It’s almost St Patrick’s Day – do you have your corned beef recipe ready? Please don’t tell me that you’re going to head out to your local box-type grocery store and buy some cryovaced mass of artificial coloring and flavoring. No, no, no. You’re going to find some high quality beef and brine your own at home, right? Ok, good.

Always the curious type, I decided to brine my own corned beef for Saint Patrick’s Day a few years ago. Before then I had never brined/cured/charcuterized anything, so this was a big step for me. Meat is such a volatile thing when it comes to letting it sit out, and as someone who already has a few digestive issues, let’s just say I’m a bit paranoid. Actually, let’s say I’m A LOT paranoid.

A while back, I did a review of the River Cottage Meat Book. It’s no secret that I love this book, so Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall was the first person I consulted about how to go about making my own corned beef at home. An always patient guide, he didn’t let me down – and my adoration for his book runs even deeper after this project.

After a fair amount of panic that I’d screwed up the whole process (as anyone who saw my frantic Chow forum posts over that week can attest), the corned beef was amazing. I blushed while my guests gushed, and all the while I was writing a love letter to Hugh in my head. Now it’s a yearly tradition in my house. I hope you’ll consider doing the same.

What’s the best way to cook corned beef?

Below is the original recipe for corned beef that appears in both the River Cottage Cookbook and the River Cottage Meat Book. Ten Speed Press has graciously posted a PDF of the recipe online as well.

Give yourself about two weeks before the big day to allow your brisket enough time to properly brine and rinse. Once it’s done, you can store it in the fridge for a week or two. After all, it’s already been cured.

This corned beef recipe was so easy, you probably couldn’t screw it up if you tried. Why settle for the crappy store-bought corned beef and cabbage when you can make something tastier and more natural at home?

What’s stopping you?

Here are a few other recipes you might like:

• Colcannon Mashed Potatoes
• Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
• Pan to Oven Baked Pork Chops

3/17/09

When I created this pan to oven baked pork chop recipe, I was celebrating something special. Here in the Bay Area we’re lucky enough to have dozens of farm-fresh CSA boxes to choose from, but recently a group of pork ranchers and foodie organizations banded together to bring us a bi-monthly pork CSA program. The CSA provides some of the best meat I’ve ever eaten – organic, free-range, locally-raised pork from a handful of different heritage breeds (Berkshires, Ossabaws, and Mangalitsas, in case you’re interested).

And in case you’re wondering how long you should cook your pork chops for, here’s a great post on pork chop cooking times.

More pork chop recipes from other food blogs:

• Mom’s Perfect Pork Chops Recipe – Simply Recipes
• Vietnamese Chops – The Food Section
• Chops Simmered in Milk – Meathenge

*Sometimes the word “thingie” just works best.

Hey everyone! This weekend I was on the radio with my good friend Luna Raven, who hosts Luna’s Kitchen Magic. Come follow us as we make blueberry peach almond flour muffins and talk about how to make your own vanilla extract at home (really, it’s the easiest thing you can do… swear!). Here’s the link to the podcast, in mp3 format.

And here’s the recipe for the muffins. Enjoy!

I love love LOVE potato soup recipes, and even though I haven’t talked about it lately, I have a major thing for curry recipes. Now that the weather is turning cold freezing (I swear, I can’t feel half of my toes right now), all I can think about is soup. I’ve been craving hearty soups that fill you up and keep you warm for the rest of the night. If they’re not hearty, what the hell is the point?

When I was growing up, I hated soup. It was messy, it was sloppy and you couldn’t really chew it. I was completely baffled by soup and wondered why people were so infatuated with it. But as I got older, I discovered something wonderful: blended soups. Here was something I could enjoy! These soups had some tooth to them, something I could savor and [almost] sink my teeth into. Blended soups were thick and velvety, not drippy and watery like the soups I’d grown up with. I was in love.

I still don’t like runny soups, so I tend to throw every recipe I come across into the blender. This poses a problem, though – how do you blend soup without making a huge mess? With the advent of stick blenders came ease and convenience, but these things inevitably splatter a layer of soup across your stove and kitchen walls. Serious bummer.

We solved the problem, though. My husband fashioned a crazy simple solution out of a cardboard box that fits over our Dutch oven – he basically cut a hole in the top of the box where the blender fits in, allowing freedom of movement while still containing the mess. I should really post a photo of it one of these days. It’s magical.

The curry potato soup recipe here is a slightly modified version of the Curried Potato and Vegetable Soup from Elise’s site. I’ve changed a few things, but the biggest difference is the addition of lamb meatballs. One of my favorite flavor combos (besides peanut butter and chocolate) is lamb and yellow curry, so the first time I tried her soup, the only thing I could think was “OMG this would be incredible with lamb!”. So, I added it. It was amazing.

This soup freezes well, so make a huge amount and save some for those nights when you just don’t want to cook, or you’ve contracted one of the various plagues that get passed around this time of year. When I’m sick, this soup is my go-to meal. This stuff will cure what ails ya!

Dear Lord, it’s tomato season – which means that people are hitting the internet in droves trying to find heirloom tomato recipes.

The farmers market is filled with colorful heirloom tomatoes, and I can’t resist eating my fill of these lumpy, bumpy little guys. My personal favorites are the beefy Brandywines, but I’ll eat just about any that makes it way onto my plate.

What’s the best way to enjoy this craziness of color and flavor? Nine times out of ten I’m going to find a way to enjoy heirloom tomatoes completely raw. I’m talking salads, salads, salads – and I’ve got one that’s my all-time favorite tomato recipes: Caprese salad.

This colorful side is great for hot days where you don’t want to cook but still want something healthy and satisfying to serve. The most fantastic of Italian recipes, Caprese (or insalata Caprese in Italian) originated on Capri, an island in the southern part of the Gulf of Naples. Italian food has never been so fast or fresh as this lovely little dish.

You can have this dish done in less than ten minutes if you’ve got your ducks in a row, so get crackin’ and dig in!

Caprese Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 ripe plum tomatoes, sliced into 1/2″ slices
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1/4″ slices
• A handful of fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Arrange alternating slices of tomatoes and f mozzarella on a platter, tucking a fresh basil leaf between them. Drizzle with olive oil, and then seasoning with salt and pepper.

That’s it! Try using a nice decorative platter to show off your lovely salad, or setting your salad up in a number of different ways:

9.16

The end of stone fruit season is heartbreaking. All winter long I patiently wait for my first bite of peach, and then just a few short months later, it’s an exquisite memory. The whole thing is almost unbearable. It reminds me of a fleeting romance, where the first few weeks of the relationship are perfectly delicious, and then your would-be Mr. Right skips the country.

Only one thing could lessen the blow of such a tragic loss: a replacement. In this case, it’s the beginning of Asian pear season.

Late August in California signals an influx of Asian pears (also know as apple pears to some folks). These sophisticated little beauties are more than willing to step up and fill the gap left by their cheeky predecessors. Don’t let them fool you, though – while Asian pears may seem innocent enough on the outside, inside they’re literally dripping with a sensuality that rivals even your most luscious nectarine. They may start off as a replacement for your missing mate stone fruit, but they quickly take center stage.

I always get my pears from the same vendor at the Berkeley farmers market. Every Tuesday I dig through the produce booths until I find Torrey of Gabriel Farm, who, I have to say, grows the most amazing Asian pears in the Bay Area. I’ve eaten a lot of pears, and nothing comes close to those sold by this guy. Good pears are hard to find.

I created this recipe on a whim the other night, looking for a light and semi-healthy dessert that involved no refined sugar. Pear desserts are right at the top of my list this time of year. The first bite was dreamy, and every bite thereafter was kind of a blur. It was so good that I ended up eating the rest of the ricotta filling with a spoon.

I chose honey over agave since it pairs well with cinnamon, though if you really wanted to you could easily use 1 tablespoon of agave or 1/2 teaspoon of white sugar if you don’t like honey. Either way, don’t make your filling too sweet – you want the flavor of the pears to sing, not compete with your stuffing.

Buon appetito!

9.14