OPINION | FRONT BURNER: Using items on hand, here's the beef

Today's recipe is a great example of improvisational cooking and making the best of what you have on hand.

Pilfering through my freezer, I found a small chuck roast I stashed away in December. I didn't have all of the necessary ingredients to make my favorite pot roast — The Roast, aka Mississippi Roast, made with ranch dressing, au jus mix and pepperoncini peppers. My grocery store had been out of pepperoncini on my last shopping trip before the big storm and I had yet to venture out of the house since the big thaw.

So I turned my attention to what I did have: an onion, the dregs of a bag of baby carrots, a bottle of red wine, canned tomatoes and a tube of polenta.