bloviatrix

I picked up a massive head of purple cauliflower and roasted it for dinner last wednesday night. Our first roast c-flower of the season -- I had forgotten how much I like it. The color deepened during the roasting and looked very nice. I think roasting a head of white and a head of purple and serving the two together would be great for a dinner party.

Nope. The oven is plain old gas.

Actually, there was quite a bit of fat on it. There was a "nice" accumulation of fat at the bottom of the roasting pan this morning.

Obviously, coming up with a better technique is going to require cooking more corned beefs. Only problem is that each corned beef costs about $12/lb (kosher meat is expensive).

I use a glaze the was originally meant for ham. It's a 2:1 ratio of brown sugar to pineapple juice with 1 inch worth of grated ginger. This is brought to a boil and reduced to a simmer for about 5 to 7minutes and then brushed all over the sliced meat. Depending on whom I'm serving the corned beef I might add a pinch of cayenne for a hint of heat.

Hmmmm, it didn't work quite as well as I expected. The good thing is there was less shrinkage than usual. But, my guinea pig, aka Blovie, tells me the finished product is tougher than usual. I put the corned beef into a 225F oven -- uncovered, and on a rack -- for 6 hours. Let cool and sliced. After I brushed with the glaze, I covered and put back in the oven for 30 minutes at 300F.

One thing I've noticed in your photos is that english frequently appears on food packaging. Why is that?

It never occurred to me that the family's jewish roots are evident in our Thanksgiving meal, but it is. It doesn't matter who in the family is hosting the feast, but there's always an abundance of chopped liver set out as part of the pre-meal snacks. Additionally, you'll always see brisket offered in addition to turkey as a main course. Finally, there are noodle kugels as side dishes. We really don't do the traditional dishes such as brussel sprouts or pumpkin pie. And no pecan pie ever graced the dessert spread until I contributed one in 1996.

She sho' is purdy. Have fun!

The corned beef that I'm using is about 4 pounds and is a point cut. With a standard point, I braise it at about 275 for 5 hours. I've got to see if my oven can hold 225F. If so, I might put it in overnight and see what happens. Worse thing that happens is that I only serve my guests the chicken.

Since it's food related.... Sen. Chuck Schumer of NY and Sen. Norm Coleman of MN have made a friendly bet on the ADLS: If the Twins win, Schumer owes Coleman Nathan hotdogs. If the Yanks win, Coleman has promised Walleyed Pike.

This is a different book from the one you have. The complete title is The Essential Book of Jewish Festival Cooking by Phyllis Glazer and Miriyam Glazer. It was published in spring, 2004. The book has grown on me since the first time I looked at it. Most of the recipes are based on biblical references and look good. There are a whole bunch that I want to try.

I just gone another one!! It's called Jewish Festival Cooking.

You're in good company. The cover photo of one of Boulud's books shows him standing on a sidewalk eating a hot dog.

CT -- you've given me an idea. I'm going to soak the corned beef in cold water for a couple of hours to pull out some of the salt. I've done this with skirt steak (kosher skirt steak is extremely salty!!) and it works.

I'm sensing a trend here with the cans of Goya beans. We always keeps a couple of cans of black beans and chickpeas on hand for that "just in case" event. I also keep cans of chipotles packed in adobo and a combination of canned tomatoes and those in tetrapacks (Pomi).

You know how really good brisket melts in your mouth and is really soft? That's the texture I want for the corned beef.

We really don't have specific foods we eat during the playoffs -- unless we're at the ballpark. In the even the ALDS between the Yankees and Twins goes to sunday -- I'll be having cracker jacks in the first inning and a kosher 'dog and knish at about the 4th. I'm hoping the Yankees will wrap the series up before that and we won't be using our tickets.

I'm hosting a lunch for 8 on Thursday (the jewish holidays are slowly drawing to a close) and one of my main courses will be a corned beef. Normally, I throw it into a pot with boiling water for about 3 hours, remove and cool, then slice, paint with glaze and bake for about 30 mintues. It's always good, but I would like the meat to be a little more tender. So, I was thinking.....corned beef is brisket that's been corned. So, why can't I treat it like a brisket. Does anyone have any experience braising a brisket? I was thinking of putting in a large dutch oven with a bit of liquid and placing it in a 300 oven for 3.5 hours -- painting it with the glaze after 3 hours. Will this work? Will it be too salty? Why do you boil a corned beef anyway?

I'm in Suzanne's category -- a combination. Certain things I clean as I use, others end up in the sink until after dinner. My problem is that Blovie uses the kitchen as well, and has the philosophy of "if I leave it, someone else, i.e. me, will annoyed and clean up." He also can't master the concept of wiping down the range-top as soon as you get something on it. He thinks it makes more sense to let the gunk build up and then spend an hour sweating at the end of the week. (it's only been 9 years. Maybe by our 20th anniversary I'll have him trained )

The Division Series begin tomorrow night. Do you have any traditional foods that you eat while watching the games?

Do they only carry "american" products at costco or do they carry japanese products as well?

Three more days to go (since it runs into shabbos). Am I the only one entertaining? We're hosting lunch on Thursday - 3 couples, 2 toddlers and 1 infant. All I know is I'm making a corned beef and some type of chicken dish. I need a vacation.

Personally, I find a lilting minuet is more effective than a voodoo tiki dance. But that could just be my recipe. (sorry, couldn't resist)

Another article about the book in today's NY Times here. Additionally, here is an interview with Ruth Reichl about the book from last Thursday's USA Today.