Cooking With Stanley Week 50

There are some meals that scream comfort. A hearty Italian roast is one of them for me. Because it cooks for so long, it fills your home with all these fantastic aromas. Rosemary, thyme, potatoes, meat, carrots, you name it. That's why this week's Cooking With Stanley menu is one of my personal favorites. It's comfort food at its finest and perfect for a Sunday night dinner. 

MENU
Braised Italian-Style Pot Roast
Stuffed Mushrooms
Mamma's Little Fritters

The later into the series I've gotten, the better I've learned at timing out these meals. Instead of just going for it, I will sit down and right down a timeline of when everything needs to be done and prepared. I've found it easiest to start at the time you plan to sit down and eat and work your way backwards keeping in mind cook and prep time. Because of this new little trick of mine (being responsibly organized), I've been able to make the process so much easier and even cut the time down a bit. This particular menu wasn't difficult since most of the work was done by the oven but I gave myself plenty of time to get everything done and write a few blog posts while I was at it. 

The Braised Italian-Style Pot Roast is first browned in a skillet on the stove. Afterwards, you place it in a roasting pan with a whole bottle of red wine and a few other things. It cooks in the oven for about 2 hours giving you plenty of time to prepare the Stuffed Mushrooms and Mamma's Little Fritters. That bottle of wine makes a delicious gravy afterwards to top your meat with. I also made some roasted garlic and Parmesan potatoes to pair along with everything. It was a pretty darn good dinner on a cold Chicago day. 

The Stuffed Mushrooms are pretty simple to prepare and they are delicious. These are fantastic to serve as an appetizer at a party or bring to a pot luck. The filling would turn even the most stubborn of mushroom haters. Mamma's Little Fritters were a crowd favorite. With just a hint of lemon, these guys are soft and tasty with the perfect amount of brightness. They would be even better served with chocolate dipping sauce. That ended up being requested but by the time we were eating dessert I considered myself off duty for the night.

6 more weeks of Cooking With Stanley! Tell me in the comments below what has been your favorite meal or if you'd like to see anything in particular before the series ends.