Cooking for one is a challenge during the holidays. You want something special but an elaborate spread is time consuming and can be expensive. The roast below was economical and the long braising time turned a tough piece of beef into a tender and tasty main course.
The outside roast I cooked was small (1.2 kg) so the cooking time was shorter than in the recipe that inspired it. And, while it was braising, there was plenty of time to make the side dishes. I added some new, Christmas-inspired, treats to the meal to make it special.
Purchased Egg nog with a shot of brandy and a grating of fresh nutmeg
Pot Roast, mushroom gravy over mashed potatoes, pot veggies and salad
Mincemeat No-Churn Ice Cream and Mincemeat Kolach
The mincemeat ice cream was a simple variation of the cranberry sauce one I made a while ago. To save time, I’ve posted the recipe below.
Mincemeat No-Churn Ice Cream – makes 3 1/2 – 4 cups
3/4 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup mincemeat, plus another tbsp or 2 for marbling
1 tbsp brandy
In a large cold bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form.
In a medium sized bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk, brandy and the mincemeat.
Add a scoop or two of the whipped cream to the bowl with the sweetened condensed milk and fold in to lighten the mixture. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream as gently as possible.
Scoop half of the ice cream mixture into a freezer safe container. Place several dollops of mincemeat over the ice cream. Scoop the rest of the ice cream mixture into the container. Place a few more dollops of mincemeat over the top. With a butter knife gently marble the mincemeat into the ice cream. Put the lid on the container and place into freezer for a minimum of 8 hrs or overnight.
Cranberry Sauce Variation: Replace the mincemeat in the recipe above with home made or jarred cranberry sauce. Use whatever alcohol you prefer … Cointreau or Grand Marnier bring out the orange notes in the cranberry sauce recipe I used.
Cooking the pot roast – The roast is seasoned with salt and pepper and seared before continuing with the rest of the braise.
The pot roast was tender after 3 hrs but it could have been cooked for another half hour if desired.
Mushroom gravy made with sauteed white mushrooms and strained braising liquid.
Cooking is Fun ... Really!! 
Hope you had a very merry Christmas and I wish you a happy and healthy new year. I was lucky, and didn’t have to cook the big dinner, I did bake a traditional Bouche de Noel, an old recipe.
Thank you. We had a white Christmas … and very cold. Nice not to have to do all that cooking. Love a traditional bouche … meringue mushrooms and all. 🙂
I think pot roast is a perfect Christmas dinner! I hope your Christmas was nice and cozy.
Yes, thank you. It’s REALLY cold outside so the warm kitchen was lovely. Hope your Christmas was great as well.
It sounds like delicious food for one! (And clever choices too!). Cooking festive food for two is not easy either, but luckily we both love snacks… somehow I find it much easier.
I hope you’ve had wonderful Christmas.
Snacks sound tasty but I’m trying to use up freezer and pantry ingredients and not go grocery shopping til after the new year.
Down to my last onion, no more carrots, a few sticks of celery left and I need lettuce. Forgot I had broccoli rabe in the veggie drawer which I should use up in the next few days.
Thank you. It was a nice Christmas. Brief visit from brother and SIL the day before. ‘Santa’ was quite generous.