Slow Sunday: Irish-American Style

Corned beef and cabbage seems to be the first choice for Americans celebrating St. Patrick's day. Two years ago when I was in Ireland I couldn't wait to indulge in two Irish meals: Traditional Irish Breakfast and corned beef and cabbage. While I didn't go one day with out my Irish breakfast of one fried egg, a slice of bacon (think Canadian style with out the smoke), a halved tomato, beans, black pudding, and sausages, I couldn't find corned beef and cabbage anywhere or on any menu!

When I asked locals from Dublin to Galway about where to find this delicious meal, they all gave me a chuckle and said it may be popular in the U.S. but not necessarily in Ireland.

I'll be honest, as excited as I was for an Irish breakfast it was probably the only meal in Ireland I enjoyed, except for the beans, black pudding, and sausages, so really the only thing I ate was the egg, tomato, and bacon.

I'm not sure Corned beef and cabbage is really all that Irish, but is sure is tasty!

I cheated slightly with this recipe. I bought a Boar's Head corned beef brisket which was already been brined in salt, then it came with it's own seasoning package of coriander, bay leaves, all-spice seeds, and some other goodies.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

1 Boar's Head 1st Cut Corned Beef Brisket- approx. 3 lbs. uncooked
12 bite size red potatoes, whole
5 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 large peeled onion diced
1 medium cabbage, cut into wedges

Remove corned beef from bag and place in uncovered Dutch oven, with spices up. Cover with 2 inches of cold water. Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and allow to simmer slowly for 2 hours. Add vegetables and continue to simmer with lid on for 1 hour, or until meat is fork tender and vegetables are done.

Equipment:
Dutch oven

Carolina Ribs

Living in St. Louis we have a very distinct rib style, conveniently named St. Louis Style Barbeque. This summer I traveled to Charleston South Carolina and experienced Carolina Style barbeque and fell in love.

Being the huge fan of vinegar that I am, it was an easy transition from the tomato based, sweet and spicy barbeque sauce I'm more familiar with to the tangy mustard, vinegar, and brown sugar sauce.

Last night I decided to venture into the unknown and make Carolina Style Ribs. The plan didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped, but the outcome was delicious!

Carolina Style Barbeque Sauce
1.5 c. apple cidar vinegar
1 c. yellow mustard
1 tsp. tomato paste
3 tbsp. dark brown sugar
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. smoked papricka
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350. Place ribs in pan and cover in a high quality apple cidar. Cover with aluminum foil. Place in over and cook for 2 hours. Remove ribs and place on a pan rack above the apple cidar.

Mop ribs with sauce, cover, and place back in oven. Re-apply sauce every 20 minutes 4 times. Total 1hour and 20 minutes in oven.

For the smoky rib flavor light a grill (low heat) and grill ribs for 20-30 minutes.

Cut and serve.

Reuben me the right way

In all honesty, I'm not a sandwich person. If I'm at home I'll heat up a hot dog before I make myself a sanduíche. Although, there is one exception to this rule, my ever-loving Reuben.

There is much debate where this masterpiece of rye, corned beef, Swiss, Thousand Island dressing, and sauerkraut originated, but I do know it's one sandwich not to be messed with. And besides, it's a perfect blend of Irish (corned beef) and German (sauerkraut) just like me!

Saint Louis has is richly diverse in both Irish and German heritage and delivers a plethora of delicious Reuben sandwiches, however only two stand above the rest.

Pumpernickel's Deli and McGurk's Irish Pub.

Pumpernickel's offers one of the largest Reuben's I have ever eaten and I always order a half. It it grilled to perfection and is messy with 1000 Island dressing...It's a five napkin minimum sandwich.

Our Reuben: The Real Thing! Corned beef, kraut, Swiss, 1000 island, on rye
......................8.25......... 11.25

McGurk's Irish Pub is an easier eating version of the sandwich, but does not
lack in taste. The Reuben here is a destination in itself.

Steamship-style corned beef, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing, Swiss on toasted rye. $7.95

Mini-Meatball Sandwiches

I had big plans tonight to make specular Mini Meatball sandwiches, but my plans were a bust, particularly because I didn't want to drive half way across town to buy ground veal. If you ask any true Italian cook, 1 part ground beef, 1 part ground pork, and 1 part ground veal is the only way to make Italian meatballs.

Oh, well. I only look Italian so like any good impostor, I improvised. I can happily say dinner tonight was a success and something worth sharing. Jeff asked for seconds and my friend who came over to eat complimented me on not just the meatballs, but the homemade marinara!!!

Mini-Meatball Sandwiches

1 lb. ground Angus beef
3/4 lb. Italian sausage
1 egg
1/3 c. Italian bread crumbs
1 c. freshly shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
Salt and Pepper

Marinara:

1 tablespoon richly favored olive oil
1 shallot minced
3 cloves garlic minced
40 oz. canned diced Italian tomatoes
1 tsp. freshly chopped oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried rosemary
salt and pepper

Meatballs: Remove Italian sausage from casing. Mix in all ingredients. Shape into equally sized balls. Brown all sides in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Once meatballs are browned, place in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until cooked thoroughly.

In sauce pan, heat oil and saute garlic and shallot until tender. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until reduced by almost half. About 30-40 minutes. After sauce has reduced, run it through a food mill to grind down the diced tomatoes.

Place cooked meatballs into the marinara sauce. Poor desired meatball amount over hoagie bun and cover with Provolone cheese. Place in low broiler for 5 minutes and serve!

Desired cooking equipment:
Small spring scoop
Food mill
Sauce pan
cookie sheet
non-stick pan

Slow Sunday 1

Sunday is a funny day of the week. I think of it as the ulitmate relaxation day. It's also a family day when my husband and I enjoy hanging out at home and resting before our hectic weeks begin. Sunday nights are usually spent at the kitchen table discussing improvements on the house, upcoming appointments, or travel. What pulls my Sundays together is food; a chance for me to try out new ideas and a day dedicated to taking my time. Slow Sundays.

Tonight I made an outstanding dinner and invited my friends over to share. This is a classic recipe which won a big thumbs up from my husband Jeff. I get a lot of requests for repeat meals and this is always on the top of the list.

Cabernet Pot Roast

1 3lb. Chuck Roast, trimmed and cubed
2 slices bacon diced
2 carrots diced
2 celery stalks diced
1 large onion diced
2 c. Cabernet sauvignon
1 c. beef stock
3 tbsp. corn starch
2 Bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

3 carrots sliced
3 large potatoes diced
1 10oz bag of frozen peas

Start with one 3 lb Chuck Roast.

Trim all the fat and cut into bite size pieces (not too small otherwise it will turn into mush).

Season chuck roast with salt and pepper then Brown and set aside.


Brown 2 slices thick cut diced bacon. Render the fat then add in 2 stalks celery diced, 2 carrots diced, 1 large onion diced. Cook until tender.



Add chuck roast back to pot. Stir in 4 tbsp. Cornstarch and two Bay leaves.



Stir in 2 cups good Cabernet Sauvignon and 1 cup veal stock or beef stock. (This particular time I used store bought stuff b/c I didn't realize I had run out).



Place in oven at 300 degrees for two hours.

After two hours add in 3 large potatoes (bite size), 3 carrots sliced, and 1 10oz bag frozen peas.

Place back in oven for another hour or until potatoes and carrots are tender (but not mushy!).

Mahlzeit!

Equipment:
Chef knife
Porcelin coated cast-iron dutch oven

Shakespeare's Pizza in St. Louis

This is great news for Shakespeare's Pizza fans...For the first time ever, Shakespeare's is offered in St. Louis!!! Really, at Domain Street Wine Bar in New Town at Charles.

For everyone not familiar with this Mecca of pizza, Shakespeare's originated 31 years ago in Columbia, MO and it's been a destination point for any college go-er or visitor since the doors opened in the 1970's. Although the popularity and the loyalty to this pizza has not wavered, Shakespeare's has never expanded passed the boundary lines of Boone County...until now.

Pizza's are delivered weekly to Domain Street Wine Bar and are baked to order. The pizza's available are sausage, pepperoni, and extra cheese (my personal favorite) and on Monday and Tuesday nights they have a $5 pizza special.

Driving to Columbia on a weekend just for Shakespeare's Pizza is worthy trek in itself, but now it's a whole lot easier to indulge in this "slice of heaven" pizza pie any day of the week.

Adopt an Olive Tree

A couple months ago my husband Jeff was paging through Sauce Magazine and came across an article about adopting olive trees in Italy. We immediately jumped on the opportunity and $130 later (65 pounds to be exact) we were proud owners of a fruit producing olive tree. With the idea in our heads that we would have to clean out pantry to store all our jugs of oil we were slightly dissapointed with ourselves when we realized were were only going to be recieving 2 liters of oil a year.

Regardless I think it's a great idea. Moments after we pressed the purchase button we recieved a personalized confirmation notice and a week later a hand written thank you card with a certificate of adoption. We also recieved a small booklet with details about the certain species of olive tree we adopted. We have yet to recieve our oil because it arrives in the spring and autumn, but we can't wait!

There are plenty of Italian olive trees that still need adopting. If you're interested in learning more or adopting your own tree check out Nudo at http://www.nudo-italia.com/

Pan Roasted Pork Chops with Cranberry and Wine pan sauce

Tonight I wanted to played with pan sauces. Trying to think of something new tonight I walked into my pantry and looked in the refrigerator and had the perfect ingredients for a new pan sauce. The best part, it was easy, fast, and a success. Definitely an original recipe I'll make again!



Pan Roasted Pork Chops with Cranberry & Wine Sauce:

Two thick center cut pork chops
2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Sauce
1 shallot minced
1 clove garlic minced
1/3 c. wine wine
1/2 c. beef stock
1/3 c. dried cranberries

Heat oil over medium heat. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops. Place pork chops in pan and cook on both sides until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. Set pork chop aside to rest.

Add minced shallot and garlic to pan stir till translucent. Deglaze pan with wine. Add beef stock and cranberries and reduce by half. Add any additional juices from pork chops into the sauce. Pour over the pork chops and serve.

Table For One

Whether I am reading through a classic like The Professional Chef, skimming Saveur, or watching the Food Network, every recipe seems to be capable of feeding a family of ten. I live by myself…kind of (my girlfriend spends a lot of time at my apartment). Therefore, unless I am entertaining, I have little use for recipes that feed more than two people. When I first started cooking for myself I would end up with weeks worth of leftovers or $30 worth of unused ingredients. So I set out to create tricks to cooking for one (or two). “Table for One” is my means to share these ideas.