Cook. Craft. Enjoy.

Mmmmm Brisket

Paula (from The Cookbook Junkie) asked me in the comments section yesterday if my health "issues" were due to a bun in the oven ... well, I'd rather be able to say "yes" then the truth which is at this point I still don't know what the problem is.  Since the end of June I've had varying symptoms -- the worst of which has been debilitating chest pains -- but now is mostly just stomach upset when I eat certain things (but I never know just what will set it off or how badly it will be set off).  I've been to a cardiologist so my heart is fine (thankfully!) and he put me on some acid reflux meds which have really helped.  I go back to him next month and we'll see where we go from there.  So, that's one of the reasons I've been negligent on the blog -- though since feeling better slightly it's easier for me to cook (and post!).  BTW, thanks to everyone who stuck around in my absence ... I appreciate it!

Now on to some food ...

This last week on my Costco trip I picked up a brisket thinking I might use my standard Ina Garten recipe but opted instead to try a new one.   The new one comes from Emeril and is beer braised instead of the tomato braised and I think just about as good as the Ina recipe.  My brother was over for dinner last night too and he said that while they were both different from each other, they were each very good.  One of the things I liked about Emeril's recipe is that you put the vegetables in about an hour before it's done so they have a little more texture to them -- but as my brother said last night also, mushy veggies are good too.

My only changes to the recipe were that I didn't brown the brisket before I put it into the oven, I omitted the tomato paste and doubled the amount of beer and beef broth.  Next time I might even triple the amount of liquid because there wasn't anything left in the pan after I took it out.  (Oh, and I cooked it for about 4 hours.)

Luckily I have leftovers today for lunch (as long as they'll agree with me!)

Let's Not Repeat These Meatballs

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time you know I love to try new recipes.  Sometimes they're weird, sometimes they're normal, but I enjoy having something different for dinner all the time.  This past weekend I opted for a recipe on the Food Network that was showcased on Emeril Live - Sausage Meatballs with Red Gravy.  Apparently this recipe is one a New Orleans firefighter feeds to the crew of his firehouse.  The recipe states it serves 4 (plus enough) but it really serves more like 12.  We had 6 people eat and more than half was left.

The one good thing I have to say about it is that Travis made it (mostly) by himself -- and did a great job keeping things in order while he did it.  The not so good thing?  They tasted weird and not in a good way.  The recipe (link above -- I'm not going to post it) uses ground beef, mild Italian sausage and hot Italian sausage mixed together.  While I can see the novelty of doing such a thing, the execution just didn't work for me.  (Though in all fairness we froze the leftovers so Don can have them this coming week as leftovers.)

Guess we'll stick to either meatballs or sausage and not a hybrid of the two.

Baked Beans

If the past week is any indication how our summer vacation is going to go it will be over before we know it.  The weather has been crazy too -- our highs haven't much reached 90 yet and that's very unusual.  Oh well, I'm not complaining about it -- makes it pleasant to actually go outside and barbecue.

I have the hardest time when I barbecue sometimes coming up with side dishes.  I'm not a big fan of the mayo based salads often popular with burgers and grilled meat (and neither are the kids) so I think this summer my goal will be to focus a couple days a week on the lowly side dish.

The one I'm going to share with you today we had about a week ago when my brother was here for dinner -- it's a baked bean recipe out of the cookbook Barbecue Nation by Fred Thompson.  I cut the recipe in half because I didn't want a gazillion beans but otherwise left it the same (I'm posting the original recipe so you might want to cut it in half too).  They were fabulous served with guacamole bacon burgers and some fruit.  I'm not thrilled they have corn syrup in them so next time I'll substitute maple syrup (real) or honey for it but it will be making an appearance again this summer.

If anyone has any side dish suggestions that would go along with grilled meats, please let me know -- seems like I'm using my grill nightly now!

Chicken and Mushrooms (Together but Separate)

My passion for cooking shows dates back to the (very) early 90s and PBS television.  I loved watching on Saturday afternoons show after show of cooking.  Some hosts were more amusing than others but they all tried their best to teach you the basics of their cuisine.

In comes Food Network in the late 90s and I thought it was the greatest thing.  A network dedicated to just cooking.  Don't worry this won't turn into a rant post, but I have to say I am disappointed that really the only cooking that goes on there now is in the afternoon.  Where I would keep Food Network on all night (even as "background"), I very rarely turn it on anymore.  Once in a great while I'll turn the tv on during the day (usually in 10 minute spurts while I'm waiting to go do something) and catch a recipe or two.

Where is this going?  Earlier this week I happened to catch the end of a Rachael Ray 30 MInute Meals episode and she created a warm mushroom and tomato "salad".  It looked so good I knew I had to make.

I served it with grilled chicken and mashed potatoes -- yum!   I really loved the flavor of the mushrooms but don't think the tomatoes added that much to the dish.  My brother was here as well and agreed that maybe with 1/4 of the tomatoes it would have been better.  My other change was the garlic "chips" she made -- I didn't have any fresh garlic (and Trader Joe's didn't have any either yesterday) so I just used some jarred garlic at the beginning of the cooking ... worked out fine.  Definitely something to make again!

Beef Stew

Before it gets too terribly hot here I decided to go with one last "cold weather" dish:  Beef Stew.  It's not something I make often (honestly I'm not a big fan of soups and stews almost fit into that category), but it just sounded right for last night.  This is a recipe that came through on one of my mailing lists over a year ago and I've made it several times.  I always forget that you should add more beef than the recipe calls for -- or cut down on the other ingredients.  Served with a salad and some crusty bread, though, it's a great, easy family meal.

PPN: Another Kugel

It has become a weekly tradition that my brother joins us for dinner one night over the weekend (and we play Rock Band).  This past weekend he and I decided I would try a new brisket recipe from my Hadassah cookbook.  While I love, love, love Ina Garten's brisket recipe I'm always on the lookout for the possibility of "something better".

This new recipe was good but doesn't beat out Ina.  In essence, you mix 1/2 cup ketchup and 1/2 cup Concord wine (the kosher sweet wine) together, pour it over the brisket with some onion, celery and carrots and let it go for several hours.  I was afraid the liquid would evaporate and burn so I doubled the sauce and added a can of beef broth.  Good thing I did because at the end there wasn't a whole lot of liquid left.  The one thing I did really like about this one, though, is the addition of mushrooms about 1/2 hour before the meat is done cooking.  I'll be using that tip in Ina's recipe as well.

As for my PPN part of this post, I can't seem to make brisket lately without some sort of kugel.  My brother had made mention in the past that he loves ricotta cheese so when I saw this recipe I knew it was the one I had to try.  It also comes from The Hadassah Jewish Holiday Cookbook -- it was a fund raiser for the Hadassah organization and I'm glad I have a copy.

I halved the recipe to fit into a 8x8-inch pan because only serving 6 I didn't need a full 9x13 pan.  It halved beautifully and the flavor was great -- not real sweet and just enough of a fruit flavor to carry it all the way through.  I think my next kugel I'll substitute dried cranberries for the golden raisins and see how that turns out.

Friday head over to Ruth's Once Upon a Feast and check out the other entries into this week's Presto Pasta Night.  I'm so sad that I haven't participated lately and really miss hanging out with everyone.  I know I can't wait for the round-up this week.

Another Repeat

Yesterday Adrienne had a doctor's appointment at 4:30 so I knew if I didn't have something ready to eat by the time we got home we'd end up eating who knows what.  (BTW, she's all better now, no sign of strep thankfully.)  So I looked toward the crockpot again.  I know I haven't had the greatest of luck with it recently (the chicken wings being the worst <shudder>) so I went with something I knew we liked:  crockpot lasagne.

This recipe is so simple and has turned out well each time I've made it.  I like to serve it with a simple salad and sometimes some garlic bread.  Think about this recipe when you're short on time in the late afternoon -- just remember that this only cooks for 4-5 hours so you can't start it in the morning.

Not for the Health Conscious

Yesterday I was planning on blogging dinner but lo and behold, Adrienne woke up with 103.2 fever and we ended up back at the doctor.  Her strep throat is back and she's now on a stronger antibiotic.  Hopefully this will take care of it and our household can get back to its normal healthy status.  (Yes, I'm DONE with sick kids!)

As some of you know, my latest obsession is WoW (World of Warcraft).  Sometimes when we're not questing, the guild I belong to has a habit of discussing whatever it is that we're eating.  This past week, one of the members has been talking about the cheesesticks his wife makes him.  And not just once -- several times.  So, I decided we were going to have cheesesticks this weekend.  Then yesterday he was talking about eating sliders -- those little mini cheeseburgers -- and that's how this menu was born.

I was informed that he eats the cheesesticks with hot sauce mixed with vodka (weird, huh?) but I just served them with some Cajun hot sauce.  (In all fairness, I was going to add some vodka to just see what it would taste like, but we are out of vodka and didn't think rum would give it the same effect.)

The sliders were just ground beef patties grilled topped with American cheese - simple but effective.  The recipe for the cheesesticks comes from All Recipes and they were fantastic.  I think if I had made more Travis would have kept eating them until he popped.  :-)

PPN: Wishing for Summer

Things seem to be slowly getting back to normal around here.  Everyone is on the right track to being healthy again and while Liam's cough is still unexplainable, we're setting up an appointment for him with an ENT to check out his vocal cords and see if maybe there's an inflammation there.  Ah, the joys of parenthood.

The weather has been off again on again as it tends to do this time of year.  One day we'll get nice weather and the next it will be nasty (today, for example, it was 62 and tomorrow it's supposed to be cooler and raining).  I'm hoping this weekend will be nice enough to try out the new kite we bought but we shall see.  I'm so very ready for summer to hit us and I can start cooking summery foods.  In that vein, my submission to this week's Presto Pasta Night at Ruth's Once Upon a Feast is a summery pasta salad.

We had grilled steak tonight and while the kids (Liam in particular) wanted baked potatoes and corn, I wanted a pasta salad.  So, to appease everyone I made both.  This salad would make a perfect light lunch -- even adding some salami into it if you had it would be good to up the protein content a bit more.  I just love the flavors of feta, tomatoes, and black olives ... what about you?

Crockpot Wednesday: Southwestern Beef Stew

Yes, it's Wednesday again and I have for you another Crockpot recipe.  I was hoping to make this a habit and looks like it'll stick.  If anyone is interested in joining me in posting Crockpot recipes, I'd love to have you join in.  Let me know what you think.

Today's recipe again comes from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann.  This one is billed as a southwestern beef stew -- beef is browned briefly before going in the crockpot with salsa, vinegar and wine.  It came together fairly quickly this morning (though I have to say it did make quite a mess out of my stove) and it cooked happily all day.

Seeing as it's probably the coldest day of the year so far (it was 38 degrees when I went to get Liam after school...), this warm, slightly spicy stew hit the spot.  Unfortunately no one was thrilled with the recipe so it probably won't get made again.  Votes were:  Don (3), Travis (2), Adrienne (3), Liam (3), Me (3).  So, we'll give it a final 3 score.

I served it with couscous, a salad, and an open faced quesadilla.  Everyone loved the idea of the quesadilla (except for Liam who ate just a plain tortilla -- he doesn't do melted cheese), so I'll have to remember that as a quick side dish instead of cornbread or even bread.