Brisket Wellington

 After consulting with several cooks, about what they do with the leftover brisket, we came to the general consensus, that there usually isn't any left overs.  This weekend, we did a large amount of cooking and actually had a couple of strips left over.  We came up with the idea of doing a Brisket Wellington. It is a play on the ever popular Beef Wellington.  The Beef Wellington is usually made with beef tenderloin wrapped in puff pastry dough and served sliced. The name is often credited to Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, as being a favorite dish of his.

 We used our creative license to make our own interpretation of this famous dish.  The most obvious difference is that we used leftover brisket, instead of beef tenderloin.  We used puff pastry sheets to wrap the sliced brisket and sautéed onions. The oven was preheated to 400°.  We then use some sliced mozzarella to make the dish a little more like comfort food, instead of the classic.

 We folded one of the flaps over the filling and then took the remaining flap and folded it over the first flap and rolled in the ends, to prevent any spillage.  We made two rolls and placed them on on a cookie sheet, covered with parchment paper, to prevent any sticking.  The rolls then went into the preheated oven, for approximately 15 to 17 mins.  Once the desired color was achieved on the pastry dough, the wellingtons were removed from the oven and allow to cool, for about 5 mins.

 The wellington s were sliced into 1/2 inch slices.  You can see how moist and juicy brisket cooks.

It was really fun and interesting to do and rather easy, provided you had the brisket done.  This could be done as part of a meal or as a snack or even appetizers.  It definitely has a "wow" factor and the elegance of a classic meal.  Try this at your next gathering or party, or as a treat for your family, you definitely would not be disappointed.  Thanks for looking!

Southern Treats: Zucchini and Spinach Pie

Southern Treats: Zucchini and Spinach Pie: " After collecting our harvest of zucchinis, we had to decide what to do with them. A couple of friends mentioned to try and make zucchini br..."

Zucchini and Spinach Pie

 After collecting our harvest of zucchinis, we had to decide what to do with them. A couple of friends mentioned to try and make zucchini bread or pie. After a little research on the internet, I found a recipe for Italian or Greek style pie. I decided to make a combination of both and also add spinach to the mix.

 First, I had to shred the zucchini with the help of the food processor. I ended up with almost 8 cups of shredded zucchini.

 Two packs of frozen spinach, thawed, drained and strained with a cloth to take out as much water as possible. We also added one med. onion diced and 3 tablespoons minced garlic.  In a large non-stick skillet, we melted about 1 tablespoon of butter and then sauteed the garlic and onions till they become translucent. Then added the zucchini and spinach and cooked for about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. In a separate bowl, whisk 4 whole eggs and then add 1 cup of ricotta cheese, mix until well incorporated. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Added one cup Parmesan grated cheese and 8oz. of Quesadilla cheese (or other soft melting cheese) to the egg mixture. Season with 1/4 teaspoon black peeper and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Prepare a greased Pyrex pie dish, with Phyllo dough sheets layer to cover the dish. Use melted butter to brush on between the layers of Phyllo Dough.  Check out the video clip, for more detail on filling pie dish.

 Into the oven for 45 minutes, or golden brown crust. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, and slice with a knife. Serve as a main dish for brunch or a side dish for dinner. Good way to get the kids to eat their vegetables. Enjoy and thanks for checking out our blog!

Video Clip

The Birth of the RIB-O-LATER!

 You have often heard the term" Christmas in July", used by retail stores to advertise really great savings.  The term does apply in this particular situation, the Rib-O-Later was my Christmas present, from my two nephews.  Due to a busy schedule and a long winter, I did not get a chance to assemble my new " Toy". I took the opportunity to get the additional rung needed, for the drum and assemble it together.

 Under the direction of a fellow BBQ-Brethren friend known as "Cowgirl",  she made the assembly process go so much quicker. Once the top portion of the spare drum was cut out, I used one of the top bands to secure it to the main drum.  As you can see in the pictures below, the band was secured using a" C" clamp. the holes were drilled approximately 7 inches from the top of the extended portion, to ensure that the lid would not interfere with the rotation of the stainless steel planks.  I was able to procure 35 inch rotisserie rod and motor from my local Lowe's home improvement store on sale, for the Fourth of July weekend.

 The whole assembly took approximately about two hours including the drilling.  In preparation for this particular groundbreaking cook, we had six racks of baby back ribs that were rubbed using John Henry's Pecan rub, for about 24 hours.  We were able to get the four racks on the planks and let them cook for approximately 4 1/2 hours.  The ribs were periodically sprayed with apple juice during the cook.

 The one thing that I really like about this Rib-O-Later is that it provides an even cook, to all the ribs, because of the rotisserie.  Having cooked several racks of ribs, on the UDS, I can honestly tell you that it has been a problem in the past.  After several trial and errors, we have become accustomed to the moving the ribs around on the grates to ensure an even cook.  This eliminates the need for the rearranging and is one less thing that you have to worry about.  This would also work great for sausages, thighs, salmon, pork and beef loins, vegetables and anything else that you could imagine.  I could also use the extension with the Rib-O-Later on my Weber kettle, when I am not smoking and need for the heat to be kicked up a notch or two.

I seriously recommend this product and you can expect to see more posts with the different uses that I will find for it.  This was definitely a great gift!  Thank you for looking!