Boiled Dinner

I am not Irish and have never been interested in pretending to be just for the day on March 17th. It's not my style, I guess. And until recently, I did not like corned beef and had never even eaten boiled dinner, let alone cooked it myself. But lately I've learned that corned beef is pretty good! And it can be relatively lean if it's been trimmed well. So this year I've decided to take advantage of the extremely low prices on corned beef brisket at the market and give it a try. I've replaced the traditional potatoes in the dish with turnips because they have less starch and more nutrition and, even though I know it's not "traditional," I've added garlic and a fair amount of onions to the mix just because I like them. I also totally forgot to buy any cabbage, so we had this with some wilted spinach for greens.

I opted to cook this in the crock pot so that I could put in some quality time with the laundry. I used just plain water for the liquid in the crock, but if you have a nice stout or ale handy, I bet that would be really good. You'll notice that there is very little liquid in this recipe, even though it's a "boiled" dinner.

This is because I'm doing it in the crock pot. The veggies will release their moisture, as will the meat, and combined with a tight fitting lid on the crock pot, it won't be too long before everything will be practically swimming. I've learned that with slow cookers, adding a lot of liquid at the out set just dilutes the flavors. Instead, I added just enough water to steam up and get everything started.

Corned Beef Boiled Dinner

2 Medium Turnips, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
4 Large Carrots, cut into 1" chunks
3 Medium Onions, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
4 Cloves Garlic, peeled and cracked with the flat of a knife
4-5 lb. Corned Beef Brisket with included pickling spices
1 1/4 C. Water or Beer (stout or ale)

In the crock of a large slow cooker, layer in turnips, carrots, onions, and garlic. Add beef and water and the sprinkle the spices over the beef. Cover tightly and cook on low 8 hours. Remove the beef and veggies to a platter and cover in foil. Transfer cooking juices to a sauce pan and simmer 10-15 minutes on high until reduced by about half. Adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve reduced jus drizzled over the roast and veggies.

A Fish to Keep - Salmon Rillettes

As a child, I pooh-poohed all manner of fish. It smelled funny, it looked funny, it tasted funny, and the texture was....not beef. I have never been a picky eater, but up until my mid-20s the thought of voluntarily allowing anything past my lips that came from the ocean other than the occasional scallop or shrimp was just Not. On.

Since then, my palate has matured and my willingness to be adventuresome with things from the sea has greatly expanded. I ran into this particular recipe in a hand-me-down issue of Bon Apetit magazine (Sept. 2012, p16). I made a few minor adjustments for taste and fat and served it on cucumber slices for a lighter alternative to baguette. It's a delicious cold smoky salmon dip with just the right hint of onion from the chives and a powerful punch of protein. Apparently, this is a recipe that originally came from famous New York restaurant, Le Bernardin!

These incredibly rich smoky bites of heaven were the perfect way for my wife and I to ring in the New Year. Give them a try at your next gathering or special dinner. (Bonus: I'm only 3 weeks post-op and on soft solids and I was able to eat this with no problems and it's something my wife looooved!) Can't get better than a culinary win to start the year off right!

Salmon Rillettes

2 C. Dry White Wine
2 Small Shallots (about 1.5 T.), minced
1 lb. Salmon Filet, skinned and pin bones removed
3 oz. Smoked Salmon (lox), cut into 1/4" pieces
1/s C. Mayo (I halved this with Fat Free Plain Greek Yogurt to reduce the fat)
2-3 T. Fresh Chives, minced
1-2 T. Fresh Lemon Juice
S&P to taste

Bring wine and shallots to a simmer in a small sauce pan. Reduce heat to medium-low and add salmon filet. Poach gently until salmon is just barely opaque all the way through (roughly 5 minutes.) Using a fish spatula or slotted spoon, remove salmon from wine and drain on paper towels. Strain shallots out of the wine, reserving the shallots and discarding the wine. Place shallots and salmon in a bowl, cover and refridgerate until cold.

Add all remaining ingredients to the filet and shallots and stir gently to break up filet slightly. Avoid overmixing - you want the filet to retain some flakiness. Adjust seasoning, adding additional lemon and mayo, as desired. Serve on toasted baguette, slices of cucumber, or fold into an omelette.

Servings: 6-8 (the original recipe says 6, I say 8 - this dish is rich and very satisying)

Nutrition (according sparkrecipes.com) based on 8 servings and using Greek yogurt in place of half the mayo:  Calories 145.8, Total Fat 7.1 g, Cholesterol 45.2 g, Sodium 586.3 mg, Potassium 397 mg, Total Carbohydrate 2.2 g, Protein 17.3 g.

 

Happy New Year and blessings to you and your family for 2013!

Thanksgiving

I wasn't planning on posting today but then decided at the last minute to bring more than just pie to my brother's for the holiday. I've done a simple veggie roast of turnips, carrots, garlic, and lemons (recipe below - if you can even call it that) and my plan is to eat turnips in place of mashed today. I've concluded that one day won't make a huge difference on the pre-op diet as long as I don't go hog wild and part of that plan is that I am following the diet for the first hald the day. To that end, I had a protein fruit smoothie for breakfast and I'm having a frozen meal for lunch. The Thanksgiving meal is set for a bit later in the day (4:00 or 5:00ish) and that will be dinner.

Thanksgiving Veggie Roast

2 large turnips, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
3 heads of garlic, sliced in half
3 lbs. of carrots, cut into 2" chunks
3 lemons, sliced in half
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.

Lightly coat turnips, carrots, cut edges of the garlic and lemons and place on sheet pans so that nothing is too crowded. Roast 30-45 minutes, or until veggies are just tender. Veggies can be served room temperature or easily reheated.

And if you're thinking that roasted lemons sounds weird, trust me - they're divine!

Happy Thanksgiving!