I battled the pot roast...

...And I won!  I've been wanting to branch out and try new methods of cooking for a while, but have been a little skiddish.  Until now.  Matt bought this awesome cookbook for me that's all about braising, so I thought I'd give the pot roast recipe a try.  Nothing like a 4 pound slab of slow-cooked beef to usher in the fall, right?  Yummy!  I didn't have all of the fancy cookware the recipe specified, like a Le Creuset enameled dutch oven, but I figured my good old stock pot would do the trick.  I also had to make lots of substitutions, because I didn't have some of the ingredients (like beer), so by the time I put it in the oven I was pretty nervous about how it would turn out (especially since we were serving it to company).  I spent the whole afternoon session of conference fretting about whether or not I should turn over the meat halfway through cooking, if I should baste it, and if it was going to be cooked all the way through in time for our guests' arrival.  Well, worry no more my friends!  That was the best hunk of meat I've had in a long time. It had a tomato based sauce, which was kind of different for a pot roast, but it was seriously so delicious.  Perfectly tender and flavorful, not too much fat.  If anybody wants a killer pot roast recipe, let me know.  I'd make it for everybody if I could, but that sucker was expensive.  It's going to have to be a special occasion thing, I think.