Monday, March 14, 2011

Week 11

First off, I'd like to ask everyone to please say a prayer for the country of Japan and for all the people and families affected by the disaster there. It hits close to home because my brother is living abroad there and even though he flew back to the States yesterday, he still has many friends there.

The first recipe of this week is actually a dish we made to go with our Indian food last week: Curried Beef. I adapted it from The Indian Slow Cooker recipe for Pakistani "Old Clothes" Beef Curry. It came out really well, although next time I might add more spice than I did (the recipe calls for 1 Tbs and I used about a teaspoon).

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day this week, I'm making corned beef and cabbage and possibly Irish soda bread. Finally, the last recipe of the week is a skillet sausage, pepper and cornbread "pie". That's all for this week because we do have a lot of leftovers in the house.

Indian Beef Curry
2 onions, peeled and sliced
2 lbs beef, cut into cubes (I actually used a bison tip roast)
1 2" piece ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
10 cloves garlic, peeled
1 heaping tsp ground ginger
4 green cardamom pods
3 bay leaves
1 4" cinnamon stick
1 Tbs garam masala
2 Tbs ground fennel
1 tsp to 1 Tbs ground red chili powder
2 pinches ground nutmeg
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
grapeseed or olive oil for sauteeing (several tablespoons)

Heat oil in large dutch oven. Add onions and beef and cook until beef is browned all over. In food processor, grind ginger and garlic to a paste and add it to the dutch oven. Add all the spices and saute another minute to release the fragrances. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer about 3 hours or until meat is very tender, stirring occasionally.

Corned Beef and Cabbage
3lb corned beef brisket (with spice packet)
1 12-oz bottle pale beer
1 med onion, halved
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 lbs small red potatoes, halved
several carrots, scrubbed and cut into big chunks
1 head green cabbage, cut into about 8 wedges

Mix together for mustard sauce:
3/4 cup whole grain mustard
1/4 cup sucanat (or brown sugar or coconut sugar)
2 Tbs cider vinegar

You can do this in a slow cooker, on the stove top, or in a pressure cooker. I am not sure which I will do at this point. If you opt for the slow cooker, put all the veggies (except cabbage), garlic and bay leaves on the bottom and put the brisket on top. Pour over juices from brisket packaging and the beer. Mix up the mustard sauce and brush about 3 Tbs on top of brisket. Cover and cook on low all day, 8-10 hours, until very tender and meat is falling apart.

If you opt for the stove top, put meat, beer, onion, garlic, bay leaves, 1 1/2 cups water, the juices from package and the spice packet into a large stock pot. Bring to boiling, reduce heat and simmer covered until tender, about 3 hours (or pressure cook about 20 mins per lb ). Heat oven to 375 F, transfer meat to roasting pan, brush with 3 Tbs of mustard sauce, and roast about 15 mins. Meanwhile, place potatoes, carrots and cabbage in stock pot that meat was in, and simmer covered until tender, about 15 mins.


Sausage, Pepper and Cornbread Skillet Pie
2 tsp EVOO
1 lb Italian sausage links
2 red bell peppers, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch swiss chard or other greens, stems discarded and leaves coarsely chopped (about 8 cups)
1/2 tsp kosher salt and pepper

Cornbread topping ingredients:
2/3 cups flour (all purpose or whole wheat)
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 Tbs sugar
2 oz (1/2 cup) grated parmesan
1 Tbs baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs butter or grapeseed oil or olive oil
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Heat oven to 400°F. Heat EVOO in large cast iron skillet. Add sausange and cook until browned on all sides, 3-4 minutes. Transfer to cutting board and cut into 1" pieces. Add peppers and onions to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Stir in garlic. Add chard, salt and several turns of the pepper mill. Cook just a couple minutes until chard is just beginning to wilt. Remove from heat and stir in sausage. Meanwhile, in bowl, whisk together the cornbread topping ingredients. Spread batter over skillet, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 15-20 mins.

1 comment:

  1. Yum Jenna! I was hoping for a good corned beef recipe for the slow cooker. Thank you!

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