Corned Beef Boiled Dinner

On the occasion of this example, corned brisket of beef was cooked earlier and served with cabbage, which is now gone.  We're going to use the remains of the meat (most of it), the cooking liquid, and several kinds of fresh vegetables to make "boiled dinner".

Boiled corned beef brisket

First heat the juice with leftover meat, briefly, so as to capture any gravy or spices that might be clinging to the corned beef.  After warming the meat, take it out and set it aside.

Meanwhile, clean and partially peel assorted potatoes, put them in a microwave oven in a covered 2-quart container (such as the 2-quart Pyrex measuring cup with red lid) with about a cup of water and cook for 10 minutes. Leave covered until they are needed.

Prepare fresh brussels sprouts by removing unattractive outer leaves. Make a cross-cut on each stem end.

Brussels sprouts simmering in corned beef cooking liquid

Simmer the sprouts for a few minutes in the corned beef juices, being careful to remove them while the color is still green. The interior of the sprouts may still be a bit firm, but they will continue to cook in the bowl due to residual heat.

Now drain the potatoes and distribute them in the simmering corned beef liquid.  If some of the potatoes are underdone put them in first and let them soften before adding the rest.

We had on hand a package of fresh shelled English peas and a microwave-in-the-bag package of french green beans.  We cooked the peas in a microwave steamer and the green beans in the bag.

We also had the outer leaves of a cabbage, which we washed and cut into strips.  All this went into the pot, and simmered until the cabbage softened.

Vegetables for corned beef boiled dinner

Finally, brussels sprouts and sliced corned beef were distributed over the top and all heated together with the lid on for a few minutes.  Some small peppers were added for color.

Serve in bowls.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Corned beef boiled dinner

This recipe is #77 in the Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown

Kale

Kale

Often used as-is as attractive green garnish under items on a cold plate.

To steam:

Trim away the stems and discard
Cook in a steamer until leaves are wilted but still bright green
Remove from heat and take them out of the pot so the kale will remain green.

Use as an add-in for little soups.  Especially nice with white beans.

Add raw, roughly chopped, to pots of minestrone or other soup.

Food presented on "seaweed" in Asian restaurants is often actually on roasted kale!  Here's a recipe for that from Whole Foods.  Oven Roasted Kale

I've tried it.  It's so good that we ate it up like potato chips.

To see a full set of photographs showing this food, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Chicken Soup and Stock

This recipe for chicken soup is both simple and delicious.  I learned it years ago from my children's grandmother, who brought it with her from the Balkans.  She stressed that all ingredients must be fresh, not preserved, and that every one of the ingredients is there for a reason.  The stock it produces is versatile; it can be used in any cuisine.

Place into a slow cooker, dutch oven, or soup pot one of the following:

Whole young chicken - if buying a fryer for soup, choose the largest available.
Chicken parts, any combination, 3 pounds or more.
Roasted whole chicken or roasted chicken parts.
Bones, skin, cartilege, fat, etc. of chicken, raw or roasted, from which the meat has been removed.

Chicken scraps make excellent soup; just skim the fat at the end, and strain out all the little bits.  A few pounds of necks and backs will produce fine chicken stock! Dark meat makes better soup than white meat.  The one thing you don't want to use for soup is boneless skinless chicken, especially not boneless skinless white meat.

Chicken-soup-to-be: just add water and heat

Add to the pot the following fresh (not frozen, canned, or dried) ingredients:

1 large or 2 smaller onions
2-3 carrots
1-2 tomatoes
1-2 stalks celery
fresh parsley including stems
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
sprinkle of pepper

Water to cover

No need to chop the vegetables.  When served they are more appealing whole.

Our recipe assumes 3-5 pounds of chicken; if less, decrease the seasoning vegetables and perhaps the size of the pot.  Too much water makes thin soup!  If more, increase pot size, seasonings, and water proportionately. A roasting or stewing chicken will require longer cooking.

Chicken soup with soup vegetables in a serving container

Heat at medium high until the soup comes to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook until chicken is well done but still holding together. (How long this takes will depend on the age and size and therefore, the tenderness of the chicken, and on the temperature at which it is cooked; anywhere from one to several hours.) Lift out the chicken and strain the soup.  Adjust seasonings.

Set aside a portion of the soup for stock and return the remaining broth to your (rinsed) pot.  Sort through the residue in your strainer, and return to the soup all pieces that are good for eating (carrots, onions, and whatever else you like) and throw the rest away.  Now your soup is ready for whatever additions you want to make - see recipes for chicken soup here or here or elsewhere.

To see a full set of photographs showing various ways that chicken stock can be made, go to this slide show on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.)  No need to read the captions as they are borrowed from various other sets.

Chicken Soup with Rice

In December I will be
A baubled, bangled Christmas tree
With soup bowls draped all over me
Merry once, merry twice
Merry chicken soup with rice

I told you once, I told you twice
All seasons of the year are nice
For eating chicken soup with rice

-- Maurice Sendak

Stir-Fry Beef

Marinade

2 lb lean beef, sliced thin
1/4 c. oil
Juice of 1 lemon
3 or 4 cloves of garlic roughly chopped

Mix, pack into a ziplock bag or other sealed container, and refrigerate for a few days. Turn or shake every day to stir the juices around.


Stir Fry

Gather vegetables for stir fry. Almost any vegetable is good, just use what you have.  Some examples could be:

ginger, red and green peppers, onion, yellow squash

onion
bell pepper
carrot
mushrooms
sweet potato
broccoli
squash
cabbage
water chestnuts
celery
fresh ginger
small hot peppers
(don't eat these last two! They're there to flavor the juices.)

A variety of colors is more pleasing.

Prepare vegetables for stir-frying and set aside in separate bowls.  Slice or, where that isn't suitable, as for example broccoli florets, break into bite-size pieces.

Heat a large pan.

Add 2 Tb. oil.  Peanut oil is best for stir-fry.

Stir-fry the meat in small batches, 1 or 2 minutes on each side.   Replenish oil as needed.  Don't crowd the pan; meat should fry, not boil in marinating juices!  As the pieces get done move them from the pan to a large bowl.  Drizzle in soy sauce, if you are using it, after the food is taken from the pan because the sauce will scorch and burn.

beef stir-fried in peanut oil

Next stir-fry the vegetables one by one, hot and fast and not too long, as you want them to be still colorful and not too soft. Layer the vegetables over the meat in a bowl.   Allow pan to heat back up between batches, adding more oil as needed.

Sauce

No sauce is needed for stir-fry but if you want it, mix a spoonful of cornstarch or white rice flour into a cupful of cold water until it is well blended, no lumps, then pour it into the emptied pan.  Scrub the bottom of the pan vigorously with a spatula  while the water is heating to get up all the stuck good bits.  (If anything has scorched, obviously you won't be able to do this.  Clean the pan first!)  Have more liquid handy because your sauce will thicken rapidly once it's hot.

In stir-fry, some sort of sweet and sour blend works best.  Believe it or not, that familiar red sauce is made from water, vinegar, sugar and ketchup.  I like lemon or lime, orange or pineapple juice, just enough sugar to overcome the tartness, and soy sauce.

Toss stir fry layers together (with sauce if you have any) and serve over rice.

Stir fried beef with vegetables over rice

 To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.  (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.)  The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This is #98 in the Baker's Dozen Challenge Coundown.