After having dosed myself w/store-brand Nyquil last night, I slept pretty danged soundly. Finally acceded to the demands of my mobile phone's wake-up alarm at 8 a.m.. Got ready and went to breakfast w/my Dad and friends. I brought the King Cake I bought at Rouses last Monday before leaving New Orleans.
Speaking of King Cake...DANG, Houston people think getting 'the baby' is some sort of curse and not a reason to keep the party going...!??! The guys (GUYS!?!) only wanted 'thin slices'...and were terrified they might get the danged baby. Cripes, it's just an excuse to get another King Cake and have a party, not a draft notice. So, w/only a few slices nommed, I brought the cake home - it's now chilling in the fridge. There WILL be coffee and King Cake later! :)
After dropping some checks at the bank at last - jeeze, this whole direct deposit thingy has really ruined me for getting to the bank regularly...(so I sit on checks, whoops!) I went by the thrift store and indulged in three (3) dollars of decadence: I bought a pair of red patent heels to convert to MUSES throws! :)
Came home, stowed the aforementioned King Cake and then started getting my meez rocking for the roast!
Peeled about 5-6 butter gold potatoes (they are little) and halved them, chopped two ribs of celery into rustic sizes (forgot to string 'em...dammit!), sliced about half a yellow onion (getting a white one next time), and added about a half a pound of baby carrots already peeled.
Got out a plate, poured out some unbleached AP flour and liberally dosed it w/black pepper, garlic powder, Kosher salt (not SO much) and some Tony Chachere's. Mixed that up, then dredged the trimmed roast (about a 2 pounder) in it and set that to sear in the heated pot w/a bit of veggie oil.
Set the seared roast on a plate, deglazed the pot w/a copious splash of Barefoot Merlot, poured that into a smaller saucepan, added the box of beef broth (organic), a spoonful of tomato paste (check the label - make sure it's JUST tomato listed...cripes one of the brands had all manner of crap in there!??!), and a spoonful of Penzey's beef soup base (this is my first time to try to use that - just describing it, not plugging the brand - although I LOVE Penzey's!). Let that simmer a bit and stirred w/whisk.
I then put the roast in the waiting crock pot, poured in the prepped veggies. In a tall drinking cup, I poured just shy of a cup of the Merlot and about the same of the bottled Parkway Bakery water I brought back from NOLA - just as a nod to one of my FAVE NOLA joints! I put that liquid blend into the crock pot for giggles and then added the simmered/whisked beefy-winey mixture and covered.
The crock pot is set at High for 4 hours, then I'll run it at low for 6 hours and see where we're at.
There's a waiting loaf of par-baked French bread to finish off that will be misted as it heats up so that it crisps up on the outside. But that's not until the meat is falling apart tender.
So, now I'm about to work on the already-started MUSES shoeses and hopefully some tidying up around this sty of a bachelorette pad. Maybe a little sandwich for lunch and, hmmm...a slice of King Cake? ;)
Cheers!
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