The Menu
Corned Beef
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Boiled Red & Gold Baby Potatoes
Matzo Ball Soup
Orange & Peach Flavored Ice Tea
Dinner Rolls
Banana Blueberry Cake
I am finally joining the ranks of many others and starting to blog. Although I stopped making New Year Resolutions ages ago, one of the things I said I wanted to do this year was to start journaling again. I used to do it religiously and I don't know why I even stopped, but I do know that I miss it. I suppose blogging is as good a way as any to begin again and I'll probably thank myself in the long run. We shall see. Meanwhile, I will give it a shot and see what comes of it. At the very least, it's a way to spend some creative, contemplative time, so here goes...
I should have started this last Sunday and I honestly wish I had. I had an interesting weekend and a great dinner. Maybe I will write about it down the line but for now I shall begin with today. Before I go any further, I should just say that even though the title of this blog is "Sunday Dinner", it is not always going to be just about Sunday nor just Sunday Dinner. I'd like to go where the flow leads and just write, but I needed to start somewhere and that seemed like a good start.
You see, a very dear friend suggest that I start blogging about my Sunday Dinners, because cooking is (one of) my passion and I am always talking enthusiastically about cooking, recipes, and food. I've been cooking since I was 10 and I not only can cook but I enjoy cooking. I own tons of cookbooks and can't have to many. I read recipes all the time and I love trying new and different dishes. If I say so myself, I have a very sophisticated palate and I rarely, if ever, get bored with meals. One day my friend (who is also like a daughter or a niece to me) suggested that I start to write about my "Sunday Dinners." Sunday Dinner is extremely important to me. When my Mom was alive, we were blessed in that all we had to do when we came in from work was wash our hands and fix our plates. My Mom loved to cook too, and she was an excellent cook. I would cook sometimes but she felt like so long as she was able to cook, let her cook because one day she might not be able to, so she cooked most of the time. After she died I would say, "It's a good thing that I know how to cook, don't mind cooking and don't mind eating my own cooking," because that was all this household had. Cooking on Sunday and especially cooking the so called "Special Sunday Dinner," became special to me because I felt that the least we could do was to have a good, home cooked Sunday dinner to share, whether we ate together or not. It really became cathartic and something that I look forward to doing. As I am always watching food TV, reading cook books, food magazines, newspaper recipes, email and online recipes, and the like, I always have something good to try. It's given in my house that, "Pam is gonna cook Sunday Dinner and it's gonna be good!" :-). I love it and today was no different.
I was wavering as to whether or not to go to Church this morning because I have begun to be more active in Church once again. I didn't because between Daylight Saving Time, the medicine I took last night, and kinda being O D'ed from the (long) meeting at Church Friday night, I was out of it this morning. I HATE Daylight Saving Time and some years I fuss until I get my hour back, while other years, it takes a minute for me to catch up. This morning was one of those so I decided to sleep a bit longer. When I finally came around my biggest dilemma was, "Corned Beef today or Wednesday?"
You see, one of the things that I love about cooking are the Special/Holiday Themes. I do special, fun, theme meals for just about every holiday/special day on the calendar. For instance, even though there is no special person in my life at the moment, for Valentine's Day, I made myself a special meal and celebrated anyway. I believe that I have to eat regardless so why should I not do something fun just because it may be just Me. Trust me, we should all treat and pamper ourselves just because. So I finally decided that I would go on and make a Corned Beef Dinner and have part today and then again on Wednesday when St. Patrick's Day comes. I'll go to the store between now and then and pick up some Jamesons and a Killians so I can celebrate. Today I settled for home brewed Ice Tea. It worked!
I decided to cook my corned beef in the oven instead of boiling it. I'd never done that before, but I have had it like that and I liked it. Instead of putting it in the pot or slow cooker, I put it in the what I call, "The Glass Lasagne Dish" and added my touches. I filled the dish about 1/2 way up with water, added the seasoning packet that comes with it, a small onion, a bay leaf, some Chinese Five Spice, some extra Pickling Spice, a few Cloves, and some Peppercorns. I covered it with foil and cooked it for 4 hours at 350 degrees. I checked it at 1 1/2 hours and basted it, then each hour after that. OMG, you talking about something delicious and juicy! I don't think I want to boil one again. It's so moist and so tender. I also followed the diagram on the package and sliced it at a diamond-like angle. Made all the difference in the world. Yum! The Brussels Sprouts were easy. I tossed them with Olive Oil and a bit of Bacon Fat and some Sea Salt and put them in the oven to roast. I love roasted vegetables and Brussels Sprouts take no time at all. You put them in at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. The get all soft yet crunchy when they caramelize. Toss them in butter when they are done and they are fabulous. Sometimes I crumble bacon over them as well. Ummm...
I hadn't made Ice Tea in quite awhile so I decided that that would be a nice touch. I have a special pot that I like to steep mine in and I fill it by sight, I generally add 5 tea bags, put the pot on a burner and let it steep. I never bring it to a boil and I know when it's ready from experience. I judge by color sometimes too. Today I used 2 regular Lipton, 1 green, and 2 Good Earth brand black tea bags. It's very good and it hit the spot. Add 1 cup of sugar and top off the difference with cold water in a 2 quart pitcher and you can't go wrong.
As for the potatoes, I had some baby reds and some baby golds. I was going to do something fancy but I simply cut them in half, put them in a pot with some water and added some of the juice from the corned beef and some peppercorns and salt. I boiled them until fork tender. I would have tossed some butter in but sometimes, I'll under do to compensate in another dish, and I knew the corned beef and sprouts would be plenty seasoned. I wasn't wrong. The potatoes were just fine and they complimented everything else. The dinner rolls were simple brown and serve but I did butter them well.
The Matzo Ball Soup was a very very special side. I found my late Mom's recipe, written in her wonderful left-hand writing that I adore. I have been wanting to make some but one of the ingredients is, "Schmaltz," or Chicken Fat. Since most chickens come cut up these days. it's not easy to find. I just knew I'd have to be patient until I was able to save up enough myself. Well, "God Is Good All The Time," and I found a store that not only has it because they still cut up chickens, they carry it in the frozen section and you can buy it in containers. Yeaaa! I bought some and it'll take a while to use it all up! Needless to say the soup turned out fantastic and now I don't have to wait for (former) co-workers to bring me some or to go to a deli. I can make it anytime I want and know that it will be delicious. I can't wait for that. In addition, I felt Mom's Presence smiling down on me saying, "Good for You!," and I was proud. Now I'll have to attempt her Oatmeal Cake.
And speaking of cake, the Banana Blueberry Cake rounded out the meal. It was actually left over from last Sunday, but no one seemed to mind. It really is a great recipe. I got it out of my latest Penzy's book and as soon as I saw it I knew I was gonna bake it. I am not as passionate about baking as I am about cooking. I do bake and I have baked and I will bake, but I don't have the zeal about it like I do cooking. However you will find that I will bake Sunday Desserts from time to time. In fact I'm thinking about some chewy Oatmeal Cookies for next week. We'll see.
And on that note, I'm gonna close for now. It's Sunday night and my lineup is on so I need to pay attention. Plus, I want some more Ice Tea and I have a couple of things to do before I really settle down for the night. I think I have expressed a lot for my first try so I'll say, "Until next time, Good Eating and Good Night..."
P
