St. Patrick’s Day Weekend

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Sunday Brunch and Dinner – 18 March 2018

Green Flowers

Aunt Pat’s Lovely Bouquet

We had the folks and Aunt Pat over early this Sunday so we could work in a late breakfast as well as dinner. Claudia was up before 7 AM putting together her white chocolate and raspberry scones, which involved a very labor intensive process of grating frozen butter into the dry ingredients mixture. We tried using a food processor for this bit, but that didn’t work out, so she went back to the box grater, painstakingly dispensing two pounds of Irish butter. Once the dough was resting in the fridge, she headed out to Yoga while I started preparing a huge pot of veggies and corned beef.

We had Pandora’s St. Patrick’s Day station streaming as the family arrived, and Claudia baked the scones. I had some sausages and Potatoes O’Brien ready, and a fresh pot of coffee on. Claudia, Pat and Mom added a wee nip o’ Tullamore Dew to their mugs. Aunt Pat brought a lovely, festive bouquet.

Claudia had also made Shamrock Bark on Saturday evening as an additional treat.

After breakfast, the folks and Pat settled in for some games of cribbage while dinner continued to simmer. In past years, we had always cooked the corned beef in a crock pot, but this year I decided to try a recipe we’d seen in Sunset Magazine for Patrick’s Corned Beef and Cabbage. I honestly don’t know how we survived before we got a 12 quart stock pot, and toward the end of the cook, it was almost too small.

We used two point cut briskets, over seven pounds together, along with five medium onions, 2 pounds of carrots, 2 1/2 pounds of red potatoes and two full heads of cabbage. The addition of malt vinegar, Guinness and lots of whole spices to the pot added something special, but what was most notable about the recipe was that the cabbage was cooked perfectly. Instead of the limp, slimy mess that usually comes out of the crock, this still had a little firmness to it, since it was added late in the cooking.

I also tried a new soda bread recipe from BTE this year. The other recipe I’ve always used includes caraway seeds and raisins, and is a little sweeter, almost like a thick scone. This one turned out to be a much better compliment to the meal, with a dense, fluffy crumb and nice crunchy crust.

Claudia also served three varieties of Irish cheeses with the meal. The wine was a very nice Matt Iaconis Cabernet Sauvignon from 2015. Some Guinness Stout, Smithwick’s Red Ale and Tullamore Dew were also consumed, and after dinner one round of Grasshoppers with mint chocolate ice cream for dessert. 🙂

Sláinte Mhaith!

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Turkey on the Kettle

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This is the third year that I’ve cooked our Thanksgiving turkey on the Weber Kettle. It was the first time that I’ve done it without using the rotisserie attachment, and it turned out beautifully.

We dry brined the bird Wednesday evening with a mixture of kosher salt, cracked black pepper, Turbinado sugar, garlic powder and Herbs de Provence. I stuffed the turkey with onions and Mandarin oranges, then sprayed it with olive oil before placing it on the preheated grill over a drip pan containing a bottle of inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon. Hickory and Cherry chunks provided the smoke.

I started it breast side down, and flipped it over about an hour into cooking. The grill was running more than 400 F to start, and eventually leveled off to around 300. For a 13 pound bird, I’d estimated that it would take around 2 1/2 hours at these temperatures, and that was right on the money. The lowest temp in the breast was around 160 when we brought the turkey in and covered it with a foil tent to rest.

I strained the pan drippings and used them to make a simple gravy, starting with a roux and adding seasonings and some stock.

We served the J. Lohr Cab Sauv with the meal, and it was delicious, but I think I’d go with a Pinot Noir next time.

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Turkey Lohr

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seven-oaks-cab-sauvWhen planning a wine pairing for Thanksgiving Dinner, I’ve always heard of the ABC rule: anything but Cabernet Sauvignon. This year, I’m breaking the rule.

The issue is that turkey is not thought to contain enough fat or flavor to balance against the tannins of the Cab Sauv. By smoking the turkey on the Weber kettle grill, we ought to have the flavor part of the equation covered. I also plan to make gravy from the drippings, which should add some richness at table.

The wine will be a 2010 Seven Oaks from J. Lohr, splash decanted to soften the tannins a bit, a trick I learned to tame Malbec that grips so hard it pulls your tonsils out.

We’ll report back later in the week.

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Easter Dinner 2015

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We had lovely weather on Easter Sunday this year, perfect for cooking on the Weber Genesis.

Mrs. Noe made a incredible twice baked potato casserole and her delicious Yorkshire Pudding popovers. She and her mom put together another beautiful salad with Wulff family vinaigrette, and I cooked a glazed ham and some asparagus on the patio.

Here’s the recipe for the glaze.

  • ½ cup stone-ground mustard
  • ¼ cup unsulphured dark molasses
  • ¼ cup fresh orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Since the ham was 14 pounds (instead of the ten in the recipe) I decided to double the ingredients for the glaze. We also didn’t have molasses, so I used honey. As it turns out, I mistakenly grabbed the 1/2 tablespoon measure instead of teaspoon, so got way too much cloves. To compensate, I added more mustard, some mustard powder, and then thinned the glaze with a little Schlitz. I also added some of the liquid from the pan drippings after the ham had been on the grill for an hour. As luck would have it, it made a delicious crust.

I scored the ham and put it in a foil drip pan over indirect heat in the middle of the Genesis. For the first 45 minutes or so, I had the temperature pretty hot (near 400 F). Finally got it under control at a steady 300 for the rest of the cook. I started basting with the glaze (and removing excess liquid from the drip pan) after the first hour, and then every hour thereafter. The entire cook took a little more than 3 1/2 hours, which was just a little quicker than I’d anticipated.

I cooked the asparagus on a Weber “Style” grill pan (the one with the slits cut into it), seasoning with olive oil spray, salt, cracked black pepper, lemon zest, and lemon juice at the end.

We served a nice Santa Rita Hills La Tapatia Pinot Noir with the meal.

The glaze was a Jamie Purviance recipe from “Weber’s Real Grilling” and the Weber iPad App. I think I might stick to the proper amount of cloves next time, but I liked how my happy accident turned out. I might be tempted to try it with the molasses just to see the difference.

It was a wonderful day, and a beautiful start to another spring season with the gas grill.

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