Brisket For The Holidays

 Whether it's Christmas or Hannukah , brisket is the meat to serve.It;s' tasty and can be prepared a number of different ways. Another plus is that it's great for sandwiches the day  after.

What is brisket exactly first of all?It's a large cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of the cow.It is one of the nine beef primal cuts and one of the four main barbecue meats.It's relatively a tough cut because the animal works for moving. You can easily buy it at your grocery store but you'll get a better cut at your butcher's. The best way to soften the meat is slow cooking which breaks down the meat's fibers.If you want to make it for one of the nights then think of cooking it with brown sugar, tomatoes and red wine vinegar for a tangy sweet and sour bite. Serve with carrots and potatoes to round it out. You can also cook the meat first and them create a sauce to pour over it (which also would be good for hot leftovers the next day). Can you oven cook it? Yes! Rub it first with salt and pepper (or any rub).Doing this will create a craggy, crunchy crust that's a crowd pleaser. Then it's cooking it low and slow over night in the oven for twelve to eighteen hours. Keep the temp at 250 degrees farenheit.if it higher it will dry out the brisket and toughen it.Tent it with tinfoil for a tender bite and then leave it uncovered for the last three hours.

Brisket makes a wonderful alternative to ham and turkey for Christmas. Shake it up some by first rubbing it with a mix of garlic, onion and chili powders blended with Cajun seasoning and a teaspoon of liquid smoke.The spices are rubbed on the lean side of the flank and then sprinkle on the liquid smoke. Tightly wrap the brisket in Saran wrap and refrigerate overnight.  While this it chilling make the sauce. Take half an onion and two to three garlic cloves and mix with A1 steak sauce, liquid smoke and Worcester sauce. Add thyme, Cajun spices and cayenne pepper for more spice. This sauce is poured over th e meat and everything is cooked for  six hours.  (You will have to get up super early on Christmas morning if you want it done by one PM) save the pan drippings and cook for ten minutes in a sauce pan over a low flame.  What to serve with this.Roasted sweet potatoes would be good, especially if you serve it with a whipped cinnamon honey butter. Another tasty side is a tangy green bean salad, a change up from the traditional casserole.

Brisket is perfect for either Hannukah or Christmas.The cut is perfect for a family dinner or party. Try it at your holiday gatherings.

Preserve Us!!

It's time to think about a cost effective way  to eat. There's no better way than looking to how our grandparetns and great grandparents found ways to eat cheaply. It comes in the form of preserving and smoking foods. 

Preserving foods can be done. Many home chefs have qualms because they afraid - and rightfully so - about salmonella and botulism. However canning done right can be a great help. You can not only store the best of harvest but also keep feeding from it until the holidays. You will need a canning pot - although any large lobster pot will do - along with canning jars and lids.  The last can come in all shapes and sizes. There are two kids of lids a one piece or a two piece lid or band combination. There are also special tools you'll need to get too. All are stainless steel and they range from a canning funnel to a magnetic lid lifter and bubble remover along with a stainless steel ladle, tongs and canning jar lifter (the jars will be red hot after the preserves are poured into them.Most veggies can be canned as most fruits too. However it;s the canned veggies that will be used for sides  - even for the holidays. Canned produce also make for nice gifts for the holidays especially for those family who are food challenged.Think of them when you can so you can increase the amount of fruits and veggies used.

Another way of preserving food is smoking meats.A perfectly smoked and wrapped piece of meat can last for three months in the freezer.Smoked meat can last four days in the fridge. Beef and pork are the two most popular meats that are smoked.One of the most is a beef brisket which can be flavored a variety of ways. You can try it with garlic Texas style or one with an onion powder sea salt and freshly ground pepper rub. Smoked pork paired with apple is a great October dish.Try one that's been bene first rubbed with olive oil then spritzed with apple juice and apple cider vinegar.Keep spritzing the meat with this as it's smoking.It's usually smoked for two hours at 225 degrees Farenheit. Smoked turkey breast is another great meat that can be smoked and frozen.Keep in mind that it does need to be thawed out for at least three days ( a week is the best). Unlike with roasted turkey, you don;t have to brine it,Just rub either olive oil or butter on it for a nice crispy skin.Season it with salt and pepper. How to thaw out smoked meats?  By letting soak in ice water for two to three hours , Refresh the water once.

Preserving and smoking food is a good way to prepare for the upcoming fall. You can save a ton of money this way. It;'s a great way to pinch pennies while stille enjoying good food.

They Meet

They do meet💘💘💘💘
It's a holiday coupling made in heaven! Vanilla mousse and pan d'oro.

The perfect Christmas match!

I hope everyone has holiday love like this!

Merriest of  holidays!!!

The Cookbook Issue

The holidays will be here sooner than you think. One of the nicest gifts you can get any dedicated home chef is recipe book. Luckily, the New York Times Food section has just put out its' cookbook issue with dozens of choices.There may even be some you'd want as a birthday or Christmas gift.

Four  writers were featured in this informative issue.One was Nik Sharma who has just come out with Season, Big Flavors, Beautiful Food. which tells of his journey from his birthplace of Indian to Oakland, California. Mayukh Sen, a James Beard winner of food writing, interviewed this creator of the food blog, A Brown Table. This is a must have for those who like the variety of different foods from all over India and celebrating his Goa and Utar Pradesh heritages. He also throws in other cuisines  as we see in his Bombay frittata, a rich creation of eggs, creme fraiche turmeric and garem masala. Tejal Rao, a Food section regular contributor, interviewed one chef , one food website editor, and one cookbook writer, about cooking for one. Chef Anita Lo, author of Solo: A Modern Cookbook for a party of One, Erik Kim, editor at Food52 which should be classified as a cookbook and Klancy Miller,creator of Cooking Solo: The Fun Of Cooking For Yourself. Usually a cookbook for singles is chock full of sad recipes. All three have dishes full of lush ingredients such as duck confit and warmed almonds. Chef Lo's also recommends using only half the veggies and save the other halves for another recipe.Also leftovers can be used over in such exciting dishes as Chef Lo's cauliflower chaat, ripe with garlic and cilantro.

The other cookbooks are just as interesting and informative.There's a semi-vegetarian one called Almonds, Anchovies and Panchetta; A Vegetarian Cookbook Kind Of  by Cal Peternell, chef of the famed Chez Panisse.It even has dad jokes and weed references along with such cool recipes as egg herb anchovy toasts and eggplant al mattone with scallions and spicy peanut sauce. The popular eatery, Los Angeles' Bestia has come out with a cookbook along with the Brooklyn hipster hangout, Emily. Middle Eastern cooking is red hot right now. For those wanting to learn about it consider buying, Najinieh Batmanglij's Cooking in Iran: Regional Recipes and Kitchen Secrets which feature cooking with such ingredients as smoked rice and lemony barberries and Isreal Soul, Easy , Essential and Delicious by the highly successful Zahav  authors, Michael Solomov and Steven Cook, There's even a five minute hummus made with canned chickpeas and a lot of tahini sauce. Craziness reigns in Joe Beef; Surviving The Apocalypse: Another Cookbook of Sorts. from Frederick Morin and David McMillan. The book is full of odd and brilliant recipes from their Montreal restaurant of the same name. Bakers will love Sister Pie: The Recipes and Stories of a Big-Hearted Bakery in Detroit, by baker,Lisa Ludvinski which has such unique recipes as rhubarb blondies and peanut butter- smoked paprika cookies.

There are many cookbooks coming out right in time for gift giving. Look through the  New York Times Food section  for ideas. You many even see some for yourself.

Running A Classic

Le Bernardin is one of Manhattan's culinary landmarks. It literally has put New York city on the radar of serious critics and food lovers. One woman is behind its' success Maguy le Coze. Her life has been the industry Her life is the restaurant.

Alan Richman, food writer for GQ Magazine conducted the interview with Mlle. Le Coze for today's New York Times Food section. Hers is a story of duty and the familiar. She was the daughter of hotel owners in Port Navalo,Brittany , France and was waiting tables in their restaurant at the age of twelve.Her parents wanted her to take the route they did. Marry a chef, tend to his customers, be the face of the restaurant and don't look any further than the front door. That was not Mlle. Le Coze. She came of age in the militant, swinging Sixties of France.She understood their wants but realized it was not for her. She and her brother, Gilbert,  was eighteen months younger,left for Paris , He worked in the City Of Lights as did she, but modeling for the fashion houses along with working for a hairdresser.. Summers were still spent in Brittany, helping their parents. Their restaurant began in 1972  in Paris.with Gilbert adopting Japanese ways of cooking seafood. It was not an easy time. They coasted after their first good review. A second review, a disaster according to her, destroyed them , The restaurant closed after they forgot to pay taxes and the government stepped in.

Gilbert redid the menu and reopened the eatery. Thankfully there was a good review from the renowned chef, Michel Guerard, and it revived Le Berardin, named for a song their father used to sing to them.Gilbert was smarter this time. They made money with Maguy the showpiece. The money allowed her to, take  lark holidays every summer in St. Tropez. It was at this time the restaurant moved to the chicer neighborhood around the Eiffel Tower. Fascinated by New York, they branched out to Manhattan in 1984.It would not be without sadness. Gilbert died of a heart attack at age forty-nine.It still pains her to talk about it. Yet ,Le Bernardin continues to this day. in the city. The main one was sold. The chef and co-owner, Eric Ripert, still follows the basic seafood menu that Gilbert created in the early Seventies.It's mega expensive but well worth it. The vegetable tasting menu is $172 dollars. for a select range of vegetables in sauce.The chef's tasting menu is close to four hundred dollars (!) but has such dishes as caviar along with langoustime with a balsamic glaze.  Le Bernardin hasn't escaped the MeToo movement. There have been lawsuits by former workers about sexual harassment. Even one worker has accused her of fat shaming her after giving birth. Mlle. Le Coze denies it. She is frank and sensible but not relentless with her staff. She is simply a restaurant owner.

Le Bernardin will be around for a while as will Mlle. le Coze. She is  the backbone of this New York classic.She brings joi de 'vivre to the city's restaurant world.

One Day Can Last A Year

Patriot's Day is a time not only of remembrance but of  coming together. In these divided times we need to be closer now more than ever. It's time to open our hearts ad our kitchens.

One of the best ways to keep up  communal unity and harmony  is to open our doors and let our neighbors come for a meal.It's the best way of getting to know people, their backgrounds, and  customs.,It's also a good time to expand palates and cookbooks. Many have experienced ethnic and even American foods second hand usually in restaurants and fast food joints. This is a chance to enjoy homemade kim chi, or samosas, apple pie and hamburgers made by home chefs.It's a chance for kids to also taste different food from different countries for the first time. It teaches them about their friends's ancestries along with bonding them even closer. An even better idea is holding a block party any time of the year (even winter when there is always a combination of different holidays from different beliefs). Everyone can contribute and make the best of their repertoire. Celebrate the event with a cookbook featuring everyone's  recipes and their pictures. A short description of each recipe , why it's made and what it means to the families can also be included.

Another way to unite a neighborhood is taking care of each other. Don't think twice about inviting elderly neighbors over for a Saturday night supper or a Sunday roast. They'd appreciate an old fashioned home cooked meal.Include their favorite dishes too and make sure that they have a plate of leftovers to take home. It's also a good time for the kids to learn history by asking a generation who may have lived through the Second World War and the Korean War. Elderly neighbors can also be invited over for a weekday lunch and possibly a card game if everyone has the time.Also don';t hesitate to bake a cake for their birthday as well as sharing your garden's late summer harvest with them.Remember also , those who may be in need too. Donate your bumper produce to the local food pantry along with helping out at soup kitchens. Do this throughout the year not just on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Bring the kids too because they need to acquire a sense of empathy towards those less fortunate.

This is only one day but it can be extended to last throughout the year. Be inclusive when you cook. Open your heart and garden and hearth to everyone . It's a great way of uniting people.

Getting Gizmoed Up

With Thanksgiving a scant two weeks away and Christmas and Hanukkah close on its' heels it's time to get your kitchen ready for the feasts and frenzies ahead.What helps are the little things. those kitchen gadgets and gizmos that every cook needs for creating the perfect meal. Now is the time to try out the old and get new if you have to.

Thanksgiving calls for all sorts of tricked put equipment. One necessary is a meat thermometer. This will be your best friend on Thanksgiving Day because it will tell you exactly how hot your bird is and when you should take it out of the oven. Also save it for Christmas hams and New Year's carving boards. Another necessary must have are turkey lifters. These are fork like tongs that make hauling the bird from the pan to the platter easier. If you haven't already buy yourself a good kitchen timer. You can get these at everyplace from Target and K-Mart to Williams and Sonoma to Bed Bath and Beyond. They are important in no just timing baked goods but also vegetables and sauces.

Remember that baking also requires a fair amount of helpful gizmos. Thanks to silicon, there are also sorts of cool baking bans that give evenly baked cakes in fun holiday shapes. Also have silicon spatulas too because these are easy to work with and also to clean.I also find that the small thing s like those stones used for pie baking come in handing in creating the perfect pumpkin or pecan pie. One big gadget muss is a combo cookie press and decorator. This helps in creating beautiful spritzes , wreathes and trees along with giving cakes and cookies a professionally done frosting.

With the holidays around the corner it's time to bring out the gizmos. These are handy and important despite their small size . They make the holiday kitchen a much easier and much more fun place to be.

Eat This Not That - The Healthy Foodie's BIble

There is a great book out there, perfect for foodies and just plain folk watching their weight. It;s called Eat This Not That (ROdale Publishing), written by Men's Health magazine writer David Zinczenko and Matt Gould. This is an excellent little book to keep around if you're watching your weight but don;t like to give up taste or even foodie favorites.

This book is my favorite because it lists what national brands and menus to eat and to avoid. It;s also great at explaining what different food are and what have the highest calories. it let's you go to your favorite places like Taco Bell or Krispy Kreme and order some goodies, but not the high in calories or rich in sodium treats. The books lists every fast food joint from A to Z and what's their highest and lowest calories dishes. Eat This , Not That is also the perfect take along when going grocery shopping. It has the buys and don't buys of national brands. You can create a healthy low calories, breakfast lunch or dinner by following the pictorial guides.

Another aspect that I loved is the holiday guide. It tells you what's a better Christmas dinner and what kind of Halloween and Easter candies to snack on and to ignore. It also has Valentine's Day with a guide of healthy chocolates. Again these have marvelous pictorials that imprint what's good and what's bad on your brain. I also like it when the books explains the different ethnic cuisines and what's the healthiest and lowest calories dishes and desserts on the menu. It's a big help if you frequently eat out.

If you love food, then Eat This Not That for you. You can still love your favorite cuisines or treats but can sub in better and healthier ones. You'll continue being a foodie but a slimmer one

Holiday Plans

Now that it's December first , it's time to start thinking about how to plan out this busy , food filled month. Remember to start writing down your game plans. After all this will be a hectic four weeks. There's holiday shopping along with [present wrapping, parties to go to and parties to throw. Toss in a day spent on baking and you're well stretched.

The first thing to do is think about what kind of meals you want to have for the big holiday. Do you want the traditional ham (if you're German) or turkey? Are you going to be celebrating Christmas Eve with thirteen kinds of fish (like the Neapolitans of Southern Italy) or will it be Hanukkah with latkes and sour cream? Also will these celebrations include friends and family? The immediate family? Coworkers and boss? In the meantime how do you feed yourself and your family good food that's healthy yet quick to make?

Once you have that conundrum worked out, then it's time to arrange shopping trips. Of course, buy fresh meats ,fruits and veggies the day of the party or at the very soonest the day before. Stock up on holiday themed napkins, plates and utensils along with table decorations when your stores have big sales. If you have an extra freezer or a pantry , buy canned goods that you can easily heat up. Also stock up on frozen hors d"ouevres because this is the season when they'll go quick.

If you're having your parties and dinners catered, now is the time to contact the caterers. Sit down with them and explain what you want and when. It's also a good time to go over to your local liquor store and take a look at their various wines and champagnes. If there are sales there , then buy one or two cases. Alcohol will keep and it's better to be overstocked than under any day. Pot luck dinners require planning as well. After all you don't want five trays of baked ziti and no Swedish meatballs. Talk with your guests and ask what they want to bring.Avoid duplicates and assign courses to them. (such as appetizers, salads, main meal, desserts, etc).


This is the time to start mapping out your holiday cooking battle plans. Make sure everything is done to the letter. It'll make for easier kitchen time and memorable feasts.