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Orange Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash with Pecans
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Orange Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash with Pecans

My wife found this and we made when Mark and Missy came up from DC, we had no cranberries so we tried it with tart dried cherries. This was great, I mean really good. I asked Marie if I could use her pictures and post she said no problem. You can find more of her recipes here citronlimette, it is a nice site with some great recipes and ideas. Thank you Marie for this great treat!

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Seasonal acorn squash stuffed with quinoa. pecans and cranberries is my idea of a healthy vegetarian meal. This recipe for orange quinoa stuffed acorn squash is easy to prepare and a real feast. I love the sweetness of the squash and the nuttiness of the quinoa.

Quinoa is addictively delicious.  Quinoa is usually treated like a grain or starch, cooking up like rice or pasta in a fraction of the time.

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Choose squash that are heavy for their size and have a hard, deep-colored rind free of blemishes or moldy spots.

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Once the seeds are removed, winter squash can be baked, steamed or simmered.

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Ingredients

  • 2 small acorn squashes, halved length-wise, seeds removed
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ cup dried cranberries – we were out of these so we substituted tart cherries
  • ¼ cup chopped pecans
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup (optional)

How:

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Rub squash flesh with 3 tablespoons oil and place face up on baking sheet. Roast 30-35 minutes or until flesh is easily pierced with a knife. Remove from oven and cool.
  • Meanwhile, in saucepan bring broth and orange juice to a boil; stir in quinoa, lower heat and simmer, covered until ready. When quinoa is done cooking, turn off heat.
  • In medium pan, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add onion and celery and sauté until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and sauté an additional 1 minute.
  • Add onion mixture, cranberries and pecans to cooked quinoa and toss until combined; add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Fill each squash half with quinoa mixture. Drizzle with a bit of maple syrup before serving, if desired.
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Pomegranate-Glazed Lamb with Carrots and Parsnips
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Pomegranate-Glazed Lamb with Carrots and Parsnips

Last week Lyn went shopping for a few things on her own and there were a few impulse buys. We all do that I did it yesterday and ended up with American Chop Suey nice comfort food for a snowy day. Anyway she got a 4 lb. boneless leg of lamb. I used 1 lb to make ground lamb last weekend for Gyros. Today we made this roast and it was well worth the impulse buy well worth it.

Ingredients

Glaze

  • 1 1/2 cup Pomegranate juice
  • 3 tablespoon Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Black pepper, freshly ground
  • 1/4 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
  • 1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon, ground

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Veggies

  • 4 whole carrots, peeled
  • 1 1/2 cups large parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced – STEVE NOTE I did not have parsnip so I used potatoes
  • 1/3 cup Water

Lamb

  • 3 lb Boneless leg of lamb, trimmed of excess fat
  • 2 teaspoon Minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoon Cumin seeds – STEVE NOTE I did not have used ground Cumin
  • 1 tablespoon Unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoon Chopped fresh mint

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How:

Look for a mini boneless leg of lamb roast that weighs approximately 3 lb. These small roasts sometimes come prepacked in netting. For a leaner, cleaner tasting lamb we like to trim the fat off the surface. This requires removing the netting, trimming the fat, and retying your roast. The extra work is definitely worth it.

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine pomegranate juice, sugar, 1/2 tsp. of the black pepper, red pepper flakes, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.

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Reduce heat to medium-high and simmer until mixture is thick and syrupy and reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 20 to 25 minutes.

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3. Cut carrots and parsnips in half lengthwise and then cut into 3-inch pieces. Place in a microwave-safe bowl with water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 2 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and toss vegetables with 2 Tbsp. of the pomegranate glaze.

4. Place lamb in the center of a large baking dish or roasting pan. Rub garlic into roast. Season with 1/2 tsp. of the salt, remaining 1/2 tsp. black pepper, and cumin seeds. Brush the top and sides of lamb liberally with pomegranate glaze. Distribute vegetables and their liquid around the roast. – STEVE NOTE – I rubbed the roast with garlic and the spices wrapped in plastic wrap and set in refrigerator for a few hours. Took out and let get to room temperature.

5. Roast for 40 minutes, stirring vegetables once or twice, until meat is cooked to about 115 degrees. Brush roast with any remaining glaze (if it has thickened, microwave for 15 seconds). Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees. Cook until meat begins to brown in spots and the temperature reaches about 125 degrees for medium-rare, 140 degrees for medium, and 160 degrees for well done, according to your preference (about 10 to 20 minutes).

6. If you prefer your lamb more well done and it begins to overbrown, lower heat to 475 degrees and cover meat loosely with foil.

7. Transfer lamb to cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, spread vegetables evenly over baking dish and return to oven to bake until all the juices have evaporated and vegetables have begun to caramelize, about 4 to 5 minutes; watch that they don’t burn. Remove baking dish from oven and stir butter and mint into the vegetables.

8. Remove strings and use a sharp knife to cut lamb into thin slices. Transfer vegetables and lamb to platter and serve warm.

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Source: Hannaford fresh Magazine, September – October 2008
Leftover Eggnog Quick Bread
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Leftover Eggnog Quick Bread

I’m not a baker but we had leftovers and Lyn found this on Pinterest and we had leftover eggnog, tomorrow coffee cake.

Too sweet for me she like it too much, so she’s making me bring it into work. Sorry Nicole not vegan.

 

Total 00:55, Prep 00:10, Cook 00:45

 

Ingredients

  •  2 medium eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup dairy eggnog
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 2 tsp rum extract – had no extract used rum
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg

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EGGNOG GLAZE

3/4 c      confectioners’ sugar (sift your sugar to assure no lumps)

add enough eggnog to make a glaze…pour a little at a time into sugar (I used about 3 tablespoons)

 

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How:

Beat eggs, in a large bowl, then add next 5 ingredients, blending well. Add remaining ingredients and stir until just moist. Pour into a greased 9″x 5″ loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. Makes one loaf.

Eggnog glaze

3/4 cup confectionery sugar

Enough eggnog to make it a glaze – about 3 tablespoons

Stir together and drizzle on bread.

 

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Pictures taken with cell phone
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Pan Seared Oven Roasted Buffalo Steak
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Pan Seared Oven Roasted Buffalo Steak

Ingredients

NY strip buffalo about 1 “ thick

How

Preheat oven to 350 degree
Heat oven proof fry pan over medium hig heat
Sprinkle a little Olive oil pan
Sear the steak about 3 minutes
Turn and place pan in oven for about 4 minutes
Remove tent loosely with tin foil let sit for 5-10 minutes – rule of thumb I use is about the same time it took to cook.

Slice against the grain and serve

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The Benefits of Eating Buffalo

I like knowing that by buying and eating buffalo I’m supporting one of the last remnants of wild food on the American continent. I like the wild, untamed nature of the animals, their rugged character, and toughness. They stand in stark contrast to the rest of our cultivated diet.

Buffalo, what’s in it for you?
Ounce for ounce buffalo meat contains 69% more iron than beef and slightly more protein than beef. Everyone can benefit from eating bison on regular basis to prevent or rectify iron deficiency anemia. Men, women, children, and former vegetarians and vegans can benefit from is tonifying food. Like beef, bison is a great source of B-vitamins, zinc, and other brain and body-building nutrients that are poorly supplies and poorly absorbed from plant foods.

Photo right by Rachel Albert-Matesz, © Copyright 2009

Cholesterol, a non-issue
Although buffalo is promoted as a lower cholesterol meat, that’s a bit of misnomer. A 100 gram serving (3 1/2 ounces) of buffalo contains approximately 82 milligrams of cholesterol whereas the same size portion of beef (or pork) contains 86 milligrams. The difference of 4 milligrams is hardly signfificant. (That’s 0.0002% of what most bodies produces in a day!)

Now you may be wondering why eat cholesterol if you body can make it? Although your body can manufacture cholesterol, it is actually better to obtain it from dietary sources. Traditional human diets have always contained significant amounts of cholesterol.

According to Nora T. Gedgaudas, CNS,CNT, author of Primal Body––Primal Mind, “Restricting or eliminating its [cholesterol] intake indicates a crisis or famine to the body. The result is the production of a liver enzyme called HMG-COA reductase, that in effect, then overproduces cholesterol from carbohydrates in the diet. Consuming excess carbohydrates while decreasing cholesterol intake guarantees a steady overproduction of cholesterol in the body.”

“The only way to switch this over production off is to consume an adequate amount of dietary cholesterol and back off on the carbs. In other words, the dietary intake of cholesterol stops the internal production of cholesterol. (Schwarzbein, 1999).”

Back to the Buffalo
Buffalo is usually lower in fat than beef. The specific fat content of a particular cut of buffalo will depend on upon the particular animal, its diet age at the time of slaughter, and how much fat is trimmed from the carcass or cut you buy.

The lean of the land?
USDA handbook data includes comparisons showing a 100 gram (3 1/2 ounce) portion of beef at 9.28  to 14 grams of fat and the same size portion of buffalo at 2.42 grams of fat. However, I’ve seen 6 ounce (128 gram) buffalo burgers in gourmet markets boasting 30 grams of fat (ground meat may contain more fat if it’s processed with trim from the rest of the carcass, particularly if it was not 100% grassfed). However, fat isn’t bad.

Eating more fat and protein and less carbohydrate can provide many health benefits.  Still most buffalo on the market, particularly if grassfed, will contain significantly less fat than factory farmed beef.

For the pictures on the right, I used a small buffalo steak from Arizona Buffalo Company, located in Buckeye, Arizona. It turned out really great. Although it was a lean steak, I found it easy to cut and easy to chew.

Buy local whenever you can
When I buy meat, or anything else, I support small local farmer means and help them stay in business. I reduce fuel use because my food doesn’t log thousands of miles to reach me. I cut out the middle man. I usually save money, and have contact with the people who are raising my food. I much prefer this to buying anonymous meat whenever I can, although I’m flexible in this respect. I don’t think it has to be all or nothing.

How to cook a buffalo
Cook it one piece at a time. As with grassfed been and other lean, wild, or game meats, you’ll get the best results cooking steaks, roasts, and burgers, rare or medium rare. Well done will be overdone, tough, dry, and leathery. Reduce the cooking time, the temperature, or both to produce the best results. And don’t rush a roast, long slow cooking is required for certain cuts to make t hem moist and tender. Marinades help with some cuts.

How does it taste?
I like the flavor. You might expect buffalo to taste gamey and have a tough texture, but I find it tender and juicy (as long it’s not overcooked), with a slightly sweet undertone. I like to sear the steaks on both sides and leave them blood red on the inside. You’ll notice buffalo meet has a deeper, darker, redder color than beef. Stay close and remove it from the heat when it’s under done, so you don’t lose all that color in cooking.

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Brown Sugar Basting Glaze – Turkey

I used the buttermilk turkey marinade method, then stuffed it with lemon, oranges garlic and onions and roasted and then brushed on this nice glaze to get not only flavor but that great caramelized color. Make a head gravy is always a must make that last minute prep so much easier.

Ingredients:

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  • 2/3 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

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How:

In a small saucepan, bring vinegar, brown sugar, and orange juice to a boil over high, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture is syrupy, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons butter and orange zest.

Use this to baste the turkey once it reaches 125 degree every 15 minutes until done. Tent with tinfoil if gets too browned.

We also make a brined turkey the day before so everyone who came could have plenty of leftovers. – just roasted regularly

Related

Buttermilk Turkey (stevesacooking.com)

Maple Syrup and Bacon Turkey (stevesacooking.com)

Make Ahead Gravy (stevesacooking.com)

Reign on Mashie-Topped Meatloaf Cupcakes – Week 12
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Reign on Mashie-Topped Meatloaf Cupcakes – Week 12

Someone asked me if I am a huge football fan is that why I do these weekly game day recipes? Yes I am a fan but I also am a fan of my son and patriotslife.com   the blog he is involved in. I would do it for CelticsLife.com  but I just can’t come up with that many recipes, beside the schedule would kill me or I would be 900 Lbs.,  anyway……

Meat and potatoes a man’s meal, a football man’s meal, a meal that will satisfy any half time hunger.

cows                                                                   Potato

Now grab that pastry bag or a plastic bag, stuff it with mash potatoes and start decorating the top of your meatloaf cupcakes. What you’re unsure of your manliness, afraid of a little Dolphin treatment in the living room? We all know that when watching a football game we live by a different set of rules.

Ingredients

Meatloaf

Ground Beef

  • 1 1/4 lbs. extra-lean ground beef (4% fat or less)
  • 1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute or egg whites
  • 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp. each salt and black pepper


Mashies

Mashed Potaotes

  • 20 oz. (about 3 medium) white potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 2 1/2 tbsp. light sour cream
  • 1 1/2 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp. onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/8 tsp. paprika
  • Optional seasoning: black pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with foil baking cups, or spray it with nonstick spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine all meatloaf ingredients. Thoroughly mix.

3. Evenly distribute meatloaf mixture among the muffin cups, and smooth out the tops with the back of a spoon. Bake until firm and cooked through with lightly browned edges, 20 – 25 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes, and once returned to a boil, reduce heat to medium. Cook until very tender, 15 – 20 minutes.

5. Drain and transfer potatoes to a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients for mashies except paprika. Thoroughly mash and mix.

6. Evenly top mini meatloaves with mashies, and sprinkle with paprika. Makes six servings; two cupcakes per serving. Eat up!

HG Tip! Use a piping bag to distribute the mashies. You can even create your own makeshift piping bag! Just transfer mashies to a plastic bag, and squeeze them down toward a bottom corner. Snip off that corner with scissors, creating a small hole for piping. Ta-da!

Serving Size: 2 meatloaf cupcakes – Steve says: Ya right, these are poppers .

Mashie-Topped-Meatloaf-Cupcakes
This recipe was from hungry-girl.com
For further inspiration, Hungry Girl just released her official “Top Ate” reasons to love potatoes:
  1. Potatoes are seriously satisfying! A study of nearly 40 common foods found that potatoes deliver the most satisfaction.
  2. A 5.3-ounce skin-on spud (the size of a computer mouse) has 45% the daily value of vitamin C and only 110 fat-free calories. Potatoes also have fiber.
  3. Dining out? Top a plain baked potato with salad-bar goodies like broccoli & salsa.
  4. White veggies are underrated and provide key nutrients we need. In fact, potatoes have even more potassium than bananas.
  5. Gluten-free alert: Potatoes are a great alternative to pasta and bread. You can even make lasagna with spud slices instead of noodles, Lillien adds.
  6. Russets, reds, purples, fingerlings, yellows, whites & petites… So many possibilities!
  7. HG Lisa’s favorite way to eat a potato? Twice-baked, stuffed with light cheese and veggies.
  8. Potatoes are ALWAYS in season. “Put ’em on your grocery list today,” she says.

Thanks hungry girl even more reason to eat a manly potato.

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Steel-Cut Oatmeal With Fruit
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Steel-Cut Oatmeal With Fruit

 

So many kinds so many questionsI used to be a Quick Cook Oats and even tried those instant packages (yuck) thanks to Lyn I am a Old Fashion Oats guy, while she is a Rolled or Steel Oats gal. Hey everyone has their own taste and who’s to say you are right or wrong.  Joe and my wife both cook a weeks worth Lyn has it all set in the frig in individual servings while I use my cook what I eat method every morning. I have been known to wander over to her side from time to time.

Old Fashioned Oats, Steel Cut Oats and Quick Cooking Oats

Old Fashioned Oats, Steel Cut Oats and Quick Cooking Oats

Steel-Cut Oats – We get steel-cut oats when the whole groat is split into several pieces. Simmered with water, steel-cut oats retain much of their shape and make a chewy, nutty-tasting porridge. Substitute: Whole Oat Groats

Rolled Oats – Whole grains of oats can also be steamed to make them soft and pliable, and then pressed between rollers and dried. The resulting “rolled oats” re-absorb water and cook much more quickly than whole groats or steel-cut oats. When a recipe calls for “rolled oats” or the packaging mentions it, they generally mean the thickest rolled oat, which retains its shape fairly well during cooking. Substitute: Quick oats can be substituted, but the texture will be lost

Old-Fashioned Oats – The source of much confusion, old-fashioned oats are actually the same as rolled oats. You’ll usually see them called “Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats” on packaging.

Quick Cook Oats

Quick Cook Oats

Quick or Quick-Cooking Oats – These are oats that have been pressed slightly thinner than rolled oats. They cook more quickly, but retain less of their texture. Substitute: Rolled Oats or Instant Oats

 

Instant oatmeal

Instant oatmeal

 

Instant Oats – Pressed even thinner than quick oats, instant oats often break into a coarse powder. They cook the quickest of all and make a very soft and uniform mush (erm…for lack of a better description). Substitute: Quick Oats

Hotel Morning Oats – Then there was the oatmeal at the hotel in Minnesota last trip, I think you could have put up wall paper with it, talk about stick to your ribs Joe.

Joe P. Whitney Jr.
“This is what I make Tony and I every week for breakfast. I double the batch and add 16 dates, 1/3 c raisins, 1/3 c of walnuts, cinnamon, and vanilla. It’s so amazing!! It sticks to your ribs. Don’t really get hungry till about ten. Try it!!”

Steel-Cut Oatmeal With Fruit

Joe's oatmeal

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cups low-fat milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • 1 cup steel-cut oats
  • 1 teaspoon unsalted butter (optional)
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons dried fruit, such as raisins, chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons maple syrup, agave syrup, honey or brown sugar (more to taste)
  • Fresh fruit (such as diced apples and pears, optional)

How:

1. Combine the water, milk and salt in a large, heavy saucepan, and bring to a boil. Slowly add the oats, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Stir in the butter, dried fruit and sweetener. Cover, and continue to simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent the cereal from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the oats are soft and the mixture is creamy. Serve, with added fruit stirred in if desired, or refrigerate and reheat as desired. Or freeze as follows:

2. Line ice cube trays with plastic wrap. Fill each cube with oatmeal, cover with plastic wrap and freeze. Once frozen solid, remove the cubes from the ice tray and freeze in a plastic bag. For each portion, thaw three or four cubes in a microwave on the defrost setting. Add additional warm milk if desired.

Yield: Four servings.

Advance preparation: Cooked steel-cut oats will keep for five days in the refrigerator and can be reheated atop the stove or in the microwave.

Note: Although my steel-cut oats come in a container with directions for cooking them in the microwave, I don’t find the results satisfactory. The oatmeal doesn’t have the time it needs to swell and release its starch into the liquid, so the liquid never gets creamy and the oatmeal doesn’t soften properly. A better way to save time is to soak the oats overnight. Bring 2 cups water to a boil. Combine the oats and salt in a bowl, and pour on the water. Leave overnight. In the morning, bring the milk to a simmer in a large saucepan, and stir in the oats and any liquid remaining in the bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, and simmer 15 minutes, until creamy, stirring often.

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Hilltop Steak House Marinated Beef Tips
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Hilltop Steak House Marinated Beef Tips

Years ago in another life, the life of a movie theater manager, I used to frequent the Hilltop Steak House in Saugus MA with the fake cows corralled out front.

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There were 3 of us, all mangers, who would gather there for drinks and dinner. The other managers had it down to a science, I was the newbie and just learning the power a movie passes. Years later while with 20th Century Fox and Orion Pictures I found that premium movie screening passes would get fake train ticket punches on the commuter rail. I rode the rails for month at no cost besides the $1 parking fee. Yep it was a while back….. Anyway back to Hilltop back then you had no choice but to get a number and wait sometimes up to an hour.

hilltop line

We would get our number, wander upstairs to the bar, tell the bar tender to let Big Rosie know we were here, order our drinks (tip an occasional movie pass). Within a few minutes our number was called and we would wander down to Rosie’s smiling face. Her family size as she did fit her nickname. After our meals were on the table and maybe half to three-quarters gone Rosie would whisk our plates away, apologize for the meal not being perfect,  and would return with three new meals. She kept us feed with plenty or left overs to take home to our refrigerators – home was the theatre, our days were long especially with mid night showings. Anyway her family and friend had plenty of movies to go to between Peabody, Saugus and Stoneham.
Why am I bringing up the Hill Top, well after 52 years they are finally closing their doors I heard that someone even stole a cow from the front.

cows

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1/4 c. maple syrup
• 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• Chopped Parsley
• 4 chopped garlic cloves
• Oregano to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 4 lbs. sirloin steak tips
• 2 lbs. sm. white onions
• 2 red peppers
• 2 green peppers
• lg. pkg. Mushrooms

How:

Marinate steak tips in the first 8 ingredients for at least 6 hours. (Can be done 24 hours ahead). Cut Vegetables in large pieces and add to marinade mixture 1 hour before grilling (can be added as you grill, but it is not as tasty).

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Grill steak and vegetables together in a grill pan.

tips

Hilltop Steak Tips

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Reign on Crispy Smashed RedSkins – Week 10
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Reign on Crispy Smashed RedSkins – Week 10

Since the Patriots are on a Bi and well deserved I might add, I will honor the Washington RedSkins this recipe it may be the last time I can call them that if I want to remain PC.

Don’t let the salt in this recipe scare you but do use table salt not kosher. These would be good for any event I strongly suggest.

Found this on Brian Child’s Marinate Me Baby

Ingredients
◾2lb Red Potatoes (2×1 Inch in Size)
◾1 1/4 cup Table Salt
◾8 cups Water
◾4 tablespoons Malt Vinegar
◾Cracked Black Pepper (To Taste)
◾6 tablespoons Olive Oil

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How

Step 1
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees.
Step 2
Set wire rack inside rimmed baking sheet.
Brush second rimmed baking sheet evenly with oil.
Step 3
Bring 2 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir in potatoes and salt, and cook until just tender and paring knife slips easily in and out of potatoes, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain potatoes and transfer to wire rack; let dry for 10 minutes.

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Step 4
Transfer potatoes to oiled baking sheet. Flatten each potato with underside of measuring cup until ½ inch thick. Brush potatoes with half of vinegar and season with pepper.

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Step 5
Roast until potatoes are well browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Brush with remaining vinegar. Transfer potatoes to platter, smashed side up. Serve.

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Reign on Brisket on Rye Halftime Sandwich – Week 8
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Reign on Brisket on Rye Halftime Sandwich – Week 8

There was a chill in the air and a game on Sunday so I felt a Reign on Brisket sandwich was a good choice.  It was more thinking out loud since I did not have a brisket and the one at the store did not look that good. I conceded to next week but when Lyn came home from her errands with a flat cut brisket I had my game plan down.

I usually use a Dutch oven for brisket either on stove top or in the oven but I wanted to go out and not have it on my mind that I had to get back so I grabbed our crock pot figuring I can put on low and disappear all day coming home to a house filled with the smell of yummmm. This is a torture because I like to let it sit overnight before reheating and eating. Never mind the fact that I started around 2 PM which meant low on crock pot was at least 6-8 hours of cook time.

Ingredients

  • One  4 Lbs. flat cut brisket
  • Large onion – cut in chunks
  • About 6-8 carrots – cut in chucks
  • About 10 celery stocks – cut in chucks
  • 1 clove garlic –  slightly crushed
  • 1 cup red wine I had some Merlot
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 loaf of Rye bread
  • Red onion relish

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How

Add a small amount – olive oil over medium high heat – we bought one of those crockpots that you can brown on the stove top in the pot – love it. If you don’t have one then you can brown in a pot just remember to scrap up the brown bits when you deglaze in the vegetables

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Salt and pepper the fattier side of brisket to taste and put that side down in pan listen to that sizzle.

Salt and pepper the top and after 2-3 minutes when bottom is browned nicely flip over and sear for another 2-4 minutes

Remove brisket to platter add all the vegetables and sauté for about 2-4 minutes add Merlot and cook down for about another 2-4 minutes

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Place brisket on top of vegetable and place in crockpot.

Pour the 2 cups of beef broth in cover and cook to low 7-8 hours.

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If you were using another pot to do searing and vegetables transfer veggies then the brisket

I cooked about 7-8 hours transferred to container, let cool and then cover and place in frig overnight.

The next day I sliced in about ¼” while reheating the gravy, added the meat and let sit.

 

There are two schools of thought on this some like to slice the night before and store in the gravy I go either way, this time I waited.

When ready I prepared the sandwich

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Layered the brisket, drizzled with some of the gravy making sure some got into the bread, top with red onion relish served with home mad dill pickles and garden tomatoes.

Brisket Sandwich

Sat down for the second half and watched the Pats fall apart just like the slices of brisket except that melted in my mouth.

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My Favorite Brisket recipe

Beef Brisket with Caramelized Onions and Merlot Sauce

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Flat, Single or First cut Brisket Jewish style