I love Pot Roast.
When I was in school, we called it Mystery Meat. It came out grey, dry, and tough. They served it with brown gravy. It was terrible. If done right, Pot Roast is fit for a king. Here's how I am making it this weekend:
A big hunk of beef
1 bottle of $15 cabernet
Half a little can of tomato paste. Or some canned tomatoes. Whatever, but not so much that you make a tomatoey sauce: it's meant to be a wine sauce.
Some lightly sauteed garlic
A slice or two of lightly-cooked bacon, chopped
5 roughly chopped big onions
A bag of roughly chopped carrots. I never bother peeling carrots for cooking but, if you have OCD, you can.
A bunch of mushrooms, of any form. I always prefer porcinis, fresh or dried, in everything, but sauteed mushrooms, canned button mushrooms, etc are just fine.
A couple of bay leaves
A teaspoon or two of sugar is necessary for any sauce with tomato in it
Salt and pepper to taste
Salt and pepper the beef, then brown in butter, then throw into a pot with the above ingredients. You can throw in some beef bouillon if you want, and a few good shots of hot sauce. Low simmer, covered, for 5-6 hours, or put in the oven, covered, at 350 for 5-6 hours. Crock pot probably works well too. Turn the meat when you remember. When almost done, throw in a couple of jars of button mushrooms, or lightly sauteed mushrooms of any variety, if you prefer. The beef, when sliced in 1/2" slices, should easily crumble with a fork - no knife needed.
Serve with mashed potatoes or wide noodles, and salad. The sauce from the pot, with the root vegetables, is the key. Once evenings begin to get warm, it will be too late to make this variety of rib-stickin', soul-satisfyin', sleep-inducin' Dad's home cookin'.
