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.

*********

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!