Mar19

Corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day!

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Inspired by a rainy weekend and my friend Amara, I decided to make corned beef hash and cabbage for a festive St. Patrick’s Day meal. Although I did not think of it in time to brine a fresh brisket, a store-bought corned beef did the trick.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

3 lbs corned beef brisket or round (or brine your own!)
bay leaf
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 onion, diced
5 large carrots, in thick slices
6 pieces celery, coarsely chopped
(optional) 1 pound of peeled, diced potatoes
1 small head of green cabbage, cored and cut into 8 wedges

Rinse the corned beef thoroughly to remove the brine. Place the meat in a large dutch oven, then add the mustard, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and thyme to the pot. Add enough cold water to the pot to just cover the meat. Bring the water to a simmer and simmer, covered, for 3 hours.

Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the pot and return to a simmer. (If you are adding diced potatoes, you can add them here as well.) Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Add the cabbage wedges to the pot and allow to cook for an additional 20-30 minutes, until the cabbage is tender.

When the meat it tender, remove it from the pot and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Remove the excess fat from the meat and cut into thick slices. Arrange on a platter surrounded by the cooking liquid and vegetables. If you did not include the potatoes, serve with mashed, roasted, or boiled potatoes, and spicy mustard on the side.

Mar16

German potato salad with hot dogs

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Hot dogs are such a fun, guilty pleasure. You know they’re not good for you, they’re not terribly classy, but they’re so delicious!

I am craving a German potato salad, and we have some hot dogs in the fridge, so I thought why not use hot dogs instead of bacon? There’s a similar smokiness and fattiness, but hot dogs will give the potato salad a heartier feel.  We only buy Hebrew Nationals, but you could use turkey dogs or veggie dogs if that’s your thing.

German Potato Salad with Hot Dogs
(serves 8)

3 lbs. small red potatoes, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
3 hot dogs, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 red onion, diced
1/3 c apple cider vinegar
1/3 c olive oil
1 T dijon mustard
2 tsp sugar
kosher salt
black pepper
1/3 c parsley, roughly chopped
5 scallions, thinly sliced

Fill a large pot with the diced potatoes and enough water to cover them by a couple of inches. Salt the water generously. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Boil until the potatoes are fork tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, brown the hot dog pieces over medium heat in a small skillet. (Regular hot dogs are fatty enough that you shouldn’t need oil, but add oil if you are using a turkey dog or low-fat substitute.) Allow some of the fat to render out. When the outsides are crisp, remove from the skillet.

In the rendered hot dog fat, saute red onion and season with salt and pepper.  When the onions are soft, remove from the heat.  In a small bowl, combine the onions (and fat), olive oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard, and sugar. Whisk together with a fork to make a dressing. Season with salt and pepper.

When the potatoes are ready, drain them and place them in a large serving bowl. Add the dressing, hot dog pieces, parsley, and scallions, then toss the combine.  The warmth of the potatoes will cause them to absorb a lot of the dressing, so feel free to add more oil and vinegar if your potato salad seems dry.

Mar15

Broccoli, cauliflower, cheese soup

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There has been half a head of fancy organic local cauliflower languishing in our vegetable crisper, and we added some fancy organic local broccoli to the collection on Sunday. Since it’s a chilly 61 degrees in Los Angeles today, I’m making a broccoli, cauliflower, and cheese soup for lunch. My version will be healthy-ish, as I like to preface a meat-heavy dinner with a vegetarian lunch.

We use 1% milk, so I added a couple of tablespoons of cream for richness. You can probably skip this step if you use whole milk, or add more if you prefer a richer soup.

Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Cheese Soup

1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T butter
2 T flour
Kosher salt
Black pepper
2 cups of milk
2 cups of chicken stock
(optional) Half-and-half or heavy cream for richness
5 cups of broccoli and cauliflower florets
3/4 c (or more) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Nutmeg or mace

Melt the butter over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic in the butter until soft, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the flour stir into the butter to make a roux. Allow the flour to cook for about 30 seconds to a minute.

Add the milk, chicken stock, and cream or half-and half. Bring to a simmer, then add the broccoli and cauliflower. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

When the vegetables are soft, you can puree the soup in a blender or use a potato masher to break up the florets. Add the cheese and stir until melted.

Taste and season with nutmeg or mace and black pepper. Serve with lots of Tabasco!

Mar14

Pizza!

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I have been craving pizza for weeks, and we picked up some burrata at the farmer’s market on Sunday, so we had to make pizza with it.

For the dough, you can buy some pre-made from the store.  We used The Pioneer Woman’s recipe. I have tried others before, but they did not rise as successfully.

To make the sauce, I simmered half of an onion (diced), 3 cloves of garlic, 1 large can of whole peeled tomatoes (pureed in the food processor), a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil, and butter, for an hour.  You can also use a jarred marinara.

We made a few different types of pizza, using a mix of the following toppings:

  • Burrata
  • Shredded mozzarella
  • Jalapeno-infused olive oil, jalapenos
  • Sweet Italian chicken sausage
  • Salami
  • Mushrooms
  • Red onion
  • Fresh basil

They were delicious!  We love thin-crust pizza, so we baked them at 500 degrees for 12 minutes and they were crisp and delightful.  If you are making yours thin-crust, resist the urge to use a ton of sauce, cheese, and toppings.  You will end up with soggy pizza!

Mar12

Apple walnut muffins

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We took the dogs camping at Leo Carillo State Park this weekend, and for breakfast I made a batch of apple muffins (in advance, not at the camp site). We finally finished off the huge back of apples that my dad brought us!  In addition to eating them plain, I made an apple crisp recently.

For the muffins, I used the recipe from Joy of Cooking.  I was really impressed with their portioning!  I multiplied the recipe amounts by 1.5, and it made exactly 18 muffins.  We ate them the next morning after sitting in a freezing car overnight, and they were still moist.

Apple Walnut Muffins
Adapted from Joy of Cooking (2006 version), makes 18 muffins

2 1/4 c flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1 1/8 c sugar
2 1/4 c diced peeled apples, with their juice
1 stick butter (8 T), melted
3/4 c chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a muffin pan with paper liners. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon) in medium-sized bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugar. Add the apples, stir in, and allow to stand for 10 minutes. This is what makes the muffins flavorful and juicy!

Add the butter and walnuts to the eggs, sugar, and apples. Stir to combine. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, and stir gently to combine. The batter will be thick and somewhat lumpy.

Spoon batter into the muffin tins, so that each cup is about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes.