Brisket: A Versatile Roast

Roast Brisket. Not very attractive right now, but delicious nonetheless.

Basic Brisket to serve with potatoes 

Brisket BBQ Sandwich

Taquitos & Flautas

Teriyaki Brisket (aka Meat Candy)

I've gotten to the point in this blogging thing that I need to put out there some of the ordinary, everyday foods that I cook, that although I enjoy them, aren't all that special to look at. For Fathers Day yesterday, my husband requested shredded bbq beef sandwiches. I thought about making Food Network's Oven Roasted Brisket, but then if I had leftovers I would have to stick with that flavor profile. With only four of us eating a whole brisket, I figured we'd have plenty of leftovers. So, I went my mom's old school route of roasting the brisket seasoned simply with a packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix. (I let my son Max eat a bite of this just out of the oven and he savored it with his eyes closed and two thumbs up.)

Usually, the first round meal with this method/seasoning involves mashed potatoes. I mix the pan drippings (skimmed of excess fat) with a can of cream of chicken soup and enough water to thin it to a nice gravy. The onion soup mix & roast drippings mixed with the cream of chicken soup make a very salty, very flavorful gravy. Mmmm...my mouth is watering right now.

After round one, I will usually do either a bbq beef sandwich (one of my husband's favorites), taquitos & flautas, enchiladas, or teriyaki brisket. The idea for the teriyaki brisket comes from some friends' wedding reception. It was one of several choices, and boy, were Eddie and I glad we selected that one. It was simply shredded brisket mixed in a liberal amount of teriyaki sauce (Mr. Yoshida's most likely) and served with steamed white rice. The shredded meat soaked up the teriyaki sauce like a sponge. Oh my goodness, it was like meat candy. Yes, meat candy. And we LOVED it. 

The basic brisket takes a lot of time, but not a lot of effort. I suggest purchasing about a 4-5 pound piece of trimmed brisket because you get more meat per pound. A whole brisket is just too fatty, as far as I'm concerned; and this is coming from a woman who is relatively comfortable with a high portion fat in her diet.

Basic Roast Brisket

Ingredients:

4-5 pound trimmed beef brisket

1 packet dry onion soup mix

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sprinkle a tablespoon or so of soup mix on the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place brisket in pan and sprinkle with remaining soup mix.

Cover tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil.

Roast at 325 degrees for 4-5 hours, or until meat is tender and shreds very easily with a fork.

Remove from oven and choose one or more of the following options for round one and for leftovers.

Option 1: Meat and Potatoes

Remove fat layer, if desired. Pour pan drippings into a heavy medium saucepan and turn heat to medium. Add a can of condensed cream of chicken soup and whisk until smooth. If the gravy is too thick, add 1/4 of water at a time and whisk to thin it out. Slice meat into 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices and serve immediately with mashed potatoes and gravy.

Option 2: BBQ Beef Sandwiches

Allow to cool for 30-60 minutes, slice into 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices, shred, and mix with about a cup of your favorite bbq sauce in a heavy saucepan. Add more bbq sauce if it seems dry. Heat through over low heat, stirring to break up and shred meat. Serve 1/2 cup portions on buns.

Option 3: Taquitos & Flautas. (Click on the words to go to that post.)

Option 4: Teryiyaki Brisket

Allow to cool for 30-60 minutes, slice into 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices, shred, and mix with about a cup of your favorite teriyaki sauce in a heavy saucepan. Add more teriyaki sauce if it seems too dry. Heat through over low heat, stirring to break up and shred meat. Serve with fresh steamed white rice.

Option 5:

Find a good enchilada recipe and use the meat for that. (Sorry, I don't have an enchilada recipe posted yet.)

I'm sure there are several other options, but these are the ones I use most frequently and that I find most delicious.

Key Lime Cheesecake

Key Lime Cheesecake

When tossing around ideas on what to take to our friends' house for dinner this weekend, my husband suggested key lime cheesecake. So, I googled some pictures and found one that looked good. I landed on cheesecakefactorymenu.com. Just from the look of things, the site seems to be unofficial, so although I got the recipe from this site, I don't think it's an actual Cheesecake Factory recipe.

The original recipe made a large cheesecake, which would have been too much, so I adjusted amounts and made a 7-inch cheesecake. After adjusting, the recipe only called for 3 tablespoons of lime juice, and that just didn't sound like enough to give something like this much lime flavor or kick. So after making it with the 3 tablespoons of key lime juice, I thought a nice thin limey glaze on top would help, just in case. So I found a recipe for a lemon glaze on Creative Culinary, and substituted key lime juice for the lemon juice.
The cheesecake tastes perfect. It's creamy, but not wet; tart, but not sour. It's a good key lime cheesecake, if that's what you're into. Me, I usually like chocolatey or caramely cheesecakes best, but I was able to eat a healthy slice of this and enjoy it. 
The interesting thing to me about this cheesecake, is how beautifully shaped it is. I'm wondering if it's the 3 tablespoons of flour, along with the water bath, that allowed it to rise and stay as high as it did. I love that it didn't get that high outside ridge with the sunken middle, and it's so tall. I will have to try the flour in other recipes to see if I get similar results.
Note: cheesecakefactorymenu.com is no longer a working site, so I guess I'll have to be glad I got their recipe before they stopped doing what they do. 

Key Lime Cheesecake 

  --adapted from cheesecakefactorymenu.com

Ingredients:

Crust

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs

• 1/3 cup butter, melted

• 1 tablespoon sugar

Filling

• 2 1/2 sticks (20 oz. total) cream cheese at room temperature

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream at room temperature

• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons key lime juice (6 tablespoons if using regular lime juice)

Glaze (adapted from Creative Culinary)

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons key lime/lime juice

Topping/Garnish

• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (or make stabilized whipped cream)
• Sliced key limes/limes

Directions:

Mix graham crackers, melted butter, and sugar in a medium bowl or plastic bag. Pour into a 7-inch spring form pan that's been coated with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully spread crumb mixture evenly over the bottom and press firmly all over.

Put a layer of heavy duty aluminum foil on the bottom and up the sides of the spring from pan as a protective barrier to keep the water from getting into the cheesecake. I also like to put my pan into an oven-proof plastic turkey bag (top open) and then put it in the water bath, just to ensure I don't get a soggy cheesecake.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a large shallow pan filled with 1 inch of water into the oven to create the water bath. 

In a large bowl (or the bowl of a standing mixer), beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on low speed. Gradually beat in the sugar, sour cream, flour, and vanilla until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, 1/4 cup heavy cream, and lime juice and continue to beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. 

Pour the cheesecake filling into the spring form pan. Place the pan into the water bath in the oven. After 8 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 40 minutes, or until filling is puffed, set, and light brown. Remove from oven and from the water bath, and allow to cool on a wire rack. Once cooled to room temperature, take the foil off, put a paper towel over the pan, and then cover with the foil (you can use a new piece of foil, but reusing is just as good).  Refrigerate overnight.

For the glaze, combine the sugar, cornstarch, water, and lime juice in a small pan. Mix until smooth. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook for 3 minutes. Cool/chill until cool, but not set. 

Pour cooled glaze into the center and spread evenly with an offset or rubber spatula. Refrigerate until glaze is cold and firm. Run a clean, thin knife around the edge of the pan, and then remove the collar of the springform pan. 

Pipe whipped cream around the top of the cheesecake, if desired. Garnish with lime slices. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes about 8 servings

Paper umbrellas under plastic wrap keep whipped cream pretty.

Oatmeal Caramel Bars

Oatmeal Caramel Bars

Okay, so here's my crazy train of thought on these Oatmeal Caramel Bars. First of all, I volunteered to bring a dessert (2 doz.) to Summer Library Night at my school. My first thought was to make simple chocolate chip cookies to use up the huge bag of Nestle chocolate chips I have. No, wait! Brownies. No, a pan of brownies and a batch of chocolate chip cookies. No, wait! I'm on summer vacation--I should make some cute rainbow cupcakes. Funfetti cupcakes. No, rainbow cupcakes. MINI RAINBOW CUPCAKES! Just buy some Oreos. Reread the email from the teacher in charge: cookies and bars are best. Dang. Wait! Do your own thing. Tonia's not the boss of you. Well, I'd have to go to the store for cake mix anyway. Brownies again. Wait. Pan of brownies and a pan of oatmeal bars. I have those caramel bits I need to use. I could mix those in. Look up recipe for oatmeal bars. Haven't I seen oatmeal bars with caramel or something? Google "oatmeal caramel bars." Find recipe on allrecipes.com that looks good. Unwrapped caramels? Oh! I have those caramel bits! Oh, but I used some for the banana oatmeal cookies the other day, and I don't think there will be enough. I think I have enough cream to make my own caramel. If I use my own caramel, then I can't use regular chocolate chips. I'll use Dove milk chocolate. No, dark. I need to save my milk chocolate for the English toffee I'll be taking to Florida for my brother. Dang, apparently 240 degrees is too high for the caramel. I need to add a little heavy cream. Dang it! I used my last cup of heavy cream for the caramel! Go to the store, get cream, smooth out caramel, proceed with the recipe.
I am so thankful for summer vacation that gives me the mental and physical space and time to do this.
These bars are pretty darned rich, so I suggest cutting them relatively small. I cut mine to make 40 bars from a 9x13 inch pan, and I think that's a good size. I also noticed that there's a lot of butter residue on the parchment, so next time I make these, I might consider reducing the butter to just one cup. I enjoyed the bar I ate, but it was a corner piece.  The middle pieces look pretty gooey, so if you like sweet and gooey, this will probably be right up your alley. I'll add more info. if I get any noteworthy responses when I take them to school tonight.
By the way, I didn't make any brownies.


Oatmeal Caramel Bars
  --adapted from allrecipes.com
Ingredients:

• 32 individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped OR homemade caramel (recipe below)
• 5 tablespoons heavy cream (omit this if you're making homemade caramel)
• 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 cups rolled oats (quick or old fashioned, or a mixture)
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or 14 Dove Dark Chocolate Promises, chopped)
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt together the caramels and heavy cream, stirring occasionally until smooth (or make homemade caramel using the recipe below).

Line a 9x13 inch pan with non-stick foil or parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir in the melted butter until well blended. 

Press a little more than half of the mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan. Reserve the rest.

Bake the crust for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove and sprinkle with chocolate. Pour the caramel mixture over the top and then crumble the remaining crust mixture over everything.

Return to the oven and bake for an additional 20-22 minutes, or until the top is lightly toasted. 

Allow to cool completely. Pull the entire thing out of the pan using the edges of the foil/parchment.

Cut into squares with a sharp knife or pizza cutter.

Caramel

Ingredients:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, cut into chunks
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

In a large heavy saucepan, combine cream, corn syrup, sugar, brown sugar, butter, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often. Once it's boiling, clip on the candy thermometer and cook without stirring until the mixture reaches 230 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Remove pan from heat, carefully add vanilla extract and stir. Pour into a heat-proof bowl and set aside while you prepare the bars.

Note: If you decide to use this homemade caramel, you're likely to end up with a little extra caramel to eat on the side.

Tortilla Chips--Fried at Home

Homemade Tortilla Chips

Well, it's about time I post this simple yet delicious recipe. Tonight I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner and I forgot to pick up some tortilla chips for our Mexican meal. I remembered the corn tortillas for the tacos, though, so I figured, "Well, I guess I'll have to fry up some of my own." It's a super simple recipe; so simple that I hesitate to even call it a recipe. If you've never had homemade tortilla chips, though, and you don't mind frying, you ought to give these a try. They're nothing like Tostitos, and because they're made with actual tortillas, they taste authentically Mexican. Plus, if you're on a low-sodium diet like I should be, these are a great way to go for a Mexican dinner side dish. They're also a good way to use up older (but not disgustingly old) corn tortillas. They go great with guacamole, salsa, chile colorado burritos, or just by themselves.

Tortilla Chips

Ingredients:

• 12 corn tortillas (or more)
• 1 inch of canola oil in a large frying pan
• salt to taste

Equipment:

• the large frying pan mentioned above
• 2 tongs 
• paper towels
• cookie sheet
• wire rack to fit in cookie sheet, or just over it
• a large sharp knife 

Directions:

Place the wire rack in/on the cookie sheet. Place a double layer of paper towels on top of that.

Heat oil in frying pan over medium-high heat.  You can either check the temp with a thermometer (ready at 375 degrees) or put in a little piece of tortilla when you think it's ready. Be careful to not let the oil get TOO hot.

While oil heats, cut tortillas into eighths, like you'd cut a pizza.  

When oil is hot, fry enough chips to cover the oil with a little overlap, turning a time or two until both sides are a deep golden brown. Remove fried chips to prepared cookie sheet and sprinkle immediately with salt. Repeat with remaining tortilla wedges.

If you have any left over, seal in an airtight container for up to a week, I suppose.

Makes a lot of chips.

Chicken Soft Tacos & Quesadillas

Chicken Soft Taco on a homemade flour tortilla

Chicken Quesadilla

Here'a another dish, like chicken nachos, that I make regularly, but have never written the recipe for. Now I have. My husband really enjoys chicken quesadillas, but I just don't. I'm not sure why, but whenever he tells me that chicken quesadillas sound good for dinner, my heart sinks a little. So, I usually make chicken nachos or a chicken burrito instead. I know, I know, what's the difference really? I think I just like to reserve that much cheese for pizza. I can't explain it. Maybe it's me being oppositional. At any rate, that's why you get two recipes in one here. 
This chicken can also be prepared in the crock pot by placing frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot with salsa and a little salt. Cook on low 6-8 hours, shred chicken, and you have nice juicy chicken for tacos, burritos, or quesadillas. My son Max and I really don't fully enjoy the flavor of the chicken when it's prepared that way. I can't put my finger on that one either, but it just has a different flavor. At least it's an option for those who aren't so picky, though.
Usually, I serve these things with Mexican rice and beans, but tonight, we used leftover rice, tortilla chips, and watermelon as our sides. None of those seemed worth photographing, so the tacos and quesadillas are the stars. I'm not going to try to get these onto foodgawker.com or anything; you get the idea.


Chicken Soft Tacos & Quesadillas


Chicken:

• 1 pound chicken breast, cut into chunks, or about 6-8 chicken tenders
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup salsa (I like Herdez medium)
• salt to taste

Over medium heat, bring chicken and salsa to a simmer and cook until tender and shreds easily (about 30  minutes).  If you're using the chicken tenders, when chicken is cooked, remove the tendon at the fat end with tongs or a knife and fork.

Sprinkle chicken with a little salt and set aside.  

Quesadillas:

• 5 large flour tortillas 
• 2 1/2 cups (approx.) shredded cheese (pepper jack, jack, cheddar, or some mixture of those)
• salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or other preferred condiments

Preheat oven to about 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Put in a large tortilla. Immediately place about half a cup of cheese on half of the tortilla and fold over to make a half circle. If space allows, put in another tortilla and do the same. Cook on one side for about 1 minute; then turn over with a spatula. Cook one more minute. With the spatula or tongs, carefully open up the tortilla to expose melty cheese.  Place about 1/4 cup of the shredded chicken evenly over one side; then close again. Turn over to heat again on other side. Repeat with other quesadilla. When tortilla is lightly browned on both sides and cheese is completely melted, remove to a cutting board and cut into wedges with a pizza cutter or large knife. Place on an oven-proof plate and place in the warm oven to wait. Repeat with remaining ingredients. 

Serve warm with desired condiments.

Makes 5 large quesadillas; serves about 4.

Soft Tacos:

• 10 small/taco size flour tortillas or small homemade flour tortillas
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or other preferred condiments

Place a clean kitchen towel on a plate so that you can fold it over the warmed tortillas when they're hot. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Heat one or two tortillas at a time, about 30 seconds on each side. When hot carefully move to the towel-lined plate, cover with the towel and another inverted plate. When all tortillas are warmed, you can assemble tacos with about 1/4 cup chicken and desired condiments.

Makes 10 soft tacos.

Coconut Cupcakes

Coconut Cupcakes

Here's another recipe from one of my eating buddy co-workers. Wendy made this for a year-end sort of potluck last year. Actually, our principal had the staff and their families over to his house; he bought pizzas--lots of pizzas; and everyone else was to bring a dessert to share. Oh. My. Gosh. There was an obscene amount of desserts there. Obscene.  I don't know what they did with the leftovers, and I don't want to know. One thing is for certain, though, that this was the best dessert there. Wendy made it in a 9"x13" cake pan, and it sort of fell apart when you scooped it out. It was so delightful though: cool, creamy, flavorful and sweet. Her recipe calls for mixing all of the cake ingredients right in the pan (add oil, then cake mix, water, eggs & 1 cup coconut & bake for 30-35 minutes). I made these for my sister-in-law's birthday, and I wanted to do half plain white cupcakes & half coconut cupcakes to make everyone happy and because I thought they would look cute.

Coconut Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups coconut, divided
• 7 oz cream of coconut (I used Coco Real brand that comes in a convenient squeeze bottle)
• 1 tub Cool Whip

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a mixing bowl, mix cake mix, oil, eggs, water, and 1 cup coconut. Fill 24 paper-lined cupcake pans with batter. Under fill cups, as opposed to over filling them, because if they get too tall, the cream of coconut will slide off later.

Bake at 350° for 18-23 minutes.

Remove from oven & with fork punch holes into cupcakes.

Pour about 1-2 tablespoons cream of coconut over cupcakes while hot.  Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Mix cool whip & 1 cup coconut.  Spread about 2 tablespoons onto each cupcake.  Store in refrigerator.
Makes 24 cupcakes

Shortcake Biscuits with Warm Berries and Whipped Cream

Shortcake Biscuit with Warm Berries and Whipped Cream. AKA: Breakfast

My friend Jen Wilson only lived around here for about a year. Then she left me to return to Texas. Sigh. Although we had only known each other a year, she left a pretty gaping hole in my social life, one that still remains. Jen is a funny, self-depricating, food-loving mother of four (she only had two kids and a brand new baby when we met), and she is just one of those people you could hang out with for hours and hours and not tire of her. We're still friends, and she and her brood usually pass through here about once a year, stay a couple of days, and then move on. Facebook has been good for maintaining our friendship too. 
When Jen was living close to me, she made this for me one morning. Eating this wonderful "breakfast" was like one of those dream moments where my real life of crazy kids and mommy duties receded into the background and there was only warm tart berries and sweet biscuits topped with lots of cool, sweet whipped cream. It is truly one of the best things I've ever eaten.
I've had the recipe for years now, but only just today decided to take the plunge and make it myself. I think I was really hoping to find a Jen-like friend to share it with, but in the end, I've halved the recipe and decided to share it with you. So enjoy.

Shortcake Biscuits with Warm Berries & Whipped Cream
    --Adapted from Food.com

Fruit Mixture:

• 2 cups frozen blueberries
• 2 cups frozen blackberries
• 4 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• Pinch of salt
• 3 cups frozen raspberries

Combine the blueberries, blackberries, 4 Tbsp. sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and salt in saucepan.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat; simmer for about 5 minutes before adding the raspberries. Gently stir in the raspberries and bring to a simmer again.  Simmer for about 1 more minute only gently stirring to prevent sticking. Remove from heat and set aside. (To see how to prepare this dish with fresh berries, peaches, and a little liqueur, go to Food.com.)

Shortcake Biscuits:

• 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 6 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter, very cold and cut into teaspoon size pieces
• 2 cups and 2 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream, divided
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp. vanilla, divided

Preheat oven to 375.  In a large mixing bowl, place the flour, 6 Tbsp. sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Blend briefly.  Add the butter and cut in with a pastry blender until butter is the size of peas.

Add 1 cup of the cream and combine with fork until moistened.  Turn onto floured board and knead about 10 times.  Small lumps of butter should be visible.

Roll out to 3/4-inch thickness.  Cut into 8 pieces and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Mix the egg yolk with 2 Tbsp. of cream and 1/2 tsp. vanilla and brush on tops of biscuits.  Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

To the remaining whipping cream, add the remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar and 1/2 tsp. vanilla and beat till soft peaks form.

Split shortcake open, cover with warm berries and whipped cream. Serve.

Makes 8 servings

Cashew Butter Cookies

Cashew Butter Cookies and Dove Cashew Butter Blossoms

This may sound disgusting to most of you, but now that I'm on summer vacation, I have some time on my hands.  So, while shopping at Target the other day, I noticed that they sold cashew butter.  Why not give it a go in the peanut blossom recipe I have?  These are TERRIFIC.  Big, soft, flavorful, but with a flavor I can't identify as cashew.  It's just good.  They don't look any different from the peanut blossoms, so I suppose I could have just made a note in my peanut blossom recipe that you can use cashew butter, but that's not as much fun as taking pictures and putting up a new post, now is it?  I love summer vacation.

Cashew Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

¼ cup butter ¼ cup vegetable shortening ¾ cup cashew butter 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 1 large egg 2 T milk

1 tsp vanilla 1 ½ cups KAF unbleached all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt granulated sugar 1 bag Dove Milk Chocolate Promises, unwrapped (optional)

  

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, shortening, and cashew butter until well blended.  Add the sugars; beat until light and fluffy.  Add the egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat well.  Stir the flour, soda, and salt together.  Gradually mix into the wet ingredients.

Shape the dough into 1 ¼-inch balls.  Roll in sugar.  Place balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove from the oven and immediately place one chocolate Promise on each cookie, if desired.  Then go back and press each Promise gently into the cookie.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Target's Archer Farms brand has some good products.