Citrus-Spiked Beef Brisket

For last weekend's Christian Seder meal at our church, Joe braised a six-pound beef brisket in this tangy-sweet and savory sauce. The cider vinegar and vegetables melded together and the citrus peel added a bright note. This meal would be just as good for any other special holiday - if we didn't cook it for the Seder dinner, we definitely would have prepared it for Easter Sunday.

What's a "Christian Seder"? We generally followed the Jewish Seder ritual by tasting the ceremonial foods that remind them of their captivity in Egypt: salt water for tears, bitter herbs, matzo for unleavened bread, a fruit-and-nut compote for the bricks they had to make, and so forth. The youngest person asks the ritual questions like, "Why is this night so different from all others?" and the people around the table tell the story of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt.

The Christian part comes into several places. As our Messiah has already come, we focus on his death and resurrection during the ceremony, as well as the longing of the Jews for their savior. Near the end of the ceremony, there is one part where a piece of matzo is broken and eaten, then a last toast is given, and these are the places where Jesus would likely have offered the first communion words. It is a beautiful ritual that involves the whole family, and as Christians, it reminds us of Jesus's Jewishness and the reverence of the Jewish people.

Ingredients

One 4-6 pound beef brisket
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil
2 medium onions, thickly sliced
6 carrots, peeled and cut crosswise
8 cloves garlic, 6 peeled and smashed & 2 pressed through a garlic press
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups beef, vegetable, or chicken stock
3 small tomatoes, halved
2 sprigs fresh thyme, or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
5 sprigs fresh parsley, plus ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
One ½- inch slice of fresh ginger
1 lemon
1 orange

Directions

Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper. Rub in the 2 garlic cloves pressed, 1 tsp each of minced thyme, rosemary, and parsley. Dry marinate the brisket a minimum of 1 hour, or preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 500°F. Pour the oil into a Dutch oven over medium heat. Brown the meat on all sides, then set aside. Add the onions, carrots, and remaining garlic cloves to the Dutch oven, and saute until soft. Raise the heat, pour in the cider vinegar, and stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the white wine and continue stirring, allowing the liquid to reduce for a few minutes.

Put the meat back in the pot, then add the broth, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf, parsley sprigs, and ginger. Slice the lemon and orange and arrange on the top of the meat (be sure to remove the seeds!). Cover, and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 250°F, and continue cooking for 4 to 4½ more hours, or until very tender.

Remove the meat and vegetables from the pot. Discard the citrus peels, thyme, rosemary and parsley sprigs, ginger, and bay leaf. Slice the meat across the grain. Puree the vegetables with the sauce and re-heat if it has grown lukewarm. To serve, spoon a pool of the hot vegetable puree onto each plate, then place several slices of the meat over the puree.

Serves 10-12.

Read more...

Lemony Easter Basket Bread

My mom used to make this bread for Easter dinner nearly every year; I don't know who originally gave it to her. Just a bite of this flaky lemony yeast bread, slightly sweet, takes me back to those days.

The other tradition for Easter dinner was leg of lamb (we always called it "leggo lamb"), which was very confusing for a young Catholic girl. We'd go to Easter mass and sing about the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Then we'd go home and eat the lamb for dinner! We were eating Jesus!

The horror. I was definitely scarred for life.

We're past the Easter egg coloring stage in our house, and don't have any grandchildren yet, so we don't tuck colored eggs into the braid before cooking it. I think you get the idea without the eggs in the bread basket, don't you?

Ingredients

1 package active dry yeast or 2 1/4 tsp bottled dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup milk
1 3.4 oz (large) package lemon pudding
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon salt
4 to 4 1/2 cups flour

3 eggs, beaten

4 decorated hard boiled Easter eggs, if desired

1 tbsp water

1 egg, beaten

Nonpareil candies for decoration

Directions

Place the active dry yeast and sugar in a small bowl and stir in the warm water. Let sit 10 minutes, until the yeast begins to bubble. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the lemon pudding and salt. Add the butter, then pour hot milk over pudding mixture. Stir continuously until the butter melts and pudding dissolves. Allow it cool to lukewarm.

Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the flour and mix well. Stir the yeast and 3 beaten eggs; beat well. Gradually stir in the rest of flour. Turn out on lightly floured surface or kneading bowl, cover, and let rest for 15 minutes.

Knead till smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover; let rise till double, about 1 hour.

This kneading bowl is easier for me to use than a floured surface.

Punch down; let rise again till almost double about 60 minutes. Turn out on lightly floured surface or kneading bowl and divide dough in half, then form each half into 3 balls. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Grease two pie pans or 9x2 round pans.

For each basket, roll each ball into an 18 inch ropes with your hands. Braid the three strands together, pinching together the ends then tucking them under as you coil the braid into each pan. If you're using Easter eggs, tuck the eggs in the loops of the braid. Let rest in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Brush the tops with egg, then sprinkle with nonpareils. Bake at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the bread sounds somewhat hollow when rapped with a knuckle.

Makes two bread rings.

Read more...

Seder Braised Lamb

Joe combined several authentic Jewish recipes for a Seder lamb when we cooked for our church group, who celebrates a Christian Seder dinner each year. We also braised a six-pound beef brisket and baked a yeast lemon bread on the same day, which taxed Joe's ingenuity and the capacity of our oven. Obviously a yeast bread isn't allowed for a Jewish Seder, but our small group generally tries to respect the Jewish traditions while still enjoying other foods.

Lamb for a traditional Seder is never roasted, but always cooked with liquid. Joe rubbed the meat with garlic, parsley, thyme, mint, and salt and let it marinate for a couple of hours before cooking it. At the end of the cooking time, this meat was fork-tender and fragrant with herbs.

Ingredients

For the marinade

8 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed, and coarsely chopped
1 tbsp dried mint, or 2 tbsp fresh mint
1 tbsp fresh rosemary
1 tbsp coarse salt
2 tbsp ground black pepper
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
8 lb leg of lamb (or lamb shoulder)

Marinade instructions

Place the garlic, rosemary, mint, salt, and oil in a blender or food processor. Finely blend the ingredients. Spread the mixture on all sides of the lamb and let it marinade for at least an hour. You can marinate it in the refrigerator a day ahead and save time on your cooking day, but if you do, let it rise to room temperature before beginning to cook it.

For the lamb

2 tbsp oil
1 cup onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup parsley, chopped and divided
1 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped (or 1 tsp dried tarragon)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

In a large casserole or roasting pan, heat the half the oil then brown the lamb on all sides, usually about 5 minutes per side, then remove and set aside. Add the rest of the oil and saute the onions and garlic until tender. Return the lamb to the pan. Stir together the lemon juice, broth, and wine, and pour over the lamb. Sprinkle with the tarragon and half of the parsley.

Cover the lamb and place it in the oven. Braise it over low heat for 4 hours, remove the lid and braise for 1 more hour. Remove from the oven, place the meat on a cutting board, and cover it with foil.

Strain the liquid in the pan and then siphon off as much fat as possible. Heat the cooking broth in a saucepan while slicing the meat across the grain. Sprinkle the rest of the parsley and tarragon over the meat before serving, and serve the cooking broth on the side for drizzling.

Serves 8-12, depending on the size of the meat.

Read more...

Crostini with Chicken Liver Pâté (Crostini di Fegatini)

On our third day of marriage, Joe and I stepped out into the dusty September heat of Tuscany and drove up mighty switchbacks, buttressed by fieldstone walls, into the fortress town of Cortona. Our ears popped over and over on the way up, till we were perched on a nearly-vertical cobblestone street looking out over the dry patchwork hills of the Valdichiana valley. The homes rose from each level like yellow towers; tiny walled gardens nestled in courtyards.

Neither of us had heard of Frances Mayes' book "Under the Tuscan Sun", so we were able to enjoy the city through our own eyes, rather than her descriptions.

We said we were looking for lunch, but we were really just looking. In the Piazza della Republica, the stone steps of the town hall spread wide, and teenagers giggled with each other on the steps. American and German tourists, in khakis and fanny packs, plopped down to study their maps. The enormous clock on the bell tower looked older than the United States. It still tells the correct time.

After lunch, we asked directions from three different people to find a grocery store. We needed supplies for the week we'd spend at the villa. But here there were no supermarkets. We asked for a drogheria and ended up in a place that sells things like light bulbs and laundry soap, which we actually did need because our luggage went to Pisa while we went to Creti.

So we stopped into a bakery and got fresh panini with rosemary, then bought peaches, tomatoes, and blackberries from a street vendor. Later we found wild boar salami and pecorino cheese with shaved black truffles, and we ate these things for breakfast every day.

Cortona had a slightly touristy feel. The buildings in the center of town were mostly three or four stories tall with cafes and shops on the ground floor. The homes above were shuttered against the sun. We shopped for Italian pottery and a glass oil and vinegar cruet.

Joe found a wine shop with a very enthusiastic clerk who was studying for an Italian wine-seller's certification. He made some impressive recommendations. One was a 1997 Brunello di Montalcino that we decided to save for our first anniversary.

After touring some gorgeous churches, we rested our feet in a park with stone seats set into the side of the hill, amphitheater style. Workers were setting up trusses for an outdoor movie screen. Beyond it was a rank of ancient trees outlining a stone stage. Through the trees at the end of the park, the sun began to sink, washing the buildings with peach, then gold, then orange.

Earlier in the day we had passed a restaurant on a narrow side street. There were only two little tables on a balcony outside. "I want to eat dinner there," Joe said, so we headed across the town that was just waking up to the evening. Shutters were opening, the old ladies gathered with old ladies, the old men smoked at cafe tables, and the children ran in and out of the courtyards. Techno-pop music spilled out into the streets.

We were the first people at the trattoria and we got the balcony table we hoped for. As we decided on an antipasti, a big group of Italian men poured into the restaurant. The waiter told us it was a local soccer team.

"What is crostini di fegatini?" We asked, not finding it in our Italian dictionary.
"It is like a...like a pâté."
"We love pâté!"
"It is not exactly pâté. It is made from chicken...I will bring it. You'll like."

We did indeed like it. We also found that it is very easy to make, and every bite reminds us of that wonderful night in Cortona.

Ingredients

1 small baguette, thinly sliced
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp capers, drained and rinsed
6 chicken livers
1/3 cup Vin Santo or other sweet white wine
2 small de-boned anchovy fillets, or 2 tbsp anchovy paste
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, then saute the onions until soft. Stir in the garlic and capers and saute about 2 minutes longer. Cut the livers and anchovies into small pieces and saute with the onion mixture until the livers are no longer pink. Pour in the wine and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Brush the baguette rounds with oil and heat on a baking pan in the oven until warm but not toasted, about 5-8 minutes. Keep warm until the pâté is finished.

Place the mixture in a food processor or blender and process until it is a smooth paste, adding the broth and stirring as it processes. Cut the butter into tiny pieces and process into the paste, along with the salt and pepper.

Spread the pâté on the bread and serve. A cool, full-bodied white wine will complement this appetizer.

Serves 10.

Read more...

Pear-Almond Tart

When you have a bowl full of tender ripe pears with just a little blush along the sides, the first thing you should do is take a photo of the lovely fruit. The second thing you should do is poach them and then bake them into this tart. This would be wonderful for an Easter dinner dessert, or for breakfast...or lunch...or dinner. With fruit and nuts and a crispy-sweet crust, it's a complete meal. Mmm.

Ingredients

5 ripe Comice or Bartlett pears

1/4 cup Grand Marnier

2 tbsp lemon juice

For the batter

3/4 cup butter 

1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1 cup slivered almonds
2 tbsp sliced almonds (for topping)

Directions

Core and cut the pears into 1/2" slices. Place them in a saucepan and cover with the Grand Marnier and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low for 5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and beat until fluffy. Stir in the flour and almonds. 

Pour about 2/3 of the batter into a greased pie pan. Arrange the pear slices around the pan in a scalloped pattern. Pour any remaining juice from the pears over the fruit. Pour the rest of the batter over the pears, then sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the crust is golden and crispy, and the center is cooked through.

Serves 8.

Read more...