1. I read that the cut of roast I bought, the eye of round, is not, on its own, very flavorful. So, salted it, peppered it, garlicked it, and rubbed it with olive oil, rosemary, and ginger. I let it sit all day at room temperature. I was bound and determined to draw flavor out of this roast!
2. I browned the roast on all sides in the cast iron Dutch oven, let it cool down, and then poured a pint of Guinness Extra Stout and a bit of water, forming a malty-yeasty-hoppy-stouty puddle for the roast to cook in and added Brussel sprouts, potatoes, onions, and mushrooms to the pot, covered it, and shoved it in the oven.
3. I kept a close eye on my dinner as it cooked: good thing. The Brussel sprouts were done first and I took them out and covered them. I didn't want mushy sprouts. The roast was done before the other vegetables and I got it out of the pot just in the nick of time, maybe even a little late. The roast was more medium than medium rare, so I wish I had removed it about five minutes earlier. No harm, though. The potatoes and onions needed more time and the mushrooms stay in the pot for the ride. All that liquid from the Guinness stout was now really beefy and oniony and musroomy and sort of spuddy, so I brought that liquid to a boil, mixed up some cold milk and flour, dumped it in the juice and, after a few minutes, I had gravy, the first I've made. I had also decided that I would crack open my bottle of Black Butte XXIII. I could have let it age, but I decided to go for it and it was a rich, complexed flavored complement to the roast beef dinner. It took me about an hour to drink the Black Butte XXIII and I decided to top it all off with about three oz of Figgy Pudding Strong English Ale. I hope recorking that bottle works. I enjoyed that small amount of Figgy Pudding, but the bottle still has over a pint left to be enjoyed.
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