Nothing special today

No recipe today – we’re eating leftovers for lunch and dinner. I’m working on plans for St. Patrick’s Day dinner which will include homemade corned beef, homemade sauerkraut and a potato galette. I look forward to sharing some pictures with you on Thursday.

Corned beef and sauerkraut turn out to be incredibly easy to make. I am making the corned beef, not from the traditional brisket, but from a 7-bone chuck steak. It takes only a few minutes preparation, 5 days in the fridge, and then some slow cooking on the next day’s afternoon. I’ve used various cuts of beef for this, though never this one. I optimistic that it will turn out well. If you’re interested, there’s a link on my 8/05/09 post.

Sauerkraut takes 10 minutes to prepare and several days to cure. The wrinkle this time is that (thanks to suggestions from the book “Wild Fermentation”) is the additional of some grated turnip. My post of 2/22/10 gives the recipe. The only difference here is the addition of the turnip.

I was surprised to learn from the proprietor of Denver’s St. Killian’s Cheese Shop (he’s Irish) that he doesn’t eat corned beef and didn’t have it while growing up in the old sod. It actually didn’t originate in Ireland. Who knew?

The galette will be very basic and traditional. I’ll take lots of photos. Til later…