Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Cornbread

Pot roast. Umm. One of my favorite fall/winter dishes. It is the epitome of a Sunday meal. This beauty cooks low and slow and fills my house with one of the best smells to come out of an oven. I used to make this with carrots and potatoes cooking along side the meat, but decided to make this with just carrots since I prefer mashed potatoes.  So I made Thanksgiving-quaility whipped potatoes so that every forkful could be a heap and potatoes and a piece of tender meat. Yum, yum, yum. And when I make a pot roast, I have to make some buttermilk cornbread. Have to. The way I eat this (it may sound weird, but just hear me out) is to put my cornbread in a bowl and pour the beef broth from the pot roast over it. I soak it. There is something about those two together that is just perfection. Enjoy!

Pot Roast

2 1/2 lb chuck roast
Salt, pepper, onion powder
2 tbsp oil
1 large sweet onion, cut into 8 large chunks
3 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cups beef stock
1 tsp dried thyme
4 bay leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 lb bag of baby carrots

1.) Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Liberally season chuck roast with salt, pepper and onion powder. Heat oil in large dutch oven over high heat.
2.) Sear each side of roast. Add onions and celery to pan around meat. Deglaze the pan with beef stock. Add thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Cover pot and place in oven. Bake for 2 hours. Set carrots out so they are not cold when you add them later.
3.) Remove pot from the oven and add carrots. Bake for an additional 2 hours (or until carrots are done).

Mashed Potatoes

2 to 2 1/2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed (I used large red)
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup half and half (plus more to achieve desired consistency)
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper

1.) Boil potatoes for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until you can easily insert a fork into them. Strain and return to pot.
2.) Add butter, half and half, sour cream, cheese, salt, garlic powder and pepper and whip with an electric mixer until completely smooth.
3.) Taste and add more half and half/sour cream/cheese/salt/garlic powder as needed. I rarely measure, I start by adding roughly the above amounts and then taste, and usually add a little more.

Buttermilk Cornbread

1 3/4 cup self-rising cornmeal
1 3/4 cup buttermilk
4 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp + 1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

1.) Add 2 tbsp oil to a cast iron skillet and swirl around the pan. Set oven to 450 degrees and place skillet in the oven to heat the oil as the oven preheats.
2.) In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, buttermilk, butter, vegetable oil and egg. Stir well until fully incorporated.
3.) Pour batter into hot skillet and return to oven. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until top is golden brown.
4.) Placing a plate on top of the skillet, delicately turn skillet over to transfer cornbread without breaking.