Sick in Bed: Best Meals for Sharing
My daughter told me this afternoon that there were seven kids home sick from her class today. Mild flu-like symptoms are taking Seattle schools by storm, and like so many kids, our neighbors were hit with low-grade fevers, sore throats, earaches and the like.
In addition to supplying sick friends with a big box of tissues, assorted throat lozenges and a stack of magazines, I can't think of a better cure for the aches and pains of a cold or flu than a good meal.
So when I heard about our neighbors, I decided to fix a hearty meal we could both enjoy, though not at a communal table. My friend Clark's pot roast came to mind--meat and vegetables braised in a tantalizing liquid and cooked in a single pot. Clark's recipe is not traditional. His mother got it from a Chinese-American friend she met while living in Malaysia, and the unusual mix of ingredients, when cooked for hours, becomes a magical elixir. It is an antidote for what ails you.
Clark's Pot Roast
Ingredients:
3-5 pound brisket of beef
5 cups hot water
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon dark Chinese soy sauce
A few peppercorns
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Cooking oil
Baby carrots
2 tablespoons potato starch
Directions:
1. Allow meat to warm to room temperature for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Mix flavoring ingredients in hot water.
3. Salt and pepper the roast and brown it on all sides in some oil. Add garlic at end and brown briefly. Don't let it burn. Add water mixture. Bring to simmer. Cover tightly with foil and and lid. Place in oven. Cook for 4 hours.
3. Remove meat, cover and keep warm. Cook carrots in liquid; keep covered on low heat. Remove carrots and degrease liquid.
4. Mix 2 tablespoons potato starch in 2 tablespoons cooled liquid; whisk into stock to thicken. Adjust season. Serve with mashed potatoes.
Serves 6-8
--Tracy Schneider
managed hosting on November 10, 2009 at 04:46 AM
Thanks for sharing this recipe with us. Now whenever I get seek I will try this for me.