I use celery in my base mirepoix for everything. It is a pantry staple along with the basic onions, carrots, potato, garlic. Must be hundreds of pot roast and beef stew recipes. None exactly the same. It does seem to be not only regional, but what ones family heritage is. Commonly a comfort dish on a Sunday and used what vegetables were easily had during off seasons and what stored well. I made a beef stew wednesday and like grainlady i cleared out my veg bin. Last night it became a beef pot pie with even more veg topped with a sliced meyer lemon and used sliced sweet potato and reg potato as the top crust. Oddly enough, having lived in NewOrleans, i've not used or bought green peppers in years but did back then. It is a special purchase when DH makes gumbo. Yet i use roasted red peppers all the time now. "A mirepoix (/mêÃÂrÃÂpwÃÂÃÂ/ meer-pwah; French pronunciation: âÂÂ[miÃÂÃÂpwa]) is a mixture of chopped celery (either common pascal celery or celeriac), onions, and carrots. There are many variants, which may include just one of these ingredients, or include additional aromatics. Mirepoix, raw, roasted or sautéed with butter or olive oil, is the flavor base for a wide variety of dishes, such as stocks, soups, stews and sauces. The three ingredients are commonly referred to as aromatics."

Posted by Johnliu: "-----Another way of cooking a roast, definitely fun, is buried in rock salt. No, it doesn't get salty. The salt absorbs heat and transfers it to the meat more effectively than air does, and reduces evaporation of the meat's juices. Just buy 2 lb rock salt, put the roast in a Dutch oven with salt under, over, and all around. ----" That is a very good way to make an extraordinary roast. Basically, the salt layer insulates the heat, allowing the "slow & low" method to take place easier. ---------------------------------------------------- Simple facts "Slow & Low" method addresses: 1. Water boils at 212 F. As long as there is water, you can never go above 212 F, regardless how high you set the temperature. (normal pressure) 2. Meat is a poor conductor of heat. 3. Meat shrinks under high heat and toughens (well-done). 4. Heat can only migrate from high to low and it is not reversible. 5. Meat gets tenderized (collagen denaturing) even at low temperature if cooked long enough. 6. Resting means cold meat. The picture shows a typical roast prepared the typical normal way. No matter how you slice it (PUN?), you generally end up in some degree the following (Which, BTW, to many people that's the way it should be for a perfect ribeye) Zone one - Brown layer (Maillard reaction), Many chefs advise not to char the meat. Browning gives the flavor. Charcoal is not tasty. Also, at higher temperatures, more carcinogenic compounds can be produced. Zone two - well done layer (meat is tough and dry). This is the 212 F to 165 F layer. Zone three - Medium. The 212 F layer of heat travels inward to warn up the colder layer to 145 F. Zone four - Medium rare. The layer is about 135 F. Zone five - Rare. The 212 F finally reaches this layer and warms it to 125 F after a long rest. Meanwhile the 212 F layer is get cold to room temperature from losing heat to the air and to heat the inside of the meat. Zone six - raw, uncooked meat. One problem with "Slow & Low". You produce very little juice, because the meat shrinks very little. The reason for "Low" is ridiculously simple. If the final desired temperature is 125 F, why not just cook at that temperature? The reasons for "slow", well I will let the author Nathan Myhrvold of the $500.00 cook book Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking explain to you why 24 hours is recommended for ribeye. If you just Google his name. And I will also let the famous chef Heston Blumenthal show you in this video how he too cooks low and slow: Here is a link that might be useful: Low & Slow

First of all, 6 pounds of beef shank is a huge amount for soup...think of putting that into a pot and covering it with water! That would ba a huge amount! I am with those who say to use the beef ribs for the "bone" taste and additional chick or round for some meat. I can get a rack of beef ribs for about $6 to $8 here and add another pound and a half of chuck and it's not too bad... But minestroni is a "big" soup...veggies beans and pasta....don't need a lot of beef....just bones for the flavor. Since beef shank has gotten so expensive as has lamb shank because someone says it's "trendy" ..I am anxiously awaiting the price decling of beef fillet and lamb loin chops....as they are so...declasse... Pah! Linda C

I've never made these yet, found the recipe online, but I've eaten plenty of these dumplings. They are excellent in chicken soup (along the lines of a won ton)or just fried until crispy in a pan like a potsticker! My grandmother used leftover pot roast for the filling. Kreplach (dumplings) * 2 cups all-purpose flour * 1/2 tsp. salt * 2 eggs, beaten * 1/4 cup cold water Process flour, salt, eggs in food processor with the metal blade. With the machine running, add water. The mixture needs to form a ball. Knead for 30 seconds, adding either more water or more flour to get correct consistency. Wrap dough in plastic while preparing meat. Meat Filling * 1 pound ground beef or 1 pound leftover brisket * 1 onion * 1 clove garlic * 1 large egg * salt and black pepper to taste If you are using raw meat, cook it with onion and garlic in a frying pan. Otherwise cook onion and garlic in a small amount of oil. Put cooked meat, onion and garlic in food processor and process until just smooth. Add egg, salt, and pepper. Divide the dough into 2 or 3 parts so that it does not dry out while filling. Roll each portion into a very thin rectangle, and cut into 3-inch squares. On each square, put a tablespoon or so of filling, and close into a triangle, wetting the edges and pressing them tightly. Put finished kreplach on a floured surface to wait. To cook the kreplach, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Drop the kreplach into the water, and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain well. Serve in traditional chicken soup. The parboiled kreplach can be frozen or refrigerated before using. If you have more kreplach than will fit in a single layer, separate with oiled paper or foil so they don't stick. Quantity, about 30 kreplach.