For Extra Deliciousness

In my ongoing efforts to identify tasty cheap meals, specifically ones that use ground chuck, we had a modified version of Hamburger Pot Roast, from 1963's Good Housekeeping Cookbook (recipe below).

It's essentially a braised meatloaf; the addition of caraway seeds to the meat mixture does give it a convincing "pot roast" flavor.  It was pretty easy to prepare, & very tasty.

Recipes in this cookbook are not as standardized as we expect from modern-day cookbooks, & the narratives are often charmingly informal.  This particular recipe includes the following gem:

. . . for extra deliciousness, stir in 2 tspn sugar, 1/2 cup light cream, 1/3 cup Burgundy wine, 1/4 tspn salt; heat gently; pass separately.

Unfortunately, although i followed these directions exactly, the resulting sauce was dreadful - it curdled & turned a particularly lurid shade of pink that i simply couldn't imagine serving on anything manly enough to deserve being called Pot Roast.

Thankfully, the meat & onions were just fine without any extra sauce, & we'll probably have the leftovers tomorrow night for supper, unless Russ wants to take some for lunch tomorrow.

We had it with some mixed vegetables & salad.

I'm transcribing the original recipe, as printed in the cookbook; my changes are indicated inline in red.

Hamburger Pot Roast (from Good Housekeeping Cookbook)

1 1/2# chuck, ground once (used 1# regular ground chuck)
2 Tbsp parsley, snipped
Salt
1/2 tspn onion salt (used 1 Tbsp dried onion flakes)
1 tspn caraway seeds
3 Tbsp evaporated milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tspn paprika
3 Tbsp butter or margarine (used 2 Tbsp butter)
1/4 cup Burgundy wine
1 large onion, sliced
2 bay leaves

1. Lightly combine chuck, parsley, 1 tspn salt, onion salt, caraway seeds, milk.  Shape into loaf, 2-1/2" thick.
2. Combine flour, 1/2 tspn salt, paprika; use to coat meat loaf.
3. In hot butter in large skillet, gently brown meat loaf, turning once.  (Drain the fat!)  Add wine, onion, bay leaves.  Simmer, covered, 30 min, or until done (took ~45 min for onions to seem soft enough).
4. Carefully lift loaf to heated platter; top with onion slices from pan juice.  Remove bay leaves; serve juice as is.  Or for extra deliciousness, stir in 2 tspn sugar, 1/2 cup light cream, 1/3 cup Burgundy wine, 1/4 tspn salt; heat gently; pass separately.  Makes 6 servings (mine made ~4).