The Perfect Roast, a Butler, and Christmas Music
Hi friend,
I’m inviting you into my kitchen this week for some quality cooking time together. Even though many of us spent the majority of last week in the kitchen, it feels good to return to a normal pace — and one that is warm, nourishing, and delicious.
It was a lot of fun recording this week’s video for you all. It was life-giving to focus on our roots in the from-scratch kitchen for a few moments. Without the gardens and harvests to keep me busy, I’ve been investing more and more time into moments just like this. I create videos like this for my Cooking Community every month, and there’s always a seat for you at the table to join me there.
With how fast the kids are changing and the ever-growing pressures of the outside world, I find solace in simmering pots of beans, rising bread, and bins of cornmeal and split peas awaiting their destiny. The world may shout demands, but the kitchen just wants me to be present and fruitful.
Chaos comes and goes, challenges arise, and much is lost. But here, there is peace.
White Wine Chuck Roast
Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4-pound chuck roast (this is a great source for dry-aged beef)
4 tablespoons flour
Sea salt and black pepper
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 bulb fennel, cut into quarters
4 springs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
3 cups white wine
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400°.
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven.
Season the roast generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the flour over the top of the roast and use your fingers to coat the roast evenly. Add the roast to the pan. Gently brown the roast for 5 minutes per side.
Add in the wine, garlic, onion, fennel, and herbs.
Cover the Dutch oven with a lid and put it into the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Turn the heat down to 275° and continue to slow cook the roast for 4 hours, until the roast is fork-tender.
Serve the roast with a drizzle of the juice from the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
BONUS: In the Cooking Community, every recipe I deliver comes with a printable recipe card. Just for fun, this week we’re gifting one to you! Click the button below to download.
A Very She & Him Christmas
If you’re feeling a bit nostalgic, or if (like me) your end-of-year Spotify wrap guessed your age to be 89, here’s a delightful little Christmas album for you to enjoy while you trim the tree or procrastinate on gift shopping (like yours truly).
Time with Jeeves
I finished Return of the King (the final book in The Lord of the Rings series) over the Thanksgiving holiday. I was left bewildered and fulfilled and challenged. A good book always leaves one a bit melancholy, no?
To counter my sadness over the final ship sailing to the Grey Havens, I immediately grabbed P.G. Wodehouse off the shelf. If you’ve yet to meet Bertie (the namesake for our silly Australian Shepherd) and his butler, Jeeves, you would do well to do just that.
Bertie and Jeeves are early-twentieth-century British wit at its finest. It’s written in short story form so busy folks, such as yourself, can take it in a few pages at a time easily. I was often left giggling alone in the bathtub, what?
Side-note: without the distraction of screens to keep me busy over the Thanksgiving holiday, I not only finished The Return of the King, but also Very Good, Jeeves!, and Silence. I’m onto Robinson Crusoe. Wish me luck! And put your next recommendation for me in the comments, please!
I hope your hands and heart are able to taste, see, and work in beautiful ways this weekend.
