Slow Cooker Barbeque Brisket

As I mentioned in my last post, Carl and I have noticed some culinary differences in the Northwest.  While we are loving the chance to try new things, we're also missing some of those staples we had back in the South.  One such item is good barbeque.  When I went to college in the Midwest, I noticed that good barbeque joints were hard to come by.  It is no different here in the Northwest.  Consequently, I had to find a good recipe that could satisfy our need for that meaty goodness.  I found this brisket recipe here, and let me tell you, it is a tasty recipe that is super easy.  We mostly stuck with the original recipe, making only a few minor changes.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 pounds beef brisket, trimmed of fat
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 18-oz bottle barbeque sauce, which is 1.5 cups (we used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue Sauce)

Combine spices in a small bowl.  Rub the brisket with the liquid smoke and then rub with the spice mixture.  Pour the Worcestershire and barbeque sauce into the slow cooker and place the on top.  Cover.  Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or until fork tender.

This recipe is super tasty and super easy, so you really can't go wrong.  If you like, you can shred the beef to make sandwiches, which is what we did.  On the original recipe there are pictures of sliced brisket, but every time we've made it, the meat just falls apart and is difficult to slice.  We've made this recipe several times since moving to the Northwest, and now it is my go-to recipe when I'm craving barbeque.  

Scallops with Grapefruit and Bacon

As you know, Carl and I moved to Portland, OR so I could start my doctoral program.  We've been here a few months now and have realized that seafood is much more prevalent here than it was back in Oklahoma.  I've never been a huge fan of seafood (probably because I grew up in land-locked Oklahoma!), but I've been trying to become more adventurous with it since the move.  And it's a good thing I did, because these scallops are the best thing I've eaten in a long time!  I got the recipe from here, and we made a couple minor changes but pretty much followed the recipe as is.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium grapefruit (the original recipe called for a large grapefruit, which we used, but we both felt like there was a lot of grapefruit in comparison to everything else, so I think a medium grapefruit would do fine
• 3 onces slab bacon, cut into 1-by- 1/4-inch matchsticks (we just used regular sliced bacon, which turned out to be about 4 slices, and we cooked them so that they were crispy and crumbed them instead of cutting them into matchsticks)
• 1.75 pounds sea scallops (about 20)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup white wine (the original recipe called for Sauvignon Blanc, but we already had some Riesling so we used that instead)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Using a sharp knife, peel the grapefruit, removing all of the bitter white pith.  Working over a bowl, cut in between the membranes to release the sections.  Squeeze the juice from the membrane into another bowl; you should have about 3 tablespoons of juice.  In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, about 3 minutes.  Once cooked transfer the bacon to a small plate.  Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat.  Season the scallops with salt and pepper.  Add the scallops to the skillet that has the bacon fat and cook over medium high heat until the scallops are browned, about 3 minutes. Turn the scallops and add the onion.  Cook over medium heat until the scallops are just cooked through, about 3 minutes longer.  Transfer the scallops to a plate.  Add the wine and grapefruit juice to the onions in the skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Cook scraping up any browned bits.  Strain the liquid into a heat proof cup then return the liquid to the skillet.  Add the butter and cook until the sauce is thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Return the scallops to the skillet and turn them to coat them with the sauce.  Add the grapefruit and bacon and serve right away.

I can't tell you enough how fabulous these scallops were!  They were so light and buttery!  Yum!  If scallops weren't so expensive, I would eat these every week.  I'm sorry the picture of this dish didn't turn out too well, but I was so hurried to eat them, that I didn't take the time to get a really good picture. I pity all those who are allergic to shellfish, because they won't get to try this fabulous recipe!  

Chicken Paprikas with Nokedli

I know it's been almost a year since I last posted!  Yikes!  I have some great new recipes I want to share, and some good old recipes too!  As some of you know, I am half Hungarian, and my grandmother has been teaching how to cook Hungarian style.  This is one of my favorite Hungarian dishes, and so I wanted to share it with you.  The chicken paprikas (pronounced pop-reek-awsh) requires that you have good paprika; the cheap stuff won't do for this recipe.  The nokedli (pronounced no-ked-lee) are small dumplings that you serve the paprikas on.  If you're not a fan of nokedli, you could use pasta instead.

Ingredients for paprikas:

• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/or chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces (technically you're supposed to use a whole chicken, but I find that to be rather a pain)
• a couple tablespoons oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 3-4 large tomatoes, quartered
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• salt to taste
• dollop of sour cream (optional)

Ingredients for nokedli:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons salt
• about 3/4 cups water

To make the paprikas:  In a Dutch oven heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the chicken and cook until no longer pink.  Add the onion and bell pepper and sauté until onion is transparent.  Add the tomatoes, paprika, and salt.  Cover and cook for about 20 minutes or until the tomatoes have completely dissolved.  

To make the nokedli:  Boil about 4-5 cups of water in a large sauce pan.  Mix the flour, salt, and eggs together.  Add a little water at a time until you get a sticky dough.  You might not use the entire 3/4 cup, or you might need more.  It should be sticky but holds together.  

Put the dough on a cutting board, and with a table knife, slice off a strip of dough about 1 inch thick.  

Slice pieces of dough off of the strip that are about 1/2 an inch long.  To keep the dough from sticking to the knife, dip the knife in the boiling water.  You'll probably need to do this after every dumpling to dump into the pot.

Push the slice of dough into the boiling water.

Keep slicing 1/2 inch bits off of your strip of dough.  When your strip has been all cut into pieces and pushed into the water, cut another slice, and repeat until all the dough is in the boiling water.  Boil the nokedli for about two minutes and then drain in a colander.  Serve the papkrias over the nokedli.  You can serve it with a dollop of sour cream on top if you so desire.