Bear Cuisine

An Homage to Mom

My mother was a YANKEE from the top of her head to her toe tips. Her identity showed in ever so many ways. She was frugal to the point of being penurious at times. Having lived through two world wars and The Great Depression she knew the importance of every penny and how hard they were to come by. She was recycling and repurposing long before such practices were in vogue.

She was also an excellent cook who knew how to prepare a satisfying, nutritious meal for her three always-hungry children One of my favorites was her New England Boiled Dinner. I think she thought of this as a work-a-day meal that would provide good leftovers, but to me it was a tremendous treat. The meat was juicy and tender and the vegetables tasted of the broth in which they had been cooked. Savory with just the right amount of salt and pepper. This meal was one that I looked forward to. Now, the memory of it is colored by my adult awareness of how hard she worked to create a home that was safe and secure for her family. The taste of her boiled dinner is flavored by her love which she often found difficult to express in other ways.

Every year around St. Patrick's Day, the markets are filled with corned beef briskets. This year as I looked at them, I decided that we should have an old-fashioned New England Boiled Dinner. I loved making it, but it didn't taste like Mom's. It just didn't have that  mellow , savory taste that I remembered. We all know that memory is tricky and extremely unreliable, but I would like to think that she would be complimented that I thought her rendition of this classic tasted better than mine. 

NEW ENGLAND BOILED DINNER

 This version is from David Rosengarten and calls for more vegetables than one customarily finds in this dish. This will easily serve eight people.While I don't think it's as good as my mother's, it is still pretty tasty. Better than good enough.

NEW ENGLAND BOILED DINNER

1. 1 (3 1/2 pound) corned beef brisket
2. 2 bay leaves
3. 2 1/2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
4. 4 whole cloves
5. 4 whole allspice berries
6. 11/2 teaspoons brown mustard seeds
7. 1/2 medium onion with skin
8. 2 garlic cloves, crushed
9. 12 cups cold water
10. 2 medium beets
11. 1 small cabbage, outer leaves removed, cut through the stem into 8 wedges
12. 3/4 pound rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
13. 2 medium turnips (about 3/4 pound)peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
14. 2 medium parsnips (about 1/2 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
15. 2 medium carrots (about 1/2 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
16. 6 small white onions, peeled but left whole, root end trimmed
17. 1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
18. 1 tablespoons chopped parsley, for garnish
19. 1 tablespoon chopped chives, for garnish
20. Horseradish as accompaniment
21. Grainy mustard as accompaniment

Trim all but 1/4-inch fat from the corned beef. Place in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a simmer and simmer 5 minutes. Drain and rinse the corned beef. Return to the pot and add bay leaves, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, justard seeds, onion and garlic. Add cold water. Bring to a simmer and cook gently partially covered, for 3 to 4 hours, until corned beef is tender but not falling apart. Add more water as necessary to keep the brisket submerged.

Preheat the over to 400 degrees. Wrap beets in foil and roast until tender, about 1 hour. Cook, peel, and cut into wedges. Keep warm for serving.

Remove corned beef from the pot and strain cooking liquid. Wrap corned beef in foil and keep warm in low oven. Return the liquid to a simmer and cook the vegetables until tender in the following groupings and for the following approximagte times:

cabbage:20 minutes

rutabaga and turnips: 18 minutes

Parsnips, carrots and onions: 15 minutes

potatoes: 10 minutes

As the vegetables cook, set them aside and add the next batch, or cook them in stages in the same pot.

To serve, return all the vegetables to the pot with the cooking liquid (if cooked separately). Slice warm corned beef thinly against the grain. Serve corned beef in shallow soup bowls with vegetables strewn around the bowl. Ladle hot stock over all, about 1/2 cup per bowl. Garnish with parsley and chives and serve immediately, with horseradish and mustard on the side.

A Very British Christmas

This year, Standing Rib Roast won the lottery for Christmas dinner. The Menu included

 MUSHROOM SOUP (for recipe click here)

STANDING RIB ROAST with BEEF BONE GRAVY (for recipes click here)

SPINACH GRATIN (for recipe click here)

YORKSHIRE PUDDING (for recipe click here)

 

STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING (for recipe click here)

A thoroughly Dickensian feast which left our guests sated and happy. No cook could ask for anything more.

Beef Stew with Mustard and Thyme Dumplings

I found Supper for a Song while we were traveling in September. I was beguiled by it's title and it's author, Tamasin Day-Lewis. (If you are interested in such factoids, she is the sister of actor Daniel Day-Lewis.) The book offers recipes that are tasty and relatively inexpensive to make; similar in theme and tone to Diana Henry's Plenty. This recipe is simple and contains as many vegetables as it does beef. A one-pot balanced, delicious supper.

BEEF STEW WITH MUSTARD AND THYME DUMPLINGS

(serves 6)

1. 3 1/2 pounds chuck steak
2. 2 tablespoons (about) seasoned flour
3. 2 tablespoons olive oil
4. 2 large onions, peeled and chopped
5. 6 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
6. coarse salt and black pepper
7. 4 stalks celery, strings removed with a potato peeler and sliced
8. 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
9. 2 large leeks, cleaned, whites cut into short lengths( green tops saved for stock-making)
10. 1 small rutabaga, peeled and cut into cubes
11. 1 small celery root, peeled and cut into cubes just before using
12. 1 bottle robust red wine
13. 14-ounce can whole tomatoes
14. bouquet garni of parsley, thyme, rosemary, bay, and 2 strips orange peel, tied together

For the dumplings

1. 3/4 cup (rounded) self-rising flour
2. 2 ounces fresh beef suet, shredded or chopped
3. 1 tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped or 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
4. 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard or 1 teaspoon Colman's English mustard powder or 2 teaspoons freshly grated horseradish

 

 

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Cut the beef into large cubes. Pour the flour into a Ziploc bag, add the meat, lock, and shake to coat. Take out the meat, shaking off excess flour. Heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed casserole and brown the meat in batches all over, removing it to a plate when browned and adding extra oil as needed.

Add the onions and garlic to the pan and sprinkle with a little salt. After a few minutes, as the aromatics begin to soften, add the celery, carrots, leeks, rutabaga and celery root. Saute for a few minutes and then return the meat to the pan. Meanwhile, heat the red wine to a simmer.

Add the canned tomatoes to the pan and chop them down into the meat and vegetables. When the liquid is bubbling away merrily, add the wine to just cover. Once the pot has come up to the bubble again, tuck the bouquet garni down into the depths, add a circle of waxed paper to just cover the stew and put the lid on. Transfer to the oven and cook for 2 hours or until the vegetables are tender but not reduced to mush.

Meanwhile, make the dumplings. Sift the flour into a large bowl and throw in the suet. Add the herbs, mustard or horseradish, and seasoning, and mix well together. Slowly add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix with your hands or a spoon until the dough coheres but is not too wet and sticky. If it becomes too damp, scatter a little more flour over and roll the ball of dough gently. Flour your hands and pull small, walnut-size pieces of dough from the ball, rolling them between your palms into balls.

About 20 minutes before the stew will be ready, uncover and set the dumplings on top. Put the lid back on and return to the oven. After 20 minutes, check that the dumplings have swollen and are cooked through.

 

Breakfast Across America: Corned Beef Hash

On this recent trip we spent a lot of time eating  breakfast in Diners and Drive-Ins  (no dives for us, thank you very much). Usually, we don't make these dishes at home; but we certainly could. So, I found recipes for several of our roadfood favorites and thought you might enjoy them as well.

CORNED BEEF HASH

Corned Beef Hash

• 2 pounds cold corned beef
• 4 to 6 boiled potatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• Butter or beef drippings

Chop the meat fairly fine with a knife rather than put it through the grinder or food processor. Combine the potatoes and onion with the meat and add a few good grinds of black pepper and the nutmeg. Blend well and allow to rest in the refrigerator several hours or overnight. When ready to cook, melt just enough butter or beef drippings in a heavy skillet to cover the bottom--4 to 6 tablespoons. Add the hash and press down firmly. When the hash begins to develop a crust on the bottom, turn with a spatula so that some of the crust is brought to the top. Turn it several times as the crust develops. When a sufficient crust has formed, loosen with a spatula, fold it once and turn it out on a platter, crusty side up. Serve with poached eggs.

(adapted from James Beard's American Cookery.)

I've made a quite fine has from leftover pork or lamb roast. The trick to getting it just right is being patient as the crust forms. If you are, you will be rewarded with a splendid crusty, chewy satisfying hash--the perfect foil for poached or lightly fried eggs.

 

Asian Spaghetti

The other day I was looking in the freezer and the pantry as I was trying to decide what to cook for dinner.The freezer offered up a pound of hamburger and ground pork while the pantry revealed a package of spaghetti just waiting to be cooked. I remembered that Ming Tsai's latest cookbook, One-Pot Meals had a recipe that would use all three of these ingredients. Even though the kid wasn't around I know that this would have pleased her; she might even have asked for seconds.

The soy sauce adds a mysterious dimension to the sauce and gives it great depth of flavor. Ming says that this will feed four. I would say that it would satisfy six hungry people.

Asian Spaghetti

1. 1 pound spaghetti
2. Kosher salt
3. 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for coating the pasta
4. 2 large onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
5. 2 tablespoons minced garlic
6. 1 pound ground beef
7. 1 pound ground pork
8. freshly ground black pepper
9. One 32-ounce dan roma tomatoes with their liquid
10. 1/4 cup soy sauce
11. 2 tablespoons tomato paste
12. 1/2 cup loosely packed Thai basil

 

Fill a large bowl with water and add ice cubes. In a large pot, cook the pasta in abundant boiling salted water until al dente, about 11 minutes, drain, and ad to the bowl. When the pasta is cold, drain, coat lightly with oil, and set aside.

Heat the pot over medium-high heat. Add the 1 tablespoon oil and when hot, add the onions and garlic. Saute, stirring, until the onions are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the beef and the pork, season with salt and pepper, and saute, stirring to break up the meat, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their liquid, the soy sauce, tomato paste, and basil and bring to a simmer. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by a quarter about 25 minutes. Add the reserved pasta to the pot and stir gently. transfer to a platter and serve.