When I was little, I would sometimes go into my mom’s “sewing room” (a card table wedged into a corner of the utility room next to the washing machine) and whine, “I don’t have anything to do….”. Her inspired response? “Mildew!”
Uh….Mom…..have you taken your meds today?
So you’re bored. Figure something out! Use your imagination. Make something, clean something, ride something (I had a pony AND a bike). FIND SOMETHING TO DO!
During this “Shelter In Place” I’ve read comments from some about how bored they are. “Put together the same puzzle three times already,” “nowhere to go, nuthin to do,” “can’t walk around my block any more!!!” And yes, I’ve found myself searching for new TV shows to stream more often than I should admit.
Sophie Weiner of Time Magazine writes that Covid-19 “has produced a unique combination of boredom and constant low-level dread.” April 16, 2020 “The Science Behind Your Weird Coronavirus Dreams (And Nightmares).”
True that, Sophie.
The days roll by, one blurring into the next. We know the rules, then the rules change, and we wait to be told when life will begin to return to….we aren’t sure yet.
So I offer up a challenge: search your home for that thing, book, project or hobby that you picked up and put down awhile ago. Have you walked past a room in your house and thought, “I really hate that paint color” and just kept walking? Home Depot is open. Go get some swatches.
The recipe I’m sharing with you this week comes from a cookbook called “The Science of Good Cooking” from Cook’s Illustrated. This book was a very thoughtful gift from some dear friends…2 years ago. This is the first time I’ve made any of the recipes in it. I hang my head in shame.
I decided to finally put this beautiful book to good use and made Onion Braised Tri-tip with mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts for dinner, with Lemon and Blueberry Bread for dessert (recipe coming in a future blog). The challenge of a new recipe can produce an element of low-level dread on its own, but it can also be fun, exciting and a way to stretch your brain and improve your skills! The results were positively lovely!
Cooking the dish day before and refrigerating overnight really allow the flavors to blend and “helps to restore some of the moisture lost in the cooking process.” The recipe seems a bit involved, but in point of fact, it also makes the day you are serving much more relaxed. I mean, dinner’s mostly done already!!
This week’s Sunday dinner was sans theme. We just wanted to see each other. We flirted a little more with political subjects than would normally be allowed at Sunday dinner (see Rule #3 of The Rules of Sunday Dinner), but current circumstances demanded some leeway. We celebrated with Bob for his birthday, Kelly and Steve gave us a few glimpses of their Covid creation—the new deck and outdoor kitchen which is taking shape quickly! Dan proudly held up the rack of ribs he spent 5 hours grilling so we could all see them on the camera. He did a fabulous job! So fabulous, in fact, that they came apart and dropped off the fork and straight into the dirt. “Falling off the bones” is a trait to be desired when cooking ribs! Dan learned that. And we laughed with him. Friends do that.
The conversation even took a quick side road into creative cooking. “Cooking with Cannabis”. (Author’s note: for any of you NOT aware, cannabis is legal in California so please, no judgment.) There was some debate about “microdosing” which still eludes me, but I applaud any creativity in the kitchen. New recipes, indeed.
So why don’t we allow this shelter time to help restore us, just a little? To explore new avenues in our brains; find (or at least search for) a new skill or interest. Or, master a skill you already have! When this is over (and it WILL be over), do you want to say, “That was a frustrating time in many ways, but look what I learned!?” Or, “Damn! Just how many versions of Stargate are there?!?” No judgment. Do what interests you. If your interests run to filmmaking and TV shows, then do it up right!
This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.
— C.S. Lewis “On Living in an Atomic Age” (1948)
And don’t forget these wise words from another noted philosopher:
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile….you could miss it.” —Ferris Bueller
Keep calm, and wash your hands.
Onion Braised Beef Brisket
Equipment
- 13 x 9 baking dish
- Dutch oven or cast iron skillet
- Aluminum foil
- Fine mesh sieve
Ingredients
- 1 4-5 lb beef brisket/tri tip, fat trimmed to ¼ inch
- Salt & Pepper
- Vegetable Oil
- 2½ lbs onions, halved and sliced ½ inch think
- 1 tbsp packed brown sugar
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp paprika
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tsps cider vinegar
Instructions
The Day Before
- Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 300°F. Line a 13 by 9 inch baking dish with two 24 inch long sheets of 18 inch wide (extra wide) heavy duty aluminum foil, positioning beets perpendicular to each other and allowing excess foil to extend beyond edges of pan.
- Pat brisket dry with paper towels. Place brisket fat side up on cutting board, using dinner fork, poke holes in meat through fat layer about 1 inch apart. Season both sides of brisket with salt and pepper.
- Heat 1 tsp oil in large skillet over medium high heat until oil just begins to smoke. Place brisket, fat side up, in skillet; weight brisket with heavy Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet and cook until well browned, about 7 minutes.
- Remove Dutch oven, using tongs, flip the brisket and cook on second side without weight until well browned, about 7 more minutes. Transfer the brisket to a platter or cutting board.
- Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from the pan (or if the brisket was lean, add enough oil to fat in skillet to equal 1 tablespoon); stir in onions, sugar, and ¼ tsp salt and cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute; add tomato paste and cook, stirring to combine, until paste darkens, about 2 minutes. Add paprika and cayenne and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add broth, wine, bay leaves, and thyme, stirring to scrape up browned bits from pan; bring to simmer and simmer for 5 minutes to fully thicken.
- Pour sauce and onions into foil-lined baking dish. Nestle the brisket, fat side up, in the sauce and onions.
- Fold foil extensions over and seal (do not tightly crimp foil because it must later be opened to test for doneness). Place in the oven and cook until fork slips easily in and out of the meat, 3 ½ to 4 hours (when testing for doneness, open foil with caution as the contents will be steaming). Carefully open foil and let the brisket cool at room temperature, 20 – 30 minutes.
- Transfer the brisket to a large bowl; set a fine-mesh strainer over the bowl and strain the sauce over the brisket. Discard the bay leaves and thyme from the onions and transfer onions to a small bowl. Cover both bowls with plastic wrap, cut vents in plastic and refrigerate overnight.
The Day Of
- About 45 minutes before serving, adjust oven rack to lower middle position, heat oven to 350°F. While oven heats, transfer cold brisket to carving board. Scrape off and discard any fat from surface of sauce, then heat sauce in a medium saucepan over medium heat until warm, skimming any fat on surface with wide shallow spoon (you should have about 2 cups sauce without onions, if necessary, simmer the sauce over medium high heat until reduced to 2 cups).
- Slice the brisket against the grain into ¼-inch thick slices and place slices in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Stir the reserved onions and vinegar into warmed sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce over brisket slices, cover the baking dish with foil, and bake until heated through, 25 – 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
To Cook and Serve Same Day
- After removing the brisket from the oven after the initial bake (4 hours), reseal the foil and let the brisket sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Transfer the brisket to a carving board and continue with straining, defating and reheating the sauce and slicing meet; omit the step of returning brisket to the oven once reheated sauce is poured over it.
Boy, sounds good. We’ll have to try this. Nothing better than meat and onions in my mind.