Pot Roast Friday

Back in the day when I had my house in Lockport, one way to make the winters more social was the many spontaneous dinner parties my core group of friends used to throw. These were not fancy affairs, just good friends and real home cooking.

We are hosting representatives from the American Rowing Commission this weekend to teach classes in how to referee regattas. I’ll be at the classes, no experience is required. It always seems that whenever I take the plunge to explore something I’d never done before, good things usually happen.

The reps are supposed to be arriving in the late afternoon; meeting up with us at the boathouse after our Friday row. Volunteers were asked for to show these guys around the city and then to dinner. It can be impossible to get a table on a Friday night here. I was thinking how a home cooked meal would be better than a restaurant one considering all the aggravation that goes along with it. The condensed version is: I’m hosting a dinner here Friday night! It will be just like old times! I have no idea how many will eventually show up, that is the fun of it!

After my workout at the Y I did a shopping expedition: First to Wal-Mart, and then Sams. There is no way I could get enough lamb shanks (my favourite dinner to fix) on such short notice, so I settled on Pot Roast. I remembered seeing some beautiful cuts of meat my last trip to Sams. I was not disappointed; I found six pounds of chuck roast with beautiful fat marbled all in. That is where all the flavour is. The menu will be: Pot roast and gravy, smashed red garlic potatoes, onions and carrots, (cooked with the roast) cole slaw, corn bread sticks, and for desert, Fresh Florida strawberries served on a section of “Edicraft” waffle smothered in vanilla pudding sauce.

The pot roast got the initial cooking this afternoon. It was seasoned with fresh ground salt and pepper and browned in butter and garlic in the old cast iron skillet. It braised in a 300° oven for a few hours in the old turkey roaster along with some beef broth and onions. Nothing smells better than garlic and onions cooking! The meat is now “resting” in the ice box while the fat is separating from the juices. I made up the cole slaw and cut up the strawberries. I have some frozen waffles, but I’ll make up a fresh batch tomorrow morning, along with the corn sticks. That is beauty of this kind of meal: you cook everything ahead of time, that way you can enjoy the party too! The only real cooking I’ll have to do before supper is to get the water on the boil for the smashed potatoes. I picked up a bag of small red potatoes at Wal-Mart. They always seem to have the most flavour. I’ll never forget that first Thanksgiving I made smashed potatoes. Mom was so scandalized that I did not peel the potatoes before mashing them up, she at first refused to eat them. Once she got a taste, there was no turning back!

The house is not in too bad shape dirt wise. I don’t think it will be warm enough to have cocktails on the patios. It was in the low 50’s today, but there was a wind blowing that sure made it seem colder.

Hopefully I’ll have pictures and a favourable report Saturday afternoon on the party!!