So this was supposed to be a newsletter about pot roast and blending families. I had it all worked out. Ben had invited both his parents and my parents over for Seder last weekend, and I was planning on making my grandmother’s pot roast recipe, because Ben’s family usually has pot roast instead of brisket during Passover. What an amazing newsletter, I thought to myself. I’ll cook my Italian-American recipe for this Jewish ritual and I’ll write about how universal the language of food is and how it’s also a language of love! Brilliant!
And then, just before we sat down for dinner, with the pot roast still roasting away on the stove, Ben asked me to marry him.
It’s an impossible thing to write about. I know because I’ve been sitting here with my laptop in bed—with Ben sleeping next to me and Edie starting at me to go out—for the better part of a half hour and can’t seem to string a sentence together. Suffice to say that it was perfect, and exactly how I imagined it, and I could write thousands of words on why I’m so excited to marry him, but I think I’ll wait for the vows.
Really, though, I’ve been reflecting on how much time has passed, and how much I have changed. A decade ago I thought this wasn’t going to happen for me. I was convinced I’d be on my own forever. And now here I am, a little later than I expected, with an understanding that it was all worth the wait.
I’ve been thinking about the people who aren’t here. I would have loved for any of my grandparents to be alive to see this, especially because both of my grandmothers regularly calmed my nerves about finding someone. But then, in a way, they were. Grandma Margie’s pot roast was on the stove when Ben got down on one knee and proposed with a mold of a ring he and I are now designing together, made from the diamonds of my Grandma Angela’s engagement ring. I may not have been able to call them and hear the excitement in their voices, but they were there.
So in the end, this did turn out to be a newsletter about pot roast and blending families. Because after we hugged my parents and Ben’s parents (my parents-in-law?!?!?!) and dried our tears, we sat around the table and dug into some delicious dinner. My family shared their pot roast. Ben’s shared their matzo ball soup. We laughed and poured wine and Ben and I kissed in the kitchen between courses.
I don’t think that my grandmother could have known that this recipe would be the one I’d make on the evening of my engagement when she came up with it. But isn’t that the gorgeous part about heirloom recipes? They’ll appear in the background of special moments throughout the generations. That’s why I love food. That legacy is the most meaningful gift she could give me without being here. And when I make this recipe for our children one day, I’ll turn to them and say, “this is my grandmother’s pot roast, and I made it the day your father asked me to marry him.”
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup olive oil
4-6 lb cut of chuck roast
1 cup flour (we left this out for Seder, of course!)
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
4 celery stalks, cut into chunks
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups good red wine
4 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 package string beans, trimmed
1 package frozen peas
INSTRUCTIONS
Add your olive oil to the bottom of a large Dutch Oven and heat until shimmering.
Lightly flour your meat and place it in the Dutch Oven. Brown on all sides. (You may need to cut the roast in half to be able to manage it properly.) Add your onions, carrots, and celery and brown with the meat.
Add your chicken broth and wine to the pot so that it comes about halfway up the side of meat. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
Cover and cook on low heat for 1 1/2 hours.
Place your potatoes, string beans, and peas around the meat. Cover again and cook for an additional hour, at least, until the meat is super tender. You may need to add a little more liquid to the pot. Taste for salt and adjust.
Before serving, remove your roast from the pot and let rest for at least 10 minutes on a cutting board. Slice and serve with your veggies around it on a serving dish.
Oh my God, it's the ultimate MEAT CUTE! Lol... Congrats to you both!
Congratulations Maria! <3 Wishing your family nothing but happiness and LOTS of pot roast as you start this new chapter. I think you'll find married life quite pleasant.