Pioneer in a Year: Pot Roasted to Perfection

We've heard it said the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Or more specifically, with the "Perfect Pot Roast". Mashed potatoes and gravy don't hurt, either.

Here is our inaugural feast. We started with Ree's "Perfect Pot Roast" (p. 120 of "The Pioneer Woman Cooks") and combined it with her suggested side, "PW's Creamy Mashed Potatoes" (p. 146). Holy Moly! Was it good!

We were excited to start our year with this recipe because it was the perfect excuse to use Lou's 30th birthday gift from Uncle He-Man: a John-Deere-green Dutch oven. She's purty.

Following Ree's recipe, we sauteed the onions and carrots in olive oil and began salivating like Pavlov's dog. We seared the meat on each side. The next step, deglazing, was new to us. After removing the beef, we poured a cup of beef broth in the bottom of the pot and quickly whisked. This helped remove the flavorful bits of meat happily sitting on the bottom. We added the beef and vegetables back into the pot followed by another cup-and-a-half of beef broth. The finishing touches were rosemary and thyme. Do not leave out the rosemary and thyme. They are fab-u-lo-so. Then began a torturous three hours of waiting and pacing the kitchen floor. The Bean was not the only one drooling.

Ree recommends using the Yukon Gold potato variety. And boy, is she right. We love the soft, buttery texture of these po-tates. They have become our new favorites. We prepared the potatoes while we waited. These include butter, cream cheese, half-and-half, butter, seasoned salt, salt, butter and pepper (and did we mention butter?).

Once the pot roast was done, we removed the meat and let Uncle He-Man and Mr. Fabuful start working their magic on the cutting board. As you can see, the vegetables and herbs created a wonderful flavor for the gravy.

We strained the gravy, leaving only the broth. Mr. Fabuful had the great idea to create a roux to put into the broth. He took half a stick of butter (yea!) and added some flour. These were whisked together until the rue turned a light, golden brown. This was added to the broth.