Beer Braised Corned Beef & Cabbage

Though St. Patrick's Day has come and gone, and we know that I got down 'n dirty with some Irish-themed goods, I'm still sharing my recipe for Beer Braised Corned Beef & Cabbage. Shaun and I (and this dish is mostly Shaun's doing) didn't get to making our corned beef until a week or so post-St. P's. While a little late, I'm getting it in just in the nik of time before the end of March. After all, while food shopping on Sunday, I noticed an abundance of corned beef packages in the meat case so it's not too late to get your corned beef fix.

Anyhow, this recipe seriously turns up the flavor on an old classic. I am typically not a huge fan of corned beef...I mean, I'll eat it, but I don't necessarily jump at the chance. Shaun, on the other hand, could not disagree more. So the compromise? Corned beef with a few adjustments, making this a meal that both traditionalists and new-age corned beef afficianados could enjoy. Just the simple changes of using the slow cooker and braising the meat in amber ale made a world of difference on this Irish favorite. And though Shaun said, "It's not real corned beef...you just don't cook corned beef in beer," once this hunk o'meat came out of the slow cooker and we dug right in...well, I think I may have changed his mind...just a bit. Let's get down to it...

Beer Braised Corned Beef & Cabbage
1 3lb. piece corned beef
1 lb. carrots (cut up, or use the baby kind)
2 bottles Budweiser Amber Ale
8 red bliss potatoes (or more, depending on how tatery you like it)
1 head cabbage, outside leaves peeled and the rest sliced
Dried onion flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
Dijon or deli mustard

Open corned beef package and drain excess liquid into sink. Place corned beef in slow cooker with fat side up. Rub meat with some freshly ground black pepper and dried onions (optional). Note: Corned beef is naturally salty, so Shaun didn't add any extra salt. You can however, add the spice packet that may or may not come with the meat (ours didn't come with one). Pour 2 bottles Budweiser Amber Ale over the meat. Cook on low for 5-7 hours (the beauty of a slow cooker is that you can't really overcook the meat). Half or quarter red bliss potatoes and submerge in the liquid along with carrots. Cook for 45 minutes. 10 minutes before serving, add cabbage and cook 10 minutes more. Serve altogether on a big platter with Dijon or deli mustard for dipping and get ready for your predisposed thoughts on corned beef to go right out the window.

So there you have it...a traditional Irish dish with the flavor turned way up. What do you think? Are you a corned beef purist? Do you eat corned beef outside of the obligatory March festivities?

Croque Madame at Elysian Cafe

Last weekend, in addition to spring dinner party things, I had brunch at a charming little place in Hoboken called Elysian Cafe. Though crowded on that gorgeous Sunday morning (what happened since then?), Maggie and I secured a table and thoroughly enjoyed our last Hoboken brunch together (she's moving away and leaving me, you see). Anyhow, I typically have enjoyed the eggs benedict and have tried my hardest to ignore Tony Bourdain's warnings of hollandaise sauce, but this time, I switched it up a bit and went with the Croque Madame. Yum.

The traditional Croque Madame is comprised of ham and gruyere cheese grilled on a sandwich, and topped with a bechamel sauce (read: sauce of creamy goodness) and a fried or poached egg (my favorite being the latter...oh how I love those yolks...). Though this version was anything but traditional (egg in the sandwich, rather than on, and it included spinach), it was still pretty delicious. Of course, my own personal love affair with the Croque Madame began at a tiny cafe across from the Notre Dame cathedral en Paris...in fact, I'm fairly certain that I had no clue what Gruyere cheese was and so, to me, the sandwich was like entering a new world of delicious. And since I was utterly clueless that four years post-Paris trip, I'd being singing its praises on The Avid Appetite, I neglected to snap a photo. I did, however, dig up this little gem - a view of Notre Dame from the tiny, name unknown cafe in which we delighted in a real Parisian breakfast sandwich. McDonalds, who?

Isn't she a beauty? This was, in fact, our favorite part of Paris...sightseeing from the top of Notre Dame, strolling by the Seine, and sampling pommes frites with mayo until our hearts begged no more.

Italian Cookies at Court Pastry Shop

In addition to grown-up, buttery sweet cupcakes from Butter Lane, some good old-fashioned Italian bakery cookies made an appearance at our Spring Dinner Party to celebrate my mom's birthday. Not sure if it's the Italian in me or just the innate feeling that all gatherings should, in fact, revolve around good eats and sweets, there's something so wonderfully comforting about real Italian cookies, especially when they're from a real Brooklyn Bakery. Since she was in charge of dessert, and just so happens to live in the land of endless bakeries, she stopped in at Court Pastry Shop for some deeelightful Italian cookies. You know the kind...seven layer rainbow cookies, chocolate dipped sandwich cookies, rugelach cookies, amaretto cookies covered in nuts, chocolate and hazelnut cookies...Bellisimo.

So what do you think? Are you a fan of the Italian bakery-style cookie?