In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, I made a traditional Irish dish (actually, a traditional St. Patty's Day dish). Every year I make something authentically Irish on St. Patty's Day. Last year, it was bangers n' mash. This year, I went with a corned beef brisket with roasted vegetables, including cabbage, of course.
I bought the brisket from the grocery store. You can always find corned beef around St. Patrick's Day. I prepared my own seasonings with the mortar and pestal which included corriander, peppercorns and sea salt as well as fresh garlic. I started the roast in my Dutch oven inside the oven (at 300 degrees) with approximately one cup of water and 1/4 cup orange juice. After two hours, I added the vegetables.
The vegetables included carrots (not baby carrots), baby red potatoes and green cabbage.
With the risk of sounding redundant, I absolutely love my Dutch oven. It's fool proof and makes "can't miss" meals. Everything is done to the perfect tenderness and it keeps all the flavors in whatever is being prepared. This corned beef was so tender. It was chock full of flavor and, like most corned beef, was somewhat salty. It was perfect. This was the first time I put the Dutch oven in the convential oven. I must say, I was pleasently surprised.
Ingredients:
3.84 lbs corned beef brisket
3 cups chopped cabbage
10 carrots (chopped in half)
20 baby red potatoes
a variety of seasoning
Weather: gorgeous, 61 degrees
Music: Ke$ha - Blah, blah, blah
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Sauteed scallops
It's been way too long. I haven't blogged about my food creation is what seems like forever. I promise, I have been eating very well and cooking for my family. I just haven't found the time to write about them.
Scallops are very delicate to prepare. They need to be fresh and can't be overcooked. I sauteed the scallops in two tablespoons of olive oil and seasoned them with garlic, pepper and basil. I fried each side for about six minutes, or until each side had a hint of a golden finish. After the first flip (with tongs), I added a handful of Parmesan cheese and, mixing with the oil, it created a little glaze of sorts. After placing them on the serving plate, I topped the scallops with pesto.
The scallops were so tender and "melted" in my mouth. They did. If they're overcooked, they become chewy. These weren't chewy. They were perfect. As a side dish, I broiled asparagus seasoned with garlic and basil. It turned out to be a very good Italian meal. It tasted very expensive.
Weather: 64 degrees!
Music: Milow - One of It
Scallops are very delicate to prepare. They need to be fresh and can't be overcooked. I sauteed the scallops in two tablespoons of olive oil and seasoned them with garlic, pepper and basil. I fried each side for about six minutes, or until each side had a hint of a golden finish. After the first flip (with tongs), I added a handful of Parmesan cheese and, mixing with the oil, it created a little glaze of sorts. After placing them on the serving plate, I topped the scallops with pesto.
The scallops were so tender and "melted" in my mouth. They did. If they're overcooked, they become chewy. These weren't chewy. They were perfect. As a side dish, I broiled asparagus seasoned with garlic and basil. It turned out to be a very good Italian meal. It tasted very expensive.
Weather: 64 degrees!
Music: Milow - One of It
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Slow cooker sweet & tangy chicken
Well, it's March and I successfully cooked my way through February without having to spend an arm and a leg on groceries. I must say, I felt pretty resourcefull and my February meals were very rewarding. I didn't have a lot of time to blog about them, but I threw a few in for you.
March will probably be a different all on its own. I'll be doing a lot of weekend traveling and with the change of weather, our mood starts to lean towards fresh produce and, weather permitting, the grill.
My first documented meal came by way of the slow cooker, or Crock Pot. I know what you're thinking, I'm too modern and creative to use such an old-fashioned cooking appliance like the Crock Pot. I mean, come on, I received six of them, in a variety of sizes, as wedding gifts. I seldomly use the slow cooker because they're not very hands-on, but they're easy to use and make wonderful food.
I mixed the barbecue sauce with onion, green pepper and garlic. I put three chicken breasts in the slow cooker, covered it with half of the barbecue sauce, put down two more pieces and poured the rest of the sauce over the top. Then I let it cook on low for 8 hours. That's it. I also made a side of rice.
The chicken had a terrific flavor. I was expecting an Asian taste, but it was a sweet backyard barbecue taste instead. It was very good. The chicken was moist and soft. It went very well with rice, but would probably be better with some broiled vegetables next time.
Ingredients:
5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 bottles of Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple with juice
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
Weather: 40-degrees and sunny!
Music: Train - Soul Sister
March will probably be a different all on its own. I'll be doing a lot of weekend traveling and with the change of weather, our mood starts to lean towards fresh produce and, weather permitting, the grill.
My first documented meal came by way of the slow cooker, or Crock Pot. I know what you're thinking, I'm too modern and creative to use such an old-fashioned cooking appliance like the Crock Pot. I mean, come on, I received six of them, in a variety of sizes, as wedding gifts. I seldomly use the slow cooker because they're not very hands-on, but they're easy to use and make wonderful food.
I mixed the barbecue sauce with onion, green pepper and garlic. I put three chicken breasts in the slow cooker, covered it with half of the barbecue sauce, put down two more pieces and poured the rest of the sauce over the top. Then I let it cook on low for 8 hours. That's it. I also made a side of rice.
The chicken had a terrific flavor. I was expecting an Asian taste, but it was a sweet backyard barbecue taste instead. It was very good. The chicken was moist and soft. It went very well with rice, but would probably be better with some broiled vegetables next time.
Ingredients:
5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 bottles of Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple with juice
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
Weather: 40-degrees and sunny!
Music: Train - Soul Sister
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