Corned Beef Two Ways for St. Patty's Day

For St. Patty's Day we're skipping the traditional corned beef and cabbage and going straight to Reubens. A good Reuben sandwich is hard to beat. I tried to find a little history, but no one seemed to have a definitive answer. It probably happened just as our Reubens do: left over corned beef with added ingredients that naturally compliment the meat flavor. Corned beef and cabbage have always been a good pairing, but corned beef and sauerkraut: priceless. Add good bread, I prefer pumpernickel instead of rye, Russian dressing and swiss cheese, plus grilling the sandwich with butter and you have the perfect Reuben. Serve your Reuben with dill pickles and Leek and Potato Gratin for a full meal.

If you want the traditional meal, begin exactly the same way—with a good corned beef brisket. I rinse the meat and cut off the excess fat cap. My brisket weighed 3 lbs. I put it in my heavy stock pot, covered it with beef broth, added the spice packet and a quartered onion and simmered on low for 2 ½ to 3 hours. For sandwiches, remove the brisket from the broth and let it rest for fifteen or twenty minutes before slicing. Thinly slice, sprinkle with a little cooking broth and cover until ready to make the sandwiches.

If you're going the traditional route, I usually cook the meat a little longer, and add halved red potatoes, carrot pieces and cabbage during the last hour of cooking. Either way, corned beef is a great way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day around the table.

Leek and Potato Gratin

(I saw this recipe in the New York Times, and then changed, using the ingredients I had on hand.)

3 leeks, remove the tops and discard

6 T butter, divided

2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

Salt and Pepper

1 cup sour cream

One-fourth cup milk or cream

One-half teaspoon dried thyme, or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

One and one-half cups shredded cheese of choice (cheddar, gruyere, asiago, parmesan)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Slice leeks open lengthwise and rinse under running water. Dry with paper towel.

Cut into quarter inch rings.

Add 2 tablespoons butter to saute pan over medium heat.

Saute leeks in butter until softened.

Salt and pepper potato slices, add about a tablespoon of melted butter and mix potatoes well with hands, coating and separating slices.

Butter casserole dish.

Layer potatoes into dish and cover with leeks.

Heat sour cream, milk, remaining butter and thyme in pan that held leeks. When warm, add cheese, stirring until cheese combines with cream. Taste for salt and pepper.

Pour mixture on top of leeks.

Cover casserole with foil and bake for one hour, or until potatoes are tender.

Reuben Sandwiches

3 lb. Corned beef brisket with spice packet

2 quarts beef broth (or enough to cover brisket)

1 onion, quartered

Russian Dressing*

Prepared Sauerkraut (I used Kroger brand refrigerated section)

Spicy Brown Mustard

2 lb. Swiss cheese sandwich slices

1 stick butter, melted

1 loaf Rye bread (I prefer marbled rye or pumpernickel), sliced

Dill pickles

Cook brisket in beef broth with added spice packet and onion for about 3 hours, on low heat at a slow simmer, slightly covered.

Remove brisket and tent with foil, letting it rest until ready to slice.

Heat heavy iron skillet or grill pan. Butter outside of both pieces of bread for one sandwich. Spread Russian dressing thinly on inside of each piece of bread. Add a little spicy mustard to inside of slice.

Build sandwich beginning with bottom slice of bread, swiss cheese, thin layer of sauerkraut, several slices of corned beef, another slice of cheese and then the top of the sandwich.

Grill on each side until bread is toasted, and cheese is melted.

Serve with dill pickles.

*Russian Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

One-fourth cup chili sauce

1 shallot, finely minced

2 T sweet pickle relish

1 T Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp. Prepared horseradish

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to use.

Turkey--More than the main event!

The Main Ingredient that Keeps on Giving!

With the Thanksgiving Feast fast approaching, I cook with left-overs in mind, especially when there's lots of company and many more meals to come. Extra turkey for later is almost more important to me than the warm slices that will nestle against the dressing and cranberry sauce.

I cook an extra turkey breast to assure that everyone gets a turkey sandwich or two. That's one time I highly recommend white bread (specifically Pepperidge Farm House White): turkey, mayo (Dukes of course), lettuce and plenty of salt and pepper on really fresh white bread. I'm already there!

I'm a big turkey fan. I learned to do the carving long before I was actually doing the cooking. I can admit now that it was a selfish gesture. No one seemed very interested. We didn't do the dramatic carving at the table, so while Mama whipped the potatoes and kept the rolls from getting too brown on top, I sliced my way through the bird, which meant that I could also steal the very best bites of crispy skin that dislodged from the meat and would never make it to the table anyway! My very favorite part of the turkey!

I learned a lesson from those carving days. Now I want everyone to enjoy their favorite bite, so while the turkey rests, waiting to make its way to the table via carving board, I encourage those who are so inclined to snitch a little bite. It's our Thanksgiving 'amuse-bouche'!

I also take care of the entire bird while carving, right down to cleaning the bones. The tiny little pieces that fall apart or cling to a bone get stored in a ziplock bag and refrigerated. When the feast is over, I store the sandwich pieces in a separate ziplock, and all the extra little pieces left on the platter join their friends in the scrap bag. These little scraps are going to turn into two of my favorite post-feast turkey meals: Curried Holiday Turkey Salad and Turkey and Corn Chowder. Both of these recipes have such nice flavors, and are distinctly different from their origin. You don't really notice that you're eating leftovers.

There's no better place to count our blessings than around the Thanksgiving table. May yours be especially thankful and delicious this year.

Turkey and Corn Chowder

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

4 slices of lean bacon, diced

1 sweet onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, diced

1 T butter

2-3 cups cooked turkey, diced (or chicken)

1 small can green chilies

1 teaspoon cumin (or more, to taste)

1 T hot sauce

One-half tsp. Salt

2 (~15oz.) cans white and yellow corn, drained (or fresh or frozen corn)

32 oz. chicken broth

2 cups half and half

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or your choice of a flavorful melting cheese)

Chopped fresh cilantro to garnish

Lime slices to garnish

Extra shredded cheese to garnish

Extra hot sauce to garnish

Pour olive oil into soup pot over medium heat. Add diced bacon and cook for a couple of minutes, then add diced onion and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring. Add garlic and cook for one more minute. Now add butter, and when melted add diced turkey and stir to combine. Next add green chilies, cumin, hot sauce and salt, along with corn and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and add half and half. Next, add cheese, and stir until melted and combined. Taste and adjust for salt and hotness.

Serve with chopped cilantro, lime slices, extra cheese and hot sauce as garnish.

The garnishes add great 'kicks' of flavor!

Curried Holiday Turkey Salad

Tip: for a really pretty presentation, cut the ends from croissants and fill with turkey salad. They look like little cornucopias.

1 cup dried cranberries

One-third cup orange juice (or wine, or apple juice)

7-8 cups chopped cooked turkey (light and dark meat)

1 cup quartered seedless grapes

1 cup toasted pecan halves, roughly chopped (want big pieces)--

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 T cider vinegar

2 T sugar

1 tsp. Salt

2 tsp. Curry powder

1 cup mayonnaise

Add dried cranberries and orange juice to small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stir, remove from heat and let the cranberries plump while making the rest of the salad.

Add chopped turkey, grapes, pecans and celery to large mixing bowl. Gently toss to combine.

Whisk together vinegar, sugar, salt and curry powder. Then add to mayonnaise and thoroughly combine. Add more salt or curry to taste.

Pour dressing over turkey mixture.

Drain cranberries and add to mixture. Gently fold together until everything is well combined.

Store in refrigerator.

Every Day is Burger Grilling Day!

In 2002 I entered a burger contest online. I'd never cooked the burger, it was a whim...I was online, something caught my eye and a few clicks later I was typing away. A few weeks later there was a lady calling to inform me that I was a finalist in the Build a Better Burger Contest. I was praying at that moment that I had saved a copy of my entry...and later that evening, I was praying that the ingredients would actually make a patty that could be grilled.

Well, it all worked out, and after one of the best weekends I've ever spent in my life, my sister and I came home with the 'bacon'--enough money to take us to Italy for some cooking lessons and what led to our wonderful friends in Tuscany--Tuttie-A-Tavola-- www.tutti-a-tavola.com/ ..the Tuscan Mamas.

I cooked that hamburger many, many, many times in the past few years...everybody wanted to taste it. I cooked it until I got tired of cooking it--and of all the times I cooked it, I don't remember ever actually sitting down and enjoying one myself--until a few nights ago.

I happened across some nice looking veal they were trying to give away at the grocery store, and thought, 'What the heck.'

Long story short, it's a darn good burger...maybe even better than I remembered...or maybe it was the beautiful, fall evening...the smell of burgers grilling in the air... It was so juicy...so flavorful...

Try it for yourself...you be the judge!

Vitello Focaccia (12 servings)

¾ cup olive oil

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 T Dijon mustard

3 T mixed Italian herbs, dried

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

24 medium tomato slices

24 medium fresh basil leaves

12 slices fresh mozzarella

1 medium sweet yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 T olive oil

¼ lb. hard salami, cubed

¼ lb. Proscuitto, sliced

1-cup Parmesan cheese, grated

¼ cup fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped

3 lbs. ground veal

2 eggs, beaten

¼ cup dry white wine

Italian flat bread cut into 12 bun sized pieces, and sliced open

½ stick butter, melted

Whisk together the oil, vinegar and mustard. Add herbs and pepper and mix. Pour over tomatoes, basil and mozzarella and set aside.

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil in small iron skillet on heated grill. Set aside.

Process salami, proscuitto, Parmesan and parsley in food processor just until coarsely ground.

Add onion mixture and salami mixture to ground veal. Add eggs and wine and mix gently with hands to combine. Form into 12 patties, handling as little as possible. (Refrigerate patties until ready to grill.)

Cook on medium grill for 3 minutes on each side, turning only once. Remove from heat and let rest while grilling bread. Butter cut sides of bread and grill, buttered side down until toasted.

Place a veal patty on bottom piece of flat bread. Remove tomatoes, basil and mozzarella from dressing. Place 2 slices tomato, 2 basil leaves and a slice of mozzarella on each patty. Cover with top piece of flat bread…buon appettito!

Kicked Up Italian Burgers

Italian Burgers

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1 sweet vidalia onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

One-half cup white wine

4 oz. Pepperoni, chopped

1 T dried Italian herbs

One-fourth cup chopped fresh parsley

2 lbs. ground round (85% lean)

One-half lb. Sweet Italian sausage

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Pepper

3 T melted butter

8 slices provolone cheese

8 Kaiser rolls

Garnish with whole grain mustard, romaine lettuce, sliced Roma tomatoes, and thin slices red onion.

Add olive oil to medium sized sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté chopped onions for 4-5 minutes or until translucent and tender. Add garlic and cook for another minute, then the wine, stirring occasionally until completely reduced. Finally, add pepperoni, Italian herbs and chopped parsley, stir to combine, remove from heat and cool.

Meanwhile, with two forks combine ground round, Italian sausage, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. When onion mixture is cooled, add to meat, and with forks, gently mix.

Divide into eight hamburger patties. Refrigerate until ready to grill.

Prepare grill for medium direct heat. Place patties on grill and brush top side with melted butter. Cook for 3-4 minutes, turn and brush this side with butter. Continue to cook for 3-4 more minutes, or until desired doneness.

Brush cut sides of buns with remaining butter.

Remove burgers from grill, top with provolone cheese, cover and let rest for a few minutes while you grill the cut sides of the buns (1-2 minutes).

Remove buns from grill and add a burgers to each bun.

Dress with whole grain mustard, romaine lettuce, sliced Roma tomatoes, and thin slices of red onion.

Skirt Steak on Grilled Flatbread with Corn and Bean Salsa

(6 servings)

One and one-half lb. Skirt steak (may substitute flank steak)

Rub:

1 tsp. Cumin

One-half tsp. Salt

One-half tsp. Pepper

Mix cumin, salt and pepper. Sprinkle evenly over back and front sides and rub into meat.

Marinade:

1 T dried Italian herbs

2 T chopped fresh cilantro

Zest and juice from one lime

2 T Worcestershire sauce

One-half tsp. Salt

One-half tsp. Pepper

1 tsp. Cumin

3 T extra virgin olive oil

Mix marinade ingredients. Place rubbed skirt steak in ziplock bag, pour in marinade, turn to coat meat. Seal bag and place in refrigerator for 4 hours, or overnight.

Remove meat from marinade, and grill over medium heat for 2-3 minutes per side (medium rare), or to desired doneness. Place meat on platter and cover until cooled. Slice thinly across the grain. Place meat in another ziplock bag and pour any juices from platter over meat. Refrigerate if not using right away (can be made the day before or earlier in the day).

Corn and Bean Salsa

1 (15oz.) can black beans

1 (15 oz.) can sweet corn kernels

One-half cup chopped red onion

2 T chopped fresh cilantro

Zest and juice of one lime

One-half tsp. Salt, pepper and cumin

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 T extra virgin olive oil

Rinse and drain beans and corn. Add onions. Mix cilantro, lime zest and juice, salt, pepper, cumin, Worcestershire sauce and olive oil. Combine with beans, corn and onions in ziplock bag. Refrigerate if not using right away.

Sandwich:

6 White flour pita flatbreads

1 T extra virgin olive oil

Whole grain mustard

Mixed baby lettuce

3 Italian tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Brush both sides of each flatbread lightly with olive oil. Grill on both sides, or brown in pan over medium heat on stove.

Wrap grilled flatbread in foil and set aside until ready to use.

To make sandwiches spread one side of each flatbread with mustard. Add lettuce, tomato slices, beef, cheese, and a couple of tablespoons of Corn and Bean Salsa. Fold bread, and enjoy!