Corned Beef and Cabbage

I’ve been a little remiss with Storkbite Stew lately as I had to take time out to celebrate my birthday.  Storkbite treated me to sleeping in and then a lovely day in the country at Stone Barns Center for Agriculture.  If you live in the New York area, go there.  Don’t just look at the website, go there.  Especially if you have a toddler of Midwestern parentage growing up in an urban environment and said parentage both have great concern their child will be afraid of dirt.    One delicious trip to the cafe and an afternoon’s romp through the woods we were ready to swing by the grocery store on the way home to pick up the requisite St. Pat’s Day fare.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

It’s Storkbite’s Papa’s favorite meal and I hate it.  I have learned how to deal with it over the years and I only make it on March 17th.  It’s basic and easy if you own a crock pot.  Simply take a giant corned beef, put it in the crock pot with about six cloves of garlic and one quartered onion.  Cover it with water, add salt and pepper.  Let it cook on high for about six hours.  In the last two hours of cooking, add scrubbed small potatoes (about 1 dozen).  In the  last one hour of cooking add a large head of green cabbage and a small head of red cabbage rough chopped.  Make sure the beef is tender prior to serving it.  If it’s not flaky, you can also throw it in a pot of water on the stove top and boil it.  I had to do this throughout bath and bed time this year since my crockpot got overloaded by cabbage.

Slice the corned beef and serve. I must admit that I like it more this year than in the past, but I think that might have been due to the Guinness!

Chili Con Carne

In eager anticipation of our first snowfall this March (sigh), we decided to get as much chili in the crock pot as possible so we have the proper fortifications for the week ahead.   Since I’m now soaking about two pounds of beans per week and eating them, we decided to create one of our favorite meaty bean dishes.

Chili Con Carne

One of my former colleagues grew up in England and he always called plain old chili, Chili Con Carne.  I wonder is it necessary to actually include the con carne bit, but what the heck?

Meat and beans in a tomato sauce is really so satisfying and in my opinion it’s one of winter’s great pleasures.

• 1 large can tomato sauce
• 1 large can diced tomatoes
• 1 pint jar of my mother’s chili sauce*
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 large white onion diced
• 1 1/2 lbs. kidney beans soaked overnight
• Cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt + pepper to taste.

*If your mother does not can her entire garden like mine does then you can add the following cooked down a bit so the flavors meld: onion, a variety of hot peppers, celery, tomatoes and garlic.  That is basically what her chili sauce is. You can also omit this completely.

Saute the onion until glassy and then add the ground beef.  Salt and pepper it nicely.  Once browned add it to your crock pot which contains the remainder of the ingredients above plus one (tomato) can of water.  Crank up the crock and let it cook all day on high.   Top with shredded cheddar cheese and diced onions.  It’s going to be a great snow day tomorrow.

Beef Stew

Storkbite’s papa takes responsibility for two things in the kitchen and one of those things is his amazing beef stew.  I have tried a few times and it’s never as good as when he makes it.  He knows how to make tiny bits of tough stew meat tender.  Tough stew meat is very economical and it’s probably all the beef we will eat in the months ahead.

Beef Stew

If you have a crock pot then this stew is easy as pie.  It’s also an excellent use of one’s CSA winter vegetable share.

2 – 3 lbs. stew meat

3 lbs. small yellow potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 white onion, chopped

6 stalks celery, chopped

4 turnips, peeled and cubed

8 carrots, peeled and chopped

5 cloves garlic

1 large can tomato sauce

1 large can crushed tomato

6 whole cloves

10 peppercorns

2 tbs. salt

Brown beef in a skillet. Combine with tomato, garlic, vegetables and spices in crock-pot. Depending on your crock-pot, cook for approximately 6 hours on high until the meat is tender and falling to pieces.