Slow-Cooker Brisket Sandwiches

Times:

Prep

30 min

Inactive Prep

--

Cook

8 hr 0 min

Total:

8 hr 30 min

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 5-to-6-pound first-cut or flat-cut brisket, cut into 3 pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• 1 12-ounce bottle stout beer
• 4 stalks celery, cut into large pieces
• 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 brioche or other rolls, split open and toasted
• Coleslaw, for serving

Directions

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the brisket with salt and pepper, then brown on all sides, about 10 minutes, adding the garlic in the last 2 minutes. Transfer the meat and garlic to a 5-to-6-quart slow cooker. Pour the beer into the skillet and simmer 30 seconds, scraping up the browned bits from the pan; add the beer mixture to the slow cooker.

Nestle the celery around the meat and add the brown sugar, tomato paste, vinegar, mustard, soy sauce, bay leaves and paprika. Stir, then cover and cook on low 8 hours or on high 6 hours. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes, then thinly slice.

Serve on brioche halves with coleslaw; drizzle with the cooking liquid.

Per serving: Calories 474; Fat 16 g (Saturated 7 g); Cholesterol 128 mg; Sodium 265 mg; Carbohydrate 18 g; Fiber 0 g; Protein 61 g

Photograph by Antonis Achilleos

Notes

You'll have plenty of leftover brisket: Use it in tacos, quesadillas, chili or even on a pizza.

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup instant grits
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails intact
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus wedges for serving
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat, covered. Uncover and slowly whisk in the grits, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parmesan and 1 tablespoon butter. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, garlic and cayenne, if using, and cook, tossing, until the shrimp are pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 2 tablespoons water, the lemon juice and parsley; stir to coat the shrimp with the sauce and season with salt and pepper.

Divide the grits among shallow bowls and top with the shrimp and sauce. Serve with lemon wedges.

Per serving: Calories 367; Fat 12 g (Saturated 7 g); Cholesterol 309 mg; Sodium 904 mg; Carbohydrate 26 g; Fiber 1 g; Protein 34 g

Photograph by Antonis Achilleos

Night off from COOKING

So last night was a COOKING-FREE-NIGHT and Wacky Wednesday @ Steers .....

For the price of ONE cheese burger you get ..... wait for it ...... TWO cheese burgers,
and believe me, it was so good!


And for dessert? (I hear you ask) ~

nothing else but Woolies (Woolworths) Homemade PALMIERS (They are to die for!!!)

So tonight I'll try something new, with a pinch of crazy and share it as soon as I can.....

  

Quick and easy... my lazy cooking

Yes I know, I'm getting lazy but getting home at 8 pm, the last thing I wanted to do was..... COOK.
So I grabbed a pack of Pick N Pay Ham And Mushroom Pasta & Sauce....

Quick and easy.
Heat the 125 ml of milk
and 375 ml of water with 
30 ml of margarine 
in a microwaveable bowl, on high for 2 minutes.

Add the contents of the packet and cook for 12 - 15 minutes
(I used a small 800WD combi grill/microwave and it took me 10 minutes)
Stirring ever 2 - 3 minutes (AND DO REMEMBER TO STIR)
*I got a bit side tracked (watching Chuck) and forgot to stir a couple of times*

Cover and stand for 2 minutes.

Voila!! a quick and easy meal.


(an idea) You can always add chopped red and green peppers or diced smoked ham.
Sprinkle with freshly chopped herbs or grated cheese and finish with freshly ground black pepper.

PS: there are many flavors to choose from ~ not just mushrooms.
  
I added a salad just to complete the meal.

Red Chicken Curry With Elbow Pasta

Serves 4 No description

INGREDIENTS 250 g Elbow Macaroni 5 Filleted Chicken Breasts - Cubed 30 ml Oil ± 125 ml Coconut Milk 15 ml Fresh Coriander Red Curry Paste INGREDIENTS 1 Onion - Small sized, chopped 2 Garlic Cloves - Crushed 5 ml Ground Coriander 7 ml Dried Chilli Flakes 10 ml Fresh Root Ginger - grated 10 ml Lemon Grass - Finely sliced 10 ml Lemon Juice 6 ml Paprika 5 ml Ground Cumin 10 ml Peanut Butter DIRECTIONS Put elbow pasta in a pot of boiling water to which 15 ml oil and 5 ml salt has been added. Boil until al dente, drain and set aside. Heat 30 ml oil in a wok or pan, add curry paste and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add chicken in batches, stir-fry until chicken is tender. Stir in coconut milk and coriander. Bring to boil and simmer uncovered until thickened. Serve curry over elbow pasta.

Apricot Clafoutis

Serves 4 portions This traditional classic tastes even better if you rest the batter for about 30 minutes before baking

410 g Apricot Halves -  in fruit juice 1 Butter - knob for greasing 250 ml Milk 1 Vanilla Pod -  split in half lengthways,  or 5 ml Vanilla Essence 4 Large Eggs - beaten 100 g Castor Sugar 50 g Cake Flour - sifted 1 Icing Sugar - for dusting Directions Preheat oven to 180°C. Drain apricots and place  cut side up in a buttered  shallow 20cm ovenproof  dish. A cake tin also works  perfectly. Pour milk into a saucepan, scrape seeds from vanilla pod and add to the milk. Bring to the boil, then remove from heat and leave to infuse for about 5 minutes. Discard vanilla pod. Whisk eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Fold in flour. Gradually stir milk into egg mixture to form a smooth batter. Pour batter over the apricots and bake for about 30-40 minutes until risen and set. Dust with icing sugar and serve with a scoop of ice cream or drizzled with custard.

Step-by-step salmon rolls on rocket

A practical, low fat starter that’s an excellent way to make smoked salmon stretch a little further to feed more people. Smoked salmon is rich in healthy essential fatty acids.

More than 2 hours Serves: 6 Recipe Type: Appetisers Main Ingredient: Fish and Seafood

Main Ingredients

1 tub creamed cottage cheese, (250g)

2 tsp grated lemon peel

1 tsp lemon juice

3 tbsp chives, finely chopped

1 tsp lemon and black pepper seasoning

2 packets smoked salmon ribbons, (200g)

Salad

60 grams wild rocket

30 grams caper berries, (such as Mayfair), for serving

1 drizzle french vinaigrette

Oysters with three vinaigrettes

Step 1

• Mix cottage cheese, lemon peel and juice, chives and seasoning together

Step 2

• Lay a length of clingfilm on a work surface
• Place a slice of salmon on the clingfilm to form a rectangular shape
• Using scissors, trim salmon into a 6-7cm rectangular  strip. (Overlap any off-cuts to fill in gaps or to straighten uneven edges).
• Carefully spread 1 heaped tablespoonful creamed cheese mixture over salmon
• Roll salmon up from the thinnest end, lifting clingfilm and using your index fingers to guide roll

Step 3

• Tightly push clingfilm around roll while gripping the bottom piece to neaten shape and tighten roll

Step 4

• Tightly twist ends to squash roll into mini-salami shapes. Tie  
  the ends with string.
• Repeat with remaining salmon and cream cheese.
• Freeze for at least 2 hours or up to a week
• Slice into 3mm-thick spirals
• Dress rocket with French vinaigrette and serve salmon spirals on rocket leaves  with capers

Tip

• Use up every bit of salmon by overlapping  leftover pieces before spreading with filling