Thai-inspired Tacos

If you’ve got people coming over for the Super Bowl, these Thai-inspired tacos are perfect for a crowd. 

The brisket is the hard part:  it only takes 5 minutes to assemble but you have to cook it low and slow for almost 4 hours.  Once it’s done though, you shred it in a big pan, put out your condiments, and let your guests go to work making their own.  Simple.  And you serve it in the pan you made it in.  Even easier.

The fresh jalapenos and the Thai chili sauce give these some heat so be sure to have lots of chilled beverages on hand…like an icy cold Bud Light or three...  :)

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

For the brisket:
1  4 or 5 pound fresh beef brisket, trimmed of excess fat
2 onions, sliced
1 bottle beer (not dark)
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 cup beef broth
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
salt/black pepper
13x9x2 aluminum disposable baking pan
aluminum foil

small flour tortillas
Thai chili sauce (I use Tabasco brand, it's really good!)
fresh jalapeno peppers, chopped in wheels (you can remove seeds and membrane to lessen the heat.  I don't because I think I'm such an animal and I always regret it)
1 bag coleslaw mix (ideally:  shredded cabbage, carrots, and radishes)
sugar
apple cider vinegar
fresh limes, cut in wedges
fresh cilantro


To make the brisket:
Preheat oven to 320 degrees
Season brisket with salt and pepper.  Place in pan and cover with onion slices.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Combine beer and next 5 ingredients, pour over meat.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake for approx 3 1/2 - 4 hours until tender.  

While meat is cooking, mix 3 teaspoons sugar into 1 cup of apple cider vinegar.  Taste.  It should be sweet and sour.  Make it as sweet and sour as you want, this is the dressing for your coleslaw.  And make as much as you want, it's up to you.
Place coleslaw in bowl and pour dressing  over.  Season to taste with salt/pepper and mix.
Chop the rest of your ingredients.

spiiiicyyyyy...

When meat is done, uncover.  Drain some liquid but keep most because you don't want your meat to be dry. I also keep some of the onions.  It should shred easily with 2 forks.  Mix shredded meat with some of the onions and the juice.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Heat tortillas in microwave for 1 minute between 2 paper towels.  Bring all to table and serve.  Make sure to have the Thai chili sauce for dipping.

Italian Sausage Sandwiches with Sauteed Onions and Peppers

The name says it all:  Italian sausage sandwiches with sauteed peppers and onions.  I  start purring like a kitten just thinking about it...

First I sauté the peppers and onions with some garlic and tomatoes.  While that’s bubbling nicely, I grill the hot Italian sausages.  Then I put it all together on some toasted rolls, melt some cheese on top, and you know what you end up with?? Sandwich heaven.

There’s some Bowl Games coming up in a few weeks, my friends.  Fire up the Weber and get cookin’ :)

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

(serves 4)

4 hot Italian sausages

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small can diced tomatoes, drained

1 large onion, peeled and sliced in rings

3 bell peppers (I used red, yellow, and green), cleaned and sliced into strips

mozzarella cheese, grated

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

splash of white wine

salt/pepper/garlic powder

Italian sub rolls or 2 loaves Italian bread, split open

Melt butter and olive oil in deep frying pan.  Add onions, peppers, and garlic and saute until crisp tender and they have a little color.  Add tomatoes, sprinkle all with salt/pepper/garlic powder, add a splash of white wine, stir to get the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, and let simmer (low) covered, until all the flavors come together and the onions/peppers have softened enough to place on the sandwich.

In the meantime, grill sausages.

When sausages come off the grill, grill rolls.  It's nice to get them a little crispy so the tomatoes don't make them soggy.  When I made this, I used a loaf of Italian bread that my neighbor Tony made and gave to me that night--it had benne seeds and a golden egg wash on top, so good!

Assemble sandwiches:

Slice sausage in half lengthwise and place on roll, add peppers and onions mixture, and grated mozzarella on top.  If you need to, place sandwich under broiler (or in microwave for 10 seconds) and melt the cheese fully.  

Close roll and eat! 

ps:  these are so good with an ice cold Bud Light...or 3...lol

I Miss You Already, Carol Brady

Here’s how my stream of consciousness mind works:

Oh no, Florence Henderson died.  Sad!  Carol Brady.  Love the Brady’s!  Except Jan…blah.  Wait, so that means Carol Brady is dead too then.  But now she can be with Mike…that’s good.   Wait, is Shirley Partridge still alive?  Did she end up marrying Reuben Kincaid?  Is Keith still wearing his puka shell necklace?  Carol Martin Brady…Martin right?  How would Carol Brady even die, because that would be weird.  

And on and on it goes and then I start thinking: 

• ·        The Hawaiian tiki taboo idol got her
• ·         Maybe it was food poisoning from the porkchops and applesauce
•       She caught Mike with Bibi Galini
• ·        Too many stairs up to Greg’s bedroom in the attic
• ·        She had heart failure when she found out Peter played ball in the house
• ·        She was beside herself because she thought creepy cousin Oliver was never going  home
• ·        She wore herself out running around Kings Island looking for Mike’s plans that Jan left  in the log ride
• ·        Died of embarrassment having to tell the PTA that it was Greg who kidnapped  Coolidge High’s mascot, Raquel the Goat
• ·        She walked in on Alice and Sam the Butcher having sex

However it would have happened, it's sad.  

Isn't it weird that Carol and Shirley Partridge didn't even know each other?  I mean, they kinda live close and both their kids are in bands--the Partridge's and the Silver Platters must have crossed paths.  If they did they coulda  just asked Reuben to introduce Marcia to Davey Jones instead of trying to sneak into his hotel room.  I'm telling you, these are just some of the many things I wonder...  

Thanksgiving Night Turkey Sandwich

By the time I sit down to eat Thanksgiving dinner, I'm almost sick of the food.  I've been cooking (and tasting) it for 2 days, and I hardly put anything on my plate.  So by 9:30 at night, I'M STARVING.  In the sea of tinfoil and Tupperware that house the leftovers in my refrigerator, I find the turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce and make myself a sandwich.  And I make one again the next night, and the next.   

It's lots of mayonnaise on toasted Italian white bread, kosher salt and cracked pepper sprinkled over the turkey, and I eat it cold.  Yep, even the stuffing...cold.  And it's soooo good :) 

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

leftover:
turkey
stuffing
cranberry sauce

Italian white bread (I use Arnold)
mayonnaise
salt/pepper

Toast Bread.  Spread mayonnaise liberally on one side of each piece.  Add turkey, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then stuffing, then cranberry sauce.  Top with 2nd piece of toast, mayonnaise side down.

Heat up your other side dishes to go with it, like this:

with sweet potatoes

Open-Face Wedge Salad

Wedge salad.  Classic and timeless, and always spot-on.

It’s the steakhouse equivalent of a Brooks Brothers blue blazer, white on white Tretorns, and tortoise shell frames.  Except instead of serving it as a triangle of lettuce, I’ve fanned out the wedge for more surface area, so that all the goodness gets in between the leaves.  NOW, it’s a timeless classic with a  twist.  It just keeps getting better :)

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(WHAT YOU'LL NEED)

Depending on how big your head of lettuce is:  this serves 2, or 4 as a small salad

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise

1 head iceberg lettuce, washed and outer leaves/core removed -- chilled until ready to use

balsamic glaze

1 pound bacon, cooked and chopped into bite-sized pieces

blue cheese crumbles

blue cheese dressing (I use Marie's)

cracked pepper (optional)

NOTE: In the picture above, this is served alongside slices from a bone-in ribeye, but any grilled meat would be delicious

Cut lettuce into 2 or 4 portions.  Open and fan leaves a bit so that when you add the toppings, they fall in between.  Spoon blue cheese dressing over lettuce.  Then sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles, then tomatoes, then bacon.  Drizzle balsamic glaze lightly over all. Finish with cracked pepper.

Serve--

Ice Cream Sundaes

When I was little and my aunt Alida would babysit me, we would stay up late on summer nights and watch tv in our pajamas.  Shortly before 11:00, we would make our snack—a big bowl of vanilla ice cream  with scoops of creamy peanut butter, slices of banana, and chocolate sauce—and we’d get ready to watch reruns of “Soap”.

These were the best of times…sitting on the couch in the den late at night, freshly showered with wet hair that smelled like strawberry Suave, eating my sundae and laughing at the Tate’s and the Campbell’s and the ridiculous twists and turns of their lives in 1970’s Connecticut.

I’ve made that sundae here for you (I now add dry roasted peanuts), as well as 2 others that are favorites of mine.  On National Sundae Day tomorrow, make one—or all—of them, as well as some fun and long lasting memories of your own.  

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

In all of these sundaes, I use Breyers French Vanilla


sundae #1:
vanilla ice cream, creamy peanut butter, dry roasted peanuts, sliced banana, drizzled with chocolate fudge sauce

sundae #2:
vanilla ice cream with a pinch of course-ground black pepper sprinkled on top, and drizzled with your favorite Scotch (I used 10-year Glenmorangie, but I've also used Dewars...still good!)

sundae #3: (shown at top)
vanilla ice cream, assorted berries (I used blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries), drizzled with Crown Royal

#NationalSundaeDay
#FunMemories

Apple Crisp

I’ve been making this recipe since I was 10, pretty much the same way.  It’s simple and delicious, the way dessert should be. 

In the 8^th grade, I was given a Recipe Notebook to write down all my favorite meals.  This was the first recipe I wrote down.  I still have the book—the pages are frayed, yellowey, and stained, and I continue to refer to it to this day.   Testament to the fact that I started writing in it in 1983:  there’s also a recipe for “Flock of Seagulls Punch”.

...in my 8th grade handwriting

In honor of #NationalAppleBettyDay, please enjoy my Apple Crisp  :)

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

5 or 6 baking apples (I use Granny Smith)
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup butter (plus a little extra to grease the pan)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
cinnamon
Vanilla ice cream
8 inch square baking pan


Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease baking pan

Peel and core apples, then slice into slices like orange sections.  Place in pan.

In mixing bowl, add sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt.

Break egg into cup then add to sugar mixture.  Use fork to mix together until crumbly.  You'll think there's no way that one egg will make a crumbly mixture but just keep working at it.  By the time your wrist is sore, you'll have crumbs.

Sprinkle crumbs on apples

Melt butter, then drizzle over the crumb mixture in pan.  Sprinkle cinnamon all over the top.

Bake for 1 hour, uncovered.

When you take it out of the oven, it will look like this:

Spoon into bowls and serve with ice cream on top.  The ice cream is a MUST because it makes a creamy sauce as it melts that's both hot and cold...so good...