Smoky Brisket...Hoisin Style.

If you're a fan of this food blog, you know many of my recipes come from simple experimentation. Well Saturday I was craving a fresh made burger for dinner, but while in the local market I noticed that beef brisket was on sale. Fresh brisket, a lovely red color to the meat, just a 1/4 inch fat cap on top; so I picked up a two pounder. Once home though, I had to figure out what I wanted to do with it.  Too small for the smoker; too pretty to cut up for use in a recipe; what to do was a good question.

The answer came while I was gathering up ingredients to make my burger for dinner.   I saw the bottle of Hoisin sauce (yes, I keep a bottle on hand) on the refrigerator door shelf.  Hmmm, a smoky sauce with a multitude of flavors on a pretty cut of brisket; and the brain kicked in with an idea.  Haven't had good fried rice in awhile either, so I knew that would be my side dish; now I just had to wait till the next day.

I spent Sunday going through tons of photos for my travel blog, "The Southwest Through Wide Brown Eyes", and knew full well it would work me up to an "I want meat!!!" appetite.  During one of my stretching breaks from the computer, the numbers on the clock let me know it was time to prep the brisket.  Oh, you might ask, once you read the recipe, why the vinegar massage?  Brisket is a tougher cut of meat than say, eye round or top round; the vinegar will help to tenderize.  Two hours later though, time to put on the oven and get this cooking show on the road.  The final result was a tender, smoky, so full of flavor brisket; and the fried rice was all that much better by adding a little Hoisin sauce to it during its cooking process.  Got the photos I needed for my travel blog posts this week; got one heck of an intense dinner in the deal; overall good day!

Hoisin Beef (Brisket)

Ingredients:

2 lb beef brisket, trimmed of fat

3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar)
½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp salt
1 cup Hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp diced red onion

Preparation:

Two hours before roasting the brisket; rub the vinegar over all sides of the meat, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate. 

 

Preheat oven to 325F; line roasting pan with aluminum foil.  Score top and bottom of meat with diagonal cuts, creating one inch diamond marks.  Mix together the ginger, white pepper and salt; rub on both sides of meat.  Place meat in pan and roast for 15 minutes. 

 

Mix together sauce, garlic and onion; turn meat over in pan, baste top and sides of meat with sauce mixture making sure to get sauce into score marks.  Return to oven for 30 minutes; turn over meat, baste and roast for another 30 minutes for medium-rare.  For medium; repeat turn and baste process, roast for 30 minutes more.  For medium-well; repeat turn and baste process, roast for 30 minutes more.

 

Remove meat to cutting board; rest for 5 minutes before slicing; spoon sauce from roasting pan over meat.  Serve with fried rice; when making rice, add one teaspoon of Hoisin sauce for every three servings to boost the flavor.

Makes 6 servings.

 

Mary Cokenour

Rolling into the New Year of 2013

...with Pumpkin Roll. That's right, we're starting this food blog off with another dessert made with pumpkin. Technically we're still in the holiday season, and pumpkin does start off the season in October when the jack o'lanterns come out for Halloween. For the 2012 holidays, we also made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Bread, and Pumpkin Pie, so lets finish off the season and start the New Year with some cake.

Making a rolled cake takes patience, and a batter that produces a cake which is not too firm, but not crumbly either; you need it to be pliable without falling apart.  You also need a jellyroll pan (a 15"x10"x1"); it sort of looks like a rectangular baking sheet, but with an edge around it. The name comes from the original cake that was made in it; a thin yellow cake with a fruit jelly spread onto it, then rolled...the jellyroll cake.   Another popular jellyroll style cake is made with a dark chocolate cake and a white cream filling, or what is typically called the Swiss roll cake.  With this cake, there is the option of giving it a coating of chocolate or not.

Definitely use wax paper with this cake, not parchment paper, as it will peel off much more easily.  Also, use a lint free linen towel to help with the rolling; nothing is more unappetizing than to find cloth fibers in your cake or filling.  Thirdly, make sure you give yourself room to work like a large area of counter space, or even a table.  So lets get to it....

Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients:

1 tsp each ground nutmeg and cinnamon
½ tsp each ground cloves and ginger
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp confectioners' sugar
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar to sprinkle over finished cake

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a15x10x1-inch baking pan (jellyroll pan) with nonstick baking spray; line pan with wax paper and spray paper. In a small bowl, mix together spices. Mix sugar, flour, baking powder, 2 and ½ teaspoons of spice mixture and salt in large bowl. Beat in eggs and pumpkin until well blended and smooth; spread evenly into pan.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Place clean linen towel on kitchen counter or table; dust with 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar. Loosen cake around sides of pan with sharp knife. Turn out onto towel, wax paper-side up (do not remove wax paper); fold side of towel over one short side of cake, and then roll up cake jelly-roll style. Cool cake completely.

Beat cream cheese, 1 cup confectioners' sugar, butter, vanilla and remaining half teaspoon of spice mixture in medium bowl until well blended and smooth. Unroll cake onto towel; peel off wax paper and spread cream cheese mixture evenly over cake. Using towel, roll up cake and place seam-side down on serving platter. Trim ends of cake. Refrigerate 1 hour or until ready to serve. Sprinkle cake with additional confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Makes 12 servings.

Mary Cokenour
January 2, 2013

Semi-Homemade Caramel Apple Cake.

As much as I enjoy making recipes from scratch, there are those times that I want to cut corners too due to time constraints or just plain old laziness.  Now usually for the holidays I make dozens of different types of cookies and give them out.  Oh don't worry, I keep a good amount for us too.  However, this year I'm not able to do this because I had carpal tunnel surgery done on my left hand.  If you don't know what this means, basically a nerve in my wrist began to become compressed from repetitive work; for me it was from working with computers.  It begins with a tingling in the thumb, index and middle fingers gradually progressing to numbness to the point of not being able to feel something you are holding.  It also can be accompanied with severe pain in the hand, wrist and radiating up to the elbow.

Anyway, it takes about 4-6 weeks for complete recovery and you have to use the hand minimally which means no heavy lifting.  The bowls I use for my baking are of a heavy ceramic and definitely need two hands for handling them when they are full of batter or dough.  It's been 4 weeks now since the surgery and I have no intention of having a holiday dinner without some sort of dessert.  So, what to do, what to do?  Basically, do it semi-homemade, so it is as easy to manipulate and handle as possible; my right hand could still do all the work while my left hand kind of just went along for the ride.  While my right hand did all the grunt work, l let my lower left arm and inside elbow cradle the bowls; it still hurt a little, but my left hand didn't have any pressure on it.

Lets get to it then; to make it especially easy, I used a Super Moist Yellow Cake mix; but remember, this recipe is semi-homemade, so don't hesitate to use your own cake batter if you prefer.  Yellow cake mix can also be bland, so I umpted up the flavor intensity by adding apple pie spice mix and a bit of ground ginger.  You could also think of this as a type of "upside down" cake where the toppings are baking in the pan underneath the cake layer, but when you flip the finished cake out, you see all the lovely apples and caramel.

Caramel Apple Cake

 

Ingredients:

 

For the Caramel Layer:

 

8 Tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

4 cups brown sugar

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

 

For the Apple Layer:

 

1 (21 oz) can apple pie filling

 

For the Cake Layer:

 

1 box Super Moist Yellow cake mix

1 tsp apple pie filling

pinch of ground ginger

 

Preparation:

 

Preheat oven to 350F; spray two 9 inch cake pans with nonstick baking spray.  Cut out two circles from parchment paper to line bottom of cake pans; spray the paper with the nonstick baking spray.

 

In a medium bowl, mix together the ingredients for the caramel layer until it resembles coarse crumbs. 

 

Divide the mixture up between the two pans pressing to the edges and 1/4 inch up the sides. 

 

Divide the pie filling between the two pans, spreading it out up to one inch from the edges.

 

Prepare the cake mix according to packages directions, but add in the apple pie spice and ground ginger.  Divide the batter up between the two pans and use a spatula to smooth it out.

 

Bake for 35-40 minutes; cake will be golden browned and you might see some of the caramel oozing up the sides of the cakes.  Remove pans to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes.

 

When cooled, use a hot knife around the edges to make sure the caramel will not stick to the sides of the pan.  Carefully flip the cakes onto a serving plate and peel off the parchment paper.  Cut into 8 wedges and serve with a scoop of ice cream.

 

Makes 2 cakes, 8 servings each.

 

Mary Cokenour

 

 

 

 



Ribs from the Oven?

During the colder season, I usually have the grills and smokers winterized, so they won't be ruined by the snow and ice.  This basically means wrapping them up tightly in tarps, and storing them safely against the back wall of the shed; sort of like wagons circling against attack.  So how do I get good barbequed food during the winter then?

Two options really; the first is traveling down to Blanding and eating at one of my favorite bbq places, Fattboyz Grillin', or making my own, yes I still can, by getting my oven to do it for me.   Oven grilling can't be as good as a real barbeque grill or smoker you say; and I quite agree, but when life gives you lemons.....

Basically you have to do a little compromising, remember what you know about outdoor cooking, and adapt it for the indoors.  A good rack of ribs would be prepped the same way; removing the membrane located on the curved inside of the rack.  The membrane acts like a "condom", keeping rubs and marinades from seeping into the meat to do their jobs of flavoring and tenderizing.  Secondly you want to remove as much excess fat as possible; keeping the fat on doesn't give the ribs extra moisture.  As it melts, it's taking your rubs and marinades with it and there goes your flavor.  Also, did you ever get flareups when barbeque-ing?  It's mostly caused by melting fat dripping onto your fire source.  No, that won't happen in the oven, but any fat dripping into your pan will eventually dry out, smoke and just cause one heck of a mess.  Using aluminum foil does help, but then your ribs are cooking in a mass of molten fat which gives them a greasy, slimy texture.  Just trust me on this one, and remove as much fat as you can.

After prepping your ribs, give them a good rubdown and here's a repost of my all purpose rub:

All Purpose Rub for Smoking and Grilling

Ingredients:

2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp each sea salt, ground black pepper, ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp each paprika, onion powder, garlic powder

Preparation:

In medium bowl, mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Rub onto all sides of meat or poultry; refrigerate overnight. Smoke or grill.

Now this recipe will cover a nice 4-6 pound rack, or two racks of 2-3 pounds each; give or take an ounce here or there.  Generously cover both sides of your rack(s), cover in plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge all night.  Oh, and if you want your ribs to have that Kansas City style taste, throw in a heaping tablespoon of chili powder; I recommend New Mexico chili powder which has a sweeter, smokier flavor to it.

You want to start cooking up your ribs early in the morning if you want them ready for dinner time.  Set your oven temperature to 185F; line a metal baking sheet or pan with aluminum foil and place a rack on or into. 

Unwrap the ribs from the plastic wrap and rewrap them in aluminum foil; not too tightly, but not too loosely either.  Place this package on the rack; place the entire pan in the oven and leave it all alone for 8 hours, if two separate racks; 10 hours if one large rack.  As you can see, it's going to take as long as if you were using an outdoor smoker. 

To get some char on the ribs, remove the pan from the oven and get your broiler going on a high setting.  Open up the aluminum foil to expose the ribs and place the pan under the broiler; five minutes will give a slight char and dry out the meat a little bit; keep it under the broiler until it's the way you like it, but watch it!  You want char on your ribs, not ashes on your plate.

Once they're ready, slop barbecue sauce on them before serving, or not; your choice of how you like them.  Enjoy!!

Mary Cokenour

Time to Cook the Pumpkins.

Now that the elections are over in the United States, it is time for us to get down to the important issues, namely the impending holidays.  With Halloween, also known as All Hallows Eve or Samhain, traditional jack o'lantern pumpkins were hollowed out, craved with scary or funny faces, and a candle inserted to light them up in the dark.  Now while the seeds, once roasted and salted, make a yummy treat, the flesh is not that great for baking, since it tends to be stringy.

While living in Pennsylvania, my mom and I learned from Amish bakers that the best pumpkins to use were the crooknecks. Pumpkins are from the squash family, with this type the skin is easier to peel off, like with butternut squash, and the flesh will cook up easily for pureeing.   The crookneck pumpkin can grow to a large size; the largest we ever purchased was almost 30 pounds, and we got lots of breads and pies from it alone.


Now when making pumpkin bread or pie, you can always find a canister of premixed spice blend in the supermarket.  However, I recommend mixing your own up as you can never rely on how much of each spice is in the premix.  I and my family tend to like extra spiciness, so I can measure out the separate spices and get exactly the right flavoring for us.  Perhaps you like more cinnamon and dislike the flavor of cloves; mixing up your own blend gives you that priviledge.  Another option to making pumpkin bread especially is to add chopped walnuts, dried cranberries, raisins, chocolate chips or a combination.  They can be added into the batter or simply sprinkled on top before baking.  For pumpkin pie, consider adding crushed walnuts into your pie crust mixture for some extra, surprising flavor.

Go traditional or set your own trend; remember you're the artist...I mean baker.  Enjoy!

 

 

  Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked pumpkin puree or 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups sugar
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp each ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and allspice
½ tsp ground cloves

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350; lightly butter and flour (or use baking spray) three loaf pans.

In a large bowl, mix together well the pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices; add 1/3 of dry mixture into pumpkin mixture and mix well; repeat until all dry ingredients have been incorporated into the wet mixture. Divide batter between prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out cleanly. Let loaves cool before inverting and removing.

Makes 3 loaves.

Mary Cokenour

Paella, the Party in the Pot.

Originating in Valencia, on the eastern coast of Spain, Paella can indeed be considered a party in a pot; everything and anything can be invited into this dish. Recipes from olden times list rabbit, chicken, snails and beans; it was the Arabic influence which introduced rice and spices, like saffron, into the party mix. As more and more outside influences entered Spain, the recipes for Paella became varied.

When making Paella, the most important element is the rice; Spanish rice is perfect, but not available everywhere. A short grain rice is the best substitute, like Arborio rice which is used in Risotto making. The Spanish or short grain rice absorb large amounts of liquid, but does not become mushy; on the contrary, it becomes plump and tender. The liquid used is also an important factor as it, not only cooks the rice, but adds flavor to the entire dish. Fish stock is the number one liquid used and usually freshly made; chicken stock is second, especially in regions where seafood is not plentiful or readily available. Depending on the recipe used, sometimes the pan is left on the burner long enough for the bottom layer of rice to toast before serving.

Adding some heat to the dish can be achieved two ways, using chile peppers or, as a meat component, a spicy sausage such as Chorizo. If using sausage, be careful of the seasonings that might be in the meat mixture to make sure it doesn't clash with the overall dish. Saffron, the stigmas of the Saffron Crocus flower, gives food a yellow-orange coloring; the taste is similar to a grassy honey. Just a pinch goes a long way and good thing too as this spice is expensive due to limited availability.

When using seafood in your Paella, stick to species that will cook well together time wise, and hold up well in structure, not fall apart. Shrimp, scallop, squid, octopus and firm white flesh fish such as cod or halibut are examples. Clams, mussels and oysters are also perfect for a seafood or varied Paella. How many of these elements you incorporate into your recipe is up to you. I wanted a simplified version, so used only three proteins; shrimp, scallops and chicken. I only used 12 ounces of each; always try to use equal amounts of the proteins and adjust accordingly to accommodate the size of your pan. While I used a short grained rice, I made the mistake of not checking the rice to liquid ratio on the package; some have a one to two ratio, some have a one to three ratio.  It was slightly soupy, but still delicious; the extra liquid did absorb well when leftovers were reheated the next day.

A Paella pan looks similar to a giant Wok, but with lower sides and a larger, flat base to sit on the fire. Like the Wok, it distributes the heat evenly to ensure proper cooking of all ingredients without having to worry about overcooking or burning. I used my Calphalon Everyday Pan to make my Paella. With all the ingredients I managed to put into the pan, it did not boil over.

Basically, this type of dish is great for a get-together and ensures that everyone will get a little something of everything that's put into it.  The simplicity or difficulty is entirely up to the recipe that you follow.  Try it and enjoy!

 

Paella

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
2 cups Spanish or short grain rice
Fish or chicken stock (check rice package listing for correct amount, plus one cup to accommodate other ingredients)
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
pinch of saffron
12 ounces extra large shrimp
12 ounces sea scallops
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 cup thinly sliced colored bell peppers (do not use green bell peppers)
1 cup diced tomatoes

Preparation:

On medium-high heat, saute' together oil, onion, mushrooms and chicken until chicken begins to brown; mix in rice.  Add stock, garlic, paprika, black pepper, red pepper flakes and saffron; mix together.  Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes; adjust heat if necessary to keep at a simmer, not a boil; stir occasionally.

Mix and immerse the shrimp and scallops into the rice mixture; sprinkle peas and bell peppers evenly over top and press down slightly into rice mixture.  Cook for 10 minutes; add the tomatoes, mix and cook another 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and let pan rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Doing Indian in Native American Lands.

Now before anyone gets their knickers in a twist, let me ease your minds by stating that my title is not even close to being politically incorrect. I live in Utah which is most definitely Native American lands (primarily Ute and Navajo), but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy Indian (and that's from India) cuisine. Fooled you good, didn't I? We're here to enjoy cooking, so lets leave politics to others, shall we?

Now if you're familiar with Indian cuisine, you've probably heard of or tried curry, tandoori and masala.  Curry is a basic term for dishes originating not just in India or Pakistan, but Thailand, Japan and most Asian cultures. It is a collection of spices, herbs, dried and/or fresh chile peppers which gives a dish its particular taste and heat. Often the curry plant will be confused as the main ingredient for curry, but this is not so. The plant resembles lavender in structure, but smells and tastes similar to sage. I highly recommend it for jazzing up chicken salad.

Tandoori is actually a method of cooking using a clay, cylindrical oven called a tandoor. A most popular dish is Tandoori Chicken, an Indian and Pakistani dish consisting of roasted chicken prepared with yogurt and spices.

Masala is a combination of ground spices; garam refers to the intensity of the spices, not to the heat of the chile peppers. It is usually added last in the cooking process to keep it from getting bitter if cooked too long. Don't confuse Masala with Marsala which is a wine, or you'll be in for a big surprise if you do not enjoy spicy food.

Today's blog post will be dealing with Masala; now while you can go online and purchase packaged Masala, you can also make your own at home.  If stored in an airtight container, the powder can last up to four months. While you can use a mortar and pestle or a blender to ground up the spices, I recommend a typical electric coffee grinder. I have two, one for grinding up my coffee beans and one for grinding up herbs and spices. I labeled the latter one, so my coffee doesn't accidentally taste like my herbal pantry. To make Masala, you are using whole seeds and pods which will be toasted before grinding; the toasting will intensify the flavors.

Basic Garam Masala

Ingredients:

2 cinnamon sticks, broken into small pieces
4 bay leaves
1/2 cup cumin seeds
2/3 cup coriander seeds
2 Tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 Tbsp whole cloves
2 small dried chile peppers (stems removed, but not the seeds)
1/2 tsp whole nutmeg, broken into small pieces
1/4 tsp ground mace

Preparation:

In a medium skillet, over medium-high heat, add all the ingredients except the nutmeg and mace; stir often until the cumin seeds darken to a deep brown. Do not worry if the ingredients crackle or smoke a little; it's all part of the toasting process.

Remove to a bowl to let cool before grinding. Once cool, add the nutmeg and mace to the bowl; work in batches to add the ingredients to the grinder and grind to a fine powder.  Store in an airtight container for up to 4 months.   Makes 1 1/2 cups.

 

The above is a photo of Chicken Tikka Masala; it's basically a two part process where you would make Chicken Tikka, then make a sauce using the Masala mixture. Feeling scared? Just think of it as making a basic meal, for example Chicken Fried Steak and then making the gravy for it. Same idea, just another country's cuisine.

Chicken Tikka

Ingredients:

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp minced fresh garlic
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 tsp chili powder (ancho or cayenne)
1 tsp each ground turmeric, cardamon and fennel
1/4 tsp Garam Masala
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into cubes
2 Tbsp butter, melted

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients, except chicken and butter in a medium bowl and transfer to large plastic sealable bag.  Add the chicken and make sure to coat completely; seal the bag and refrigerate 8 to 12 hours; the longer the better.

Preheat broiler; line a large jelly roll pan with parchment paper and brush the paper with the melted butter.  Remove the chicken from the bag and discard any excess marinade; spread the chicken out on the buttered paper.  Place under the broiler for 4 minutes; turn chicken, broil again; remove to platter.

Makes 4 servings.

Note: this dish can be served with jasmine or basmati rice as is.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp canola oil
1 medium red onion, diced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
3/4 cup heavy cream

Preparation:

In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, saute onion until softened and edges begin to brown; add the tomatoes and cook for 6 minutes.  Add in garam masala and heavy cream; cook for 2 minutes before adding in the prepared Chicken Tikka.  Coat all chicken in sauce, let cook additional 3 minutes.  Serve over rice.

There you have it, Indian cuisine that will give you the bravery to explore more.

Mary Cokenour