The Comforts of Home

It's been a particularly long winter. Even here in Magnolia Texas. 

No, it's not as cold as NJ, or Michigan, or Montana, but it's the longest, coldest, meanest winter We've had since we moved here in 2005.

I've acclimated myself.

 I like mild winters.

 I can't wait for some consistent heat!

 I'm sure I'll regret saying that in August, but that's another story!

 Anyway, it's been cold and I've been on a comfort food kick for a few weeks now.. Trying to cook the warmth back into South East Texas..

One of my go-to comfort food recipes is Crock Pot Brisket, Jersey Style. In New Jersey it's hard to find a full sized brisket, so this dish calls for a smaller piece of meat than  what you'd find here in Texas. I use about a 3 to 4 pound piece. 

I trim the fat, brush the brisket with some olive oil and season the meat with salt and pepper, garlic powder, a few dashes of chili powder, parsley, Italian seasoning, and secret ingredient alert, Cinnamon!  

I lay this fat side down in the crockpot on top of 2 sliced onions and 5 or 6 smashed garlic cloves.

In a bowl I mix 1/4 cup Better than Bullion with a 2 cups of beef stock and a half cup of red wine, whip it up with a fork so the paste mixes in then pour in the side of the meat so as not to rinse  the herbs and spices off the meat.

 

I love this stuff!

I start it fat side down then flip it after an hour and then every hour until its done.

I cook it about 6 hours on high, but it could be done in 5 or take as long as 8. The real indicator here is the fork twist. If you can easily Twist a fork in the meat then it's done, take it out.

So you can serve it just like that, with the broth and the onions, or you can make a gravy by pouring the liquids into a fry pan and bringing it to a boil. I put a half cup if the broth into a cup and mix it with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch then pour that into the pan too. I gently boil it until its the consistency I like, about ten minutes. We usually eat this over mashed potatoes, but baked are good too.

It's like pot roast, only wayyyy better!

 

So we eat that for dinner until we are stuffed, but there is plenty for left overs which of course I need to use. 

More often than not, we are turning to tortillas to find creative ways to use leftovers. That's the Texas influence. 

Everything's on a tortilla here! Especially brisket! I make chimichangas with carne Guisada,  which is Mexican styled pot roast that I make with brisket. 

This is a chimichanga I served with a tomato sofrito sauce. Omg.

We eat a lot of fajitas and quesadillas too, so I thought we could do that with the left overs. I spread soft butter on one side of 2 tortillas and place one down in a hot fry pan. I spread about 1/3 cup of diced brisket on it, sprinkle cheddar cheese, some leftover onions and gravy, and even some leftover carrot bits and put the other tortilla butter side up in the top of this. It takes about 1 to 2 minutes to brown the quesadilla, then flip and brown the other side.

You could serve this with salsa or queso, or sour cream.. But I just cut it like a pizza and ate it.. And then I ate another. Ole!