Sunday, March 21, 2010

Mosaic Monday: Spring!

Welcome to spring! Finally.


Starting to see signs of spring like spearmint poking through, lilacs are beginning to show some life, and the puppy is happily playing with a twig and running around in the sunshine! Nice days ahead.


Visit Mary at The Little Red House to see all the mosaics this week for Mosaic Monday!

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The Passover holiday is coming. Twenty six at our table this year. Usually I'd have made and frozen three briskets already. Good thing for procrastination because it would have all been a waste. Lost power for five days with the Nor'Easter that hit last week, and had to throw out mostly everything from the frig and freezer! So I'm starting fresh and cooking three briskets and a big pot of chicken fricassee with meatballs today. If I can get motivated to get in the kitchen, it's such a gorgeous day outside today! and I can call for takeout. Even on a holiday. But I won't! I can't. Can I? I could call...
Ben's Deli!  but I'm not.

It's back to the kitchen for me!

This one is my go to every day brisket recipe because it's so easy and soooo good. But because of the beer, not kosher for Passover, if you keep it. Doesn't get any easier! You don't have to follow exactly, just dump it all together, cover and braise it for about four or five hours. Perfect every time.



Brisket
Source: Irene Wolpin, Calling All Cooks, Food Network
Printable Recipe

1 4-pound beef brisket
Kosher salt
Pepper
2 onions, thinly sliced into half moons (I use 3 large onions)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup prepared chile sauce (Heinz Chile Sauce - I use the whole bottle)
3 tablespoons brown sugar (I use a bit more)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 12-ounce bottle beer

Salt and pepper both sides of the meat. Place beef in a roasting pan. Cover with onion. Combine ketchup, chile sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and beer. Pour mixture over meat. Cover securely with foil. Bake at 300 degrees F for 4 hours or more until tender. Remove the meat from the pan, and puree the gravy with an immersion blender to thicken it up. Slice the meat against the grain, and return it to the gravy! Tastes even better the next day. Freezes well! I Sometimes I just puree half the onions because we like the onions. and most of the time I never even bother to puree it at all. It's great no matter how you do the gravy.

Chicken Fricassee with Meatballs
Source: originally from Syd, Cindy's mother
Printable Recipe

This recipe is pretty much an approximate, I got it watching my friend Cindy's mom make it years ago. I usually use a large package of wings, with about 20 wings in a pack. Use more or less of whatever you want, it's to taste.

giblets (liver, gizzards, neck) You can omit if you want but it adds great flavor!
chicken wings (cut at joints, chuck out the tip part or save it to make in a soup) or drumettes
2 pounds chopped meat
2 onions, chopped
2 eggs
pepper
salt (optional)
1/3 cup matzoh meal (you can use bread crumbs if you want to)
garlic powder
ketchup
paprika

Brown the giblets and wings with onions in a big pot with a little bit of oil, add some salt and pepper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the chopped meat, eggs, matzoh meal, some ketchup, a little water, a little garlic powder and pepper. Make little teeny, tiny meatballs. Add them to the pot on top of the browned wings, one layer at a time, so they don't get squished. Add some ketchup, some paprika and garlic powder to sauce. Simmer for a few hours. Check the sauce to see if it needs more ketchup, garlic, pepper or salt.

My notes: It’s all approximate. I use a regular package of chopped meat, probably about a 1/3 to a 1/2 bottle of ketchup. We like Heinz. The regular size bottle, not the humongous size. Probably a couple teaspoons of garlic powder, about a teaspoon or two of paprika, I throw some salt in, but not too much, plenty of pepper. Use as many or as little wings as you want. You can use chicken parts, too, just cut in small pieces. My grandmother used to add bay leaves. If you want, throw in about two bay leaves.

Click here  and here for some more Passover recipes from last year!

21 comments:

  1. Mmmmm...looks delicious! Please stop by to enter my give-away.

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  2. I use to make dinner every year for our entire family. When I last moved I threw out all the Seder books that I had for years from the super market that were given away free in those days. I now just make dinner for our immediate family since we no longer live in the NY area. Sadly the rest of the family up there no longer make dinner as they are too lazy to cook or even bring in food. I wish I had a Bens deli here to order in some food:) If I did I would make it to the table dressed up for a change without my apron on!
    Joyce

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  3. That meatball chicken fricassee is so mouth watering.

    Also, I have introduced my daughter with the matzo ball (sshh, I use the box) and she is loving it.

    Glad your kitchen is back with your delicious cooking. I could imagine making that long list to replenish the contents of the friz and frig!

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  4. The brisket looks good- cooking THREE!!
    Love the mosaic - can;t tell if Max is trying to see his shadow or peeing!! (like a gentleman) LOL

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  5. Love both mosaics ... The tulips are a gorgeous shade of pink. AND, I love seeing your sightings of spring. But my favorite is of Max studying that twig. Wonder what he was thinking .. will it attack me, why is it in my yard, can I eat it ???

    The brisket looks really tasty. Yes, procrastinating was a good thing this time. :)

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  6. Hi, love your Mosaic's and thanks so much for the great recipes! Hope you have a wonderful rest of your day!
    Hugs...
    Bobbi

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  7. You know all the house pets are loving not getting their paws frozen to make their daily visits outside these days. Thanks for sharing the recipes.

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  8. Darling puppy you have in that cute mosaic.
    Your recipes look extra yummy.....I'm hungry!!!

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  9. How great is that...a mosaic and some recipes. So glad you hadn't stocked your freezer. We love brisket around here. Blessings on your Passover observance...

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  10. So sorry you lost power for so many days! I missed the storm as I was away but I was so sad to see so mnay beautiful trees down when I came back to NYC.
    :-(

    MMMmmmm...that brisket looks so good! The King Arthur Flour blog had a wonderful flowerless chocolate cake for Passover on it's site today, in case you are interested!

    Love the spring flower mosaic!

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  11. Beautiful mosaics. Thanks for recipes - they look yum.
    Darryl and Ruth : )

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  12. Love your mosaic and recipes.
    Thank you for sharing.

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  13. Your pup looks so happy playing in the yard, Carol. Yay, Spring!

    I love brisket and have one in the freeze I need to fix soon. I love the left-overs.

    I've never trying making chicken fricasse but how great that you have this recipe from watching your friend's mother make it.

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  14. I'm sure your love of cooking and obvious talents make your kitchen a happy place and somewhere people want to be!

    Amanda

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  15. I love these early days of spring when everything is coming to life. Those recipes look awesome. My husband would love that brisket and the chicken and meatballs looks like one of my family's recipes so have to try that one. ~jeanne

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  16. Your pup isa cutie! Food Looks yummy!
    *hugs*deb

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  17. Carol, yours is the only brisket recipe I've ever made...many times. So good! Oh, I just LOVE those early signs of Spring.

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  18. Carol, I still haven't made brisket, but it sounds so good. The puppy is getting so big! I am loving the signs of Spring.

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  19. Looks VERY tasty ;-)
    Love your beagle at play and your kewl mosaic too. Sorry to be visiting so late, but the week just got away from me.
    Hugs and blessings,

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  20. Your brisket recipe has been my new favorite since you posted it last year! Delicious!!

    Is the new pup digging holes all over the yard yet? You should see my poor yard/gardens!

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Thank you for taking the time to comment. They are fun to read and very much appreciated! Sorry for comment moderation, the spam has been overwhelming lately.

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