Slow Cooker Dilled Pot Roast

Ingredients
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp vegetable oil
2 1/2 pounds beef roast, rump, chuck or arm cut
2 tbsp dijon-style mustard
2 onions, peeled and cut into eighths
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 celery rib, with top, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp dill seed
1/2 tsp peppercorns
1/4 cup nonfat, low sodium beef stock
1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Sauce
cooking juices from beef
3 tbsp instant flour
1 tsp dijon style mustard
1 tsp dill weed
1/2 cup lowfat sour cream

Directions
Combine flour with salt and pepper.  Coat beef with flour mixture, shaking off excess.  Heat oil in 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat; brown beef on all sides.  Transfer to platter or cutting board; cool for a few moments.  Rub mustard evenly over all sides of the beef.
Place onions, carrots, celery, garlic, dill seed and peppercorns in the slow cooker.  Top with mustard-coated beef.  Pour in stock and vinegar.  Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours.
Remove beef, transfer to storage container, strain and discard vegetables.  Pour cooking juices over beef; cover and refrigerate overnight.  One hour before serving, remove beef (reserve juices), and cut off visible fat.  Place in a small roasting pan and reheat for 30-45 minutes at 325 degrees.  Strain cooking juices into a saucepan, discard fat.  Add flour, mustard and dill weed; stir over medium heat until sauce comes to a boil and thickens.  Remove from heat, cool briefly and stir in sour cream.  Taste for seasoning and add 1/4 tsp salt if desired.  Cut meat into thin slices; pour some sauce over the top and pass the rest into a sauceboat.

New York-Style Crumb Cake

For the Crumb Topping:
1/3 cup granulated sugar (2 2/3 ounces)
1/3 cup dark brown sugar (2 2/3 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and still warm
1 3/4 cups cake flour (7 ounces)

For the Cake:
1 1/4 cups cake flour (5 ounces)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 6 pieces, softened but still cool
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup buttermilk
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Directions:
To make the topping: Whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside to cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

To make the cake: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 16-inch length parchment paper or aluminum foil and fold lengthwise to 7-inch width. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and fit parchment into dish, pushing it into corners and up sides; allow excess to overhang edges of dish.

In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer running at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping once if necessary.

Transfer batter to baking pan; using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Break apart crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces between your thumb, pointer, and middle fingers and spread in even layer over batter, beginning with edges and then working toward center. Bake until crumbs are golden and wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan by lifting parchment overhang. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.