Corn Beef and Cabbage

Corn Beef and Cabbage

Corn Beef and Cabbage is a tradition in my family, and not just for St. Patrick's Day.  We eat it all year round.  My Mother had a classic recipe for it, but this year I tried something a little different and damn if it didn't get some rave reviews.  Everyone at the dinner table last night (we had it for Sunday dinner, instead of today) said to keep the recipe, this was the version they wanted again.

The version was inspired by some of the thinking done at America's Test Kitchen, where they use their spice mixture instead of the one included with the corn beef brisket, and they bake it instead of boil it.

INGREDIENTS
1 corned beef brisket, rinsed (4-5 pounds).  (Can can also trim the fat).
4 cups of chicken broth
4 cups of water
5 carrots, pealed and chopped
2 celery stalks
1 onion (pealed and quartered)
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon of black peppercorns
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 teaspoon of ground allspice (this is an interesting addition, and ended up working out very well).
3 tablespoons of butter
2 lbs of small red potatoes
7 onions, pealed (I keep them whole)
5 carrots, pealed
1 head of green cabbage cut into 8 parts
salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a dutch oven add the beef, broth, water, carrots, celery, 1 onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme and allspice.  Cover it and bake it at 300 degrees for 5 hours.  (Yes... 5 hours!)
2. Remove the beef and place it into a 13x9 serving dish.  Strain and discard the solids.  Put a little bit of the juice over the beef, and seal it tight with foil.  You'll let it sit for about 30 minutes.
3. In the pot add the potatoes and whole onions, and boil for 15 minutes covered.
4. Then add the carrots and cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes.
5. Take the meat out and slice it against the grain.  Serve with the vegetables and the juice.

VARIATIONS

My usual version of this meal was to boil the meat in water the whole time. Baking it this way makes it more tender and more flavorful.  You could experiment with the spice mixture, and you can always add extra onions (my family LOVES boiled onions) carrots and potatoes.  

Lamb Curry in a Pressure Cooker

Lamb Curry in a Pressure Cooker

It's funny, the absurdity of calling anything Lamb Curry.  The word curry refers to such a large swath of food as to be almost unusable.  Still, what else do I call this?  Interestingly enough, I'll be posting ANOTHER lamb curry recipe soon.  But for now, a very simple Indian Style curry with lamb made very quickly.

This recipe was inspired by

Madur Jaffery's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking

The book can be found here:  Amazon

Now the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs of defatted lamb cut into 1 inch cubes
• 3 small onions
• 2 Tablespoons of ginger paste
• 2 Tablespoons of minced garlic
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon of chili powder (You could substitute cayenne pepper if you want some heat!)
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon of ground roasted cumin (or just regular ground cumin).
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 8 Tablespoons of heavy cream
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon of garam masala
• 1 Teaspoon of dried kasoori methi (fenugreek leaves) crushed in your hand
• 1 Tablespoon of butter
• salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Put everything except the garam masala, kasoori methi, and butter into the pressure cooker.  Seal it up and cook for 30 minutes on 1 bar of pressure.
2. Take it off the heat, cool it down with tepid tap water, and take off the lid.  Put it on the stove on medium heat, add the garam masala, kasoori methi, and butter.  Stir in salt to taste.  Cook over medium heat till it thickens.  This should take from 10-20 minutes.
3. Serve on rice!

VARIATIONS
Such an easy recipe and you can really play with this technique.  You can cook chicken and beef in the same way, and you can mix up the spices entirely, trying different proportions.   You can also throw in bell peppers for an easy addition.  You can try some chili peppers to make it hotter, and there are a ton of Indian Spices that you can add in different quantities to get different tastes.  This technique is so easy that it really lends itself to learning about Indian Food and experimentation.

Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking

Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking

Learning how to cook Indian food properly is an extensive journey.  I started three times, giving up repeatedly after using shitty cookbooks that just confused me.  It took a truly concerted effort to really get into it and figure it out.  Having said that, if you are a beginner in the Indian Cooking realm, THIS IS THE BOOK TO START WITH.  I can't say it plainer than that.  THIS IS IS.  Buy this, devour it, and I promise you will A) learn a great deal of foundation techniques for good basic Indian Food, and B) have a huge list of family favorite recipes that you will go back to over and over again.  This book is solid gold.

Greek Chicken*****

Years ago I found a recipe for Greek Chicken in the following cookbook:

The Good Housekeeping Step by Step Cookbook - 1997 Edition

The title above is linked to what I BELIEVE is the same book on Amazon.  The picture Amazon shows is not the same as the one above, but both are dated in 1997.

My experience with the book can be found here:  The Good Housekeeping Cookbook.

As for my version Greek Chicken, first a little background.  The first time I made this dish it was a stunning success.  I made it often, and I had friends asking for the recipe.  And yet, I haven't made it in four years.  It just slipped under the radar because I cook so many different types of meals not.  So last night, I fixed that, and my family sat to dinner with Greek Chicken again.  VERY WELL RECEIVED.   Very much worth the 5 star rating:  Now that we had it again, everyone is excited to have it repeatedly.  So here is the recipe, as I cook it, which is similar to but still different from the recipe in The Good Housekeeping Step by Step Cookbook.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 ounces of Feta Cheese Crumbled - Really you can use more if you want, you can't have too much Feta!
• 2 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons of dried oregano
• 6 Skinless boneless chicken breast halves* (about 2 lbs)
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of pepper
• 2 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour or a can of Wondra
• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 Cups of Chicken Stock
• 1 Can of Diced Tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
• 1 Bunch of Fresh Spinach (washed and trimmed of stems)

*If you buy those huge plump hormone filled breasts you'll want to half them.  The better what to do this is by weight, which is why I included it right there: 2 lbs!  And hell if you have been paying attention you already know I'm going to say try this with Chicken Thighs instead.  I will be better! 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Take the Feta Cheese and put it into a bowl and mash it up with a fork if it's not crumbled already.  Add the lemon juice and oregano and mix and mash. Set aside.
2. Get out your chopping block and a heavy mallet.  Beat the chicken thin. About 1/2 inch is what you want.  Tenderizing like this doesn't work as well as it does with beef, the chicken tends to break apart.  If you got the thighs you won't need to pound them at all, they are already thin enough.
3. Now spread the good feta cheese mixture on the chicken and fold the pieces in half. You are essential making a feta cheese sandwich out of chicken!  You can pin them together with a toothpick.  Sprinkle both sides with flour, salt and pepper. I give quantities above but when I cook I don't use quantities. I just crack fresh pepper and crack fresh salt on them and dust them with flour.  Sometimes I add some oregano, or I'll use a Greek Seasoning from Spice Islands.  
4. Now heat your oil to just smoking in a fairly large skillet and then put in the chicken. You want to brown them, about 5 minutes to a side, get a good golden brown crust.
5. Then add the Chicken Stock, can of Diced Tomatoes, and the cleaned spinach.  Bring to a boil...and simmer for 20 minutes or so, till the chicken is all the way done.
6. Serve it hot!  

As I said before, this has become a family classic.  Very simple, and always very good.  

The Good Housekeeping Step by Step Cookbook - 1997 Edition

The Good Housekeeping Step by Step Cookbook - 1997 Edition - My Mom gave me this book in 1997.  And, believe it or not, I've only cooked one recipe from it.  Really,  I imagine there are many good ones in it, and I am encouraged to revisit it and find some other goods recipes to try.  But right now, the only one I've tried is Greek Chicken, though I must say, that's become a 5 star family favorite.

Red Wine Sauce

I made this red wine sauce to go with my Sous Vide Braised Short Ribs.  It's holy crap good!

INGREDIENTS
1 package of lean ground beef (1 pound 1.5 pounds)
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
3 Onions Sliced
4 Carrots Diced
3 Leeks (White Parts Chopped)
1/3 cup of minced Garlic
6 Tablespoons of Tomato Sauce
1 Bottle of Red Wine
2 Big Beef Soup Bones
4 Cups of Water
1 Tsp Dried Parsley
1 Teaspoon of Dried Thyme
3 Bay Leaves
12 Black Peppercorns
Balsamic Vinegar (dash to taste)
Soy Sauce (dash to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Brown the ground beef in the vegetable oil at the bottom of a Pressure Cooker.
2. Drain the meat, but leave the oil.
3. Add the onions, carrots, leeks, and garlic and cooked for 15-20 minutes, stirring often.
4. Then add the tomato sauce cook 10 more minutes
5. Add the wine, cook 10 more minutes
6. Stir in the reserved beef, soup bones, herbs and pepper.
7. Pressure-cook at gauge 1 bar for 2 hours
8. Let the cooker cool, or run cool water on it to depressurize it.
9. Pour broth through a strainer and discard the solids
10. Cook the broth in a pan on the stove over high heat, for about 1 hour, until the sauce is reduced to a nice syrup.
11. Throw in a dash of Basalmic Vinegar and a dash of Soy Sauce to taste.
12. Spoon over whatever meat you cooked tonight!

Keeps a week in the refrigerator or for 6 months if frozen.

Sous Vide Braised Ribs

I was promised that cooking these braised ribs for three full days, 72 hours, was the way to create the most succulent dish possible.  And... it was. Here is the recipe.  I have no pictures as the time of this writing, but plan on doing the dish again some day and will add it then.

INGREDIENTS
8 Beef short ribs, bone in

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your sous vide water bath to 62 degrees C / 144 degress F.
2. Vacuum seal the ribs, put them in the water.  If you are cooking for Sunday night, they go in Thursday night.
3. When they are done, take them out, and slice the meat from the bone.

It's that easy.  I used a red wine sauce to go with it, and I put them on top of fluffy mashed potatoes.