Braised Brisket Ragu

I realized the last time I blogged about recipes was January 3, 2012. Right before my baby's first birthday. Over 3 years ago. 

And over the course of those three years, I reference this blog and recommend the recipes to others looking for something specific, all while thinking about how much I miss it. I do miss it. 

I could make a million excuses, some whimpy and some serious (like that whole second baby, adopt a puppy, live a life thing) but we don't have time for that. 

Yesterday I made the ragu to end all ragu. It was for Husband's Valentine's dinner/gift, on a day with a high of 10*F and another impending snow storm to add to the 4 feet of snow we already have. This morning I woke up to see a comment on my instagram photo from my friend, Mikey, in Germany. He asked me for the recipe so he could "trap a man... I mean, eat a delicious meal!" If ever there was a dish to trap another human being in the dead cold of winter, this would be it. (Unless they were vegetarian. But I would argue that you could still try. It is that good.) I had to write it down for him.

So, Mikey, and all others who like to eat, I give you:

Braised Brisket Ragu

This recipe takes hours. It is a lot of set up and walk away, but you will want to be around. (I'm very type B. Any sort of planning beyond thinking about it in the grocery store is "extra work" to me.) 

You will need: 

For the sauce:

1lb beef brisket, trimmed

2 boneless country-style pork ribs (about 1/2 lb) 

2 c red wine

2 TBS soy sauce

3 large cans (the 28oz ones) of whole, peeled tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic, chopped (or some pre-chopped stuff from a jar) 

8 cloves garlic, peeled and whole (more if you want a garlic-y sauce) 

1 onion, peeled and cut into quarters

1 TBS olive oil

2 bay leaves

2 tsp dried thyme (a fresh sprig or two would be better, but Snowmageddon happened here) 

salt & fresh ground pepper

For fresh pasta dough for 3-4 people:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups pasta flour

2 eggs

OR you can buy a wide, long pasta. My preferred pasta with this sort of ragu is tagliatelle, which you can't find in stores around here. It is easier and cheaper to make it myself, and tastes so much better.

Step One: Marinading the meat

Ideally, you want to do this the night before. If you are like me and were planning on a completely different meal until 9am, then marinade as soon as you can, for at least a few hours. 

Cube up the brisket and the pork into giant chunks. Put it in a container with the wine, soy sauce, chopped garlic, one bay leaf, and one teaspoon of thyme. Put it in the refrigerator and give it a vigorous shake every once in a while. 

Step 2: Roasting the rest

This step should start at least 4 hours before mealtime, or you can do this ahead. In fact, you could make the whole thing a day earlier, as sitting for a day just melds the flavors into something magical. But then you are really taunting yourself with a house that smells ridiculously amazing and nothing to eat. 

Preheat the oven to 425F with a rack right in the middle. 

Drain all the tomatoes, reserving their juice. The best way to do this is to toss them in a strainer over a bowl. If they are particularly saucy, you can run about 1/4 cup water over them into the bowl, too. Let them sit there for about 10 minutes. 

Place the drained tomatoes in a large dutch oven (or any oven-safe, stove-safe, heavy-bottomed, coverable pot you own) and toss with the whole garlic, onion, olive oil, and about 1 tsp salt.

Now is also the time to take your meat out of the refrigerator. 

Put the pot in the oven and let them get good and roasty. I had to periodically drain mine (save that juice!), every 30 minutes or so. You want to roast them until they start to char a bit. Char on the pot bottom is good, too, so don't worry about not stirring them or that you will spend the remainder of your days scrubbing the pot. Mine took about 90 minutes to get nice and roasted, as you can more or less see below. 

Once your tomatoes are roasted, scoop them out of the pot. You can put them back in with their juices. Sorry. I should have told you this is the meal of ten thousand dishes, too.

Lower the temperature of the oven to 300F. 

Strain the meat, reserving the marinade. I couldn't take the thought of one more dish, so I just picked pieces out and let them drip off a bit as needed. 

Sear the meat in small batches over medium-high heat, in the pot you just took the tomatoes from. Set aside once seared. 

Some people see a hot mess. I only see flavor. Deglaze the pan with the wine marinade. 

Once the wine reduces by half (simmer for about 10 minutes) add in the tomatoes. Crush them with a potato smasher or spoon.  Add the meat back to the pot, along with all the accumulated juices. 

Add in the rest of the thyme and bay leaf, and put it in the oven, uncovered, for at least an hour. There is no wrong, just right. 

Step 3: is optional, but preferred. 

Make the pasta.

I wouldn't do this if I didn't have a pasta roller attachment. Thank you, KitchenAid. You make my Italian heart sing. 

It is very simple. 

I like to work with half the ingredients at a time, since I usually have little hands trying to help, and this can be a bit finicky. 

Alternate pouring cups of flour onto a clean surface (cutting board), starting with the all-purpose flour. One cup all purpose, one cup pasta... until you have a flour mountain. Then take the back of the measuring cup and push the mountain peak down and sides out to make a flour nest. 

Crack your eggs right in the middle. 

Start working flour into the eggs slowly, while maintaining the nest. I know how it sounds, but years of playing in sand boxes and with playdough have readied you for this moment. 

Once your egg and flour mess starts to turn into a sticky dough ball, use some of the remaining flour (there is likely a good amount still) to powder another part of the board. Start kneading the dough. And knead. Flour the board and your hands as needed. If the dough gets too dry (crumbly) add a few drops of water, knead a little more. After about 2 minutes or so you should have a nice doughy ball. Wrap it in plastic (or cover it with a bowl) and let it set for at least 10 minutes, no more than 30. 

(This is just enough time to trip down your stairs and sprain your foot. Ask me how I know.) 

Run your pasta through the rollers until you get it to the thickness you prefer. This meal does better with a thicker pasta. For me, that is setting 7 on my rollers. 

Using a straight blade knife or pizza cutter, cut the pasta into strips 1/2" wide. Tagliatelle. Bam. 

Toss the pasta in a little flour and just let it hang out until it is time to cook it. 

Step 4: Home stretch!

This one is a pain. Take the pot from the oven and put it near your cutting board. You are going to need a few forks. 

One cube at a time, shred the meat and return it to the pot. Give it a good stir. Taste test the sauce at this point and add salt and pepper as desired. It still has some cooking to go, so don't overdo it. If your sauce became particularly thick or strong, add some water. 

Cover the pot and put it back in the oven. I lowered mine down to 200 and left it for another hour. Additionally, you could keep it at 300 and just shut it off after 20-30 minutes.

Boil and salt the water for your pasta, whichever it may be. If you made pasta, it takes about 2 minutes to cook, so keep a close eye on it!

Step 5: Eat!

Serve with crusty Italian bread and top with plenty of fresh cheese. We drank a beautiful pinot noir with this dish, and it was perfect.

Enjoy!

Chicken & Black Eyed Peas Tacos

You are supposed to eat black eyed peas on New Years Day for luck. One for every day of the year, to be exact. Typical to my style, I'm always running a bit behind. It is no surprise that I decided on January 2nd that we HAD to have Black Eyed Peas for dinner. (Or maybe not, considering that I spent most of the day in the attic crawl space, covered in heavens knows what, trying to force feed cords between a wall and fireplace. I need more than luck.)

I had already taken out chicken, and what I really wanted was tacos. (I always want tacos for dinner.)

Here is what I did, to feed 3 hungry people:

I took 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and sliced them, fajita-style. I marinated them in a bit of lemon-infused olive oil and the juice from half a lime.

While that was working on becoming delicious, I drained, rinsed, and placed two 15.5oz cans of black eyed peas into a saucepan. I added about 1/4 c. of broth (I used chicken, but you can use vegetable, if you are only making the beans, making this dairy kosher, or vegetarian) and 1/2 TBS of Dinosaur BBQ Cajun Foreplay. You can get this almost anywhere, and I recommend you do, but if you don't have it, use any cajun seasoning you like. Don't have that? Use a small amount of red pepper flakes. Some don't like it hot. If that is you, use some herbs de Provence.

Bring the broth to a simmer, and lower the heat. Let them cook for about 10 minutes, or until the beans are good and creamy, but not mush. (If they turn into mush, just smash them into the liquid and reduce, like refried beans.)

Then just let them sit.

All of this can be done well beforehand. The longer the beans sit, the better the flavor, and they reheat well so don't be afraid to make them in advance, then enjoy a cup of coffee.

Right before eating, dump the chicken and marinade into a pan and sauté until cooked through.

The last thing to do is set up the tortillas. I like these with soft tacos with Mexican cheese melted on top. We added a little sour cream, a little salsa, and I would have like shredded lettuce, but I forgot to buy it. Oops! Add corn salsa! Tomatoes! Raw onion, if you like them! Go nuts!

Enjoy!

This would be AMAZING with some mahi-mahi or Chilean sea bass, and that would make the meal dairy kosher. Marinade the fish the same way, with a little salt added.

Make double the beans and cut out the chicken for a vegetarian meal (and you could even sauté up some tofu in the lemon-lime mixture).

We used flour tortillas for this particular one (it was what I had), but I'd recommend corn tortillas (especially for the fish tacos! Mmmm...) and they are better for you, being Gluten Free and all.

Roll Over, Pork Chop

We smoked a pork loin the other day and after having some for sandwiches, we had a ton left over.

I had to do something with it. I called my mother, and she gave me an idea, and it morphed into this, mostly due to lack of ingredients in my house.

You could do this with ANY leftover meat that has been cubed. It would be particularly good with smoked poultry. If you really want it and don't have leftover meat, just buy something precooked or cube and saute the meat beforehand. You could even use tofu!

You need:

About 4 cups of cubed meat, cooked.
1 can diced Italian tomatoes
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup(ish) chicken stock
1 can of canalini beans (white beans)
pinch of salt
1 box (or 1 cup) of wild rice, cooked

Saute the onion (on medium) in a saucepan large enough to fit everything but the rice.
Add in the tomatoes, wine, and salt. Let simmer for about 5 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and beans and simmer until liquid reduces by half (about 20 minutes).
Serve over the rice.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

(There would be a picture, but all that is left is currently being worn by Baby.)

Chicken Pot Pie, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Baking Crust

I often think I was born in the wrong era. I would have rocked the 50's housewife scene. That said, there are a few things I think all people that claim to know how to cook should be able to make. And seeing as I am now a stay-at-home-mom (or SAHM, as we like to use in the business), I feel I have no excuse not to have mastered these things. After all, any 50's housewife would know them like the back of her hand. She likely wouldn't be covered in flour, face all sweaty, and hair a hot mess, either. (Only one of those can I blame on my aprons being in storage.)

The list of things I feel one should be able to cook is made up of basics, and stuff most people who like to cook have in their pantry. (It makes me batty when people don't have simple things, like more than 3 cups of flour or a can of tomatoes in their pantry, but that isn't for right now.) It includes: tomato sauce, basic bread (just got this one down! Yay!), a roast, some sort of dish that involves chicken and wine, a vegetable side dish that involves more than simply steaming (and do not douse your veggies in Italian dressing. You get negative points for that. It is gross, and every time you do, Julia Child rolls over in her grave.), chicken stock, chili or beef stew, and a delicious crust.


See that last one? I'm such a slacker.

Unless it is Italian Christmas cookies, pizza bread, or some dish that is simply baked (like baked ziti or chicken parm), I don't bake. I'm afraid to bake. I like to change things and I don't like to read recipes, and those are two things that you absolutely must do if you don't want your baked goods to fail miserably. I have baked some horrific things. But hey, at least I own it.


Dan makes the pies in our house. It is his "thing", and I simply assist. He makes absolutely delicious apple pies. Of all the things one could learn to cook and/or bake, he chose apple pie, and I'm glad he did. I thought I'd never need to make another pie crust again! Nor would I need to buy the kind you get from the refrigerator section! Dan will just make the crust for any given dish, and I will fill it.

And that worked very well for the first five years of our relationship. But today, charged with the request to make pot pie for dinner, I walked the aisles of the grocery store, throwing all the ingredients into my cart and narrating my every move for Baby, I made it to the refrigerated section. Looking at the over-priced ready dough, I had a moment. I knew that if the crust my husband makes so well was more than 6 ingredients, he wouldn't have ever attempted it. I also knew that his pie crusts were so good because of how he made them, not what he made them with. Do I attempt to make crust? (And furthermore, HIS crust, knowing that it likely won't be half as good, and I could potentially mar his crust's good name?) Do I buy the refrigerated stuff, knowing that I really have no excuse to spend that much money on something comprised of flour, shortening, and water, especially now that I am home with a baby who has a nap coming up? Or do I just tell him that we are having baked chicken for dinner? (No, that wasn't really an option.)

Riding on my baking high from successfully making challah, I chose to make the crust. (They'll eat it and they'll like it!) Besides, when you make pie crust, you get to bake the leftover crust and eat it with jam, and isn't that why we make pie crust in the first place? For the jammy scraps?

I used my husband's crust, which is really Peggy Glass's apple pie crust, found in her fantastic cookbook Home-Cooking Sampler. Risking potential disaster and shame, I halved the sugar and folded in cheddar cheese to make it more of a savory crust. (The scraps, eaten without jam, are delicious. Baby approved cheese crust bits.)

Then I made a tried-and-true filling. This makes a bit more than you can fit into an average pie plate sized pie (sorry I can't give you dimensions. I told you pies were Dan's business.) so freeze the rest for a mini pie later, or just make a little more crust and make a mini pie to freeze, unbaked.

You will need:

about (it is a filling, all are approximate)
2lbs of boneless, skinless chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (I used white meat since people who prefer dark meat will eat white meat, but people who prefer white meat rarely bend, or so it is in our home.)
2 regular sized bags of Birds Eye mixed veggies, defrosted (the ones that have carrots, corn, green beans and peas... or whichever you prefer. )
1 can of Campell's Cream of Celery (10 oz can, condensed. I get the "healthy" one.)
1 "can" of milk (use milk to rinse can from cream of celery)
1/3 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Saute chicken in a large, non-stick pan. You may need a little bit of oil. When it is mostly cooked through, add cream of celery, milk, and thyme. Deglaze the pan with the soup and milk mix. Let simmer for 10 minutes, or until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon. You want it to be thicker than gravy - it is going into a crust. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add in the vegetables, stir to coat, and then set aside to cool.

This is a good time to roll out your crusts. Fill the pie with the chicken and veggies and either freeze, refrigerate (for just an hour or two, but don't leave it out unbaked! The crust will go awry.), or bake at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until crust is done. (Less if on convect, and cover the edges of your crust if they brown too quickly. If frozen, this will take longer and almost certainly need covering, as you want to be sure to heat it through.)


I wouldn't add it to my "mastered" list yet, but at least now pie crust isn't this looming monster. (And I've always wanted to make a latticed pie, so keep your eye out for that!)

Good for you, tasty muffins!

I know you think I'm kidding, but I'm not. These muffins are healthy (all things considered... they still are muffins... about 170 calories/muffin) and they taste good.

My ambition was to make a muffin my husband would eat that was still good for you (re: no chocolate chips, some sort of healthy grain...) and something involving oats, as it is good for nursing mommies. And this time, I win. (But you could add chocolate chips if you like.)
I found a recipe that gave me a decent base, and then changed it all around. And for once, my meddling in the baking world did me well. These are edible, which is more than I can say about most of my "tweaked" baking dishes. (This is why I cook.)

Makes 12 regular-sized muffins.

Ingredients:

dry:

1 -1/2 cups oat bran*
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour*
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used light. Use what you have/like.)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

wet:

2 eggs
1-1/2 cups apple sauce (you can use chunky, smooth, seasoned... I used organic, unsweetened, plain, smooth, about as bland as you get applesauce, but next time I want to try chunky flavored.)
2 TBS vegetable oil


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line muffin tin with paper cups.

In a large bowl, blend all the dry ingredients together.

Stir in the wet ingredients until thoroughly combine.
Add any stir-ins at this time.**

Pour batter into muffin tin.
Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or oats. Or both.

Bake for 15 minutes (less if on convect) or until springy and brown.

Enjoy!

* I buy this in the bulk section at Whole Foods. It is surprisingly affordable.

** chocolate chips, chopped apple, chopped nuts, craisins, raisins, pumpkin seeds... add about 1/2 cup. If using dried fruit, add 1 or 2 TBS more of applesauce or water. I want to make some that include ALL the stir ins!

Grapes Overcome

I bought Baby some baby food that involved grapes. She loved it. I decided that grapes were something I could make, so I bought some delicious organic grapes.

Then I realized that I would need to peel all those teeny tiny little grapes.

A few days passed before I remembered the food mill.

You don't need a whole new kitchen of cutesy baby accessories to make baby food. I'm all for using tools you already have or can use later, like a mini Cuisinart food processor, or little freezer containers that can hold snacks and dressing later on. That said, we bought a $10 Kid Co. baby food mill to use during our move and at the beach. It was much easier to carry the food mill (which comes with a travel case and does not need to be plugged in) than it was to bring the food processor along. It is the only thing I haven't thought of an "afterlife" for, but for $10, and assuming we have another kid at some point, it is well worth it.

Then I discovered something about the food mill that made it my new favorite thing. Skins can't get through the food mill. Long gone are the days of crushing blueberries through a sieve! Grapes do not need to be peeled! I can just run them through the mill and presto chango, they are skinless mush!

I ran about 1/2 a cup of red, sweet, organic grapes through the mill. I discovered that if you squeeze the grapes slightly (to crack the skin) before putting them through, they press much faster.

Here's the problem with grapes: they turn into soup. To counteract Grape Soup, I milled up a medium banana (which whirrs into slime) and made a goopy concoction that my baby absolutely loves. I think I'll mix it into some baby oats before serving it to her.

Eye Round Roast, Revisited

Once again, I found myself in the grocery store wondering what was for dinner. I was going to make pasta figoli with cheesy toasts for dipping. However, Dan had a big interview today, and I wanted to make a Dan meal (meat and potatoes) versus a Karla dish (Italian, involving pasta and beans or pasta and sauce).

I picked up some sweet potatoes, carrots, and beets before heading to the meat counter. I know that when you buy beef cuts, they say 1/2 lb per person (when really, a serving is 4 oz.) because the meat will shrink as the water and fat leave it. Still, when I asked the man for enough eye of round roast to serve 4 hungry people and he handed me what, when wrapped, was the size of my 6-month-old, I was a little shocked. (He actually gave me 2.79 lbs of beef. It was a bit much. Good thing it makes for tasty leftovers.)

Now, armed with the goods to make a meal the whole family will enjoy (no onions, no tomato sauce, no seafood...), I headed back to marinade the beef.

Eye of round is great to marinade overnight, but I am not a planner. I have several print-outs and on-line accounts designed to help people plan out a week of meals in advance, all failed. I tend to work better under the "go to the store, stand in the middle and put it all together based on what is fresh, local, organic, and on sale, in that order if possible." method.

I didn't have overnight, but I had 4 hours, so I used them wisely. I made an acidic marinade, let the meat come to room temperature before cooking it, and used convection bake, prolonging the time it could sit in the marinade before needing to go into the oven.

Eye of Round Roast Last Minute Marinade
(this would be good even if you could only sit it in the marinade for the 30 minutes it takes for the beef to come to room temperature)

As with all marinades, measurements are approximate. I just dump and go.

1/2 cup red wine
4 TBS balsamic vinegar
1.5 tsp basil
some thyme, oregano, and savory
1 bay leaf, broken up
2 TBS low sodium soy sauce
salt & pepper

Put into a plastic container, so shaking is easy. Shake the container every time you go by. I tend to put whatever I'm marinating in a container that barely contains the meat, so that I don't need to use a ton of marinade.

Root veggies are under appreciated this time of year. They are in season, but most people associate them with winter because the keep well. I say eat them all year round.

To feed 5 hungry people (because Baby ate enough to count as one), I made 3 sweet potatoes, a bunch of carrots - maybe 6? - and 6 beets. Peel and cut into big chunks, then put into a roasting pan one layer deep. It is better to use two pans than stack them all up.

Dress with the following:

thyme
maple syrup
olive oil
balsamic
pepper


Preheat the oven to 450. Put the beef into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven to 350 degrees and roast for another 30 minutes on convect for a medium to medium rare (pink in the middle, no red) or 35 minutes for non-convection heat. Let the meat sit for at least 10 minutes and up to 20 minutes before carving. Then cut into circles as thin as you possibly can.

I put 1 cup of the veggies into the Cuisinart with 3 TBS of water and blended for two servings of baby food. It comes out BRIGHT pink, so you may want to undress your baby if you like the outfit she is wearing. Beets stain. I also cut her off about two adult bites of beef and whirred that to a pulp, mixed them, and Baby ate it ALL.

Enjoy!