FamilyFood

Corned Beef And Cabbage (Repost)

While my soda bread bakes, I'm reposting this.

Why do we only eat this once a year? It's just too damn good to be eaten once a year.

It's a meal that cooks itself all in one pot, and there ain't nothing wrong with that. Serve with soda bread on the side.  And beer. Plenty of beer.

CityMama's Corned Beef and Cabbage

When buying your brisket, plan on about 1 lb. per person (more if you want leftovers) since there usually is a fair amount of fat to account for and it shrinks quite a bit when cooking.

• 1 prepared corned beef brisket (these come already "corned" or brined and are sold prepackaged at supermarket or from the butcher at Whole Foods),
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 10 peppercorns
• 4 whole cloves
• peel from half an orange
• 1 savoy or regular cabbage, cut into six wedges
• 1 pound of carrots, scrubbed, ends trimmed, leave whole
• 2 turnips, peeled and quartered
• 4 parsnips, peeled, ends trimmed, leave whole (or if they are particularly large, cut in half lengthwise)
• potatoes, scrubbed (1 medium waxy potato [like white or Yukon Gold] or two new potatoes per person)
• finely chopped flat-leaf parsley to garnish

Condiments for serving: freshly grated horseradish, coarse salt, whole grain mustard

Place brisket fat side up in a dutch over or other heavy bottomed pot and cover with cold water. Add garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves, and orange peel and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer slowly according to package directions or until fork tender, 2-3 hours. Skim foamy impurities every so often.

Remove brisket to a large platter and tent with foil. Remove orange peel and discard. Raise temperature of liquid to medium, and add veggies to the pot. Simmer until root vegetable are just fork-tender, about 15 minutes.

Slice corned beef on the bias against the grain and return to platter. Arrange vegetables around the meat and sprinkle parsley over all. Serve with condiments on the side.

While my soda bread bakes, I'm reposting this.

Why do we only eat this once a year? It's just too damn good to be eaten once a year.

It's a meal that cooks itself all in one pot, and there ain't nothing wrong with that. Serve with soda bread on the side.  And beer. Plenty of beer.

CityMama's Corned Beef and Cabbage

When buying your brisket, plan on about 1 lb. per person (more if you want leftovers) since there usually is a fair amount of fat to account for and it shrinks quite a bit when cooking.

• 1 prepared corned beef brisket (these come already "corned" or brined and are sold prepackaged at supermarket or from the butcher at Whole Foods),
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 10 peppercorns
• 4 whole cloves
• peel from half an orange
• 1 savoy or regular cabbage, cut into six wedges
• 1 pound of carrots, scrubbed, ends trimmed, leave whole
• 2 turnips, peeled and quartered
• 4 parsnips, peeled, ends trimmed, leave whole (or if they are particularly large, cut in half lengthwise)
• potatoes, scrubbed (1 medium waxy potato [like white or Yukon Gold] or two new potatoes per person)
• finely chopped flat-leaf parsley to garnish

Condiments for serving: freshly grated horseradish, coarse salt, whole grain mustard

Place brisket fat side up in a dutch over or other heavy bottomed pot and cover with cold water. Add garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves, and orange peel and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer slowly according to package directions or until fork tender, 2-3 hours. Skim foamy impurities every so often.

Remove brisket to a large platter and tent with foil. Remove orange peel and discard. Raise temperature of liquid to medium, and add veggies to the pot. Simmer until root vegetable are just fork-tender, about 15 minutes.

Slice corned beef on the bias against the grain and return to platter. Arrange vegetables around the meat and sprinkle parsley over all. Serve with condiments on the side.

Link Love 3/16/07

• I love TasteSpotting and you should, too.

• My friends Darbunk and Hilary started their food blogs recently. Check 'em out! Darbunk is a fabulous cook and I'm so glad she's finally sharing her Thai food secrets with the world.

Impulse Buy of the Week: Maya Kaimal's Tikka Masala Sauce

My mom gave me a couple of cookbook author Maya Kaimal's Indian simmer sauces as a gift when she visited last week. I made the Tikka Masala tonight and it was unbelievably delicious. I'm not an Indian food expert, I just know I love it, and the Tikka Masala was zingy with lemon and silky from the real cream.  I would definitely buy this and make this again. I used 4 chicken breasts and a couple of diced potatoes and it made enough for my family of four plus leftovers. I served it with fluffy basmati rice and sauteed asparagus on the side.  Highly recommend, and the kids asked for thirds.

Asparagus

Heat a couple of glugs of olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add two cloves of smashed garlic and saute until lightly browned but not burned. Add one bunch of asparagus that has been washed, trimmed, and cut on the bias. Cook stirring occassionally for 3-5 minutes until tender-crisp. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve at once.

Meal Planning Monday

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to cook this week.  I've been perusing cookbooks and food blogs today, but nothing is jumping out at me. I also didn't make it to the farmer's market in time today so I'm seriously lacking in fresh veg. That and we didn't get our gas barbecue set up (haven't since we moved into our house two months ago...)  If I do get my you-know-what together, here are some ideas I had for this week.

"Mexican Monday": Taco Salad
Tuesday: Cauliflower soup, fennel-orange salad, baguette
Wednesday (Sandwich Night): Take-out submarine sandwiches
Thursday: Penne with fresh tomatoes, corn, shaved ricotta salata, and herbs
Friday: Take out night
Saturday: St. Patrick's Day Dinner Party—assortment of Irish cheeses, Irish soda bread, corned beef and cabbage, smashed potatoes, spicy mustard, plenty of Guinness
Sunday: Not sure yet.

What are you cooking this week?

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Friday Night Roti Party

My chef sister just got back from a 4-week stint cooking for a fancy safari/spa outfit in the middle of Kruger National Park in South Africa. (Before that it was a year at Arzak in Spain.) She came home raving about the beauty of the park (she didn't want to leave), and about the roti (a tortilla-like flat bread) that she and the other kitchen help used to eat at the end of the night or for casual meals.

She tells me that there is lots of Indian culinary influence in South African cooking, and though none of the cooks she worked with were Indian, they taught her to make roti. And tonight she taught me. We made lamb curry, some sambals and condiments, and the roti went with it. It was a party, and I wanted to share it with you.

The sides tomato "sambal" with vinegar, salt, and chilies; banana, toasted coconut, cilantro, and yogurt; cucumber raita (cukes, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, cumin seeds, salt):

The bananas and coconut before adding the yogurt and cilantro leaves:

You can google a recipe for roti, but it's basically flour (about 3 cups) and water (about a cup). My sister also added salt, pepper, and a little baking powder. Mix it, then knead it and let it rest. Then roll it out flat.

Spread the flattened dough with butter.

And roll up into a log. Divide the log in half and then chill it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before frying.

Cut pieces from the log and roll to form cute little swirls if you so desire. This is to further incorporate the butter into the dough.

Then fold the piece in half to make a little ball or mound and let those rest.

Roll those balls out until they are the shape and thinness of tortillas then fry on a griddle or in a cast iron skillet until browned but not crisp.  You want them to be soft. Wrap them in a cloth dishcloth or napkin to keep warm.

A little four-and-a-half-year-old helper.

The final product, filled with curry, and ready for eatin'!

Fish Chowdah

Tonight I was going to make the baked chowder "modern casserole" that was in this month's Real Simple, but reading through the recipe, I realized that the baking part was just to cook the fish. Now why would I want to dirty another pan just to bake some fish?  So I just put the fish in the pot and made chowder the old fashioned way. And my kids gobbled it up...I think the oyster crackers were a big hit, too. My serving was made zingier by the addition of a hefty couple shakes of Ms. G's Tabasco-esque Cajun Seafood Sauce.

Meal Planning Monday

This week my mom comes to town for a visit. I'm not sure how that affects our plans for the week.  I also picked up some fresh veggies from the farmer's market yesterday (the beauty of living in the temperate San Francisco Bay Area is that there's always a farmer's market somewhere) so that'll influence our meals for sure. I'm also baking crusty, rustic bread this week.

• (Mexican) Monday—leftovers from last's nights dinner which was Mexican because I was jonesing for chicken enchiladas, chips, homemade salsa, and guacamole.
• Tuesday—Mom arrives, maybe baked cod "chowder" (saw the recipe in this month's Real Simple) with red potatoes and leeks, steamed asparagus.
• Wednesday—Dinner out
• Thursday—Spaghetti with roasted cauliflower, black olives, and parsley; salad
• Friday—Tofu with peanut sauce, brown jasmine rice, stir-fried bok choy with shiitake mushrooms
• Saturday—Date night!
• Sunday—Roast pork loin, blood orange and fennel salad

Whatcha cooking?