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!

 

Asparagus!

I really feel like asparagus gets a bad wrap.  For whatever reason, some people just won't eat it- or even try it!  How can you know if you like something or not, if you don't even try it?  I'm sure that there were folks out there that thought pasta looked funny, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't like pasta.

But I digress.  Asparagus is one of those things that can be cooked very simply, and taste anything but simple.  It can liven up any plate.  Besides it's being delicious, I love that Laela and I can make it together. I personally feel that any recipe that can be made mostly by a toddler, can easily be made by a grown-up.

Asparagus

You'll need:

• 1 bunch of asparagus
• Onion Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper

Instructions:

• Preheat your oven to 350-degrees F.
• Place a piece of foil on a cookie sheet.
• Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on the foiled cookie sheet.
• Rinse and dry the asparagus.
• Take the asparagus with both hands.  Snap the asparagus.  It will break where it is meant to naturally. because the stalk is the natural breaking point for the asparagus.  You'll be surprised to find that the asparagus will be mostly even. 
• Place the asparagus on the cookie sheet, one quarter inch apart.
• Drizzle with a little more olive oil.
• Shake some onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper on the asparagus.  (This pretty fool-proof.  Laela loves to shake the spices on.  I watch to make sure she doesn't get too crazy with the salt and pepper, but our shakers aren't overly liberal, so it's not really too much of an issue.  This is the kind of recipe that no matter how much or how little of the onion and garlic you put on, it'll be amazing.)
• Place the pan in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.  15 minutes if you like it with a little crisp to it.

Enjoy!

*Variations:

• You can use fresh garlic instead if you'd like, just finely chop 2 cloves of garlic, and sprinkle it over the asparagus.
• You can also use fresh onion.  Chop 1/2 onion, drizzle it in a little bit of olive oil, and sprinkle it over the asparagus.
• Chopped red pepper added to the recipe is also delicious, and tastes great served over pasta, or with roasted chicken.

Some Deadly Red Snapper

Whenever I go out to eat, the first thing I do is ask the waiter or waitress what their favorite thing to eat is. It's pretty much foolproof that every time I do this, I discover something incredibly delicious- and sometimes not on the menu.

One of those delicious discoveries is the whole red snapper at Tamarindos.  It's freaking incredible.  You don't need an appetizer, you don't need any side dishes.  It is a decadent, flavorful, perfectly seasoned, ridiculously filling meal that will leave you in a blissful food coma afterwards.

The problem with this meal is that I crave it more often than Kyle wants to go there.  So I did what I always do, I made it for dinner.

Red Snapper:
You'll need:

• 1 whole, gutted fish (bones in, fins, guts and scales removed)
• 2 limes
• 3 Tb chopped garlic
• 4 sprigs cilantro
• 1 sprig rosmary (chopped)
• 3 sprigs Italian parsley
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

Instrucions:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium sized bowl, squeeze the juice from one lime into the bowl. 
• Zest the lime.  Add the zest to the juice.
• Sprinkle 2 tsp of olive oil into the bowl.
• Dice the onion very finely (it will look like chopped garlic) and add it to the mixture in the bowl.
• Add the chopped garlic to the bowl.
• Add a dash of salt and pepper to the mixture.
• Add all of the herbs to the mixture.
• Stir all of the ingredients together.
• Lightly oil a baking sheet. 
• Slice the other lime.  Insert half of the lime slices in the fish.
• Rub the mixture on both sides of the fish.
• Cook for 30-35 minutes.
• Serve with a slice of lime and your choice of spanish rice.
• Enjoy!

I ate the front half (in my opinion the head is the tastiest part):

Kyle ate the other half:

The truth about this recipe is that while it was completely delicious, and tasted almost exactly the same as Tamarindos, I don't think I'll make it again.  For whatever reason, I don't get a ton of bones when I pull the fish off of the bone at Tamarindos, but at home, it became frustrating.  So yes, the flavors were there, I made it correctly, but obviously they know something that I don't.  Plus, the price of buying the fish was the same as getting it with some free margaritas at Tamarindos.  I think if I did choose to do this again, I'd make boneless filets instead.  I know that the bones add to the flavor, but having to give Laela a separate dinner because I was concerned she'd choke or something just wasn't worth it.

The moral of the story?  Just because you can make something that you love at a restaurant, does not always mean you should- and sometimes you don't know that until you give it a go yourself.

However, if you don't live near Tamarindos, or somewhere that makes whole red snapper rubbed in garlic and herbs, give this a try!  It really is delicious...just watch out for those nastly little bones...or better yet, make some boneless filets.