of Dutch Oven cookery- both in ovens and in open fires. Mostly because it’s so damned hard to screw things up too badly.

But I haven’t had a dutch oven for years.

I went to buy one specifically because I wanted to stew up some squirrels, and they sit in the freezer yet, awaiting that fate.

Deciding what to do with Christmas dinner was complex. We have turkey for easter and ham for new years (So we can have hopping john in January). We used to do prime rib but the Ogwife is not a fan. So, I thought, I have an untested dutch oven, why not?

So I went to Robs Meat Chop and Deli (Highly reccomended, trust me on this) and got about five pounds of chuck roast. The marbling and the connective tissue are what give it flavor. I salted and peppered the meat the night before, and then seared it in a tablespoon or so of oil to give it a nice crust. I fried potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots into the dutch oven until the onions became translucent, then put the meat back in on top, poured in a cup of cockburns fine ruby port, and slow cooked it at about 250 degrees for about four hours.

yeah, dammit. The meat could be thin sliced with a harsh word, and the taters were amazing., I usually don’t eat the onions because EVERYBODY DIES. I made a salad of sliced grape tomatoes and sliced black olives with chick peas and balsamic vinegar, and the Ogwife made a spinach salad with her secret recipe dressing and fresh farm raised eggs and BACON, and we had pie and ice cream for desert. I would have taken pictures for you, but none of it lasted that long.