A Brief Departure from the 'Spoon: Bonus Entry #1

I know this is totally against my self imposed blog rules, but I have to tell you about a non-SS recipe I tried last night from Darina Allen's Traditional Irish Cooking.  You may skip the rest of this entry if you want to remain purely Spoonish. 

This is the simplest recipe I've ever done for Corned Beef and truly the most successful.  All I did was cover a 4 pound cut of corned beef with cold water,added a tablespoon of dried mustard and six small onions in a sauce pan.  I brought the liquid to a boil and then covered it and simmered for two more hours.  I then added a cut-up cabbage and simmered for about one hour more.  Around the 30 minute mark I threw in some potatoes in a separate pan to boil.   When everything was done, I had mouthwateringly tender corned beef in a tasty broth with perfectly cooked cabbage.  The onions became a part of the broth more or less.  I added kosher salt to the potatoes and plated the whole thing with a pot of whole grain mustard.  It was delicious! 

I didn't stop there, however, and I probably should have with my impending nuptials pretty much one month away.  I tried a recipe for Belgian Waffles that came with our brand new Waffle Maker.  This was one of the many generous gifts I got from family friends in CT. (Gifts I shouldn't be using yet, according to ettiquette, please don't tell the wedding police!)

 N., my Fiance is a big fan of waffles, I usually hate them.  That being said, I wanted to try them the non- bisquik way and see if it made any difference.  I started out activating some yeast in 105 degree water.  Obtaining water at that particular temperature is a pain in the neck.  I finally did so and left it to foam for a few minutes while I aerated the flour. 

I mixed the flour and salt together trying to fluff it up as much as possible without a sifter.   After doing so I set it aside and separated 3 eggs, I added the yolks to the yeast and then added 1/3 cup sugar and combined.  I then added the flour and combined that with the sugar mixture, then beat the egg whites until they were stiff and then folded that in with some oil, vanilla and additional water.  Then I let it sit while we had dinner (for about an hour) then I made my fiance make the actual waffles.  He was thrilled.  The machine was incredible!  The waffles were really tasty.

 I made a salty carmel sauce to go on top.  Very simply, I boiled 1/2 cup of sugar in 1/4 cup of water until it was carmel (about 7 or so minutes).  Then I added heavy cream, butter and a healthy teaspoon of kosher salt.  P. our new houseguest loved it!  He said the salt made all the difference.  I thought so too. 

To summarize, it turns out I like waffles if made from a fussy recipe that is somewhat challenging.  Oh boy, less and less foods I don't like.  This cannot be good for my waistline or any part of me for that matter.  More positvely, I have found my recipe for corned beef for life.  This is it, I will never make it another way again.  I have tried corned beef in the slow cooker, and pressure cookers and this preparation was far less salty and more tender.  I think maybe, when this whole Spoon thing is over, I might look up Darina Allen's book.  I can only imagine what other delicious offerings  Traditional Irish Cooking  might have. 

For now back to the Spoon, tonights plan is Meatballs with Lemon and some Quick Tomato Sauce.  I'll probably make some spagetti too, the low carb kind, I swear!