It's time for another original episode of Slashfood in the Kitchen with Marisa (that's me!) and Scott. This time we make a classic yellow birthday cake from scratch and top it with a chocolate seven minute frosting. It's a quick and delicious way to make someone feel loved on their special day and do it in no time at all.
The cake recipe came from my copy of the Gourmet Cookbook (the big yellow one that came out a few years ago) but you can also find the recipe here on Epicurious.com. I used this seven minute frosting recipe, also from Epicurious, and added in 2 ounces of melted unsweetened bakers' chocolate at the end.
We'd like to thank Mastercard for sponsoring Slashfood in the Kitchen. They'd like us to remind you that whether you're an art-lover, a traveler, or a connoisseur of fine dining, search and you could win priceless prizes beyond compare.
For more Slashfood in the Kitchen, check out episode 1, 2 and 3.
1- 7 to 9 lb. Smoked Pork Shoulder 1 Cabbage 1 Rutabaga (Sometimes called Yellow Turnip or Horse Turnip) 1-2 lbs. of Carrots 2-3 lbs. of Potatoes (Plain White, Yukon Gold, Fingerlings, Peruvian Purple- whatever you like.) 4-6 Sweet Onions 1-2 lbs. of any Root Vegetables of your choice (Parsnips, Turnips, Celery Root, Sweet Potato or Yam, Sunchokes, Radish or Daikon, Beets, etc.- Beets need to be cooked separately) 4-6 Garlic cloves 1/2 tbs. of Black Peppercorns 2-3 Bay Leaves 1 tbs. pickling or other cooking spices (Allspice, Cloves, Mustard Seed, Coriander, Ginger, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, etc.) 1-3 Bottles of Dark Beer
Total cooking time is 3-4 hours. (apx. 25-30 minutes per pound)
Add your Black Peppercorns and any other spices. I used a couple of tablespoons of assorted spices and pickling spice. Next time I would add even more.
Pour in several bottles of dark beer. I had Guinness available, but next time I would go with something richer and fuller since Guinness is on the light side when it comes to dark beer.
Bring the pot to a boil and then immediately lower to a bare simmer. You want to cook this low and slow. You will be cooking the roast for a total time of 25-30 minutes per lb. In this case for an 8 lb. roast I will simmer it for a total of 3 hours and 30 minutes. remember that you will be adding the vegetables near the end of the cooking time.
Now it's time for the garlic. Separate the cloves from the heqad and lay them on the cutting board. One at a time lay your knife on top of the clove. Make sure the edge is on the cutting board. Place the heel of your hand on the side of the and firmly press down until the clove is crushed.
See how the clove is crushed and popping out of the skin?
Repeat with all your garlic.
Throw away the peel, it will come off easily.
Dump all the garlic into the pot. I started out with six cloves, then added six more later. I would even go to a full head of garlic next time, since I used a lot of water and beer to cover the roast so that all the salt would be extracted during the long simmer.
Here's the rutabaga, sometimes called yellow turnip or horse turnip. they have a great sweet and rich flavor. they are covered in a waxy coating that keeps them fresh all winter long. they actually get sweeter as time goes by.
Rutabagas are a VERY firm/tough veggie. They are the somewhat hard to cut so be careful. First remove a slim slice from the top and bottom. This will give you a firm and smooth place to set down on your cutting board.
Slowly work your way around the rutabaga slicing off thin pieces from the top down about a third of the way. Turn the turnip and repeat until you have gone all the way around. then turn the turnip upside down and repeat. finally you will have some little pieces to trim from the sides.
This si what it will look like when you are done.
Carefully place the knife 1/3 of the way in to the turnip and place the heel of you hand on the back of the blade to help you press down and cut through the turnip. Make sure no fingers are in the way.
Repeat until cut into thirds. lay these on their side and repeat the process.
You will end up with 27 largish pieces that are the perfect size to cook well. Put these aside for later. You will add them and the other root vegetables to the pot exactly 25 minutes before the roast will be done.
Cut the cabbage in half along the stem/core and repeat. Leaving the core in will help hold the cabbage together during cooking. Place aside for later. You will add them and the onions to the pot exactly 15 minutes before the roast will be done.
Trim the ends off of your carrots. Don't bother peeling or cutting them, they are fine as is unless you use HUGE carrots. Place aside for later. You will add them and the other root vegetables to the pot exactly 25 minutes before the roast will be done.
Get together your potatoes. I like to use a mix. I have baby Peruvian Purples, fingerlings, and White Maine Potatoes from Aroostook County way up north where most of the potatoes are grown. I am using all waxy skinned potatoes since they stand up to boiling well. Russet potatoes fall apart when you boil them so stick to boilers.
The Peruvian Purples and Fingerlings don't need cutting or peeling so set them aside for later. You will add them and the other root vegetables to the pot exactly 25 minutes before the roast will be done.
The Maine White potatoes need to be peeled and cut in halves or even quarters.
Rinse them and when the water runs clear set them aside covered with cold water. This will stop them from turning brown and they will keep this way all day, and even several days in the fridge. remember that you will add them and the other root vegetables to the pot exactly 25 minutes before the roast will be done.
Your last step is to prepare the onions. Care fully peel your sweet onions leaving the stem.
Cut them into quarters the same way you did the cabbage so that the stem will keep them from falling apart. You will add them and the cabbage to the pot exactly 15 minutes before the roast will be done.
Carefully use tongs or several slotted spoons to remove the smoked pork shoulder from the pot and place in a bowl or platter to cool.
carefully remove the vegetables from the pot and set aside or take them to the table.
There are two ways you can serve the meat. The first is cut it into slices and serve. The only problem is that the meat can dry out quickly as I noticed immediately. The second way is to wait until the meat cools down a bit and them wearing rubber gloves you can peel the chunk of meat apart. It will want to come apart into nice sections that are perfect for serving and the meat will be moister than if sliced. My chef friend Josh Gamage told me this, but I had forgotten and started slicing. I learned the error of my ways right away.
So plate up your dinner and dig in. I had a nice brown mustard that was full flavored but not too hot. this went great with the vegetables and meat. The boiled smoked pork shoulder was an enormous hit and was pronounced "FinestKind!"
So the other day I showed you how I make a Boiled Corned Beef Dinner. I made twice as much as I needed so there would be a ton of leftovers. Sure, I'll make a few hot and cold corned beef sandwiches, but my main goal is hash. That's right, an Old Style, Homemade, Corned Beef Hash; full of the flavor of spiced corned beef and lots of vegetables, all simmered long and slow.
Old Style, Homemade, Corned Beef Hash
Roughly chop up as much leftover corned beef and vegetables as you want. I like to go about 40% corned beef, 50% potatoes/carrots/onions, and only 10% cabbage. To this add a nice amount of fresh chopped raw sweet onion and some chopped bell pepper or chile pepper. I usually use a stemmed and seeded Jalapeno Pepper. Dust thoroughly with fresh ground black pepper and add a fat pinch of Kosher or Sea Salt.
Cook over medium-high heat in a pre-heated cast iron pan, and stir every few minutes as it browns on the bottom. Do not add any oil or grease, the meat has plenty.
The hash should be a mix of browned bits and un-browned. If you brown it too much it will get all dry. Fry some eggs easy over and serve a pile of the hash with two eggs on top. Mmmm... that's some wicked good cookin'.
After a four-and-a-half month hiatus, Slashfood in the Kitchen is back! (I'm sure that you have leaped out of your seat and are cheering upon reading this). This time Scott and I make a quick weeknight dinner that is easy to throw together, tastes pretty darn good and is relatively healthy to boot. We start out with an easy pasta dish much like the ones so many of us grew up eating (pasta, bell peppers, onions, ground beef and tomatoes) and finish things off with some sauteed Swiss Chard (one of the quickest cooking veggies around). Best part of it was that it made enough for two nights' worth of dinner (if you have more than two people in your household, your mileage will vary).
We'd like to thank Mastercard for sponsoring Slashfood in the Kitchen. They'd like us to remind you that whether you're an art-lover, a traveler, or a connoisseur of fine dining, search and you could win priceless prizes beyond compare.
And, if you missed them, you should check out the first two episodes we made last fall. You know you want to learn to roast brussels sprouts and make apple sauce!
Yesterday I asked the question, "Corned Beef or Smoked Pork Shoulder for dinner?" and now I have an easy recipe for a St. Paddy's Day feast of a Boiled corned Beef and Vegetables dinner. Tomorrow I'll have the same for the Boiled Smoked Pork Shoulder dinner.
So get yourself out to the store and grab some meat and veggies, they should be on sale and if you hunt around you can put together a feast for your friends and family for relatively little money. I got enough to feed 10 people for around $25.
1-2 Corned Beef- get twice or even three times as much as you think you'll need so that you have tons of leftovers for sandwiches and hash. 1-2 lbs. of Potatoes- Small boilers or Yukon Golds, I like the small Peruvian Purples for their combination of floral and earthy taste that goes so well with this dish and the great color too. 3-6 Sweet Onions- like Vidalias or Peruvian Sweets 1 Small Cabbage 1 lb. of Carrots Any other root vegetables that catch your fancy like turnips or rutabagas, parsnips, beets, etc. Assorted spices- Pickling spice or make your own with black peppercorns, bay leaves, mustard seed, coriander seed, allspice, clove, etc. Six Pack Guinness Extra Stout
Remove the corned beef from the bags and rinse well. Try to get all the brine off and pat them dry. If you want you can carefully trim excess surface fat off the meat. I tend to trim off a lot since there will be a lot of fat dispersed through the meat. Most of that will render out in the long, slow simmering.
Put the corned beef into a large pot and fill with cold water until the meat is just barely covered.
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