The Resident Gaeilge Is On Call With Your Corned Beef Questions

The blog is giving a little St. Paddy's nod to cooking today, as I worked through some things that come from my Western heritage and some new ideas from my Eastern adventures.  
It seems that in every Irish person's life you have to come to terms with the fact that everyone you meet will want you to make them corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day.  I humbly take on this request, and don't tell anyone, but we don't have a secret family recipe for this dish that my grandma would tell you is "what they feed the bums at the shelters".   That kinda of makes Angela's Ashes seem a bit dramatic now, doesn't it?  Then again, the reason we don't have a family recipe may be because my family has a lot of amazing cooks, and being a great cook does not blend with cooking Irish cuisine. Over the years, I have compensated by creating a "secret family recipe".  The secret is... it takes almost no work to make if you know a few tricks.  Reward for reading my blog?  See tricks below.
So let's start with the West and head East.


Step 1:  Buy a Store-Packaged Corned Beef Brisket (aka ruben cut).  Dump the residual juices from the package in a slow-cooker.  Sear it at very high heat with some olive oil.

Step 2:  Put seared brisket in the slow-cooker with various roots and bulbs.  I like a mix of red and russet potatoes, onion, carrots, and rutabaga.

Step 3:  Rub down the brisket with the seasoning packet enclosed.  Add One bottle of Guinness and fill the rest with water until the veggies are covered.  Put the lid on and cook at low overnight.

Step 4:  You may be saying... HA!  You forgot the cabbage.  Not so... I actually like cabbage.  If you don't, you can throw it in and let it simmer and turn to flavorless slop.  So, the trick is leave the cabbage out until before you are ready to serve.  Slice it into thick strips and saute it with some butter and olive oil, salt and pepper.  What you will get is something that almost tastes like a thick noodle pasta.

Teaser:  Keep going for the Guinness Cheesecake...

You need a good, quick, easy meal to make, since you are really cooking two meals in one day.  Since you saved some money by buying a cheap brisket, splurge on this cheap and quick, yet tasty dinner.  In the East, you can get a lobster tail (have a seat Westerners) for $6!  Snag up one of those per person and steam them to tender (about a minute per ounce).

While it steams prep everything else:  Pick some fresh basil leaves, split some sandwich rolls, slather them with pesto on one side and avocado or guac on the other.  Make a vinaigrette with a tablespoon of dijon mustard, a few tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of a lemon, salt and pepper.  Fry up a few slices of bacon. Slice a few plum or cherry tomatoes.  Add those along with the basil and some mozzarella to your rolls. 

Now that your lobster are done, split the tails, chop the meat, toss in the vinaigrette, and add to the rolls.  I served it up with a simple fruit salad.  C'est si bon! 

Now... the Guiness Cheese Cakes:  I used this recipe from Closet Cooking with the exception of using pre-made, individual crusts instead of making my own.

Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake

One of the most decadent and creamy chocolate cheesecakes around with a shot of Guinness to enhance the chocolate flavour.

Servings: makes 6+ servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 12 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup Guinness

Directions

1. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, cocoa powder, sugar, and butter and press into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan.
2. Melt the chocolate in the cream in a double boiler.
3. Cream the cream cheese.
4. Mix in the sugar, chocolate, sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and Guinness.
5. Pour the mixture into the spring form pan.
6. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 60 minutes.
7. Turn off heat and leave cheesecake in the oven with the door slightly ajar for 60 minutes.
8. Let it cool completely.
9. Chill the cheesecake in the fridge overnight.

So it only took about 35 minutes to cook (plus they were cooled to sample last night):

Eat and Enjoy!  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Ith agus Bain sult as! Lá Fhéile Pádraig Shona!