Irish Dinner, French Dessert

On Tuesday I made the traditional Irish meal of Corned Beef and Cabbage. Normally, it's something that I reserve for special occasions or weekends when I have a lot of time to make an awesome meal, but every now and then I think it is good to celebrate Tuesday. Wouldn't you agree that Tuesday is an underrated day of the week? :) So I invited my sister over and we had a Tuesday party with my husband and kids. Everyone loved it! I am incredibly blessed to have kids that will eat anything I put in front of them.

Although this process takes a LOOOONG time, it is actually a fairly simple meal to make and it tastes like you worked your butt off on it all day. It is one of those meals that you can put all the ingredients together and forget about it for about 4 hours.

You start with a corned beef. You can get them at pretty much any grocery store. I get mine at WinCo and I prefer the St. Helen's brand. Believe it or not, it makes all the difference in the flavor and the consistency. It comes with a packet of seasonings in the package with the meat. That packet is one of the most important parts, don't lose it!!! When you take it out of the package dry the meat with paper towels. This helps the meat cook evenly and seals in the natural flavors of the meat. Then you mix all the ingredients in the pan and pretty much just let it go.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

2 ½ lbs corned beef brisket

½ c. rice wine vinegar

½ c red wine

2 Tbsp beef base

¼ to ½ c water

5 red potatoes, halved

1-2 heads cabbage, quartered

½ to 1 pound baby carrots

In a large stockpot, add brisket, vinegar, red wine, beef base and water. Bring to a boil and cover. Reduce to medium heat and cook 4-5 hours until meat is tender. An hour before meat is done, place potatoes and carrots in boiling water and cook until tender. Place cabbage in the pot with the corned beef so the cabbage will absorb the flavor of the yummy brine. When meat is ready it should fall apart easily.

Dijon Cream Sauce

½ onion, finely chopped

1 c heavy cream

¼ clove garlic, minced

1 c Dijon mustard

½ tsp vegetable oil

1 Tbsp white wine

In a large sauté pan, sauté onions and garlic with vegetable oil until onions are translucent. Deglaze pan with white wine, then add cream and mustard. Stir until mixed well. Simmer until heated throughout. Serve on the side, to dip corned beef in.

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After enjoying dinner, I made a dessert that has now changed my life! Before Tuesday, I thought that Creme Brulee was something that I could only get in a restaurant. If I had known how incredibly easy it was to make, I probably would have made it every night.

Creme Brulee

Ingredients

• 4 cups Heavy Cream
• 1 whole Vanilla Bean OR 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract OR 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Paste
• 10 whole Egg Yolks
• ¾ cups Sugar
• 6 Tablespoons Superfine (Baker's) Sugar

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pour the cream into the saucepan. Add vanilla (whichever product you’re using) and simmer over medium-low heat.

Whip egg yolks with the sugar until pale yellow and thick.

Strain cream using a fine mesh strainer. (This step is not necessary if you use vanilla extract)

Whip yolks while you very slowly drizzle in 1 cup of warm cream. Go slowly so as not to cook the eggs! Once the first cup is added, you can add the rest of the cream slowly.

Place ramekins onto a rimmed baking sheet. Pour custard mixture into ramekins. Pour water in bottom of baking sheet until it comes halfway up the ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes, or until just set. Do not allow to get brown.

Cool ramekins on countertop, then chill for at least 2-3 hours, covered in plastic wrap.

To serve, sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over each ramekin of custard. Use a kitchen torch to quickly (but carefully) brown the sugar. There should be a thin, crisp surface of burned sugar on the top.

Serve immediately!

TEASER!!! Coming tomorrow!

I am making a meal tomorrow that I am so excited to share with you! For the main course I am preparing a traditional Irish Corned Beef with cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. I will also be making homemade breadsticks. Then for dessert, I will be making Creme Brulee. I have never made the creme brulee before, so I cannot wait to try it. Check in tomorrow night or Wednesday to see my recipes and more about my adventure.

Orange Juice Shrimp

I don't know how I never thought of this before... Orange juice and shrimp?! What a fabulous idea! This was the perfect meal for a nice summery evening. I paired it with some asian stir fried vegetables and it was perfect.

I made this dish for the whole family again, but this time, I did it without the help of my husband who is normally my cooking assistant. He was at his 2 week Annual Training for the National Guard, so my mom got some good uninterrupted time with my newborn while I cooked this time.

I, of course, have included the recipe for the shrimp, but I would also like to tell you how I made the vegetables because it was ridiculously easy and soooo yummy. I used asparagus and snow peas and sliced carrots and mushrooms. Onions and peppers would have also been yummy but alas, I had none (which is not something that happens often).

First, you must prepare the asparagus. It is not at all complicated, but you must do it right, or else you get a slightly nasty result. To prepare it, you must remove the woody, fibrous ends of the stalk. Some people just cut the ends off, but I was taught that you are supposed to bend the stalks and they will naturally break where they are good to eat. Then I sauteed them in a pan with a little bit of sesame oil (a necessity if you are planning on doing any sort of asian cooking). Then I added all of the other vegetables and a bottle of stir fry sauce. I allowed them to simmer on medium for about ten minutes and it was ready to serve. Make up some rice and this dinner couldn't be any more perfect! It was nice and light. You never want something too heavy on a hot summer day.

Garlic Orange Chicken

Ingredients

• 24 pieces (26-30 Per Pound) Deveined Shrimp
• 2 cloves (to 4 Cloves) Garlic
• Fresh grated Ginger
  
• 1 tsp Cayenne
• 2 Tbsp McCormick Garlic and Bell Pepper seasoning
  
• ¾ cups Orange Juice
• 3 Tablespoons Salted Butter, Divided

Preparation Instructions

Thaw and peel the shrimp. Thaw them by running them under cold water for a few minutes. Dry the peeled shrimp by draining them on a paper towel or two.

Thinly slice your garlic cloves. Add the garlic to ¾ cup of orange juice. Use a nice high quality orange juice. Measure out and add all of the spices to the orange juice as well. Grate ginger into mixture according to taste.

In a large skillet over high heat melt 2 tablespoons butter. Once butter has melted add your shrimp. Cook them for about 30-60 seconds and begin flipping them over starting with the ones you placed in the pan first so they don’t get overdone. Cook for another 30-60 seconds. Remove the cooked shrimp from the pan, leaving the heat on high.

Once the butter and drippings begin to smoke ever so slightly add the spicy orange garlic mixture to the pan and give it a good stir. Add the last tablespoon of butter to the sauce and after a few minutes of cooking and occasional stirring your sauce should be slightly thicker.

Return the shrimp to the pan and give them a nice toss to coat them in the sauce. Allow an intermingling of souls to take place for just a few seconds and then it’s time for the fireworks.

Week One with a New Baby

So, as expected the first week after having a baby is a little difficult as far as meals go. There were only so many times that our boys wanted to hear the words "corn dog" and "dinosaur chicken nuggets" as meal options, even at two and three years old.
In typical "me style," I tried to make an awesome dinner the day after I left the hospital. Anyone that knows me knows that I have a tendency to overexert myself; and I did, but dinner was TOTALLY worth it. I made French Onion Soup and my dad made roast beef sandwiches to go along with the soup. French Onion Soup is one of my go to meals for those stressful days when you want a good home cooked meal without the hassle of slaving over a stove.

Ingredients

• 1 stick Butter
• 4 whole Large (or 6 Medium) Yellow Onions, Halved Root To Tip, And Sliced Thin
• 1 cup (generous) Dry White Wine (I actually prefer the flavor of Vermouth, it gives it a little more tang)
  
• 4 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 4 cups Beef Broth
• 2 cloves Minced Garlic
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Several Thick Slices Of French Bread Or Baguette
• 5 ounces, weight (to 7 Ounces) Gruyere Cheese, Grated (I use Muenster cheese instead, but it's just a personal preference)
  

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt butter in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook, covered, for 20 minutes. Place soup pot into the oven with the lid slightly ajar to ensure the onions will brown. Allow onions to cook in the oven for 1 hour, stirring at least once during the cooking process so onions won’t stick and burn.

Remove pot from oven and place back on stovetop over medium heat. Stir, scraping off all the brown, flavorful bits. Turn off heat and pour in wine. Turn heat back to medium. Cook wine for five minutes, allowing it to reduce. Add broths, Worcestershire Sauce and minced garlic and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.

Butter one side of the bread slices and broil over low heat, allowing bread to brown and become crispy. (You can also replace this step with some yummy croutons.)
When soup is ready, ladle into bowl or ramekin. Place crispy bread on top, and then sprinkle generously with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serve immediately.