An Early St Paddy's Day

I received a great phone call from my s-i-l, Marie, yesterday.  She said she had picked up a 5 pound corned beef brisket - way too much for her and Steve - so how would it be if she brought it by for me to cook and then invite them over for dinner?!?

Sounded like a great plan to me!

I've cooked many a corned beef in my time, from those nasty gray things we served in Uncle Sam's Yacht Club to some primo briskets.  I have to admit I have never cooked one in the oven - they have always been stove-top.  And I have never-ever cooked one for an hour per pound!  45 minutes per pound, max.  Any longer and you end up with a shredded mess.  And it really does seem like every recipe out there calls for an hour.

Every one of them is wrong!  45 minutes!  The brisket above was about 5.35 pounds.  I cooked it for almost 3 1/2 hours.  Perfect.

Another rule of thumb is to take it out of the water an hour before you plan to serve it.  Just cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit.  It will firm up for slicing but still be fork-tender.

This particular beef came with a packet of seasoning.  Maybe a heaping teaspoon.  It was pretty pathetic for a 5+ pound brisket.  I added additional bay leaves, mustard seeds, peppercorns, coriander seeds, black onion seeds, garlic...

When the beef was done I strained the cooking liquid and put it back into a clean pot.  I then used it to cook the potatoes, carrots, and cabbage.

Cabbage.  Victor's least-favorite food after beets.  He turns green at the thought of eating it, yet, once again, he ate a heaping helping and loved every bite.

Go figure.

Dinner for 5 with lots of leftovers for everyone to share.

And tomorrow?!?  A Corned Beef Special for Victor and a Reuben for me.  Sauerkraut would send him straight over the edge!

by Tim Dineen

Sizzling Steaks

Gee but it's good to have the kitchen almost back to normal!  It was even better coming home and not having to take something apart or put something together.  (I still have to remove under-counter lights for the backsplash install, but that can wait until Wednesday.)

I know so many people who would have milked this just to eat out every night.  I wanted it done so I could stay home and cook.

Somewhere along the line, I lost my desire to eat out.  And I don't quite get it because I love food, love different foods, love having someone cook for me, love not doing the dishes... but on some level, I just dislike restaurants.  (I'm sure it has nothing to do with all of the years I worked in them.)

But then again,  it really only applies to restaurants at home.  If I'm traveling, I lovelovelove eating out.  Next week we're heading home to San Francisco for a few days, we're staying at the Wharf, and I'm really looking forward to the restaurants.  Walking distance to North Beach...  It's gonna be great.

But given the choice of my own kitchen or something local?  My own kitchen will win every time.

So it's get the kitchen back together as quickly as possible so I don't have to go out and eat.  I don't have to deal with "Hi!  My name is Jason and I'll be your server tonight!"

So tonight's non-restaurant meal was grilled tri-tip steaks rubbed with smoked paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Buttered broccoli, and roasted mini potatoes.

Cooling in the kitchen is a pear pie with a triple-ginger and walnut crust.

More about that, later...

by Tim Dineen

Grill Time

It's March 3rd and it's 30° outside.  The weather is saying "stew" but my mind is saying "barbecue."

That's me.  Always the rebel.

Ever since I got the propane tank filled, I've wanted to cook outside and I just happened to have had a flank steak ready to go. I am reasonably convinced that the only way one can properly cook a flank steak is on the grill.  Okay.  Not really true.    Bavette a L'échalotte comes to mind, but it's not the quickest...  I do have the luxury most nights of being able to spend the amount of time I want in the kitchen, but some nights the amount of time I want to spend in the kitchen is maybe 20 minutes.  Tops.

While I was thinking grill, I was also thinking tomatoes.  It's probably 4 months before we're going to have ripe tomatoes in the garden.  A third of a year.  I have a real aversion to store-bought tomatoes, but I saw some really good ones the other day and succumbed.  I'm glad I did.  They made a great caprese.  I used a fresh buffalo mozzarella and our really expensive Christmas-gift olive oil.

I really started craving summer!

Oh well.

I marinated the flank steak in a bit of (less-expensive) olive oil and a bit of garlic before grilling.

The pasta was a lemon pepper papardelle that after cooking, I made a simple sauce with 1/4 cup heavy cream and the juice of 1 meyer lemon.  I added a bit of lemon zest, salt and pepper, but that really was it.

And it really worked well.

by Tim Dineen

Oscar de la Dinner

It's Oscar Night!

The night to celebrate Hollywood and the movies.

Once upon a time, I would have seen most (if not all) of the nominated films, actors, and directors...  And I may have gone to, hosted, or - back in my restaurant and hotel days - worked an Oscar Party.  I remember one Oscar party in particular where everyone was supposed to dress up as a movie character.  One guy showed up as an Oscar statue.  Lots of gold and not much more.  He was definitely the hit of the party.  Sweet youth, indeed...

But this year I haven't seen a one of them.  Nada.  Zero.  Zip.

I still love movies, but I have finally come to realize that I hate multiplexes.  I used to love seeing movies in a grand old theater.  There was a romance about seeing a movie back in the day.  And we went all of the time.

I simply loathe seeing movies in those sterile boxes the movie palaces of old have succumbed to.  And the prices.  It is just not worth it to me, anymore.  If I really want to see a movie - and there's just not a lot out there that's grabbing me - I'll wait for it to hit On Demand.  I can watch them in my PJ's and hit "pause" to get a snack or go to the bathroom.

It's so much more civilized.

But I still love the Oscars - not that I really know any of the actors out there, anymore, either.  I guess ya kinda hafta see a movie now and again to know who is starring in them.

My mother was The Movie Trivia Queen of the Universe.   She knew movies, the stars, the directors, the scenes.  Many a night I would call her up to ask about an actor or something and she would rattle off who it was, when the movie was made, character actors, stars, bit players...  And if we were playing Trivial Pursuit, she would roll for those Pink squares.  She knew her Hollywood.

But fast-forward to tonight and I haven't seen any of them.  I barely know what's been nominated.  Barely.  And what's with having TEN films nominated for "Best Picture?!?  C'mon...  Ya think this might be a bit of a merchandising gimmick?!?  "Nominated for Best Picture!"  Yeah...  just like every other movie made in 2010.  I think it cheapens the category a bit.

But I'm not the demographic, anymore.  My opinion really doesn't matter.

What does matter is having a great dinner as a prelude to the festivities!

Tonight we had a filet roast.  Simply roasted in the oven for 25 minutes. Rare and sliced thick.  A simple pan-sauce of red wine and beef broth, thickened with a bit of cornstarch added that simple je ne sais quoi.
The potatoes were fun.  I took teeny tiny potatoes and sliced them with the food processor.  I then threw them in a skillet with a bit of olive oil and a huge sliced onion.  I slowly sauteed them together until the onions and potatoes were soft and lightly browned.  A bit of a faux Lyonnaise Potato.

Roasted brussels sprouts finished the plate.

Rich and extravagant.  Just as a Hollywood party should be.

And we have a fun dessert planned for later...

by Tim Dineen

Beef Stew

I've said it many times that my mother was queen of the soups and stews.  She knew how to stretch a pound of meat to serve six kids and the two of them.  No question about it.  And there's a lot of things she made over the years that I make similarly, today.  Her potato salad...  The Olive appetizers...  And her stew.

Mom's stew was pretty basic and simple.  Lots of potatoes and lots of gravy.  Sop it all up with bread.

It doesn't get any better.

Fast-forward a few years and you find me in the kitchen making a similar stew.  There's a few differences...  I use fresh onions because I wouldn't know what to do with onion soup mix and I use beef broth in place of the bouillon cubes - another non-ingredient in our house.  But the concept is the same.  Coffee and worcestershire sauce are definitely in there.  As is garlic powder.

In reading the recipe above, I think she inadvertantly left out celery.  And Kitchen Boquet.  I kinda think she always had celery in her stew.  I know I always add it to mine.  It's a natural.

I don't recall when she started using coffee in her beef dishes - soups, stews, gravies and the like.  I do remember that she was kind of proud of how the dishes came out, though.  Coffee does add a richness to beef.  I use it a lot.

I'll also add frozen peas or mixed vegetables if I happen to have any in the house.  And unlike mom, I rarely peel my potatoes or carrots.

But even though I tweak it here and there, it is her recipe that it's based upon.

And if she were still here to make a pot of it, I'd be standing in line for seconds - onion soup mix and all.

by Tim Dineen

Guinness Burgers

I saw this recipe months ago on the Qui, Chef food blog and started salivating right away!  It had everything - Guinness, bacon, onions, horseradish... all worked into a burger.  It sounded great.

Last night I finally decided I was going to  make them and got out the beef and the Guinness to marinate over night.

What a waste of good Guinness!

The flavor was there. but the texture was just horrible.  Where the author stated it had  "...a soft, melt in your mouth texture of a veal meatloaf" I found it to be mushy and reminiscent of  Gerber Jr baby-food.  (I do have to admit that I didn't use locally-raised grass-fed ground beef, but it wasn't cheapo 75% supermarket stuff, either.)

As I said, it did have flavor, but the texture.....  ugh.

Performing my root cause analysis afterward, there were a few places where I probably erred.  To begin with, I probably didn't drain the beef well enough at the beginning.  I used a mesh strainer and did my squeezing, but the beef was loose from the beginning.  I probably should have squeezed it more.

I also think the egg hindered - not helped.  After adding the other ingredients, the mixture was reasonably substantial.  The egg made it really loose, again.  Were I to try this again, I would either omit the egg entirely, or just use the yolk.  And bread crumbs instead of flour...

And I really should have paid attention to the things the writer said...  the clues were all there - I just didn't pay attention.

Oh...  I also didn't make the compound butter.  I didn't think they needed butter on top, and, it would not have improved the texture.

Guinness Burgers

from: http://www.ouichefnetwork.com

Adapted from:  "Guinness - An official celebration of 250 remarkable years"

Ingredients:

• 1 pound locally raised, grass fed ground beef
• 2/3 cup Guinness Stout
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 4 bacon slices, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon creamed horseradish
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 2 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 2/3 cup salted butter, softened
• 1 garlic clove finely minced
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

1. The night before you want to make these, lay the ground beef out is a shallow dish and cover with the Guinness.  Using your hands, massage the Guinness into the meat, cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge for at least 12 hours.

2. When ready to form the burgers, saute the onion and bacon in a skillet until the onion is lightly browned and the bacon is crisped to your liking.  Pour the mix into a fine mesh seive to drain away any excess bacon fat and set aside to cool.

3. Lift the beef out of the marinade and gently squeeze any excess Guinness from the meat.  Place the meat in a large bowl, add the onion bacon mixture, the horseradish, egg and paprika.  Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle the flour over.  Using your hands, mix together well.   Divide the mix into 4 equal portions and form into round patties, about 1 1/2 inches thick.  Carefully lay the patties on a non-stick baking sheet and top with plastic film.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to 6 hours to firm up.

4. While the burgers are chilling, finely mince the fresh rosemary leaves, and combine in a small bowl with the soft butter and minced garlic.  Mix together and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the counter and form a sausage shaped piece of the compound butter on top, about 1 1/2 inched in diameter.  Roll the butter into a log inside the wrap, and freeze for 20 minutes to set.

5. When ready to cook the burgers, lightly oil a cast iron (or non-stick) frying pan.  Heat over a medium-high flame until just beginning to smoke, add the burgers and cook for a bout 5 minutes on each side, until well browned on the outside.  Because the Guinness stains the meat, a medium-rare burger will not be rosy pink inside, so you will need to go by feel to know when they are done.  The burgers should resist slightly in the center (and not be too mushy), when cooked to medium rare.

6. Serve immediately topped with a pat of the rosemary garlic butter.

Serves 4

by Tim Dineen

Magnificent Meatloaf

Meatloaf is one of those things I just throw together.  No written recipe, but it's the same ol' loaf time and time, again.  It's good, but it's the same ol' loaf time and time, again.

I decided that we needed something a bit different.  I had a recipe for a Rustic French Meatloaf that I made for Victor's birthday, but I wasn't in a chicken liver mood.  (Besides, I didn't have any lying about...)

I saw an old Gourmet recipe but it wasn't really what I wanted, either.  I decided to take bits and pieces of everything and make my own.

Magnificent Meatloaf

• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 small onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 carrot
• 4 oz mushrooms
• 1 cup dried figs
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 3 slices thick-sliced bacon
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup Italian parsley, minced
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350°.

Soak bread crumbs in milk.

In food processor, finely mince onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and mushrooms.  Cook mixture about 5 minutes in skillet over medium heat.

Add Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, allspice, salt and  pepper. Add to bread-crumb mixture.

Finely chop bacon, parsley, and prunes in a food processor and add to onion mixture.  Add beef and eggs and mix well.

Form into loaf.

Bake about 90 minutes or until thermometer reads 155°.

It worked pretty well.

All of the chopped and sauteed vegetables really made for a moist meatloaf, and the figs added a perfect sweet balance.

Mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, and peas finished the plate.

And now we get meatloaf sandwiches.

Yum.

by Tim Dineen