Sunday Pot Roast And Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

For the pot roast:
Preheat oven to 275ºF.

Rub the cross rib pot roast on all sides with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Set it aside.

Peel and quarter the onion. Cut 3 of the carrots and all of the celery into 1- to 2-inch pieces. Peel garlic cloves but leave them whole.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat until hot. Add onion, celery and carrots. Cook for a few minutes, turning once or twice, until vegetables are lightly caramelized. Add whole garlic cloves and cook for an additional minute. Transfer vegetables to an oven safe roaster or dish with a lid.

Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the frying pan and let the oil heat up until it is hot. Add the roast beef to the pan and sear on each side for 2 to 3 minutes. Do not move it around in the pan while it is searing. Transfer the beef roast to the oven safe dish on top of the vegetables.

De-glaze the frying pan by adding red wine to the pan. Stir it around for 45 seconds to one minute, gently scraping the bottom to release all of the brown bits. Pour all of the liquid and bits from the frying pan over the beef roast.

To the roasting pan, add the beef consomme or broth, tomato paste, thyme, parsley, bay leaves and remaining salt and pepper. Add enough water to the roasting pan to bring the liquid halfway up the side of the roast. Cover and cook in the oven for 3 hours or until the roast falls apart when pulled with a fork.

While roast is cooking, slice 2 remaining large carrots and boil them in a pan of water until they are fork tender. Drain and set aside.

Add butter and mushrooms to a small frying pan and cook them over medium heat until they are lightly browned. Remove from the heat and add them to the carrots.

Take the roaster out of the oven, remove the meat and set it aside on a plate. Strain the liquid from the roaster through a fine mesh strainer into a pot. Use two forks to break the meat apart into chunks and add the pieces to the pot with the liquid. Add the cooked carrots and mushrooms. Turn the heat on the pot up to medium-high. Bring the liquid to a slow boil.

In a small dish combine the water with the corn starch to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the pot and cook for several minutes until the liquid is thickened. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Serve over creamy garlic mashed potatoes.

For the mashed potatoes:
Peel and cut the potatoes into 1- to 2-inch pieces. Add potatoes to a pot and cover the potatoes with water. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and cook until the potatoes are fork tender.

Once cooked, drain the potatoes, add salt, pepper, parsley, pressed garlic, cream cheese, butter, and milk, and use a potato masher or electric mixer to mash the potatoes until smooth.