It's Still March Isn't It?

I was going to write about St. Patrick's Day but it got away from me. And no, green beer was not involved, but I did have a hankering for some green eggs and ham. But that's another story. But hey, it's still March isn't it? Every day is St. Patrick's Day. It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "living green." One thing I wonder though, why St. Patrick and not St. David? (Can you see where I'm going with this?) For those of non-Welsh heritage, St. David is the patron saint of Wales (what gave it away?) and his day is in Feburary and while Patrick's symbol is the clover, David's is (are you ready for this?) the leek. Yup, food is in my blood.

Anyway. So what do the Irish eat? They have to get something in their stomachs to soak up all that Guinness. I have images of potatoes, cabbage, lots of lamb and Finnan Haddie, which I'm sure you can guess is haddock. Two of the best Irish contributions to the culinary world (and again, no, it's not beer) are corned beef and lamb stew.

Ron Weasley bemoaned his mother's lovingly made, if not hastily made, corned beef sandwiches when he first met Harry Potter. Not like corned beef? With all that red hair you'd have thought the Weasley's had a little bit o' the Emerald in them. Me, I love corned beef. I do love a good pickle, aye. Whoever came up with the idea of pickling beef was a genius. Of course it was just a means of preserving beef in the medival days. But still.

So how's it done? Simple. If you've ever canned pickles then you can do the same to beef. Corned beef is usually a brisket but you can use a smaller roast or maybe even a tri-tip. Make enough pickling brine to cover the beef. You can keep it simple and buy a package of pickling spice. I'm not the canner in our family so I'm not sure of the porportions, but I do know water, brown sugar and salt are involved. No vinegar. A couple hundred years or so ago, they'd use saltpeter and baking soda as well. Now we know saltpeter can be toxic to some people but you could still use the baking soda. They'd then soak the meat for at least a week and then boil it in the brine, skimming off the coagulation that rises to the top. When the meat is cooked through, leave the meat in the brine and let it cool. The meat would last in the brine for about three months, but that's if you're doing 100 lbs of cow. You can slice it hot straight from the brine, or let the brine cool, remove the roast, pat it dry and have a nice Rueben.

Now lamb stew. I once had a friend who was the youngest of 13 children. She was living on her own but had a problem cooking. She didn't know how to cook for one. Every Sunday she'd make a big pot of whatever and about seven or eight of us would have a nice big "family" Sunday dinner. After awhile a couple of us started to feel a little guilty, so we conspired to rotate the responsibility. When my turn to cook dinner came around, wouldn't you know - it was March. So, I found a nice small leg of lamb, boned it, cubed the meat, browned the meat and the bone, added some chopped carrots, potatoes, onions, a bay leaf and some fresh thyme, covered it with water and let it stew on low for a couple hours. When it was done I just removed the bone, seasoned it with salt and pepper and added some chopped cabbage in the end. I mean, after all, it is an Irish stew. I served it with some cheese and farmers bread.

Everyone loved it except one. To her, eating out was usually Denny's and dinner was mac and cheese or something out of a box. She had never had lamb before and commented that this "beef" stew tasted weird. When I told her it was lamb, she freaked and couldn't finish it. >sigh< My work is never done, is it?

Don't Forget the Burros, Grandma

I'll be going down to Phoenix in June. Call me crazy but I love summer in the Valley of the Sun. August is actually the best time to go, especially if you love a good thunderstorm. The monsoons in the Valley are unparalleled. All the thunder and lightening without all the rain.

Anyway, in my family, it is totally unacceptable to be in Phoenix without making at least one stop to a restaurant that is iconic in family fokelore. Jordan's. My dad, grandfather Kent and uncle Steve had a father/son CPA firm going on and they did the books for Jordan's. That and the fact that it was about three blocks from our house on W. Virgina Ave, we went there quite often.

There's one favorite story my mother tells that may shed quite a bit of light into why I love Mexican food. It's in my genes. When I was born in New York, my grandmother Laverne flew out to see little newborn me. On the way to the airport, she stopped at Jordan's and filled her carry-on bag with green chile burros (no, not burritos!). I'm told the smell permeated the entire cabin on the long flight east. To our family, Jordan's is a place that proves that what we consider "Mexican" food is as gringo as it gets. We try to imitate Jordan's at home as much as we can whenever we get the cravings for good Mexican food.

Sadly, the original Jordan's on Central and Virginia has closed because of construction of the light rail line going down Central Ave. But there's still the one on Bethany Home Rd and 7th St.

So, here I am in Utah. Lovely people, but like I've said before, sometimes a little deprived. Luckily, being in the restaurant business, I have access to people who know first hand what Mexican food should be like.

The other day, one of my cooks brought in some stuff to make himself some lunch. He took threemedium sized tomatoes, half a white onion, and a couple cloves of garlic. He boiled all of this in about a pint of water. He then took about a dozen dried red japones chilies (about the size of serranos but milder) and sauteed them in a little olive oil until they started to sweat and get darker. He then toasted some pine nuts and almonds, about 1/4 cup each and a couple tablespoons of sesame seeds. He then drained the tomatoes, onion and garlic and pureed everything together, using a little of the boiling liquid to thin it out a little.

All I could say was,"wow". It was incredible! It was great as a dip or as a mole-type sauce. It would probably be great with huevos ranchero.

I'm going to make it again and try and take pictures so you can see. Also, I'm working on getting videos as well. Next time - St. Patty's Day!