Lucinda Scala Quinn's Classic French Dip

Sorry for the picture. It was dark and rainy in Burlington that day!

I had the opportunity to grab the opportunity to grab a GREAT cookbook called Mad Hungry Cravings by Lucinda Scala Quinn from my library. This cookbook was so rockin' that I ended up immediately purchasing it because I was targeting so many recipes to copy. It has been one of my smartest cookbook purchases in a very long time! I will be featuring a whole lotta recipes from this cookbook so be prepared!

One that made me drool immediately was the Classic French Dip. I was right to start drooling because it lived up to everything it promised. I was also surprised to see that the number of servings lived up to what it said it was going to be and that the sandwiches were still pretty hearty. Even though this was the case and much to my dismay, the Blackburn men devoured them and there were no leftovers!

Now, I have to admit that my family loves beef sandwiches, but I was tired of the prices. I was able to make this for the same cost as some of the commercial brands out there and the flavor was out of this world compared to that. 

This recipe looks complicated, but it is actually very simple.

So, here we go:

Ingredients:

2 T. Olive Oil (plus extra for drizzling)
One 3 lb boneless chuck roast
1 T. coarse salt (I used 1/2 T. and it was fine)
1/2 t. coarse ground pepper
1 large yellow onion, chopped
20 baby carrots or 2 regular carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
4 garlic cloves chopped or 2 t. jarred garlic
2 T. tomato paste
1 cup dry red wine
3 cups chicken broth, divided
2 bay leaves
large french baguette or 6 french rolls
10 slices Swiss cheese

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the rack on the lowest level.

2) Heat oil in a Dutch oven and add oil. Season the roast with salt and pepper. When the oil is shimmering, add the meat. Brown on both sides. Remove and transfer to a plate.

3) Add the Onion, carrots, celery and garlic to the oil and saute until softened (about 10 minutes).

4) Add tomato paste and stir into mixture until well blended.

5) Add wine. Bring to a boil making sure to scrape up all the browned bits.

6) Add 2 CUPS of the chicken broth and the bay leaves. Return the roast to the pan. Cover and bake for 3 hours or until the roast is falling apart.

7) Transfer the meat to a baking dish and shred it.

8) Strain the veggie mixture and return the juices to the dutch oven. Add the final cup of broth and simmer while preparing sandwiches.

9) Place open faced rolls on baking sheet and place some meat on the roll. Drizzle with olive oil. Top with 1.5 slices of Swiss cheese and bake for about 5 minutes. Lucinda recommended broiling but I opted to bake the sandwiches.

10) Ladle up some of the juices and serve with fries or chips.