Lillian Hellmann’s Pot Roast

With ingredients bordering on White Trash,
this Pot Roast is absolutely delicious

  

When I went to the market last weekend, there was a special on Chuck Roast with a big sticker on it saying “Easy Cooking Instructions for Pot Roast”.  I immediately thought “Lillian Hellmann’s Pot Roast”.  I don’t know whether you’re familiar with Lillian Hellman, an author whose works included “Little Foxes”, likely better remembered as a Bette Davis movie, and “Julia”, a World War II drama which may also be better remembered in its movie version starring Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave.  But I remember Lillian Hellman well.

Chicken with Creamy Mushrooms and Snap Peas from Food Network Magazine

         The Food Network magazine came on the scene in 2008 and created quite a splash.  Its initial goal was to sell 300,000 copies.  In short order, it had over 1,000,000 readers a month.  Its celebrity chefs grace each cover like rock stars.  Its success may lie in the fact that there’s nothing earth-shattering or difficult about any of its recipes.  Unlike Fine Cooking, which deep dives into a subject and invites creativity with articles about customizing meatloaf and creating one’s own flavor profiles, Food Network could be called “Recipes for Dummies”.  The only challenge to its reader-cooks is to get dinner on the table with as little fuss as possible.  Now don’t for minute think that I don’t subscribe to the principle of making things that are easily replicated by our readers. It’s just that in my heart, I believe that Food Network Magazine’s success killed off a magazine that was far and away a more comprehensive look at food and cooking and the techniques for doing it well.