Big Man, Little Kitchen

Nothing says love on a cold winters night like old fashioned pot roast. We were looking for some good comfort food and this fit the bill. There are a couple ways I like to cook pot roast. One way is to slow cook the roast all day in a crock pot. But I think my favorite, to get the most flavor, is to use my large oval dutch oven. That is how I did this one. Along with the roast, I added some veggies to complete the meal.

First you need to season the pot roast. I just use salt and pepper. Then heat some olive oil in the dutch oven over medium heat. Brown the roast on all sides, about 2 minutes per side.Remove roast and deglaze the pan using about 1/2 cup red wine. Be sure to scrape the bits from the bottom of the pan. Put meat back in the pan, add enough beef stock to cover the meat about half way. Now add the veggies. I used carrots, fennel, onions and mushrooms(add the mushrooms during the last hour of roasting). Bring to a boil, cover and roast in a 275 degree oven for about 4 hours. The roast should be fork tender.

When done remove the meat, cover with foil and let rest while you get everything else ready. Remove the veggies to a bowl and make the gravy.

For the gravy add some juice from the pan, put in a teaspoon of xanthan gum (Kris and I do not eat wheat so we use this for a thickener) and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened. Serve with roast and veggies. Enjoy!

So our friends Rindy and Aaron gave me a deep enameled cast iron skillet for Christmas and it is turning into one of my favorites. It is so versatile, can be used on the stove top as well as the oven. I have used it for enchilada casserole, chili, hamburger and rice….etc. Tonight I put together pan roasted chicken with mushrooms and a salad as the side dish. This dish is tasty and easy to throw together, even on a Wednesday night!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add 2 T of olive oil to the pan and heat over medium high heat. Once the oil starts to shimmer, add the chicken. I used thighs – bone in and skin on, seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook skin side down until golden and crispy. (about 8 minutes) Flip the chicken over, toss in a bunch of mushrooms, add seasonings and toss in the oven. I used thyme, basil and a mediterranean blend.Roast for 25 – 30 minutes or until chicken is done, 165 internal temperature. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving, The chicken will brown even more while in the oven and will come out looking good!To go along with this I made a salad of mixed greens, yellow peppers, mushrooms, roasted almond slivers and feta cheese. A nice accompaniment. Enjoy!!

A couple days after Christmas we had some friends over for dinner and have our Christmas celebration. Kris and I set the menu –

Grilled Prime Rib with a mustard pepper rub
Potato and Sage Gratin
Winter Greens with bacon and mint
Blood Orange Creme Brulee

The star of this show is the Prime Rib. I used my Traeger grill to cook this bad boy and it was good. I took the beef out of the fridge about an hour before I started cooking. You want the meat to get to room temp before cooking. I poured the rub over the top and fired up the grill to get it up to temp.I cooked this at 450 degrees for 30 minutes then turned the temp down to 250 degrees to finish the cooking. Looking good after the first 30 minutes!!!I cooked for about 2 more hours. Keep a close eye on the temp for the last 30 minutes or so. You do not want to over cook this. Once the internal temp hit 125 degrees (medium rare) I pulled the meat off the grill, covered loosely with foil and let rest for 20 minutes before slicing. I am getting hungry again just looking at the pictures!The best thing about having the Traeger is it leaves the oven free to cook other parts of the meal. While the prime rib was roasting on the grill I baked the potato and sage gratin. The gratin came out super creamy and tasty! Plus it is really easy to do. Just heat the cream, garlic and sage in small sauce pan. Meanwhile slice the potatoes and place in an overlapping layer in a 3 qt, buttered baking dish. Pour the cream mixture over the top and bake for about an hour. While the potatoes cook and the meat is resting, you can cook up the winter greens. We used about 1 1/2 Lbs of kale, mustard and collard greens. In a deep skillet heat 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium heat. Once hot add 8 slices of bacon diced. Cook for about 3 minutes then add some diced onion. Cook an additional 8 minutes. Add garlic, cook for a minute, add greens and cook. covered until greens are tender.The dessert was made earlier in the day and was chilling in the fridge. Just before serving sprinkle with sugar and broil until the sugar caramelizes. A simple to make creme brulee with a lot of flavor. Mix the juice and cream, pour into ramekins and bake for about an hour.Add hot water to the pan before baking. The water should come half way up the ramekins.The only thing left to do is set a pretty table and enjoy the meal!! Cheers.

Kris and I had decided not to get a tree this year but after the weekend in Iowa for an early Christmas we thought a tree would be perfect for our quiet celebration. We left Iowa on Christmas Eve morning and the plan was to drop off the dog, unload the car then head out and get our tree.

We thought this would be an easy task but turned out to be a small adventure. We went to 5 or 6 places and they were all out of trees. Kris was getting a little frustrated and we were about to give up when I said let’s run by one more spot. It is a small landscaping place a few miles out of town. When we got there we saw a bunch of trees and were so excited. Kris got out and went to the door which had a note on it. The note said the owner had to leave for a medical emergency but all the trees were $25. Just grab one and leave the money in the bucket . ( there was a 5 gallon bucket by the door with a slot in it). So we found the perfect tree and used the $25 we won with the scratch off tickets (a gift from KZ’s step brother) to pay for the tree!!

We got home, put up and decorated the tree. It was perfect! Now was time for the traditional Christmas Eve meal –

Oyster stew and ChiliBoth turned out wonderful. Kris and I had a great Christmas Eve and were looking forward to opening our gifts the next morning. Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!

Oyster Stew –
Ingredients
2 Tbs butter
1 small onion, diced
1 quart whole milk
12 oz fresh oysters and juice
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt
Pepper

Directions
Heat butter in sauce pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Pour in milk and oysters and cayenne pepper, bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Chili –
Ingredients
1 lb grass fed beef                  12 oz beer
1 onion, diced                         1 can diced tomatoes
3 Tbs chili powder                 1 can chili beans
1 tsp oregano                          1 can dark red kidney beans
1 tsp basil                                salt
1 tsp thyme                            pepper
Spicy V-8

Directions
Brown beef and onion in large skillet. Sprinkle beef with 1 tbs of the chili powder while browning. Drain off excess fat. In a large soup pot ( I use a dutch oven) add tomatoes, beans, beer, meat mixture and stir. Add the spicy V-8 to get the consistency you like for your chili. I used about 1 ½ cups. Add spices, mix well and bring to boil. Turn heat down and simmer for at least 1 hour.