Slow Cooked Chuck Roast with Veggies (and Beets)!

• 2lbs of Beef Chuck Roast
• 8 russet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
• 6 carrots (diced)
• 1 really large onion (about .75lbs; chopped)
• 4 beet bulbs (about 0.5lbs; sliced, trimmed, and then chopped)
• 1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup (mine was 98% fat free)
• 1 package of onion soup mix
• 1 vegetable bullion cube
• S&P to taste

Hmmm, mmm, mmm... browned the chuck roast quite liberally in a bit a vegetable oil to get those really nice complex Maillard by-products. Now there are some that might tell you that you don't have to brown your meat if you're gonna slow cook it and that it's just another step, but don't let them fool you. There is no way to get those complex savory flavors that get formed by high heat browning in a slow cooker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction).

Okay, so then chop up all the veggies. To work with beets, you slice em apart first, and then trim off the thick skin, and chop them up into small cubes.

Heat up the condensed soup. I added two cups of water and the packet of onion soup mix and a veg bullion cube. Added about a tsp of salt and pepper, whisked it, and added it to the ingredients in the slow cooker and cooked for 8 hours.

Homemade Butter!

I hosted another Sunday Brunch today, and treated my guests to a treat of homemade butter that I made just before they came -- and dude, that butter was frackin' delicious on the pancakes.

I took 2 cups of cold heavy cream (straight from the fridge) in a bowl and used an electric hand mixer on it at it's slowest setting and watched it undergo its various transmutations:

• After about 4 minutes the mixture started to get a little thicker and started to resemble a flat whipped cream, with many air bubbles forming on the surface.
• After 6-7 minutes, it seemed like a full bodied whipped cream, having expanded in volume some.
• At 8-9 minutes it suddenly started to harden quickly and turned into a cottage cheese consistency within seconds. I thought I was done, but there was no liquid separating from it so I kept going.
  
• A few more minutes and it started to yellow, and liquid started forming in the bottom. I kept at it for another minute until it seemed like no more milk was separating from the butter.
• I then poured the chunky liquid mess into a cheese cloth of a bowl and squeezed it to get most of the liquid out. I then saved this liquid and used it for pancakes.
• I then took some ice water in a bowl and rinsed the bar of butter that I formed in it to get the residual milk off.

What I was left with had an incredible taste on pancakes... especially if it's not fully melted... the thin slices of butter sandwiched between the pancakes and syrup were mouth-gasmic.

New England Clam Chowder

This is a HUGE amount for us NECC lovers, half the recipe for a more manageable amount.


Ingredients:

• 1 package bacon (12 slices, diced)
• 4 med onions (about 4 cups diced)
• 4 tbsp butter
• 7 potatoes (about 10 cups cubed)
• 3-4 cups water
• 4 cups half and half
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 44 oz minced clams
• Salt, pepper and dill

Directions:

1. Dice 12 slices of bacon into squares and cook in a large pot until almost crisp (over low-medium heat if ingredients are piled over each other.)
2. Add 4 medium onions (about 4 cups diced) and continue cooking until onion caramelize and bacon is crisp.
3. Add 4 tbsp butter and 4 tbsp flour and mix to form a roux.
4. Add 7 cubed potatoes (about 10 cups diced, we didn't peel ours).
5. Add about 3-4 cups of water, to almost cover ingredients. Cook 20 minutes covered.
6. Add 4 cups half and half and 2 cups heavy cream.
   
7. Add 40 oz of minced clams with their juice. And cook for another 5 minutes without boiling.

Salt, pepper and dill to taste. Serve with toasty bread!

This soup will win you many honors and awards.