Seth's Brisket

I'm on a brisket binge.
This recipe will not disappoint.
I've had it for a year and I'm kicking myself
for waiting this long to make it.

Ingredients:


1 medium to large first cut brisket

6 or so cloves of garlic minced

4 medium onions sliced

4 cans of Rokeach tomato sauce

4 to 5 white potatoes quartered (can be any type of small potato, red bliss, fingerlings etc)

Preparation:

[I went with noodles instead of potatoes]

1) coat the brisket with the garlic and put in fridge overnight

2) preheat oven to 350

in a roasting pan place one can of the sauce; 

one can of water on the bottom of the pan with the onions then the brisket

3) take remaining cans of sauce and add to roasting pan (also diluted 1 to 1)

...sauce should cover the brisket, if not just add a bit of water...

4) place in oven for about 2 hours or more until brisket is tender

5) after about 1 hour of cooking add the potatoes

Seth's notes:

If the sauce at the end is not as thick as you like it just reduce it....personally I always do that and its super.

When done slice and serve and enjoy.......I like it over a good bread that can soak up the gravy....kinda like a hot open sandwich....

Also the brisket should be better the next day...not that its bad the first day just that the flavors become enhanced when it sits in the gravy.

um ...Seth,
it was heavenly.
Thank you!

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Shawn's Brisket ...

Can't say as I've cooked brisket. ever.
But I know who to call
when I need some culinary advice,
one of those people is Shawn.

Here is his recipe,
as cooked by me.



Shawn's Brisket

Ingredients:

Salt and pepper

Light brown sugar

Your favorite rub.

Brisket

Preparation:

Salt and pepper the brisket

Mix the brown sugar with your favorite rub.

The amount I used was dependent upon the size

of my brisket. It was a small one.

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup rub

Mix together

While the oven preheats to 375,

apply the mixture to your meat

covering it well.

Lay the meat on a rack

so the heat can circulate evenly around it.

(with a foil lined tray below it of course)

I like my meat rare.

That would be an internal temp of 120.

And I'm a fan of those digital thermometers

that you can put into the meat and the gadget

sits outside the oven.

If you like your meat well done, let it sear up,

then turn the temp down and cook it low and slow.

Was delicious Shawn!

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways. 

Vietnamese Beef Pho

Pho'd out yet?

Culinary peer pressure happens.
Pho'realz.

I saw the rush of Vietnamese Beef/Chicken Pho recipes
from the Daring Cooks
being published all ova the place.
Like a little wannabe I ran to the store like a dog looking for a bone.

My Pho is a little less traditional because ...

• I live in a small town.

• Things like Thai Basil and good fish sauce well,
• that makes me laugh, I was lucky to find star anise.
  

• I'm not a picky eater but I like what I like.

Which may make this very "unpho".


However...

It tastes damn good.


Let me give you the link to the
original recipe I found over on Jaden's page
"Steamy Kitchen"
[yeh click that]

Actually I found 23456574556 recipes.
Hers is based on a cookbook I happen to love.

I know.
How lazy am I...
She does all the work of
laying out the recipe and I say here click the link.
Hey, I'm all about credit where credit is due
not a copy and paste cheat.
She's well worth the click and has a cookbook
recently published you can find it on Amazon
yeh click that too.

I made a few changes.
I went to the grocery store and the guy
tells me his flank steak is frozen.
I opt for another cut and he says well,
I can't use the meat slicer because I'd
have to sterilize it we're slicing hams for people
right now. They only have one? okay okay I'll be nice.

[charring vegetables for stock is new for me. i like it ]

I ended up running to a butcher who operates out
of a gas station. Really. True story.
His flank is frozen too.
BUT he'll thinly slice whatever I want.
Instantly I like him.
Shrugging my shoulders I say what the hell, I'll have the filet mignon.
That's right people. FILET MIGNON.
I figure what it cost me for that was equal to a pig n jig. : )
OMG, in the pho, it was melt in your mouth.

[fennel, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, mr. coriander was late for the party]

I used lo mien noodles.
I used spinach instead of basil.
Green onions instead of white.
Purple instead of yellow.
Green peppers and mushrooms because I wanted to.
I let my stock sit over night,
in the frig after simmering.
Which made it easy to skim off the fat.
Come to think of it wouldn't the scum
stick to the fat? Making for easy removal of scum?
Call that an afterthought, more like an after question.
Charring, not Charo. I used the broiler.
Top shelf and door semi open.
Lime is good, I liked lemon best.

Maybe my dish is more like a Japanese Hotpot.
Honestly I'd eat this every night
with a basic beef broth and a little sesame oil.

I love winter I do.
But I miss the warm summer light for photographs.

KAT! Yes you! C'mere.
Don't look at the beef.
Don't look up.
Look down.
Do you see????
I know. Right?!

You can make this.
Vegetable broth baby.

It's a cold rainy night.
Dancing with the Stars is on tonight,
paying tribute to Michael Jackson.
I have a bowl of nice warm soup.
And to think I spent the last month
eating lean cuisines. What was I thinking?
I dunno I was child free and didn't have to cook.
Don't say I it. I already know.
My frig is filled with vegetables.
I promise.

If only someone would bring me
an ice cream bar and a kiss...

it'd be a perfect night. : )


















One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Braised Ribs and Risotto

Just when I said to a coworker,
"I'm just not inspired to cook anymore."
Then I come across a recipe by Winepairings.
And I thought hey, my short person of 16 years
who is now taller than I might actually like this.
It involves no vegetables.

Well ...
the short person declined most of the plate.
Of course these days he opts for tv dinners if that's any consolation.
I on the other hand thought it was fantastic.
I modified Winepairings recipe a bit.
You'll see the recipe here as I cooked it.

Seth,
this one is for you
when you're feeling well enough to eat.
xo++

Braised Pork Ribs

Ingredients:

* 2 pounds country style pork ribs
* 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
* 5 cloves garlic
* approx. 32 ounces of dark ale
* 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon molasses
* 1 tbs bbq sauce (Jack Daniels)
* 1 apple, cut into wedges
ground pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Crush a clove of garlic, rub the meat and then sprinkle each rib liberally with salt.
Turn the pan up to medium. Add Ribs, halfway through add the crushed garlic.
I added it after the sear because I didn't want the garlic to burn.

When you're done searing the ribs,
use about 1/2 cup of the ale to deglaze the skillet.
Once you've deglazed, add enough ale to cover the ribs,
and then add the vinegar, molasses and sugar. Stir together well.
Bring the it up to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and let it cook for an hour.

As the ribs finish simmering, preheat the oven to 350.
When the ribs have cooked for an hour, add the bbq sauce and apple chunks.
Put ribs and liquid into the pot and the pot into the oven to heat for another 30 minutes.
I actually finished it off in the oven verses bringing it back to the skillet
(as suggested in the original recipe), and reducing the liquid there.
I had no problem with too much liquid, it reduced just fine in the oven for me.

I have no clue if the ale I used was dark. I think it was pale.

I went to the liquor store and laughed when I saw this six pack.

Saffron Risotto

Ingredients:

1 cup sushi rice
28 ounces chicken stock
1 stick butter
1 cup white wine
1 small onion
1 large pinch saffron
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano




Bring stock to a low simmer in a medium pot.
Heat olive oil and a couple tablespoons of butter
in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 1 minute.
Cook onion until translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add rice and a pinch of salt. Sauté until rice is translucent.
Add wine; bring to a simmer, stirring,
until rice has absorbed most of wine.
Add 2 ladles of stock to rice; simmer, stirring,
until rice has absorbed most of stock.
Take a couple ladles of chicken stock and add the saffron.
Make sure it well dissolves. Add this next to your rice.
Continue adding stock, allowing rice to absorb it before adding the next ladle.
Cook until rice is al dente and mixture is a little loose.
Stir in the rest of the butter. Turn off heat. Stir in grated cheese.
Cover and let sit 2 minutes.

Oh hey,
have a beer.
You deserve one
after making a meal like this.

: )

.

Bo Luc Lac (Shaking Beef)

Ingredients:

1/2 lb lean sirloin steaks, cubed, trimmed of fat

6 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt


3 teaspoons olive oil

1red onion,
sliced paper thin


1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 dash black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups watercress leaves

( I used spinach)

toasted sesame seeds

toasted sesame oil

rice



lemon

Preparation:




1. Mix together garlic, fish sauce, sugar, salt,
add two teaspoons of the olive oil in a shallow dish or a plastic bag










Yawl remember how to mince garlic?


Smash it.

then run your knife thru it to a nice mince








2. (Make sure you trim the fat off the beef)
Cube your sirloin.

Add beef and allow to marinate for 30 minutes or more.

oops, forgot to add the garlic.

I marinated these for several hours.

3. Mix together black pepper and vinegar and marinate onion in this mixture for 10-15 minutes.

4. Then combine onion mixture with the oil and toss.
5. Arrange watercress on a plate and spread onion on top.
6. Heat remaining oil in a pan and stir-fry marinated beef until seared to desired doneness,
being careful not to overcook.

(I scraped off the garlic, these are cooked at a fairly high heat and the garlic would probably burn.)

I used a wok, and cooking only five or so at a time on medium high heat, will help you
to nicely caramelize your steak cubes without over cooking them.
(you could keep them warm in the oven)

I sauteed spinach while I cooked the beef.

I also had the rice going at the same time.
If you have a rice cooker use it, love those things.

7. Spread beef over onions on watercress and serve.
(I couldnt' find watercress anywhere in this town, so I used spinach)
I simply sauteed my spinach in toasted sesame oil, and added toasted sesame seeds, and I toast my own seeds.

You only need to heat them for a few quick minutes.
Don't walk away, or ya seeds will be toast, as in burnt.

Top with the onion mixture.

Admittedly,
I was camera happy with this step by step recipe.
Truly I'm over myself at this point, ha.
But damn, I put a lot of work into this post
so with a little tweaking and removal of half a dozen,
(laughing at myself for photo overkill)
Yes I said removel of half a dozen
it stays as is with my apologies.
Grinning here, I am.

My Pasta has balls.

Spaghetti and Meatballs in Marina

Ingredients:

Cappellini
Ragu
(basil and sun dried tomato)
ground beef
ground pork
fennel seed
fresh parsely
oregano
salt
pepper
oatmeal
1 egg
parmesano reggiano
(finely grated)



Before I go any further, YES I USE SAUCE FROM A JAR. I know. Listen, if I have the time
I make my own. In a pinch I'll use prepared sauce, it's come a long way. Even Ragu, which is among the cheapest. You can always jazz it up.


Preparation:





Meatballs:

Combine equal amounts ground pork with ground beef (total 1-2 lbs?).
Add about a 3/4 cup oatmeal, 1 egg, desired amounts of fennel,
parsely, salt, pepper, oregano, and 1 cup finely grated parmesano reggiano
Mix ingredients, form 2-3 inch balls. I like them big for this recipe
Bake @ 375 for 20 to 30 minutes.

Add meatballs to marina and let simmer on low for half hour.
Boil pasta. you know the rest. pasta cooked al dente.
I served rosemary fococcia with the pasta. Was store bought but good.