The Secret Ingredient

I could not put one more slab of raw beef up as a photo, and I've yet to photograph this dish. So, I'm putting up a photo of the most important ingredient: Magic Hat No. 9.

You don't want to drink this stuff. You want to cook with it! We have a most amazing recipe for pot roast and Magic Hat No. 9 is a key ingredient. It supports all the other flavors without losing its own identity.

This dish is a labor of love. It is not particularly labor intensive, but it takes time to cook. In fact, if you can use your crock pot, please do so. The last time I made this, I could not fit the meat inside the crock pot, so I went stovetop. It was still wonderful.

So, here we go.

Good Karma's Most Amazing Pot Roast

2.5 lb pot roast (a brisket also works extremely well here)
¾ cup apple cider or malt vinegar
1 cup Starbucks Sumatra or Gold Coast Blend coffee*
2 bottles of Magic Hat No. 9 Beer (Blackened Voodoo also works well here, but it is hard to find)
1 small can of tomato paste
1 large yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 chili peppers, chopped (Serrano, Habanero, Jalapeno – depends upon how much heat you can take!)
3 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp granulated garlic
½ tsp onion powder
1 tsp thyme
3 tbsp. canola oil (plus 1 tsp. extra for coating the beef)
Salt & black pepper to taste

Wash the pot roast off and pat dry. Make a rub with the chili powder, cumin, paprika, granulated garlic, onion powder and thyme. Lightly oil the top and bottom of the pot roast and coat with the rub. Allow it to sit for 30 minutes.

In a large pasta pot, heat the 3 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and onion, as well as the chili peppers. Cook until the onions are translucent. With the heat on medium-high, add the pot roast and brown both sides. Once both sides are browned, remove the roast from the pan and set aside.

Scrape the tiny bits of garlic, chili pepper and onion from the bottom of the pan, and then add the coffee, cider or malt vinegar and the two bottles of Magic Hat, along with salt and black pepper to taste. Stir to incorporate the “bits” from the pan. Then return the roast to the pan. This begins the process of slow cooking. Lower the heat to medium-low and allow the roast to cook slowly for about 2-3 hours minimum. Several times during the cooking process, check the spice level. If you feel like you need to add more, do not be afraid to do so.

With about 1 hour left in the cooking process, add the can of tomato paste. This will not only ad an extra punch to the flavor, but it will help to thicken the liquid, which can then be used as a gravy for both the meat and whatever side dishes you may choose. (Garlic mashed potatoes would be my choice.)

Remove the meat from the pan, cut it and place it on a serving tray. If cooked correctly, you will not need a knife. The meat should just simply fall apart.

If you still want thicker gravy, simply add a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a bit of water. Do not allow it to sit or it will clump; stir it immediately until the juices thicken.

*Please do not substitute Dunkin’ Donuts, Green Mountain or any other commercial store-bought coffee for the Starbucks brand. The dish depends upon the deepness and richness of the coffee. You can buy as little as ¼ lb at all Starbucks locations.

Lovely Linda's Spanikopita

This delicious recipe is adapted from the lovely Linda McCartney's recipe. There have been minimal changes made.

Linda specified organic ingredients throughout the recipe. If it is not possible to access organic ingredients, please do not hesitate to follow this recipe. It will be delicious regardless.




Spanikopita

1 lb leeks, thinly sliced or 3 bunches of scallions, sliced
6 tbsp olive oil
2 lb washed spinach or 1 lb (2 boxes) of frozen spinach
1/2 lb feta cheese
3 large eggs, beaten
2/3 cup milk
3 tbsp freshly chopped dill weed
2 tsp ground nutmeg
sea salt & black pepper to taste
3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 lb phylo pastry (country style thick slices recommended)

In a large frying pan, saute the leeks or scallions in 2 tbsp of the olive oil until they soften. In a large pan, wilt the spinach, drain it thoroughly in a colander and squeeze out the excess water. If using frozen spinach, defrost, place in a colander and squeeze out excess water.

In a large bowl, mash the feta cheese with a fork, then add the beaten eggs, milk, dill, and nutmeg. Season well with salt and pepper.

Grease a 9" square baking pan or an 8" x 11.5" x 2" oblong pan. Line it with half the phylo pastry sheets, laying them down one at a time and brushing each with olive oil. Then, pour the filling evenly over the sheets and smooth out. Finish assembly by putting the other half of the phylo dough on top, laying them down one at a time and brushing each with olive oil.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes prior to cutting.

Wicked Good Pizza Dough

There's nothing quite like pizza and, frankly, the dough can make or break it. Sometimes the simplest doughs produce the best results.

The pizza dough recipe I give you here couldn't be any easier. The results are delicious. And from this basic dough you can create different flavors. Tonight I'm making a basil-flavored dough for my kids' pizza. I've also made it with both granulated garlic and fresh, slightly charred garlic pieces.

So, give this a whirl. If you get creative and come up with some new flavors, give us a blog and let us know what you did!

Wicked Good Pizza Dough

Ingredients

3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
1 package of active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F; 45 degrees C)
2 tbsp. oil (olive, canola, vegetable)

Directions

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes.

In the meantime, mix the flour, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. After 5 minutes, add the yeast water and the oil. Any herbs should be mixed in at this time.

Once the dough forms a ball, remove from the bowl and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a towel, and allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, punch the dough down, remove it from the bowl and knead for about 20-30 seconds. Then roll the dough to the shape desired for your pizza. Place the dough in a lightly oiled and floured pizza pan, cover with your toppings, and cook for about 20-25 minutes.