WHY COMPLICATED COOKING IS OUT THE WINDOW

Aloha from Maui, Hawaii on this first day of September 2015, I hope all of you had a good August, though a steamy one... everything is well I presume? Maybe some issues as life presents, but overall we are all good yes? Yes!

In this blog post I want to touch on simple cooking. No fuss. Maybe some chopping, some slicing, some mixing, but overall simple and uncomplicated. If you are a new foodie, a new cook, I suggest you take a few cooking classes, or some lessons from your mom, or your sister, brother, uncle, grandpa, anyone who can cook good food at home. I learned from my mom and dad. And like I said many a times, they used all the cooking methods known to mankind. If you go to culinary school, you'll learn how to cook with moist heat, and dry heat. Mom and dad did everything, poaching, boiling, steaming for moist heat. Grilling and barbecuing for dry heat. Frying and deep frying, baking, roasting all that.

If you can do one dish well, you will go on your way to becoming an epic home cook. I'll go over a dish for you called the Pot Roast. It is cooking using dry and moist heat. 

If you look at the picture you are looking at an electric slow cooker, it comes in names such as Croc Pot, or just plain Slow Cookers. Some have automatic timers, and heat settings. Choose one that suits your needs. If it's just you and your partner then a small slow cooker will do. If you got a bigger family, get a larger one.

Here's what you do, assuming you've got your slow cooker a large one because you got about 4-6 people to feed. The list of ingredients below you can purchase at any supermarket.

Set 1 Ingredients
3 lbs. of chuck roast no bone.
2 tbs. vegetable oil.

Set 1 Directions.
In a large pan put the oil in, and over medium high heat, sear the chuck roast on all sides, this will give the roast a nice brown color instead of a pale livid appearance. Set the meat aside.

Set 2 Ingredients
32 fl oz low sodium beef broth (You can purchase these in cartons, or get cans)
1 cup of inexpensive red wine
1 sprig rosemary
8 cloves crushed garlic
2 small round onions peeled and quartered.

Set 2 Directions
Turn on your slow cooker (follow directions on manual) I would go Low heat and time it for 5 hours.

Place the seared chuck beef on to the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the crushed garlic around the sides, as well as the onion quarters. Place the rosemary sprig on the top of the beef. Pour in the beef broth, as well as the wine. Cover and let it slow cook for about 5 hours.

Set 3 Ingredients
2 large carrots peeled and sliced about 1/4" thick
3 large rusett potatoes, peeled and cubed about 2" cubes.

At about the 4 hour mark, add in the carrots and potatoes, and cover the slow cooker again. 

At 5 hours, season with salt and pepper.

Take out the beef, it may be fork tender, if so no problem, place it on a nice platter, spread out the veggies nicely, and spoon the gravy (Liquid) from the bottom of the pot.

Serve with mashed potatoes, or rice, have slices of French bread with butter ready. These sides can be bought at the deli sections at most supermarkets, eliminating more work for you.

Easy, until next time.

                   

© 2015