Recipe #50 and #51:Braised Beef Brisket and Twice Baked Potatoes

Recipe: Braised Beef Brisket

Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Time: 27 hours (24 hours marinating in the fridge)

Ease: 1

Taste: 6

Leftover Value: 6

Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer!

It wasn't until I was married that I experienced a brisket.  I immediately fell in love.

This is the first recipe that got me hooked.

Ordinarily, brisket can be purchased at a fairly decent price.

Naturally, when I needed it, I could only find one in the pristine meat section, and therefore my 3-pounder cost me around $25.

Did I mention I'm not liking the cost-of-meat aspect of this recipe challenge?

This recipe is ridiculously simple so long as you have the patience to allow the meat to sit for 24-48 hours.

When I'm organized, this isn't an issue for me.  But when I'm hoping to have brisket in a few hours and realize it needs to marinate for 24, then I want to throw my brisket out the window.

The meat soaks in a marinade of beef consomme, soy sauce, lemon juice, and garlic.  My soy sauce got away from me, as you can see.

The best part is, that once the marinade is created, the meat goes into the fridge and you can forget about it completely until it is time to toss it in the oven.

Here's where the confusion came for me.

I cooked my 3-lb brisket for 40 minutes per pound as directed.  PW says to "check to see if the brisket is fork-tender: stick two forks into the meat and pull them in opposite directions".  If the meat comes apart easily, it's done.  If there is resistance, it should cook longer.

I tried this several times and felt the meat was resisting me every single time.

But it looked done.

So eventually, I was so aggravated I tossed the entire thing into my slow cooker and set in on high for an hour.

Ultimately, that is how I think I will end up cooking this recipe the next time I make it.  Instead of even bothering with turning the oven on, I'll put it in the slow cooker on low until it is "fork-tender".

The good news is that when I did eventually get to eat it, it was delicious.  Even Hubby raved about it, and that is a big deal around here.

I would usually serve such a main course with mashed potatoes, but I still had twice baked potatoes and potato skins left on my recipe challenge to do list.

Recipe: Twice-Baked Potatoes

Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Time: 1 hr 20 min

Ease: 5

Taste: 9

Leftover Value: 6

Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer! 

First, let me confess that it has been so long since I have fried bacon that I made a horrible mess of my frying pan...

Baking bacon has overcome my life so much that I contemplated baking the bacon for this recipe even though PW clearly says to fry it.

Thank God I have an awesome Hubby who cleaned it for me.

Is there anything more beautiful than this?:

Hold on, it gets better...

The potatoes, which have just baked for 45 minutes, need to have their bellies scooped out.

This is rather difficult.  It needs to be done while the potatoes are still hot.  Some scoop super easy, and others put up a fuss.

It was at this point I knew for certain this recipe was going to be absolutely amazing.

Don't be fooled, these starchy delights aren't easy to make--at all.

But they are better than any, ANY, baked potato or potato skin I have ever eaten.
 

In complete honesty, these potatoes were my main dish and the brisket was the side.

Sliced Baked Potatoes

Recipe: Sliced Baked Potatoes

Source: Great American Recipes

http://www.recipelink.com/msgbrd/board_31/2006/OCT/41248.html

Time: 1:15

Ease: 3

Taste: 5

Leftover Value: 2

Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Down the Drain!

I love potatoes.  I have always loved potatoes.  I remember telling my second grade teacher that I wanted to eat mashed potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  She told me that I would get tired of eating them after a while.  I didn't believe her.  I couldn't imagine how anyone could ever tire of the buttery goodness that is mashed potatoes.

But just in case she was right, it's a good thing I never tried it.

Because I still love potatoes, and my heart would be broken if I didn't.  

Mashed.  Baked.  Scalloped.  Smashed.  Fried.  

It doesn't matter.  They all make my heart sing.

This particular potato, of this particular recipe, sadly left a little more to be desired.  It is my future hope to come up with a fabulous rendition of this "Down the Drain" recipe that will transform it into a "Keep it in the Strainer" option.

*And perhaps, this is the sparking of a new idea for this blog: "Down the Drain" recipes become "Keep it in the Strainer" ones?  I'm loving the sound of it.

The start of this recipe makes it seem a rather serious task.  After cutting or peeling off undesirable parts of your potatoes, make slices across the short side of the potato spacing them only about a quarter of an inch.

While I disliked this recipe, it did teach me how to make this slicing action happen.  Whenever I learn something that I can use in the kitchen, success has been found.

Place a spoon face down on your cutting board and its handle will act as a stopper for the blade.  This way you don't end up cutting your potato into chunks instead of a still attached sliced potato.

There were a few slices that went a little too far, creating hinged pieces in my potato (see following picture).  Next time I'm going to try sliding the highest point of the spoon's handle with me as I go along with the knife.

Place the sliced potatoes into a baking dish.  Open them up a little, but not too much or the areas you cut too far in will stick out like a sore thumb just like.....oh yes, the potato that is front and center in this shot.

Here's a mini confession: I love red potatoes.  Sometimes, I will just completely ignore all other potatoes in the grocery store.  I know, I need to broaden my horizons, but red potatoes have never steered me wrong.

Sprinkle the potatoes with a little salt.

This part.  Ah, this part.  It makes me wonder how these potatoes didn't instantly transform into delicious mountains of goodness.

Drizzle 2-3 T of melted butter over each potato.

The recipe gives you the option of sprinkling 2 to 3 T of chopped fresh herbs or 2-3 tsp of dried herbs.  I went with a dried mixture because I didn't have anything fresh on hand.

Bake in a oven that has been preheated to 425 for 50 minutes.

Then sprinkle with 4 T cheddar cheese and 2 T Parmesan cheese.

Hello fresh Parmesan cheese.  I love you.  I'm sorry I wasted you on this recipe.  But it was for the sake of experimentation.

My gut says, 'We need more cheese'.  Definitely.  We will have more cheese next time around.

Place potatoes back in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes.

If I was rating this recipe on looks alone, I'd give myself a 10 for delicious looking factor.

Maybe it was a bad batch of potatoes.  (But they're red, so how could it be?)  But maybe not.  There is a future for this recipe, just not the one that currently exists.  Keep your eyes open for its come back.