New England "Boiled" Dinner

It's more of a braise, actually!  I don't have one drop of Irish blood in me, but I love the culture and their food.  Today, I made this traditional Irish-American, one-pot-wonder and we really enjoyed it.  The food was overflowing on this platter and I served the remaining vegetables in a serving bowl.  This feast of slowly cooked corned beef, cabbage, onions, potatoes, turnips and carrots only cost about $15 total!

One corned beef brisket, approximately 21/2 pounds
1/3 cup light brown sugar
One bottle (12 oz.) Sam Adams Irish Red Ale or beer of your choice (Guinness would be excellent, of course!)
Water, to cover brisket
1 bay leaf
2 garlic cloves, smashed with a knife and peeled
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
24 oz. container baby red potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed
2 turnips, washed, peeled and cut into 2" chunks
1 extra-large onion, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
1 head cabbage, washed, outer leaves and root end removed, cut into 10 wedges
8 oz. baby carrots, washed

Remove brisket from package; rinse well.  Place on a large plate and coat both sides with brown sugar.  Place meat in a Dutch oven.  Pour the beer over the beef.  Add water to cover.  Place bay leaf, garlic and peppercorns in a small piece of cheesecloth; tie up with kitchen twine.  Toss the sachet into the pot.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Remove any scum that floats to the surface.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 3 hours.

Discard sachet.  Place brisket on a cutting board and cover with foil.  Set aside.  Bring cooking liquids back up to a boil.  Add potatoes, turnips, onion, carrots and cabbage.  (I couldn't fit two of the cabbage wedges into the pot.  Oh, well.  Coleslaw tomorrow!)

Place lid on the pot.  Reduce heat to brisk simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes.  Drain vegetables and serve with brisket.

Dipping Sauce:

3/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
1 green onion, root end removed, washed and minced
Kosher salt and Mrs. Dash Garlic-Herb Seasoning, to taste
Honey, to taste (a healthy teaspoon, I'd say)

Mix ingredients and chill until ready to serve.  I made this just before I put the brisket on the stove.  Great with the beef and potatoes!

Christmas Roast Beast

This would melt any Grinch's heart--well-seasoned, slowly roasted, juicy, medium in the center, more well-done on the ends.  Delicious!

One bone-in, ribeye roast, approximately 5 1/2 pounds

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons coarse-ground mustard

1 tablespoon Montreal Steak Seasoning

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb Seasoning

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a shallow roasting pan with aluminum foil.  Place the roast on the pan.  Set aside.

Whisk together oil, Worcestershire and mustard.  In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients.

At this point, I put on a pair of disposable gloves.  Pour the liquid mixture all over the roast and rub it in well.  Do this with the dry mixture as well.

Roast it for three hours.  Remove from the oven, cover with foil and allow to rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before carving.  

Swiss Steak Remix

One of my favorite dishes as a child was Mom's Swiss Steak.  She seasoned round steak with garlic salt and pepper, cut the meat into strips, rolled the strips in flour and browned them in about a cup (!) of Wesson oil in a cast iron skillet   Next, she threw in onion chunks and cooked them until softened.  She mixed in flour for thickening and stirred in water, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.  She slapped on a lid and allowed the beef to cook slowly for at least two hours.  Buttered rice and garlic bread were the go-withs.

I was craving that flavor but had to make it healthier--less oil, more vegetables.  Here is my version, with southwestern seasonings. (Weight Watchers-friendly; 7 POINTS.)

1 pound round steak, cut approximately 3/4" thick
3/4 teaspoon fajita seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning (or 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 medium Vidalia onion, peeled and sliced into half-moons
1 large green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into thin strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Newman's Own Farmer's Garden Salsa (Medium)*
1/2 cup water
2 cups hot cooked white rice

Spread plastic wrap over a large cutting board.  Cut steak into four pieces.  Place the pieces of steak on top of the plastic.  Cover with another sheet of plastic wrap.  Pound with a meat mallet to 1/2-inch thickness.  Combine seasonings and flour in a large zip-top bag.  Add the pieces to the bag one at a time, seal it up and shake to coat evenly. Set the meat aside.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add the meat and brown well on both sides.  Remove the meat to a plate.

Add the onions and peppers to the pan drippings; lightly brown the vegetables.  Add the minced garlic; cook for one minute.  Deglaze the pan with the salsa and water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat.  Return the steaks to the pan.  Cover and cook for 1 1/2-2 hours, or until tender.  Serves 4.

*Note:  Any tomato-based salsa would be great.  I love this particular salsa because it contains grated carrot, which adds a lot of richness to the dish.

Also, you can transfer this to a slow cooker and cook on High heat for four hours.