Fall Crock Pot Brisket

 

 

Brisket is hands down one of my favorite foods.  There's something so homey about a well made brisket.  Maybe it's because it reminds me of cooler weather and happy holidays with our friends Ellyn and Leon and their family.  Isn't that what comfort food is all about- food that warms us, satiates us, and reminds us of happy times with people that we love?

 

 

This is not a difficult meal to make.  In fact, it's kind of perfect in it's simplicity since you just toss all the ingredients in the crock pot, and leave it alone until the brisket is falling apart and your house is filled with the savory, hearty flavors of carrots, onions, herbs, and beef at its finest.  Laela had a great time helping "shake shake shake" the spices in, as well as tossing in the veggies.

 

Fall Crock Pot Brisket

 

Ingredients:

• 2 lb Brisket
• 1 Medium onion, diced
• 3 Large carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 Stalk thyme (leaves only)
• 1 Stalk rosemary, chopped (leaves only)
• 4 Leaves of sage, chopped
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 Cups beef broth
• 2 Tb Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp Balsamic vinegar
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 Potatoes, chopped or cubed (optional)
• 1 Tb Corn starch

Instructions:

 

For the Brisket:

• Place the brisket, onion, garlic, worcestershire, balsamic vinegar, carrots, celery, thyme, rosemary, sage, potatoes, and broth in the crock pot.
• Cook on the lowest setting (but not on warm) for 6-10 hours, or until the brisket is falling apart when you place a fork in it (brisket will "string" and "pull" apart.)
• Serve as is, or with gravy.

For the gravy:

• Take 1 cup of the drippings/broth from the crock pot and place it in a medium saucepan on medium-high heat.
• In small ramekin or cup, whisk together 1 tsp corn starch and 2 tsp water.
• Whisk in the corn starch mixture with the broth/drippings.
• Taste for seasoning.  Add salt and pepper as necessary.
• For a gravy with more herb flavoring, whisk in a few chopped leaves of rosemary, thyme, and sage.
• Whisk until thickened.
• Serve!

 

A Savory Holiday Breakfast Bake

My friend Cathleen asked me about a savory breakfast bake, so I thought I'd share one of my favorites from a few months ago, with a more savory twist.

A Deliciously Easy Savory Breakfast Bake

Ingredients:

• (1/2) loaf of French bread (leftover Italian bread would be fine too)
• (1 1/2) cups of shredded Cheddar cheese
• (1/2) cup shredded Gruyere cheese
• (1/4) cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• (6-12) eggs (depending on your number of guests, I usually do 2 to 3 eggs per person, depending on what type's of eaters you're baking this for)
• (1)tsp thyme leaves, chopped rosemary and thyme (the world won't end if you use a bit more than this.)
• (6-12 Tablespoons) milk (about 1Tb of milk per egg. It's not an exact science; you really don't need to bust out the measuring spoons, just guestimate and I can assure you, the bake will turn out great.
• Sausage (I prefer Whole Foods Sage Pork Sausage that you get at the meat counter.)
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
• Spray the inside of a 13x9 cake pan with cooking spray.
• Heat a medium skillet on the stovetop at medium heat with a small glug of olive oil.
• If using uncased sausage (I prefer it to sausage in a casing), pull your sausage apart into chunks and add to the hot pan.
• Cook about 1-2 minutes per side, just so that each side is nicely browned. Keep in mind that it will continue to cook in the bake, so don't overcook it.
• When done, place in the cake pan. (I used a 13x9 pan.)
• Slice your bread.
• Place the sliced bread in your cake pan.
• Whisk your eggs, milk, herbs, salt, and pepper in a bowl until well beaten.
• Pour the mixture into the pan over the bread. Make sure it's spread throughout the pan.
• Place in the hot oven for 15 minutes, or until the bake looks golden and firm.
• Sprinkle the cheese over the bake and cook for 5 more minutes. I prefer my bread and cheese a little gooey and crunchy, so I tend to leave it in a few minutes longer. If you don't like your bread or cheese that dark, take it out when it's just melted.

*You can prepare this to be cooked the following morning the night before. Just be sure to put it in a safe spot in your fridge, and to wrap it well with saran wrap, otherwise you'll have a mess (anyone who's seen the Family Stone knows just what I mean)! Just let it sit out for about 10-15 minutes to get closer to room temperature prior to baking.

Enjoy!!

Perfect Roast Chicken

This chicken smelled so good, I ripped off some of the crispy, piping hot skin before I got a chance to take a picture of it!  The stabbed lemon and herbs stuffed into the cavity of the chicken sounds so simple and plain, but let me tell you, this will be one of the best bites of chicken you will EVER have.  Follow the recipe to the letter and you'll have a dangerously delicious and healthy meal that your family will love (or that you can live on for a week!).

It's a Jamie Oliver recipe from his Food Revolution cookbook, so be sure to try it!

Perfect Roast Chicken

Serves 4-6

1 x approximately 3 1/2-pound chicken, preferably free range, organic, or higher welfare

2 medium onions

2 stalks celery

1 bulb of garlic

olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lemon

a small bunch of fresh thyme, rosemary, bay or sage, or a mixture (I used a mixture and it was fantastic)

To prepare your chicken

Take your chicken out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before it goes into the oven. 

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees.

There's no need to peel the vegetables- just give them a wash and roughly chop them.

Break the garlic bulb into cloves, leaving them unpeeled.

Pile all the vegetables and garlic into the middle of the large roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil. (The chicken roasts on top of the vegetables.)

Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper, rubbing it all over the bird.

Carefully prick the lemon all over, using th tip of a sharp knife (if you have a microwave, you could pop the lemon in there for 40 seconds at this point as this will really bring out the flavor).

Put the lemon inside the chicken's cavity, with the bunch of herbs.

To cook your chicken

Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the roasting pan and put it into the preheated oven.

Turn the heat down immediately to 400 degrees fahrenheit and cook the chicken for 1 hour and 20 minutes. 

Baste the chicken halfway through cooking and if the vegetables look dry, add a splash of water to the pan to stop them from burning.  (Be careful, this may cause the pan to steam up at your face if you're too close to it.)

When cooked, take the pan out of the oven and transfer the chicken to a board to rest for 15 minutes or so.

To carve your chicken

Remove any string from the chicken and take off the wings.

Cut through the joint and pull the leg off.

Repeat on the other side, then cut each leg between the thigh and the drumstick so you end up with four portions of dark meat.

Place these on a serving platter.

You should now have a clear space to carve the rest of your chicken.

Angle the knife along the breastbone and carve one side off, then the other.

When you get down to teh fussy bits, just use your fingers to pull all the meat off, and turn the chicken over to get all the tasty, juicy bits from underneat.  You should be left with a stripped carcass, and a platter full of lovely meat and roasted veggies.

note:  Jamie Oliver has a recipe for gravy and bread sauce for this, but I made the chicken without gravy since it was so moist and delicious.  Plus Kyle, Laela and Darin were hungry, so I had to get to serving dinner!