Maddie's all time favorite dinner is French Dip Sandwiches, which I find more than a little endearing since it's also one of my favorites. I've used this recipe for a while, and have found no need to modify it since it was pretty much perfection.
Until today.
What was the difference? Timing. I wake up at 5:15am for work. I start making my eggs and drinking my coffee around 6am. That is when I started my French Dips this morning. I omitted the pan-searing step and just dumped a thawed 3 lb. roast straight from the fridge into the crockpot, poured two packets of onion soup mix over the top, and added enough water to barely cover the roast and turned it onto the low setting. I came home from work 12 hours later to the most beautiful, delicious, fall-apart-at-the-touch-of-a-fork roast you've ever seen. With no work. I quickly threw some sliced cheese (I used Beecher's Flagship, but provolone is the usual) onto sourdough hoagie rolls, piled on the shredded beef, and broiled for seconds until the cheese was melted.
Now here's an important detail. Horseradish sauce. Don't leave me yet!!!! I thought I hated horseradish. It's served at Arby's, for crying out loud. But just give it a tiny taste with this sandwich as you dip it into the "au jus." (French for "juice"--the stuff left in the crockpot. So pretentious, I know. But supposedly those French guys gave us this amazing sammich, so their pretention can be overlooked.) The kids do not get the draw to the horsey sauce. But Kolby and I PILE on the horseradish sauce, and it is SOOOOOO GOOOOOD. Seriously. Just try it once. Trust me. (And if you live near a Safeway, you are in luck. Kolby and I could drink the "Beano" brand horesradish sauce they sell there. But don't be discouraged with other brands--just use it sparingly until you know how much of a kick it carries.)
So yeah. I'm the coolest person on earth tonight. And I will be for the rest of the weekend as we continue to eat the leftovers. Being a working mom isn't so bad.
And if your kids are more adventerous than mine, you might want to try this super easy variation. Instead of using onion soup mix, dump an ENTIRE bottle, juice and all, of pepperoncininis over the pot roast and cook on low for hours (6-12 hrs). Serve on a hoagie with the peppers piled on top of the beef and dip in the juice. With horseradish. :)
5 comments:
I've done the french dip with the deli sliced meat. Maga made it like you did and the boys said it was a lot better. I need to give it a try. What kind of roast do you use?
I love those french dips...it really is perfection...but maybe we'll try the horsey sauce. :)
Jen- you can use any roast...I usually do a chuck roast cause it's cheap and I don't ever sear it first...in fact, I'm pretty sure I put it in frozen.
This was one of the best dishes I have made in awhile. Thanks for the recipe!
I agree with Courtney--I usually just buy whatever roast is least expensive.
Glad you liked it, Nikol! My mid-western friend calls it "Italian beef."
OK - so I made this today (finally!) I haven't purchased a roast in forever. I remember (WAY back when I was a teenager and my mom would have me help with the shopping)roasts being $.99 a pound. I guess those days are long gone.
Anyway, thumbs up from the boys. Grayson isn't home from work yet to give me his feedback. I don't care for Lipton Onion Soup flavoring, so I skipped that and added an Au Jus packet (I don't eat the sandwich but I do snack on the meat).
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