strawberries in paris

When my friend Erica from Alexandria, VA told me that one of her favorite Irish bands was playing at Mick Oshea’s in Baltimore, I instantly decided that we had to have a little dinner party before seeing them play! Last year my girls came over at we ate this and then headed down to Federal Hill for some dancing! Because of the proximity of the bar to my buddy Jesica’s apartment, she agreed to host the dinner party at her abode! We had a lovely jaunt to Wegman’s in the morning and then cooked all afternoon. The results were great!

Here is our Company Pot Roast stewing on the stovetop and getting ready to go into the oven! We used Ina’s recipe and it was pretty good. We also had some caramelized onion toasts, a nice salad with blue cheese, pears, and walnuts, and finished it off with the nanaimo bars + some Breyer’s vanilla with reduced sugared Guinness!

Here is one of our beef chuck roasts, grass fed, all tied up beautifully. I was really happy we could find an organic kind of this cut of beef so we jumped on it, even though it was almost twice the price of the non-organic. I then seared each of these and got them nice and brown. Here’s Jesica with our whole pot stewing! We used carrots, onions, garlic, celery, parnsips and fingerling potatoes in addition to the meat. Such tasty vegetables and they are perfect for stewing!

Here was our appetizer- a Tyler Florence recipe. I made these once before for my Mom’s birthday meal last fall and they went over well. So I figured they would be great for this gathering. The caramelized onions are awesome and the nicoise olives and shaved parmesan are just icing on the cake! Basically a cross between a pissaladiere and french onion soup!

Next is our yellowy looking salad! I made my classic french dressing (dijon, red wine vinegar, evoo, s&p and truffle oil) and paired that with spring mix, pears, toasted walnuts and gorgonzola cheese! Those ingredients are always a great combination and that truth was still evident!

Here is the beef and vegetables with that nice silky sauce. The sauce comes from pulverizing half of the vegetables/stock in a blender and then adding it back into the mix. Very nice way to have two good textures with good flavor. It’s interesting because I usually think Ina’s recipes are foolproof, awesome and full of flavor, but I thought this sauce needed something else. I’m guessing that it needed some heat, some red pepper flakes or something! I guess I’m used to the sauce from this braised beef short ribs recipe which uses spicy Wegman’s Asian barbecue sauce. So the next time this recipe comes up in my kitchen I’m going to play around with the heat factor!

Lastly, dessert! My daring baker’s challenge was paired with Breyer’s vanilla bean ice cream and some Guinness stout that Jes reduced with some sugar! I think the Guinness needed more sugar, because it tasted pretty bitter still, but then again the nanaimo bar was really freaking sweet so it basically all balanced out!

Ingredients:
1 (4 to 5-pound) prime boneless beef chuck roast, tied
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour
Good olive oil
2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
2 cups chopped celery (4 stalks)
2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 to 4 leeks)5 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 cups good red wine, such as Burgundy
2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes in puree
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 chicken bouillon cube
3 branches fresh thyme
2 branches fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Pat the beef dry with a paper towel. Season the roast all over with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Dredge the whole roast in flour, including the ends. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the roast and sear for 4 to 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn and sear the other side and then turn and sear the ends. This should take 4 to 5 minutes for each side. Remove the roast to a large plate.
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add the carrots, onions, celery, leeks, garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Add the wine and Cognac and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, bouillon cube, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Tie the thyme and rosemary together with kitchen string and add to the pot. Put the roast back into the pot, bring to a boil, and cover. Place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender or about 160 degrees F internally. Turn the heat down to 250 degrees F after about an hour to keep the sauce at a simmer.
Remove the roast to a cutting board. Remove the herb bundle and discard. Skim off as much fat as possible from the sauce. Transfer half the sauce and vegetables to a blender or a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree until smooth. Pour the puree back into the pot, place on the stovetop over low heat, and return the sauce to a simmer. Place 2 tablespoons flour and the butter in a small bowl and mash them together with a fork. Stir into the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring until thickened. Taste for seasonings. Remove the strings from the roast, and slice the meat. Serve warm with the sauce spooned over it.

All in all, it was a very fun night! I love cooking with Jesica and I love making delicious food for my friends and seeing their mouths go mmmmmm when they take  a bite!