The Ultimate Roast

I have 3 recipes ready to post and I am going to take it one at a time because it is apparently the only thing I have to blog about lately! Here is the roast recipe I promised.

Ingredients:

1 boneless chuck roast (you can find these on sale at Publix at least one whole week per month)
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper
seasoning of your choice (I use seasoned salt or nature's seasoning, but you can pretty much use anything)
1 cup water

And that's it!! So easy...and your husband (or boyfriend, or any other male for that matter) will love you. It's such a "meat and potatoes" meal. I usually serve with mashed potatoes and peas. You could also add red potatoes, carrots, etc. to this dish if you like...right in the pot!

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Season the meat with salt, pepper, etc. and sear in olive oil on medium-high heat in a grill pan or non-stick pan until brown on both sides.

Slice the onions and mince the garlic. Place half in the bottom of a baking dish or dutch oven.

Lay the seared roast on top and cover with other half of onions and garlic.

Pour 1 cup of water over, cover and bake for 4-6 hours. It will FALL APART.

Enjoy!!

Love is in the Air

Just in case I didn't eat enough at Trellis last night (and it was yummy), I cooked breakfast this morning for my VALENTINE!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!

A day off...

and what to do?! I have today off due to the abundance of Saturdays I have been working lately. I just can't decide what to do. There is SO much on my list and I have no idea where to start. Do I do the things I need to do or enjoy the day doing what I want to do for a change? Maybe I'll do a little of both :)

MY TO DO LIST:

1. Wash the 9 piles of clothes all around my house. Some need to go to Goodwill, others are clean just in folded piles, the majority are dirty and need to be washed or drycleaned...(sigh).

2. CLEAN MY HOUSE!

3. Dye my hair (I bought the box 3 days ago and haven't found the time yet). And, yes, I have gray hair.

4. Get the 2 new pairs of jeans I bought 3 weeks ago and haven't worn yet hemmed. I am a shorty.

5. Go visit my new nephew ( I am definitely working this in at some point). I might can work in the antique shops while I am in Sasser.

6. Cook a roast for dinner. I don't have a choice...it's in the fridge and has to be cooked. Or Robert will be sad. It's his fave meal. Maybe I'll include a how-to with pics today :)

7. Take my dogs for a walk.

8. Go shopping, but not sure where. I really need some clothes but can't seem to find any in this town!!

9. Buy the book that I am supposed to be reading for the book club I joined. Ahhh! I need to check on the date I have to read it by ;)

10. R.E.L.A.X.

I guess I need to get off this darn computer so I can get started on something. Maybe I should have just gone to work? Nah!!

THE PERFECT ROAST recipe coming up!!

Super Food Sunday

Since I really do not care to watch the Super Bowl, I decided a great way to "participate" in the festivities today was to COOK! It started out with Robert *surprise* wanting to cook some big piece of meat. He gave me two choices: ribs or a Boston Butt. I chose the butt. I went to Publix for my weekly run and decided to make scalloped potatoes for our side dish (along with some peas I had put away in the freezer). Upon my arrival back to the house, I got the question I was hoping not to get: "What's for dessert?" Hmmm...NOT going back to the store. I remembered my granny's chocolate pound cake recipe! Surely I had all the ingredients? Yep!! Here are both recipes from tonight, which both turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself :) AND I got out of watching any of the football. Hehehe...

Granny's Chocolate Pound Cake

3 sticks butter, room temp.
5 eggs
3 cups sugar
3 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup milk

Cream butter and sugar in an electric mixer or by hand. Add eggs one at a time and mix after each one. Separately combine the flour, cocoa, and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Starting with the flour mixture, alternately add the milk and flour mix to the cream mixture, ending with the flour mix. Pour in a greased and floured pan and bake at 325 for 1 hour 15 mins.

Dust off the ol' mixer.

Make sure to grease AND flour the pan if you want it to come out!

What do I love more than Granny's pound cake? Her milk glass cake stand.

Scalloped Potatoes

2-1/2 lbs. red potatoes (I used yukon gold), thinly sliced
1/4 cups flour
1 garlic clove, minced
1 shallot, chopped
1/2 tsp crushed dried red pepper
3 tbsp butter
1-1/4 cups milk
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 black pepper
1-1/2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (I used sharp cheddar and swiss...Gruyere is espensive!!)
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Toss sliced potatoes with flour in a large bowl. Sautee garlic and shallot in butter and add coated potatoes, milk, and next 3 ingredients, stirring well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until thickened.

Spoon half of the potato mixture in a baking dish and top woth 1/2 the cheese and repeat. Top with parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 35-40 minutes until bubbly and brown.

My new knife!! ;)

Brown and bubbly, as promised.

Robert's BUTT. I have to give him credit for this. He smoked it all day and it was yummy!

I went a little overboard with the potatoes, and, yes, I ate them all.

P.S. Who won the game?! :)

Charleston: REVISITED

I wish I could stop visiting and just LIVE there! Robert turned 30 on January 24th, and our dear friends Brandi and Stewart were needing to get out of town (1 year old ;) so we chose Charleston for a weekend getaway. I promise I go other places and will blog about all of them soon, but I can't help but share our fun weekend details...

We stayed at the Market Pavilion and it was lovely! It is in the historic district and right by the water. Check out the rooftop bar even if you are not staying there. And preferably go in the Spring or Fall fo sho!! The first time we went was in July and it was HOT. This time January and it was COLD and RAINY. But regardless we still had a great time. What to do when its raining? Play darts, shop, and EAT a lot!

It was cold when we got there on Saturday, but thankfully not rainy, so we walked around the battery and toured a beautiful house, the Calhoun Mansion. It's 24,000 square feet! I wish I could get that remodel job!! Beautiful antiques, interesting history, blah blah blah. Let's talk about food.

Friday night we ate at the steakhouse in our hotel: Grill 225. Brandi got the lobster bisque and it was superb. Robert and I split the calamari...equally delicious. The three smart people at my table got steaks and said they were some of the best ever. My fish-eatin' self chose the tuna. It was good...but I would suggest getting the steak if you go. Poor Brandi almost went into steak overload due to the size of her steak, so if you are a gal (even with a big apetite), split something!! :)

Saturday we woke up to a oh-so-lovely rainy day. But being the troopers we are, we put our boots on and headed to King Street! The boys headed straight to a BBQ joint where the beer was, and us gals hit the shops. After purchasing a much needed (and pretty darn cute might I add) umbrella and shirt on the sale rack at J. Crew, we met up with the boys at my favorite store...Williams Sonoma! Y'all know I love to cook and I have been wanting a decent chef's knife for years, so Robert and I splurged on a Wusthof! My fave purchase.

What's next? Lunch of course!! I blogged about this in my previous Charleston post, but I've got to do it again. CRU CAFE. Nuff said. My favorite restaurant in Chas! It's a hidden gem...tucked away on a side street in an old house. Make a reservation if you go, apparently it's not hidden to the locals. We didn't the first trip and we sat on the HOT porch. But the food made up for it. My three travel companions got beef again...the burger. I got the same salad as before...the fried goat cheese salad (y.u.m.m.y.) and then the coconut oyster wrap with asian coleslaw. Also yum. Don't even get me started on the dessert. Go there.

After a little rest, we met an old friend, Cam Parker, for a drink, Brandi and I did a little more shopping, and soon after we went to dinner. Cam is a guy we know from growing up in Albany. He is now a chef in Charleston (jealous) and he just recently quit a job at the Peninsula Grill for a better opportunity. But he was so nice as to make reservations for us (along with him and his sweet wife, Missie) at this excellent restaurant for dinner. Wow, wow, wow. It was a multi course meal with many fun surprises and dishes we have never had before (and frankly can't pronounce). It was such a fun experience and we will never forget it! Thanks Cam!