My intern demanded that if I were to justify her labor, she should learn a thing or two, so we made dinner together last night.  I had a 3.5 pound brisket in the freezer from Edgar (the grass-fed cow I split with friends) and she was craving mashed potatoes, so this is what we whipped up.  The whole meal was made with one pan and one bowl, so she wouldn’t have too many dishes to do.

• 3.5 pound beef brisket
• 1 bottle red wine (minus 2 glasses, which we drank)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
• 1 quart beef stock
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• All-purpose flour
• 8 cloves garlic
• 1 14-ounce bag frozen pearl onions
• 4 yukon gold potatoes
• 2 large shallots
• 6 medium carrots
• 3 celery stalks
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 cup dried stone fruit
• Fresh thyme, for garnish (mysteriously absent from these photos)

1. Season the brisket all over with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper (we used about 1 tablespoons each) and refrigerate for at least an hour.
2. Set the oven to 350 and deal with peeling your veggies and cutting them into 1-inch pieces.
3. In a large, oven-safe pan, simmer the wine and bay leaf over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by half.  Discard the bay leaf, and add worchestershire sauce, and stock.  Pour the liquid into a non-reactive bowl and set aside.
4. Return the pan to the stove, add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and turn up to high.
5. Remove the brisket from the refrigerator and dust with flour.  Once the oil is shimmering and nearly smoking, seer the meat for 4 minutes per side, until well browned.
6. Remove the pan from heat, lift the brisket with a pair of tongs and pour the pearl onions and garlic into the roasting pan to form a single layer and then place the brisket on top.
7. Pile the remaining veggies around the brisket and pour in the wine sauce.
8. Cover the pan (foil is fine if it is too tall to put a lid on it) and put it in the oven until the meat it fork tender, about 2 hours.
9. Remove the brisket to a board to rest for 10 minutes.
10. While the meat rests, pour off and reserve the roasting liquid and mash the vegetables in the pan before plating (For gravy, return 1 pint of cooking liquid to the pan with a tablespoon of butter and a pinch each of basil, oregano and thyme.  Return to a simmer and whisk in 2 tablespoons flour,  simmering 7 or 8 more minutes, skimming off any foam that rises to the top. Season with salt and pepper as needed).
11. Plate a flattened scoop of mash, topped with fanned slices of brisket, drizzle with gravy and garnish with fresh thyme.