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Monthly Archives: October 2016

Leftovers Redux – Pastrami Hash with Eggs

Continuing along with my last post’s theme of making use of some leftovers, I needed to find something to do with some of the leftover pastrami I had when I made it myself last week. Too much work and effort went into making it to just let what was left go to waste and Sean and I had eaten quite a bit of it for lunches over the days and needed something different. To the rescue comes breakfast for dinner! Breakfast for dinner is always a family favorite and something Sean has liked since he was a little boy. We do it every few weeks when I have run out of ideas of what to make for dinner that night. It usually involves something like pancakes, bacon, eggs or sausage, but since we had leftover pastrami to work with, what better opportunity was there to make some hash? Has is a great way to use up leftovers and create something new and tasty all at the same time and it gives you a change of pace for breakfast or dinner. I used this basic recipe from Bon Appetit for a pastrami hash with eggs as a template, though you probably don’t really need one when you are making hash.

Pastrami Hash with Eggs

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 4 large), scrubbed, cut into 1-inch pieces

½ pound winter squash (such as acorn, butternut, or kabocha), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

2 leeks, white and pale-green parts only, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 pound pastrami or any leftover braised meat, cut or shredded into bite-size pieces

4 large eggs

¼ cup sliced chives (optional)

¾ cup sour cream (optional)

Heat the butter and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and the winter squash and season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 25–30 minutes.

Add the leeks and garlic to the hash and season the mixture with salt and pepper. Using the back of a spoon or a spatula, lightly smash the vegetables. Add the pastrami and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is warmed through and the flavors have melded, about 10–12 minutes.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium non-stick skillet set over medium-high heat. Carefully crack the eggs into the skillet one at a time and season them with salt and pepper. Cook the eggs until the whites are set and slightly puffed but the yolks are still runny, about 2 minutes.

Divide the hash among shallow bowls and top each bowl with an egg; scatter the chives over the top, if using. Serve with sour cream alongside, if desired.

If you have made corned beef hash before then you can see that this recipe is pretty similar. It would work with just about any type of meat you wanted to use – short ribs, prime rib, steak, turkey, sausage, chicken – and creates some great flavor. I really liked the spices that the pastrami already has and what they lent to the dish to give it even more flavor and it was a great way to use up the leftovers. I used butternut squash with the potatoes and opted for onions instead of leeks since I didn’t have any leeks on hand that day. Sean had his with scrambled eggs while my eggs were over easy and it was tasty to mix in the hash with some of the runny egg. We both loved it and there was a bit of hash leftover that is perfect to use with breakfast with an egg over an English muffin.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on October 8, 2016 in Beef, Breakfast, Brunch, Cooking, Dinner, Eggs, Leftovers, One Pot Meals

Tags: bon appetit, Bon Appetit pastrami hash, pastrami hash, pastrami hash with eggs, pastrami recipes, using leftover pastrami

A Lazy Day of Leftovers – Chicken Tarragon Pot Pie

07 Oct

If you are like me, there are probably many nights during the week where you make a meal and then end up with a bunch of different leftovers that you may or may not know how to use. It is not unusual to get tired of having the same meal two or three times a week just because you do not want to throw away perfectly good food but are not sure what you can do with those leftover chicken pieces or leftover vegetables. It is times like this where potpie can come to the rescue. Potpie is a great meal to put together just about any time of the year and you can do it with any type of protein (or no protein at all if you are vegetarian) and vegetables. The only real effort that goes into it is making the pie dough and even then, if you have no problem using store-bought pie dough you can get the meal together even quicker. Very often I will use store-bought pie dough simply because it is easy, I do not really have the room to make pie dough and for potpie purposes it tastes just fine. I decided to use this recipe from New York Times Cooking for a chicken-tarragon potpie and make a simple dinner.

Chicken-Tarragon Pot Pie

For the crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) cold unnsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 tablespoon cold vegetable shortening

Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt

Scant 1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 egg

For the Filling:

5 tablespoons butter

1 cup chopped carrot

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup thinly sliced leeks

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried tarragon

1 cup frozen baby green peas

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 ½ cups chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3 cups leftover roast chicken, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

To make the crust, combine the flour, butter, shortening, salt and sugar in a food processor. Pulse the ingredients together just until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is broken into small pieces. Pour 1/3 cup of ice water into the machine, and pulse 3 or 4 times. Squeeze a little dough in your hand to see whether it clumps together and is evenly moist. If not, add another tablespoon of water, and pulse 1 or 2 times more. Don’t overmix so that the dough forms a ball.

Turn out the dough on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Lift the ends of the plastic to gather the dough together inside. Press the dough into a large disk, and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough until you are ready to use it, up to 2 days.

To make the filling, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the carrot, celery, leeks and tarragon, and cook, stirring, just until slightly softened but not browned (reduce the heat if necessary to prevent browning), about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the cooked vegetables to a bowl, wipe out the skillet, and place it back on the stove.

Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, and melt it over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, and cook, whisking, until the mixture bubbles and smells cooked. Do not let it brown. Whisk in 2 cups of chicken broth, and cook, whisking, for about 1 minute. Whisk in the cream, and cook 2 or 3 minutes, just until the mixture is thickened. Add the salt and pepper. If the sauce is too thick, whisk in the remaining broth.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Add the cooked vegetables and peas, the chicken and the sauce to an 8-inch deep pie dish or other baking dish, mix the ingredients gently, and taste for seasoning.

If you are using store-bought dough, take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature for about 10 to 15 minutes. If you are using your own homemade dough, flour a work surface. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll out the dough, turning and flouring often, and cut a shape approximately the size of your baking dish plus 1 1/2 inches overlap all around.

Roll the dough up onto the rolling pin, and unroll it over the baking dish, so it rests evenly on top of the filling. Fold the edges under and crimp the edges. Poke the tip of a knife through the crust to create 3 vent holes near the center. Whisk the egg with a teaspoon of cold water. Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the entire crust with egg wash. Place the pie pan or baking dish on a cookie sheet, and place it in the oven.

Bake the pie for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake the pie for 25 to 30 minutes more, until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling through the vents. Let the pie rest for 10 minutes before serving.

One of the great things about this recipe is that you can make use of any type of vegetables you want in a pot pie. I used the vegetables recommended but I also had some leftover broccoli that I put in as well. Pot pie works well with chicken, turkey, beef and pork that you may have leftover so you can make just about anything with it. I find pot pie tastes even better the next day and often have any leftovers for lunch, after the sauce and the flavors have had even more time to come together. It can be a great dinner to put together in under an hour.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

Goodbye Carnegie Deli, Hello Homemade Pastrami

05 Oct

If you follow the news, at least here in New York, you have probably seen the story regarding the recent announcement from the Carnegie Deli. The deli is something of an institution here in New York and has been open for nearly 80 years but recently announced that they will be closing at the end of 2016. The Carnegie Deli is very famous for the different sandwiches that it offers, especially the pastrami. Pastrami can sometimes be something of an acquired taste and not everyone is a big fan of it. For me personally, pastrami is basically the only type of cold cut meat that I really eat. While you can still get pastrami in any supermarket and from of variety of different sources, there is something about the Carnegie Deli that people are particularly fond of. Personally, I have never been to the Carnegie Deli but they do offer their pastrami for sale in different supermarkets and I have tried it before. It is pretty good but I had always wondered if it could be better. Pastrami was not something I had never really considered making myself, particularly because I do not have a smoker to use, but Shawn had shown an interest recently in trying pastrami and it just so happens, that at this time of year with the Jewish holidays, that brisket is at a pretty good price. I decided I would get adventurous and started looking around for a recipe that would allow me to make it at home but make it in the oven instead of the smoker. I came across this recipe from Food52 that seemed to fit the bill. It is a bit of a process, but it seemed like it was worth a try.

Homemade Pastrami

3 1/2 tablespoons black peppercorns

3 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds

2 tablespoons mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon allspice berries

1/2 teaspoon whole cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground mace

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 bay leaf, crushed

1/4 cinnamon stick, crushed

1 1/4 cup kosher salt

2 2/3 tablespoons pink salt (sodium nitrite)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

5 garlic cloves, minced

One 5-pound brisket from the fatty end (point), untrimmed

1 1/2 tablespoons fennel seeds

1/2 cup shiro dashi

In a small skillet, lightly toast 1/2 teaspoon of the black peppercorns, 1/2 teaspoon of the coriander seeds and 1/2 teaspoon of the mustard seeds over medium heat until the spices are fragrant, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the spices from the heat and allow them to cool slightly before grinding them in the spice mill.

Put the ground spices in a large pot and add the red pepper flakes, allspice berries, cloves, mace, ginger, crushed bay leaf, crushed cinnamon stick, kosher salt, pink salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar, honey, minced garlic and 4 quarts of water. Bring the brine to a simmer, stirring until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove the brine from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature. Transfer the brine to a vessel large enough to hold it and the meat – which will be added later – and refrigerate the brine until it is chilled.

Put the brisket in the brine and weigh it down (with a plate or several tomato cans, for example) to keep it completely submerged. Cover the brisket and refrigerate it for 5 days. Remove the brisket from the brine, rinse it thoroughly, dry it, and place it on a large platter. Discard the brine. In a spice mill, process the remaining black peppercorns, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, and the fennel seeds. Transfer the spices to a small bowl and mix them well. Coat the brisket with the spice mixture and sprinkle the shiro dashi over it. Cover the platter and refrigerate the brisket for about 12 hours.

Preheat the oven to 250°. Put the brisket on a rack in a large roasting pan. Add a cup of water to the pan and tightly cover the pan with aluminum foil. Cook the brisket until it reaches 165° on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat, about 3 to 4 hours. If you do not have a meat thermometer, the brisket is ready when the meat is very tender. Let the meat rest for at least 2 hours at room temperature, or cover it and refrigerate it overnight. To serve, transfer the pastrami to a cutting board and cut it against the grain into thin slices. The pastrami will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Okay, this is quite a project to undertake and you not only need to have the time to put into it, and the space in your refrigerator, but you also, if you are like me, are going to need to go out and buy a number of spices. I do not typically have things like allspice berries or ground mace on hand and I certainly do not normally have the pink salt required for preserving meat. Sodium nitrite is used to help prevent the growth of dangerous bacteria and is something of a necessity if you are going to do this recipe. I was able to get some online through Amazon and probably have more than enough now to last me for a lifetime. I also had some difficulty in tracking down the shiro dashi, which they use in this recipe to help add some of the smoky flavor that you would normally get if you cook the pastrami in a smoker. Shiro dashi is a Japanese stock base that does have a bit of a smoky smell to it. I was finally able to track some down at one of the specialty food stores not too far from here. After that, I had to make space in the refrigerator for a container large enough to submerged the brisket to do the brining.

Even after all of that, you still have to wait for five days, the twelve hours of resting with the spices and then the four hours in the oven before the recipe is complete. That being said, I think it was certainly worth the effort put into it. The final product was very tasty. It tasted just as good or better than anything that you might be able to buy at the supermarket. The mix of spices was perfect and the pastrami was cooked perfectly and made for some great sandwiches. Of course, I served the pastrami hot on homemade rye bread with some homemade pickles, a little bit of tomato salad and some homemade ranch coleslaw and with plenty of mustard. It made for an excellent meal and there were plenty of leftovers so that Sean and I have been enjoying it for lunches ever since then and we gave some to my brother and his wife to bring home for them to enjoy. Is it something that I will make often? Not likely since the process is lengthy and brisket is often pretty expensive around here, but it is certainly a recipe that I will keep in mind to have once in a while when I get a craving for some good pastrami.

That is all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!