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When we decide to do a recipe it is more like “guidelines than actual rules” and the Fancy Yankee Pot Roast has become one of our favorites to date. We used the recipe from the Food Network and then added a few changes. It is the most delightful meal you will eat. I found that instead of just sitting down to a meal I felt that I was dining. That is the mark of a good meal! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.

Fancy Yankee Pot Roast

• 1/4 cup pure olive oil
• 3/4 onions, sliced
• 3 potatoes, cut bite size
• 1 cup of frozen peas (add the last 15 min)
• 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 small can of mushrooms
• One 3- to 4-pound top or bottom round beef roast
• Flour for dredging
• 8 slender carrots, or fatter ones cut in half or quartered
• 3 ribs celery, cut in half
• 2 1/2 cups beef broth
• 1 1/2 cups hearty red wine (we used Cabernet, much better) we used the rest of the wine to drink with dinner
• 5 or 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
•  1 tablespoon thyme
• 1 rounded teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (we like lots of pepper so we added much more
• Salt to taste (about ½ tsp)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 rounded tablespoons flour

Directions

In a large, heavy flameproof casserole, preferably cast iron, over medium heat, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions until golden. Thoroughly dredge the beef in the flour, covering all the surfaces. Add to the pan and brown on all sides. The flour may cause the onions to burn slightly. This is good and will add lots of flavor. Add the carrots, celery, beef broth, wine, thyme, black pepper, and salt to taste. Reduce heat, partially cover, and barely simmer for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, turning the beef occasionally. Remove the carrots and celery when they are cooked and reserve.

When the beef is falling-apart tender, remove it from the broth (the thermometer read 180 degrees). Remove the thyme sprigs. Knead the butter and 2 tablespoons flour together until thoroughly combined. Add the mixture to the broth and stir with a wooden spoon until you have a sauce the consistency of buttermilk. Remove from the heat. Then we just added the veggies back in.

To serve, slice the beef and arrange on a platter. Cover with some of the sauce. Put the remaining sauce in a bowl or gravy boat. Arrange the carrots and celery attractively on the beef platter. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs, if you like. Serve immediately. We used our cast iron dutch oven and it worked great!

To dish up we used a low bowl, adding the roast then spooned gravy with veggies over the top which we served with hot Southern Style Biscuits with butter and honey.

Recently I have been getting into cooking again. I decided to pull out some old cookbooks and see what is in them. I have a “McCall’s Cookbook” that was my mother-in-law’s. It is copyrighted 1963. My husband and I faithfully used the corn bread recipe found in this cookbook but I had never taken the time to actually look through the recipes.

As you, dear readers know, I love pancakes. I have made Oatmeal Pancakes and traditional Pancakes but! I have never made Flapjacks. And there on page 72 is a great recipe for “Old-Fashioned Flapjacks. I couldn’t wait to share with you the recipe. So here you are:

3 eggs

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour (and yes, I really did sift the flour with a hand sifter)

3 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon light-brown sugar

½ cup buttermilk

2 tablespoon butter or margarine melted

In large bowl of electric mixer (use my Kitcheaid) at high speed beat eggs until light and fluffy- about 2 minutes.

Into eggs, sift flour with baking powder, salt and granulated sugar. Add brown sugar; beat until smooth.

Stir in buttermilk and butter just until combined; do not over beat!

Meanwhile slowly heat your griddle or pan the test temperature by dropping a little cold water onto hot griddle; water should roll off in drops.

Use ¼ cup batter for each flapjack; cook until bubbles from on surface and edges become dry. Turn; cook 2 minutes longer, or until nicely browned on underside.

I hope you enjoy these flapjacks as much as I did. I love the fact this is in a family recipe book. And now it will be a recipe I use time and again. My mother-in-law was in the military and was a cook while serving as a Sergeant in the Army during World War II. I know you will enjoy this family recipe as much as I do!

No matter how you celebrate this year, from my house to yours….Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New York. 1981. Chromogenic color print (printed c. 2005). 18 x 11 15/16″ (45.7 x 30.4 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Marvin Hoshino. © 2010 The Estate of Helen Levitt, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

Hope you had a great Labor Day. I tried something new this year. I made a new dinner from top to bottom. I found some recipes on Weight Watchers and used them as “guidelines” to create a nice meal. This I what I made:
Tropical Chicken with Sweet Potato Fries:

I did a marinated “Tropical Chicken” with sweet potato fries.
Ingredients for marinate:
6 Tbsp fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp ginger paste (found in the produce section)
¼ cup apricot preserves
6 Tbsp of soy sauce
I marinated a whole cut up chicken for 12 hours before grilling. Yum!!! Frozen sweet potato fries baked in oven per directions on the package.

Then I made Chili-Lime Corn:
I had some frozen halves so I thawed them and brush them with:
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp lime zest
1 Tbsp chili powder
Salt to taste

Once on the grill I place them on the outside of the fire until they were warm then moved them onto the fire so that I could lightly char the corn along with fresh jalapenos from the garden.
With chips I made a dip which was nice with fresh veggie tray as well:

Black Bean Dip:
15 oz. canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup of Cilantro loosely packed. Very important you use fresh Cilantro.
½ cup Greek plain yogurt
½ Chipotle salsa
1 tsp. cumin
Salt and chili powder to taste. Pulse in food processor until at desired consistency then garnish w/Cilantro. Be sure to refrigerate because this dip is fresh and will only last 24 hours.

And for desert I followed the recipe except I added walnuts:
Berry Mixed Crumble:
2 cups blueberries
2 cups raspberries
¾ c. all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unpacked light brown sugar
¼ lb. of butter, melted
¼ cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse berries and set aside. In another bowl combine flour and sugar. Remove about 2 Tbsp of the flour mixture to gently toss with the berries. Place in an 8” pan
Topping add melted butter and remaining flour mixture, combine well. Crumble little bits of topping all over top of berries. Bake until it starts to bubble. I cooked mine for 35 minutes, removed from oven and cooled to room temperature. Served warm with a then slice of sharp cheddar cheese.
If you get an opportunity to use this meal let me know how you enjoyed it. I think I found a winning Labor Day meal.

Wanted to share this great story:

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:“What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?”

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50′s, but how would I know her name?I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. “Absolutely, ” said the professor. “In your careers, you will meet many people.

All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say “hello.”I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her Name was Dorothy.

(Contributed)