A Life, Lived

Corned Beef Three Ways

Hmm, that almost sounds a bit dirty.

Mind out of the gutter people!

I cured my own corned beef again this year. I used a five pound piece of brisket. One of the downsides of corned beef is that it shrinks so much during the cooking process but I figured I'd have enough for some of my favourites with a piece that size.

The brisket had a big piece of fat running through it so I cut it in half through the fat and trimmed the fat off leaving me with two pieces.

The first I cooked for our St. Patrick's Day dinner. We bake it in the oven with a delicious glaze.

This piece of the corned beef provided six meals.

Then the other piece is used for other recipes.

Last Friday I made Reuben sandwiches.

Then on Sunday we had corned beef hash.

Lots of good eating from that one piece of beef!

Grilled Zucchini Panini

The other day I deemed myself too hot to cook dinner. I had spent the better part of the day canning relish and pickles and there just wasn't enough energy to hang out over the stove any longer. I also didn't feel like eating a big meal.

I was done.

I happened to be looking for recipes to assist me in using up a glut of zucchini and this came up.

I had all of the ingredients and it wouldn't require the stove . . . problem solved.

The pic is sort of crappy (OK, not sort of, it just is. LOL) so ignore that. This sandwich itself was delicious.

I used yellow zucchini because these have been particularly prolific in the garden.

Grilled Zucchini Panini

2 large zucchini, trimmed and sliced lengthwise into 6 to 8 1/4-inch-thick slices (12 to 16 slices total)
Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup whole-milk ricotta
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
8 1/2-inch-thick slices sourdough bread

Prepare a medium-high (425°F to 450°F) gas or charcoal grill fire. Brush the zucchini slices with oil and season with salt and pepper.

Grill the zucchini until grill marks form on one side, about 2 minutes. Flip the slices and continue to grill until tender, about 1 to 2 minutes more.

In a small bowl, mix the ricotta, lemon zest, 3/4 tsp. pepper, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Spread 4 slices of bread with the ricotta mixture, top each with 3 to 4 slices of the grilled zucchini, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with 4 more slices of the bread.

Brush both sides of the sandwiches with oil and grill in a hot panini press until crisp and golden-brown, about 4 minutes. (Alternatively, cook in a 12-inch heavy-duty skillet over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.)

Lobster Rolls

I know for some it isn't really summer until they have enjoyed their first lobster roll of the season. Here we are half way through the summer, the pictures of lobsters my friends on facebook and instagram have been posting had be craving lobster rolls in a huge way.

I bought some frozen lobster meat, top sliced buns at Farmboy, and enjoyed a treat yesterday at lunch.

There are plenty of people out there who will argue about the perfect lobster roll filling. Some want nothing but the lobster and perhaps a kiss of lemon. Others make things more complex. I like a crunch of celery, and some fresh herbs.

This recipe, from the folks at Fine Cooking, fit the bill!

Lobster Rolls

3/4 cup finely chopped celery with leaves
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives
1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh tarragon
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice; more to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 lb. (4 cups) cooked lobster meat
6 hot dog rolls, preferably New England-style split-top rolls

In a large bowl, stir the celery, mayonnaise, chives, tarragon, lemon juice, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Stir in the lobster meat and season to taste with more lemon, salt, and pepper.

Position a rack 6 inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler to high. Toast both outside surfaces of the rolls under the broiler, about 1 minute per side. Spoon the lobster salad into the rolls, using about 2/3 cup per roll, and serve.

Instant Pot Pulled Pork

This wasn't just tasty it was amazing!

Normally when I make pulled pork I smoke a pork shoulder for hours (and generally fight an excess of flames a few times in the process). The instant pot version took about two hours.

To get that smokey taste this recipe uses liquid smoke. I have no idea what it is made out of and I am sure it is bad for you . . . then again, smoked meats done the traditional way are bad for you as well. I couldn't find liquid smoke in the grocery store so finally I asked one of the few employees I could find (Paul) and he kindly showed me where it was (although he almost tripped me in the process . . . accidentally (sure)).

This pork is given a spicy rubbed, browned, slathered with an amazing BBQ sauce and pressure cooked for 90 minutes. When it was done it just fell about.

To make the sandwiches I toasted some rolls, melted cheese on one half, dumped the pulled pork on, added pickle and some coleslaw for crunch.

YUM

Instant Pot Pulled Pork

4 lb boneless pork shoulder
2 tbsp olive oil

For Dry Rub
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cumin
1 black pepper
2 tsp salt

For Sauce
1 cup BBQ sauce
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup honey
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

If your pork shoulder has a skin and too much fat on it, remove it and cut out some of the fat. Cut the pork shoulder into medium size pieces, about 2 inches each. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine all the dry rub ingredients together and whisk well. 

In a medium size bowl combine all the sauce ingredients together and whisk well.

Rub the dry rub spice mixture all over the pork pieces.

Turn the Instant Pot to the high saute setting. (See your manufacturer's guide for detailed instructions on how to use your instant pot). Add the oil and once your instant pot reaches the desired temperature (the timer will start to count down) add the pork pieces. Do not over crowd them in the pot, you will need to do this in two batches. Cook the pork, turning on all sides to brown. Should take about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer the first batch to a plate and repeat with the second batch. Press the keep warm/cancel button on your Instant pot.

Add all the meat to the instant pot then pour the prepared sauce over the meat and toss to make sure all the meat is coated in the sauce. There should be enough sauce to cover the meat. Close the lid (follow the manufacturer's guide for instructions on how to close the instant pot lid). Set the Instant Pot to the Meat/Stew setting and set the timer to 90 minutes.

Once the Instant Pot cycle is complete, wait until the natural release cycle is complete, should take about 15 minutes. Follow the manufacturer's guide for quick release, in in a rush. Carefully unlock and remove the lid from the instant pot.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer all the pork to a bowl. 

Switch the instant pot to the saute setting again (do not put the lid on) and simmer the leftover sauce until reduced by half, should take about 15 minutes. At the same time you can use a ladle to skim some of the fat that's rising to the top. At this time, taste the sauce and season with more salt if needed.

Using 2 forks, shred the pork into small chunks. Add about 2 cups of the reduced sauce to the pork and toss well.

Serve on hamburger buns by adding pulled pork, some more leftover sauce and coleslaw.

Chicken Burgers with Red Cabbage and Apple Slaw

We try to have a more relaxed, casual dinner on Friday night. This helps us slide into the weekend after a crazy week of work - 5 days of waking up at 4:45 will do that to you!

Last Friday, after three solid days of negotiating, I decided to take Friday off as a vacation day. My plan was to relax, get some delayed errands taken care of, and just vegetate. For dinner I decided on these burgers . . . to be fair we had planned them for the week before but ended up enjoying leftovers when I got home from work late.

We have lots of apples in our CSA bin (although not as many after I whipped up some apple sauce) and some red cabbage - this seemed to be a perfect recipe to get a handle on that!

The apples and celery mixed into the ground chicken give the burgers a subtly sweet, aromatic note, while the bright, creamy slaw provides great crunch. This was the sort of dish I really enjoy - layers of flavours and textures coming together. It was easy to make - the only caution being that you wouldn't want to try and grill these burgers as they are quite moist and would likely fall apart on the grill. The end result was an incredibly moist and flavourful chicken burger . . . in fact, one of the best chicken burgers I have eaten.

Chicken Burgers with Red Cabbage and Apple Slaw

1 lb. ground chicken (not chicken breast)
1-1/2 cups small-diced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 1 large)
1/2 cup small-diced red onion (about 1/2 medium)
1/4 cup small-diced celery (about 1/2 stalk)
5 Tbs. mayonnaise
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. minced garlic
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 tsp. fresh lime juice; more as needed
1-1/2 cups packed thinly sliced red cabbage
4 challah rolls or hamburger buns, split and toasted

In a medium bowl, combine the chicken with 1/2 cup of the apple, the onion, celery, 2 Tbs. of the mayonnaise, 1 tsp. of the mustard, the garlic, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Gently mix with your hands and form four 1/2-inch-thick patties. Make an indentation in the center of each one with your thumb.

In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat until shimmering hot. Cook the burgers until golden-brown on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip, and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 165°F on an instantread thermometer, 5 to 9 minutes more.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix the remaining 3 Tbs. mayonnaise and 1 tsp. mustard with the lime juice. Add the remaining apple, the cabbage, and 1/8 tsp. each salt and pepper; toss to combine. Season to taste with more lime juice, salt, and pepper.

Serve the burgers in the rolls, topped with the slaw.

Spicy Turkey Burgers with Coleslaw

Grilled turkey burgers tend to be both dry and bland however lean ground turkey has less fat than a beef burger. Because of that it is worth spending the time to find a recipe that beats the dry and bland curse.

These turkey burgers, from Elise at Simply Recipes, certainly does that!

When I read the description (spicy grilled turkey burgers served with tomatoes, sweet pickles, and a spicy coleslaw) I knew that I had to give them a try. I appreciated that they came together quickly and tasted amazing (the addition of plently of fresh herbs and hot sauce to the patties was a great idea).

If you're looking to grill up some burgers and wish to cut back on the fat you can't go wrong with these!

Spicy Turkey Burgers with Coleslaw

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (white meat, dark meat, or a mixture)
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 to 3 teaspoons of hot chile sauce such as Tabasco sauce (amount depends on how spicy you like your foods), or Tabasco Chipotle sauce
2 green onions, minced, white and green parts
4 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or more to taste
4 hamburger buns, lightly toasted
Sweet pickle slices
1 tomato, cored and sliced
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup loosely packed arugula, watercress, or just another cup of shredded cabbage
10 basil leaves, thinly sliced
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Prepare your grill (either gas or charcoal) for direct high heat. You can also cook the burgers on the stove-top on a griddle or cast iron frying pan.

In a large bowl, gently combine the turkey meat, bread crumbs, chives, basil, green onions, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, salt and pepper. Work the mixture with your hands until it is just mixed. Don't over mix or your burgers will end up tough. Form four patties, about 1-inch thick.

Sprinkle the patties with salt and pepper. Grill them for 5-7 minutes on each side, until the internal temperature of the patties reach 170°F on a meat thermometer. Turkey burgers should be cooked through, not rare. Toward the end of the cooking, put the buns on the grill to toast for about a minute. Remove the burgers from the grill to a platter, cover and let rest for 5 minutes.

Assemble the coleslaw. Whisk the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, sugar, red pepper flakes together in a small bowl. Add to the cabbage, arugula, and basil in a larger bowl right before serving.

Assemble the burgers by placing each burger on a bottom bun, and stacking a tomato slice, some pickles, and a bit of coleslaw on top, and then topping with the top bun.

Egg Salad Sandwiches with Bacon and Sriracha

It seems that Sriracha - that amazing hot sauce from Viet Nam that was brought to North America in 1980- continues to be a trendy ingredient. Sriracha is made from sun ripen chilies which are ground into a smooth paste along with garlic and packaged in a convenient squeeze bottle. It is excellent in soups, sauces, pastas, pizzas, hot dogs, hamburgers, chow mein or on anything else to give it a delicious, spicy taste.

We go through bottles of the stuff. In fact, we love it so much that we even made a bottle of our own last fall.

It seems that every food magazine features some recipe each month which uses it - almost to the point that we must be nearing sriracha overkill! Even Cooking Light got on board last month with a tasty sounding sandwich involving eggs, bacon, and sriracha sauce. As soon as I saw it I knew we would have to try that sandwich!

It was every bit as good as you'd imagine (so long as you like tasty food with a wee bit of heat)!

Egg Salad Sandwiches with Bacon and Sriracha

2 center-cut bacon slices
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
1 tablespoon plain fat-free yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such as Huy Fong)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
6 hard-cooked large eggs, chopped
2 cups arugula
8 whole-grain bread slices

Cook bacon in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Place bacon in a large bowl. Stir in onions and next 5 ingredients (through salt). Gently stir in eggs.

Arrange 1/2 cup arugula on each of 4 bread slices. Top each serving with 1/3 cup egg mixture and 1 bread slice.

Italian Meatball Sliders

It seems as if there are a gazillion types of sliders these day. Case in point - at the official opening of our new office last night the fancy dress waiter was bring around platters of pork belly, smoked apple sauce, and crunchy carrot sliders. The 12 I ate were OK. They were NOT sliders.

In my mind a slider is any sort of ground meat patty, grilled, and tossed on a wee bun. True purists would argue with this - a slider is nothing but ground beef. Others can fight that out.

These so-called Italian Meatball Sliders weren't what I would call sliders at all, however they were insanely delicious. So delicious that I, who usually gets stuck in semantics, am willing to let the foolish name go and say MAKE THESE!

Italian Meatball Sliders

1/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
12 ounces ground sirloin
1 large egg
1 garlic clove, minced
12 water rolls, halved lengthwise
Cooking spray
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut crosswise into 12 thin slices
1 cup lower-sodium marinara sauce (such as McCutcheon's)
12 fresh basil leaves (optional)

Preheat broiler to high. (NOTE - we ignored the meatball cooking steps. Instead I grilled 'em)

Gently combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, being careful not to overmix. Divide beef mixture into 24 equal portions; gently shape each portion into a meatball (do not pack). Arrange rolls, cut sides up, on a heavy baking sheet; broil 30 seconds or until very lightly toasted. Remove roll tops from pan.

Arrange meatballs on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 3 minutes or until browned. Turn meatballs over; broil 2 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Arrange 2 meatballs on bottom half of each roll; top each slider with 1 cheese slice. Broil 1 minute or until cheese melts.

Place marinara sauce in a microwave-safe dish; cover and microwave at HIGH for 1 1/2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring once. Place two sliders on each of 6 plates; spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce over each sandwich. Top each slider with 1 basil leaf, if desired, and 1 bun top.

Rosemary Roast Pork Sandwiches au Jus

One of the great joys in life is a Roast Pork Sandwich and Philadelphia is renown for having one of the best pork sandwiches in the country!  Unfortunately that doesn’t hold true for many of the restaurants that serve them!   I have had a lot of tasteless pork sandwiches where the owners just go through the motions because they feel they have it on their menu.

A few years ago when I was in Philadelphia for a conference I sought out the famous DiNics in the Reading Market Terminal to try one of their sandwiches. It was so good that I went back two more times to have one!

This version, submitted by a home cook to the folks at Cooking Light, was published back in 2004. No, it isn't as good as that roast pork sandwich you see above but then again the roast pork sandwich from DiNics has been recognized as the best sandwich in the US regularly for the past 15 years. It would be pretty hard to top that!

If you can't get to Philly then do try this version - you'll not be disappointed.

Rosemary Roast Pork Sandwiches au Jus

2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
1 (14-ounce) can less-sodium beef broth
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 tablespoon tomato paste
6 (2-ounce) French bread rolls
Lettuce leaves (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; add 1 teaspoon oil. Rub over pork. Let stand 15 minutes.

Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; cook 4 minutes, browning on all sides. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink). Let stand 5 minutes. Remove pork from pan; cut diagonally across grain into 12 slices.

Return pan to medium-high heat, and add broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add sherry and tomato paste; stir with a whisk. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes.

Cut rolls in half horizontally. Place 2 slices pork on bottom half of each roll; top with lettuce leaf, if desired. Cover with roll tops. Serve with jus.

Corned Beef Panini with Muenster Cheese and Wilted Cabbage

Just in case you didn't get enough corned beef and cabbage last month on St. Patrick's Day . . . we actually cooked a second corned beef JUST so we'd have enough leftovers to make these sandwiches.

Here's a quick and tasty way to get that beloved corned beef and cabbage combination (with melted Muenster as a surprise ingredient) in a toasty sandwich everyone will love.

This is a bit more work that the average panini but once you take thefirst bite you'll forget theeffort involved. Seriously, this was one of the best sandwiches we have eaten in a LONG while!

Corned Beef Panini with Muenster Cheese and Wilted Cabbage

1 cup thinly sliced green cabbage
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 tsp. table salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. yellow mustard seeds
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, softened
4 1/2-inch-thick slices rye bread with caraway seeds
1 Tbs. grainy mustard, more to taste
12 thin slices (6 oz.) corned beef
6 thin slices (3 oz.) Muenster cheese

Combine the cabbage, 1/4 cup water, the olive oil, salt, pepper, and mustard seeds in a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until the water comes to a boil. Turn the heat to medium-low, cover, and steam, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is very soft and completely wilted, 10 to 15 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cabbage to a bowl, leaving any excess water in the pot, and set aside.

Heat a panini or sandwich press according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Spread some butter on one side of each slice of bread. Put the bread, buttered sides down, on a cutting board. Spread mustard on two of the slices. Arrange the corned beef on top of the mustard. Spread an even layer of cabbage over the corned beef. Top with the cheese, then the remaining bread slices, buttered side up.

Put the sandwiches on the press, pull the top down, and cook until they are browned and crisp and the corned beef is warmed thorugh, 5 to 8 minutes, depending on how hot your machine is. Carefully remove from the press and serve immediately.