In My Defense, Cold Medicine Labels Should Specifically List Ovens In Their 'Heavy Machinery' Warning...
I really don't know what possessed me to attempt a magazine dinner last night. I am on day 56 (well, that may be an exaggeration...but let's just go with it) of a cold that I can't shake. Not only did I do a magazine dinner, but I did one that took me 4 1/2 hours to prepare. AND the recipe was for two, so I was doubling all the ingredients. Math and cold medicine are a tricky pair (not that I like to pair anything with math). Maybe part of why I was trying this recipe was because I got a new handle potholder for my pans. No more burnt hands from touching a hot handle! (Thanks Nicole and Colette!) I'm a sucker for new kitchen gadgets.
I think some of the time could be cut down if you do all the prep work in advance. I, mean, it would still take time, (I'm not sure when the last time you tried finely dicing a carrot, but it's not the most cooperative of vegetables) but at least you could spread out some of the work. 4 hours in one space making one dinner on a random Wednesday is a lot. I started dinner at 4 and by the time I finished washing and dicing and cutting all the vegetables, it was 5. I "quickly" did the math on the cook times and realized that I would be lucky to get dinner on the table by 8.
As it turns out, my cold medicine math was fairly accurate. (This would have been helpful information when I was taking college Algebra.) It was a late dinner, for sure. This is why I chose not to notice when I saw someone, I'm not naming any names, (Ryan and Mark Henry) lift a bag of goldfish out of the kitchen when they thought I wasn't looking. This cold medicine is making me soft. I usually rule that kitchen with an iron spatula. (Did I really just write that?) (And not delete it...)
Anyway, Taylor got home from work and asked what weird spices she was smelling. I thought that was unusual, because there were no weird spices in it. In fact, there were very few spices in it at all. Hmph. That comment did nothing to boost my ego for spending all day cooking. Then Ryan came in 20-30 minutes later (with the empty goldfish bag) and asked what the burnt rubber smell was and why was it smokey. What was he talking about? All I could think was, 'These kids are nuts and they better eat this dinner!!'.
Then I looked around....it was a little smokey. I thought this was just a side effect of pseudoephedrine.... I opened the oven and I had left the new handle potholder thingy on the handle of my pot. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.... Maybe this is what they mean on the box when they say 'be careful operating machinery or heavy equipment'. I guess an oven is pretty heavy. Note to self: Use this in the future when not in the mood to cook. Fortunately, this pot roast cooks on a low temperature and my new pot holder is fine, albeit a little stinky....but that smell should go away soon. I can't smell it anyway...I can't smell anything.
This pot roast was fantastic! The entire family liked it. Even Mark Henry ate some of the roast and potatoes. He did it under duress, but let's not split hairs. I guess you have to weigh out the time spent and how good it is, but I think this was definitely worth the effort. It would be doable on a regular weeknight, as long as you prep the night before and have no extracurricular after school activities. And plenty of cold medicine....which could probably be substituted with wine.
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| Before Adding the Vegetables |
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| After |
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| The Ingredients (minus the tomato paste...) |
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| Cook's Country April/May 2013 Yankee Pot Roast For Two |
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