Better than ever Herb and Wine Pot Roast

There are some dishes that just taste like comfort. Pot roast is absolutely one of those. I can smell my mom opening the oven bag that she would often use to make this dish. We didn't eat too many meals that would be considered your standard American fare but this "meat and potatoes" standby still reminds me of running in the door just barely making it for dinner at 5 pm sharp. I decided to put my own little spin on this dish as so many recipes call for the "classic" version using ketchup for flavoring. I would like to think our pallets are a bit more sophisticated so I used a blend of red wine, diced tomato and plenty of fresh herbs to season this dish instead. I did stick with the traditional carrots, onions and potato though since some things just work well and don't need to be messed around with.

There are a lot of good things happening with this pot roast, the first being how easy it is to make (and its easily adaptable for the crockpot!) I always sear my meat first so I don't usually use the crock pot since once the dutch oven is dirty I figure why waste another pan but you can switch over if you want to be able to leave it cooking while you are away from the house. I put my carrots and onions in with the meat for almost the full time but left the potatoes out until that last 90 min so they wouldn't get over cooked and mushy but I have to admit, I think that might be part of the charm of pot roast. I also made a gravy to go with the dish by reducing by 2/3rd the juices and then straining and adding a touch of Wondra flour while whisking but feel free to serve as is. Don't forget to take some time when you are prepping and make sure the veggies are similar sizes to ensure even cooking.

Clams in Red sauce with Bacon

There is really nothing easier than a clams in a broth. You can use almost any liquid with herbs to give it more flavor. I love garlic and bacon and couldn't resist clams steamed in this delightful duo. So rich and fragrant - I am not sure if there is a more tempting aroma to great you from the bottom of the staircase as you are entering the kitchen.You could also use a white wine in this dish with some additional caramelized onion to make a whole new combo. I love easy, versatile cooking. Its fun to follow recipes sometimes but whats even better is being able to adjust and work with what you have on hand.

One of the most important parts of this dish happens long before the sauce come together - completely cleaning and removing sand before steaming the clams. The last thing you want is to have a gritty, sandy broth. Take a few extra minutes to make sure that you completely scrub each shell with a small brush.

White Wine Steamed Clams

I grew up in New England, where summer time is synonymous with clam bakes. Even now that I have lived away for over 5 years, I still get an urge when fresh clams start showing up in the store. However when you live in a small apartment, sometimes having a steaming kettle full of fresh seafood (and the stinky trash that goes along with it) is less than appealing. That doesn't mean you have to forget those summer time memories - just scale things back to apartment size! The traditional clam boil includes clams, lobsters, steamers, mussels, corn and potatoes boiled up in a beer and water mix (cooked in a giant sand pit if you have one but more often just in a big pot on a gas burner). But for us, since clams were on sale at the market, it was an easy decision to just grab a few dozen little necks and get cooking.

For our clam bake we are going to do things a little different though.... no surprise for those who read this blog often. I do enjoy a nice beer I was thinking more along the lines of white wine and garlic flavors. This recipe is a bit more of a French style than a New England one but I suppose when you have deliciously fresh clams on hand, its hard to go wrong! Instead of using a large stock pot to steam my clams I used a large saute pan with under an inch of brother in the bottom - just enough to steam but not boil.

Glogg

A few days before my final holiday party of the year (Jan 15th) I stumbled upon a recipe for a traditional Swedish Glogg. I have actually had the pleasure of being in Sweden around Christmas time and attending a traditional celebration (what ever you do be careful with the aquavit!) so I knew that this would be a fun drink to serve my guests. I was lucky to have most of the spices on hand from baking so a quick trip to the liquor store was all I needed. While there are a few time consuming steps needed this isn't very complicated and it is definitely a fun drink for the cold weather. You may be tempted to just dump everything into one pot and let it just simmer together but taking the time to make the brandy caramelize is definitely worth it! After spending most of our holiday season digging out from snow storm after snow storm it was wonderful to come inside to a hot cup of this "medicine".

 

This recipe will make about 5 x 750 ml bottles of glogg but don't worry, if you aren't having a party you can always bottle it and store it as it ages very well. In fact, if everyone is a good girl and boy next year this might replace the annual cookie baking that I do for gifts and turn things up a notch! One warning - this is highly alcoholic - despite its sweet taste and spicy warmness it has a kick..... so make sure you have a glass of water and a few advils before bed if you find your self "taste-testing" it too often throughout the night. If you want to combine baking with Glogg making you can always use the fruit that has been strained out in the end to make a delicious bread - just be careful to remove all of the spices as it isn't fun to bite into a chunk of cinnamon stick!

click through for the recipe!