Brisket Party!

Leftover brisket - part two! Brisket makes a great hearty dinner for company - especially on a freezing winter night. We had some dinner guests over to enjoy the last of the 5 lb. brisket. Mix in a few side dishes, salad, bread, and dessert for a full meal! Wines were expertly selected by the wine expert at http://vintage78.blogspot.com.

First course:
Baby greens salad with carrots, cucumber, red peppers, and black olives. Served with either a lemon tarragon vinaigrette or balsamic dressing.

Wine pairing: Chardonnay from Spring Lake Estates in the Niagara area (NY)

Main course:
Barbecue Brisket: Cooked brisket heated up in smoky BBQ sauce. Heated at 250 degrees for about 30-45 minutes until nice and tender and falling apart.

Pumpkin Cornbread: Followed the corn muffin mix recipe, adding in about 1/2 cup canned pumpkin and a tbsp. of sugar. Baked according to directions on the box. This was really moist and a very pretty golden color.

Smoky Baked Beans: Delicious! These were so good - we ate every last bit of them (well, there were no leftovers from anything else either....). I used a little help with a recipe I found online: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-fantasy/sweet-and-smoky-baked-beans-recipe/index.html. I swapped out a few ingredients - turkey bacon for the bacon and red peppers for the green. For the cooking method, I cooked them on the stove top for the 10-15 minutes, then let them cool and put them in the refrigerator. Before dinner I heated them up in the oven alongside the brisket.

Wine: Pinot Noir from Warm Lakes in the Niagara (NY) area.

Dessert:
Individual cherry cobbler pies. These were easy and fun to make and very tasty! I bought pre-made miniature pie crusts from the grocery store. Brushed them with egg whites and baked for 5 minutes. Then I filled them with canned cherry pie filling. For the top, I made a mixture of flour, oats, brown sugar and butter. Bake for 15-20 minutes and instant dessert!

There were NO leftovers at all. This is definitely a keeper!

Brisket!

Tonight's brisket was delicious. It's a pretty reasonably priced cut of meat, so we picked up a nice 5 lb. brisket on Sunday. With a few hours in the oven on Sunday afternoon, and a quick warm up tonight - dinner was ready!

I used a recipe from Kosher by Design - a great cookbook - for BBQ brisket. Instead of a sweet and sour sauce, this used beer and chili sauce. Using what was leftover in the fridge, I used a Budweiser American Ale. The recipe calls for celery and onions as the veggies. Flavorings include garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, and parsley. It cooks for 3 hours the first time, then gets refrigerated overnight. On the day you want to eat it, reheat it with sauce for about 20 minutes and serve! If you want the recipe - email me and I can get it to you. Or check out the photo gallery on the right for a picture of the ingredient list.

On the side, I made a quick mashed parsnips (instead of potatoes). They are made the same way - boil for about 12 minutes, drain, then mash with milk and seasonings.

I'm looking forward to this week's leftovers!

"Fiesta" Meatloaf

Not sure if this is the best name for the recipe, but it's essentially a southwestern flavored meatloaf. Meatloaf is a frequent item on our dinner menu - each time with a different twist. I usually make it in muffin tins. The meatloaf cooks quicker and it makes for easier leftovers for lunch. It's easy to come up with variations based on the flavor of the week (or what we have in the fridge). You can swap veggies, sauces, and side dishes. The flavor for this week is southwest, served with roasted Yukon gold potatoes, and guacamole on the side. Enjoy!

"Fiesta Meatloaf"
1 lb. ground sirloin
1 red pepper
1/2 an onion (any color)
2 stalks of celery
1/2 a jalapeno
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup salsa + 1/2 cup salsa
1 egg, beaten with a splash of milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put ground beef in a large mixing bowl and break up.
Cut onion, pepper, celery and jalapeno into about 2 inch pieces.
Put vegetables into a food processor and pulse until they are in small pieces.
Add veggies to the meat in the bowl.
Add bread crumbs, 1/2 cup salsa, and egg to the bowl.
Mix until well combined.

Either put into greased muffin tins or use a 1/4 cup measuring cup and scoop into patties on a greased baking sheet. Top each muffin with a spoonful of salsa. Bake for 20 minutes, until meat is cooked thoroughly.

Southwest Roasted Potatoes
Yukon gold potatoes (as much as you need), cut in quarters.
Cumin
Chili Powder
1-2 garlic cloves
Salt
Pepper
Cilantro
Olive oil

Toss the potatoes in olive oil and spices. Place on a baking sheet. Bake alongside the meatloaf, checking after 15 minutes to make sure they don't burn.

Summary:
Prep time - about 10 minutes
Cook time - 20-25 minutes
2 bowls, chopping board and knife, food processor, muffin tin/baking sheet, second baking sheet, spatula and spoons.

My Favorite Go-To Dinner

This is my favorite dinner for nights when I get home late, am too lazy to cook, or just have no food in the house. I could eat eggs for dinner every night (my husband disagrees)! So tonight I was home alone for dinner, got home late, and knew just what I was having. This combines two of my favorite foods - bread and cheese! The composition varies based on what is in the fridge, but it always involves eggs, cheese and some kind of bread. Tonight's version:

Lara's Egg & Cheese
Toasted onion bagel with 2 fried eggs and melted sharp cheddar cheese.

On the side - quick hash browns thanks to some frozen shredded potatoes from Whole Foods.

Delicious and tasty! Perfect for sitting in front of the TV and watching The Office and 30 Rock.