Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

Relax, Refresh, Recharge

   (Scroll down to "The Playlist" and hit play before reading... works better that way!)

Time to take a break... The phrase "Smoke 'em if you got 'em" was popular during war time meaning "do what you want, if you have the means". 

So, with all that's going on in the world, we thought it was a good time to sit back and take a breath, have a glass of wine and recharge the batteries. Maybe you could just whip up some comfort food like mom used to make, have a smoky cocktail and listen to some funky blues (featuring our good friend Mike Snowden). That oughta take your mind off things for a while. 

Relax... The Pots Are On!

The Plate... 

Slow Cooker Pot Roast/Red Wine Gravy

Man, we love a slow-cooker. It's kinda like having someone do the cooking for you. But, we gotta say that this is not your mama's Pot Roast. I mean come on... it's got red wine gravy. Come to think of it we just did a recipe for pork chops with a red wine glaze. What can we say... we like cooking with wine and sometimes put it in the food. Ha, ok... old joke. 

This will be one easy recipe that will sure wow the family and friends. 

What you need... 

One 4 lb beef chuck roast

1 cup red wine

Salt & pepper

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 tbsp olive oil

4 medium carrots, cut into small pieces (about 2")

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped thin

12 small red potatoes halved 

3 tbsp tomato paste

3 cups beef broth

3 bay leaves

2 sprigs of thyme

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

What you do...

Rub salt and pepper all over the roast then lightly coat in flour.

Heat up a large skillet over medium-high with 2 tbsp of oil.

Add the roast to the skillet and sear on all sides.

Take the roast and place it your slow-cooker. 

Add the carrots, onions, potatoes and garlic.

Add 1 tbsp of oil to the skillet and turn down to medium heat.

Add the tomato paste and stir until the oil starts to turn dark red. 

Now add the flour and wine... whisk until it thickens slightly.

Pour in the beef broth, bay leaves thyme and Italian seasoning.

Whisk until the gravy is smooth and thickens just a little (about 4 min).

Now pour the gravy into the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove the roast and let it rest.

Discard the thyme and bay leaves. 

Strain the veggies and toss with the parsley, season with salt and pepper.

Slice the roast (against the grain).

Place the roast on a platter, with a little gravy on top and surround with the veggies.

Serve with the remaining gravy on the side. 

The Playlist...

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

Well, our old friend Mike Snowden is back in the studio and crankin' out some awesome "cigar-box" slide guitar. The story goes that Mike sold a few cigar-box guitars to actor Jeff Daniels. Jeff has a band of his own and wrote a song called "Oh so close but no cigar". Mike then decided that he would write a song called "Smoke 'em if you got 'em"; all about just letting loose and having a good time. 

No time to worry. Just think about the words to Brent Cobb's song "Ain't a road too long"; where he reminds us to count our blessings and carry on. 

                    The "Playlist" runs on Spotify- Click on the link to listen to 

                           Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

The Bar... 

Smoking Scotsman

What you need...

2 1/2 oz Chivas 12

Maple Smoked Plank

Maple Bitters

Creme Brûlée Torch

Orange peel

What you do...

With a creme brûlée torch, a maple plank is scorched until the wood blackens and a small flame rises. 

While it's on fire, place a rocks glass on top of the flame, stifling it and allowing the smoke to fill the glass. 

This will leave a strong residue on the glass.

While the glass fills, the Chivas is stirred (not shaken) with a few dashes of bitter.
The liquid is then poured over one large ice cube, place in the center of the smoked glass.
Pour in the Scotch/bitters mix and garnish with orange peel.

Smokin'!

Check it out... Snowden Guitars

Need More Cigar Box Thunder...

Available on iTunes

Please... Day Drink Responsibly 

& 

Keep On Cookin'!