Texas Brisket

One of my dear students from the ELS language center gave me a cookbook for my birthday.  This recipe comes from "Nigella Kitchen".  She's a food network star, maybe you're familiar.  Anyway, I served this brisket up as an appetizer during my Christmas Eve Open House.  It turned out very good and it was an easy one to make.  It serves about 12, so just half it if you're just making it for your family.


3 medium onions
approximately 5 1/2 lbs beef brisket (make sure you don't buy salted or corned beef...just fresh)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup liquid smoke
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup steak sauce (such as A-1)
1/4 cup strong brewed black coffee


Preheat the oven to 300


Slice the onions, stripping away any skin that unwraps itself,  (It doesn't matter if the skin stays on) and arrange them in the center of the pan to create a platform the brisket will sit on.  I used an oval roasting pan, it worked great.


Place the brisket on top, fat-topped side up.


Whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour them over the brisket, then cover the pan with aluminum foil, sealing it tightly.  Place it in the oven for 3 1/2 hours.


Remove from the oven and transfer the meat to a cutting board.  Slice the brisket in diagonals across the grain.


Transfer the onions to a blender with a ladleful or two of the liquid from the pan and blend til smooth, then add back to the rest of the liquid in the pan and stir.


Put the brisket slices in the gravy in the pan and serve.

bacon wrapped jalepenos

These are easy to make and were a hit at my open house.  Thanks Pioneer Woman!!


jalepenos sliced in half
cream cheese
bacon


Scoop out the seeds/ribs from the jalepenos.  Fill with cream cheese.  Wrap 1/3 slice of bacon around it and secure with a toothpick.  They will come unwrapped while cooking if you don't secure it.  Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.  If they are not as brown as you like them at the end of the cooking time, place them under the broiler for a few minutes.

Braised Beef with Cranberries

This is a great tasting, easy dinner!  Plus it sounds so fancy.  A couple of friends commented when I told them what I was making... "oh, you are so talented!"  Well, the compliment is appreciated, but this really doesn't take any talent.  It's also quite festive for this time of year.  Fresh Cranberries are seasonal at the grocery store, so buy extra and freeze them.  They freeze great.


3 pounds chuck roast (brisket works well too)
coarse salt and ground pepper
3 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 can beef broth
1 cup dry red wine (merlot or cabernet Sauvignon)
1 bay leaf
2 Tbs unsulfured molasses
2 cups water
1 bag (12 ounces) fresh cranberries
1 bag (1 pound) frozen pearl onions


1.  Preheat oven to 350 with rack in lowest position.  Season beef with salt and pepper.  Heat a 5 quart dutch oven or heavy pot over medium high.  Add chuck roast, cook until browned, 8-10 minutes, rotating once.  Transfer beef to a plate


2. Add flour to pot and cook, stirring, 30 seconds.  Add broth, wine, bay leaf, molasses, half the cranberries, and 2 cups of water; bring to a boil.  Return beef to pot, and cover.  Transfer to oven; bake 3 hours.


3.  Stir in onions; cover, and return pot to oven.  Cook 30 minutes more.  Stir in remaining cranberries; return pot to oven.  Cook uncovered, until beef is fork-tender, 30 minutes more.  Discard bay leaf before serving.

Isn't it festive?  

I served it up with some baked potatoes, and a green salad.   

Sweet Potato Pasty

I just got a new cookbook from my dear friend Julie called "Just 5 Things".  This recipe comes from it and is one I'm serving at my Christmas Eve Open House


I wish I could be 100 percent precise, but I've adapted this a bit.  The cookbook has it served in a larger portion as a lunch, but I switched it up a bit in order to make it more of an appetizer.  So I had to double in a half my ingredients, and I still had filling left over.  But it's so good I'll just serve it as a side.


4 1/2 sweet potatoes
1 15 oz tub ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese (please, get the real stuff and grate it yourself)
4 Tbs basil pesto
6 sheets frozen puff pastry thawed


Bake the sweet potatoes in a 400 degree oven until done.  This can be about an hour to an hour and a half depending on the size of your potatoes.  Just make sure they are soft inside.  Then slice them in half lengthwise and let them cool.


Once they're cooled, scoop out the insides and put in a bowl.  Combine the ricotta, parmesean, and pesto with the potatoes and mix well.


Lay out your pastry dough and cut in equal squares.  A pizza cutter works great for this.  I got 9 squares for each piece of pastry.  There's 2 per box and I used 3 boxes.  Then spoon a little of your potato mixture in the center and form a triangle.  Use a little water to seal the edges.


I brushed the top with a little bit of milk and placed them in a 425 degree oven.  Bake for about 10-12 minutes.  Make sure you spray your pan or they will stick.  I've made these up ahead of time and will be baking them from frozen.  So, my time may vary.

Here's what they look like after they're baked...

These tasted GREAT!  They're a great appetizer, side dish or lunch.  Be sure to let me know what you think if you try them.  :D

Gingerbread houses

Hello bloggy friends!
Yes, a new post!!  It's a christmas miracle!  :D


Well, my life is full as most of you, and some things just need to be put on the back burner.  I enjoy posting and I don't want it to become a "task" I check off on my to do list.  So, my goal starting in January will be to post at least once a week.  If you subscribe, you'll get my posts right in your inbox.  That will save you from randomly checking the blog to see if there's a new post.  But, whatever you prefer.  I just am so grateful for you checking in, and my hearts desire to to be a blessing to you.


so, today I'm sharing Graham cracker gingerbread houses and my christmas eve menu.  I'll post the recipe's later, but at least you'll know what's cookin'.


Here's a link to instructions on how to do the gingerbread houses.  My kids had a great time!
Also included here is a recipe for royal icing.  If you want to be 'safe' from not eating raw egg whites you can actually buy them pasturized at your local grocery store.

After 'glueing' together, let them set for about 15 min.

Our decorations

Last year my husband and I decided to have a Christmas Eve open house.  His family is out of state so we don't see them at Christmas, and we see mine on Christmas day.  So we don't typically have plans on Christmas Eve.  We've been out of the habit of attending Christmas Eve services for a couple reasons... first, we were at a church for a long time that didn't have Christmas Eve or Christmas Day services unless it was actually a Sunday, in order to allow more time with family.  Second, our kids still go to bed pretty early, so it just hasn't worked all that well.  Anyway, we thought probably no one would come, but let's just try it.  And to our surprise many friends stopped by and it was such a delight!  Most came by on there way to or from a family gathering or something, but we were just so grateful to spend a little time with loved ones.  So, we are doing it again this year.  

Here is my menu:

Texas Beef Brisket

Bacon wrapped apricots

Bacon wrapped jalepenos 

Hummus with focaccia 

Cheese and sweet potato pasties 

Olive/pickle tray

Fruit jellies 

Cranberry/pistachio cheese roll w/crackers

Cheese/cracker tray

Chocolate crunch brownies

Sparkling punch w/cranberries and mint

I'll keep you posted on the recipe's.  What are you cooking this holiday season?  I'd love to hear from you.

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Is anyone overloaded with tomatoes from their garden?  I did not get the pleasure of having a garden this year.  There was just too many other projects going on and we never got around to it.  I was really quite sad, but God has really blessed me!  He really does care about the details.  I've had 2 people pour out their generosity on us.  I've been blessed with tomatoes among other garden veggies and I'm so very grateful!!  I am getting to enjoy fresh tomatoes as well as make sauce and even freeze some because of them.  There is nothing like a home grown tomato and I LOVE them, they are truly a favorite!  I'm thinking maybe I won't do a garden next year either, it's worked out quite well for me this year.  :-)  Only kidding, I will do another one, hopefully next year, and I will remember the generosity poured on me and will 'pay it forward'.  Feel free to keep me accountable to that!  Now, if you have lots of tomatoes and want another idea, here you go!

These are super delicious!

about 20 Roma tomatoes (really, you can use any, I used Roma this time)

1 Tbs Olive oil

salt

coriander

Preheat oven to 200.  Cut the stem end off of the tomatos and slice them in half length wise.  In a bowl, toss with the olive oil.  Lay out on a large rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle with Salt and Coriander.  A pinch of salt should cover about 4-6 tomatoes.  Place in the oven for 4-6 hours, or more if you wish.  The inside should still be juicy.  Serve at room temp.  Store in a container in the fridge.  They are great alone, or put them on your salads, serve it in pasta, put some fresh shaved parmesan on top with some basil, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar, the possibilities are endless.  The flavor is oh so yummy!  I can't describe it, you'll just have to try it. 

My new kitchen tool

I have a new kitchen tool!  I purchased a pressure cooker.  Now, this is probably not exciting for most people, but I'm thrilled!  My mom never used one, I've never used one, so this is a first experience.  So far it is going well.  I've made a chicken dish, a pot roast and black beans.  The chicken dish was very flavorful and super easy.  I just chopped up some potatoes, zucchini, summer squash and sweet potatoes, threw in a can of diced tomatoes, the chicken which I cut in pieces, some herbs/spices, and wa-lah!  dinner is done.  It was all of 30 minutes.  The cook time was actually 9 minutes, and I would go 7 next time.  The chicken was a tiny bit overdone. 

I also made a pot roast.  Now, I cook my pot roast all day in the oven at a low temp.  Low and slow for fork tender, so I was pretty leary when they said I could get fork tender in an hour.  I gave it a whirl, and it was pretty good!  I would have liked the meat to be a little more tender.  I'll need to play around with this a little, not sure if it needs a little more time, or a little less time.  The potatoes and carrots I put with it were wonderful, and the gravy was fabulous!  So, really, overall, a great meal.  Husband loved it, that's all that really matters isn't it? 

My most recent was my black beans and rice recipe which is already on here.  I use dried beans.  I soaked them from 10 this morning til 4 this afternoon.  Then I put them in the pressure cooker with the water.  Use 3 cups of water to every 1 cup of dried beans.  9  minutes later... perfect black beans!  I'm pretty sure this will be my future method for all my dried beans. 

So, I want to hear from YOU!  Do you have a pressure cooker?  Do you use it?  What's your favorite meal to use it for?  Please please share your recipe's!! 

I will share more specific's on the first 2 recipe's another time .  I can't wait to get your feedback, so please comment.  :-)