Japanese Inspired Pot Roast

While, we have only joined Meeta in one of her Monthly Mingles - we had a great time. I was not going to do this months only because it was a "one-dish" meal and what comes to mind for us involves a crock pot food or casserole type meal, neither appealed to us, so we decided to sit this one out.

I was getting ready to put away my February issue of Food and Wine, when I decided to take one last flip through it. There on the cover was the topic, "the Ultimate One-Pot Meal". I slowly turned to page 101, thinking it was going to involve a crock-pot or would be a casserole. So happy to see it was a nice slow braised meal cooked in one-pot and in the oven. The perfect meal for the lazy Saturday night we were planning.

FW gives you four options and we chose the Japanese style. We did use a few potatoes instead of the Daikon. As well I cooked Udon noodles instead of the egg noodles they suggest. The pot-roast was very easy to make and while it is cooking the house smells truly incredible. Great way to get the mood going for a "lazy but romantic" evening.

While the roast was slowly cooking we used up the left-over bubbly from our pre and Valentine's dinners. We added a couple splashes of Bonny Doon Framboise and garnished with raspberries. What a great way to end your day and start your evening!

Then it was time to really chow down on the pot roast and buttered udon noodles. The roast was very tender and the carrots and potatoes were not over cooked, a slight crunch to them still. The broth was very flavorful - the saltiness of the Soy Sauce, and the sweetness of the Mirin and the Star Anise (which I almost did not add as I like to photograph with them) brought a very interesting flavor, a little spicy and not overwhelming, very exotic, definitely worked very well together - we loved it! Served a hunk of crusty bread with it and we popped open a lovely Bordeaux from the Loire Valley. For dessert we had a couple meringues left over, which, I made with my sweet little 4 year old friend, E. for Valentines - she is all about pink and love - I topped them with raspberries and drizzled deep dark chocolate over the tops.

Truly a great evening with the one you love!