smoking, unwrap the beef and carefully put it in the pot. Brown it well on the bottom, 3-4 minutes, turn and sprinkle the browned side lightly with salt, pepper and thyme. When the second side is wellbrowned, 3-4 minutes longer, remove the beef from the pot to a plate, seasoned side down, and lightly sprinkle the unseasoned side with salt, pepper and thyme.
Spread half the onion over the bottom of the pot, and sprinkle half the garlic over it. Lay the beef over the onion,
then scatter the remaining onion and garlic over its top. Scatter the celery and carrots around the edges of the meat, season lightly with salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce, then add the bay leaves. Pour in the wine around the edges.
Dissolve the tomato paste in the broth, then pour it around the edges of the meat. It should mostly cover it. If it doesn’t, add a little water, as needed. Add the potatoes around the edges, and lightly season them with salt, pepper and Worcestershire. Cover the pot, turn off the heat and transfer it to the center of the oven. Bake, checking occasionally to make sure the liquid isn’t boiling hard but gently simmering, until the meat is fork-tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Remove the meat and vegetables to a platter, and cover them with foil. Let the pan juices settle, then tip the pot and spoon off the excess fat from the surface. Put the pot over medium heat, and bring the pan juices back to a simmer. Dissolve the flour in 1/4 cup cold water, and whisk it into the simmering liquid. Cook, stirring constantly, until it’s thickened, then let it gently simmer 3-4 minutes. Slice or cut the meat into small pieces. Drizzle it with some of the gravy, and serve with the remaining gravy passed separately.
NEW AT BONEFISH
It had been almost three years since I’d walked through the revolving door at Bonefish Grill, and it wasn’t until I entered the restaurant that I realized how much I’d missed it.
It used to be a rather regular occurrence, and then you-know-what came along in 2019 and upset everyone’s routine. I figured it was high time to wander back out to Hamilton Place and visit one of my favorite chains in Chattanooga. Naturally, I wasn’t surprised to see that the menu had some new offerings.
Brussels sprouts are nothing new, but the way Bonefish serves them certainly is. Through March 13, they’ll be delivered to your table Kung Pao style with just a little kick to tease your tastebuds.
There are three new entrées, too: a scampi dish with Baja scallops and shrimp over linguine; butterfish with a Rockefeller topping of jumbo lump crab and spinach; and salmon roasted and served on a cedar plank with a Jim Beam honey-bourbon glaze and cherries on top — quite reminiscent of an Old Fashioned cocktail, thus the name of the dish: Old Fashioned Cedar Plank Salmon. Clever, right?
So, decisions, decisions. My husband had the salmon and couldn’t have been happier, but I picked that butterfish, and just like butter, it melted in my mouth. Butterfish is a mild fish with a taste much like sea bass, and the creamy spinach and crab on top were perfect. Each entree comes with two sides, making for a very filling meal.
For dessert, the rich chocolate lava cake was almost too much. Almost, but it was just too tempting not to dip my spoon into the warm center oozing with warm chocolate sauce. Just a couple of times, letting my husband finish off the masterpiece of chocolate, strawberries and whipped cream. Oh my.
Bonefish Grill is at 2145 Gunbarrel Road across from Trader Joe’s.