Perfect Pot Roast

Last night was my night to cook for our friends, who just brought home the most precious little boy. I was the third person ever to hold him, not counting nurses/doctor! I wanted to make something that would be a good comfort food, and wouldn't be too spicy for the new mommy's tummy.

This is actually my own recipe. My mom told me years ago how to cook a roast, and although nothing can beat Mama's home cookin', mine isn't too shabby.

First, I covered the roast in salt. I know you're not really supposed to salt meat before cooking because it can cause it to dry out, but Mom says browning the roast seals in the moisture, and she's right. Then I dusted it with flour and browned it in a couple tbs of vegetable oil on all sides until the outside was nice and crispy. I normally put a little beef broth in the bottom of the baking dish, but didn't have any on hand. I added about 1/2 c water and a little salt to keep it extra juicy, covered it in foil, and baked it for 2 hrs at 325. Then, I added some sliced red potatoes and carrots to the dish, drizzled a little olive oil over them and seasoned it all with rosemary garlic seasoning. I baked it for another hour like this.

In the meantime, I made "Big Soft Ginger Cookies" from allrecipies.com. I took the advice from some of the reviews and used orange juice in place of water, and let the dough sit in the freezer for half an hour so it wouldn't be too sticky. According to the reviews, this was a big problem. They were right.
The dough was very sticky and hard to deal with, but I just handled them very "gingerly" (ha ha). I skipped the sugar rolling step, and used a flour dusted fork to flatten them.

They turned out quite well. In fact, I have given most of them away. It is just plain dangerous for me to have them on hand; I have no self control. I would make them again, but I think you would have to really have a thing for ginger to love these cookies. I do. In fact, I might add a little more next time!

Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white sugar

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Mine were kind of unattractive. They were really difficult to flatten, and this was the last batch and I was tired of messing with it!