Paleo-Local Brisket - September 16, 2012

This was a local ingredients version of Sylvia's traditional brisket recipe, substituting in-season fruits and other ingredients for the usual catchup, ginger ale, and Lipton onion soup mix. It was fabulous and even Murray loved it.

3 lb. local grass-fed brisket
2 large onions, chopped
1 peach
1 nectarine
2 pears
1 apple
ground cloves
ground cinnamon
salt
pepper
bunch parsley
few leaves basil (5)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
1 ½ cups prune juice
1 ½ cups water
10 Yukon Gold potatoes, med./small
6 medium carrots

Preheat oven to 350.

1. Pat dry meat. Generously salt and pepper it on both sides. Add 3 tblsp olive oil to heavy pan over high heat. Seer brisket until browned and a little crisp, about 3-4 minutes/side. Remove brisket.

2. Add chopped onions to pan. Add ¼ tsp. salt. Cook on high 3-4 minutes until soft. Reduce to low. Cook for 5-10 minutes.

3. Seed and roughly chop all of the fruit. Also roughly chop bunch parsley (stems removed.) When onions slightly caramelized add the fruit and parsley. Cook on high heat 2-3 minutes.

4. Remove about ⅔ of the onion fruit mixture from the pan. Then add meat to the pan. Add prune juice, water, 3 tblsp. balsamic vinegar, ¼ tsp. of cloves, and ¼ tsp. of cinnamon. Place onion fruit mixture back on top of the meat and cook on high heat until it starts to boil.

5. Cover and put in oven.

6. Peel and quarter potatoes. Peel and chop carrots into 1 ½ “ sticks. Steam them until al dente, about 20 minutes.

Paleo Toe In The Water

I'm just posting here to record a bit of my diet using the guidelines of my dear paleolithic ancestors.
I've been winging it for a week on recipes, and made a few good meals. Generally, though, I end up with greens of some kind cooked in fat, pushed out to the side of the pan, then cooked some more as I cook the main meat or fish dish in the center.

For example tonight's meal:

1. About a pound of local pork sage sausage chopped and put in pan with some butter (just found out I'm not supposed to use this--oops); half onion sliced and put in. 
2. When onions soft, prepped string beans added to center well. High heat about five minutes tossing occasionally. Pushed everything out to the side then, 
3. Added maybe 2T slivered almonds; toasted in middle of pan with light sprinkle of Cayenne pepper. Mixed in, pushed everything out to side then,
4. Added three blue fish fillets, prepared with salt, pepper, and some ground mixed tree nuts and a sprinkling of fresh tarragon. Cooked on high heat, flesh side down.
5. Made sauce with melted butter added to Dijon mustard, cumin, and a dash of Balsamic vinegar. 
6. Served fish topped with more fresh tarragon and spooned mustard-cumin sauce over; beans and almond served on the side (saved the sausage for another meal.) Also served green salad on the side.

I'm working on getting away from the one-pan version, though. Here are some menu ideas I have for this week, based on what's in the fridge and freezer--all local:

• Baked round zucchinis stuffed with ground pork and onions.
•  Grilled pork chops on a bed of grilled apples and celery.
• Sliced cooked tuna with ginger tossed with Swiss chard and ginger.
• Slow-cooked zucchini and ground lamb served on a grilled portabella mushroom.
• Chopped beans and sausage (leftover from tonight's meal) mixed with leftover summer squash, eggplant, and chorizo dish, wrapped in a collard leaf and baked.
• Diced cantaloupe tossed with bacon drippings, crushed cooked bacon, and fresh tarragon.

I'm liking the sound of these and feel like I'm just getting the hang of starting to think in a new language. We'll see if it's lost in translation to the table!

Chicken Pot Pie Happiness

This turned out to be one of the most comforting dishes I've made in a while, and who doesn't want to remember comfort? So here it is. It's loosely based off of a recipe in Best Recipe of Cooks' Illustrated. It's heavy on the carrots and celery (something I don't usually like too much), but was beautifully balanced in the end and worked both in terms of texture and aroma. (My pie did not actually look like this.)

For a 9" pie. 6-8 servings.

Ingredients
pie crust for top and bottom--whatever recipe or prepared version you like

1.25 lb. chicken breast on bone (I used local fresh chicken. So flavorful.)
3 c chicken broth (Used Trader Joe's organic, boxed.)
2T + 4T butter
1 t dried tarragon
1 med potato, peeled and diced to about 1/2 in.
2 T olive oil
3/4 large onion, diced
4 med carrots, diced
5 stalks celery, lightly peeled, dices small (sliced lengthwise 3 or 4 times, then chopped) It will be more celery than the carrots and onion combined.
3T white flour
3t dried thyme
1 1/2 heads garlic, minced (Yes, a lot. Some of mine was a little dried out, so you could use 1 head, but you'll need at least that much.)
1/4 c flour
1/2 c heavy cream

Directions

1. Make (or buy) your pie dough ahead and refrigerate.
   
2. Boil the whole chicken breast in the broth for 8-10 min. Remove chicken to cool. Reserve broth. (I did 8 and it wasn't quite cooked through. Also did this a day ahead because the chicken needed to be cooked.)
3. After chicken has cooled, shred it with two forks. Discard skin and bone.
4. In a skillet, melt 2T butter. Add shredded chicken and tarragon. Mix thoroughly and saute on med-low heat for 2-3 minutes. Leave in pan until needed later. (If you boil chicken ahead, do this later when you're making the rest.)
   
   Preheat oven to 400.
   
5. In a medium pot, boil the diced potato for about 3 minutes. Drain and reserve.
6. In a large heavy pot, heat onions in oil on high heat until they soften. Reduce heat to med-low and add carrots, garlic, and thyme. Heat through. Add celery. Let cook on low for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Make a well through to the bottom of the pot. Add the flour there and stir a bit until it heats. Add the 4T of butter to that and mix in to make paste. Now be patient, letting it heat through and start to turn light brown and smell nutty. Stir occasionally. When it starts to get the wonderful nutty smell (that's a roux!) then stir into all the veggies and heat through for another minute or so.
8. Gradually add the chicken broth, stirring through each time (maybe a 1/4 cup at a time) until it's mixed through and not lumpy at all from the flour. Bring it to a boil. Reduce heat.
9. Add heavy cream and the boiled diced potato. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer on low heat for about ten minutes. It needs to reduce to a pretty thick consistency as this will be the pie filling with the chicken added.
   
10. While the filling is simmering, roll out your pie dough and line the bottom of the pie dish. (Once in the dish, you may want to put it in the oven for 4-5 min. to set a little. I did this as my bottom dough was too wet--a frozen one I totally messed up getting in the dish, but it came out fine. I used my own dough for the top--and it was better.)
11. Roll out or prepare top dough layer.
    
12. Add the chicken to the pot and heat/mix through.
13. Ladle the filling into the pie dish until full. (I had about 3/4 cup left--really tasty appetizer eaten with a spoon!)
14. Cover with top crust. Seal edge, and but a few fork holes in the top to let out steam.
15. Place in oven with a baking tray underneath (next shelf down) to catch drips.
16. Bake for 20-25 min. or until top is nicely brown. Remove and let stand for ten or fifteen minutes before serving. It will still be plenty hot!

This pie is a good meal all by itself with maybe a green salad on the side. Good leftovers with a quick reheat in the microwave (no more than 20 sec. for a piece) or put the whole pie dish in the oven at 350 for ten minutes or less.

Simple Bread Pudding

This is an adaptation from the Joy of Cooking version. Made to use up leftover stale bread in the fridge.

9 x 11 baking dish; larger lasagna pan; mixer; bowls, etc.

Preheat to 350. Serves 6-8.

INGREDIENTS

cubed stale bread, about 4 cups, 1/2 in. cubes (I used half old baguette, half white loaf.)
eggs, 4, separated
sugar, 1/3 cup + 2 T + 1t
milk, whole, 3 cups
cider, hard, 1 cup (Doesn't have to be hard.)
raisins, 1/3 cup + 2 T
apple, about 1/3 cup finely chopped (I used 2/3 of a small apple.)
cinnamon, 1/2 t + sprinkle

DIRECTIONS

1. Cube bread in put in large mixing bowl. Prep apple.
   
2. Heat milk to warm, not boiling. When hot, whisk in cider. It will start to curdle, so whisk in quickly and then pour over bread and mix.
   
3. Combine egg yolks with 1/3 cup sugar. Add with 1/2 cinnamon, chopped apple, and 1/3 cup raisins to bread mixture. Combine.
4. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Beat in about 2T sugar. Fold egg whites into bread mixture.
5. Transfer bread mixture to 9x11 baking dish. Top with 2 T raisins, 1 t sugar, and sprinkle of cinnamon.
6. Place 9 x 11 dish in larger lasagna pan. Place in oven. Fill measuring cup with hot water from tap. Pour into the lasagna pan wen it's in the oven to create a bath.
7. Bake at 300F for 40 minutes or until set.
   
8. To remove, use a baster to remove some of the water form the lasagna pan, then lift out the pudding dish. This makes it easier.

It's a very moist pudding because of the apples, but a very nice texture when cooked through since the egg whites add some lift. I served this with maple beef breakfast sausages. Wonderful complement, and you could prepare the dish with sausage pieces in it.