My brother, John, is obsessed with T.V. cooking shows —and loves to cook. For his reasoning alone, he won’t watch a program if the chef is skinny. Talking to him on the phone one day, he shared a way to cook a roast beef that caused me to believe that he fell off his rocker. I had him repeat it to me three times. I went ahead and blindly, followed his instructions. My wife and I were delighted with the outcome —and I’ve continued to pass it on.

John begins with a "chuck" roast because they are reasonably priced — and perhaps a little tougher than a seven bone or a rump roast. Any beef roast is alright, because you’ll be able to cut it with a fork when you’re finished. You’ll need:

1 Chopped Onion
Olive oil
2 Cans of Chicken Broth (Yes — CHICKEN!)
A garlic clove or two (minced)
Bottle of any red wine (John uses $2-buck-chuck at Trader Joes)
Salt & pepper
Small bag of mini carrots
A couple of cut up potatoes (optional)
A roasting pan with lid. Slightly larger than the roast you have on hand — you figure it out.

Rub roast with salt/pepper and using your roasting pan, braise the meat in a small amount of hot olive oil on top of the stove. (3 minutes per side) Remove from pan and set aside. Add a little more olive oil to pan and sautŽ the chopped onion and garlic for a couple of minutes on a medium heat.

Simple, now put the roast back on top of the onions and garlic and add two cans of chicken broth and a half bottle of red wine. This might even cover most the roast — don’t worry about it.

Now add the carrots and potatoes to fill in all the holes and cover. That’s it. I put it in the oven at 350 (lid on — for 3 or 4-hour hours)

Mmmmmmmmm — you’ll love the aroma and enjoy the dinner.