I hope I’m not the only one who thought corned beef and cabbage came from Ireland. Or at least somewhere across the pond.
I wanted to be sure of the fact before I said so here and looked like a big dummy. So I went in search of the origin. According to the History Channel, “Corned beef and cabbage is as Irish as spaghetti and meatballs.” HA!
You can read more about it here, but to sum it up, corned beef and cabbage is an American creation.
However it came to be, I’m just glad it did because I love it!
I've seen this cooked in the oven and even in a crock pot but I just make it like my mama made it. In a pot. On the stove.
And then serve it with some crusty bread, good mustard and dark beer.
Also? I've never ever never seen it made without potatoes so I guess we should call it corned beef and cabbage AND potatoes but I think everyone knows the potatoes are implied :)
Corned Beef & Cabbage
1 3-lb. corned beef brisket
Water
1 bay leaf (optional)
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns (also optional)
Salt (1/2 teaspoon per every 2 cups water used)
2 pounds small potatoes, unpeeled
1 head of cabbage
Place corned beef, fat side up, in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add enough water to the pot to just cover the brisket. Add seasoning packet from corned beef, bay leaf, peppercorns and salt to the water. Cover and heat over medium heat until simmering. Do not let water come to a full boil! Simmer over low to medium-low heat for 2 hours. Add 30 minutes to this cooking time for every additional pound if cooking a larger brisket.
Add potatoes to stock, cover and continue simmering over low to medium-low heat for 30 minutes.
Wash cabbage and remove any damaged outer leaves. Cut cabbage into 8-10 wedges. Season wedges with salt and pepper and arrange on top of the brisket and potatoes. If your pot is big enough that the cabbage will be submerged in the stock, don’t season the cabbage with salt and pepper as the stock is plenty flavorful. Cover and continue simmering over low to medium-low heat for 30-40 minutes or until cabbage is tender. If the lid doesn't fit after you add the cabbage just cover your pot tightly with aluminum foil.
Remove cabbage, potatoes and brisket from pot, cover with foil and let rest 10-15 minutes before serving. Cut brisket against the grain into thin slices to serve.
You can absolutely add carrots and onions to this. Add them when you add the potatoes. I think that’s what they called an Irish Boiled Dinner. Again with the Irish thing!
An old-fashioned raisin cream pie recipe made with sour cream, warm spices,
pecans (or walnuts) topped with whipped cream that’s perfect for Thanksgiving!
Husband often talks about old-fashioned dessert recipes his mom made when he
was a kid. I thought we Southerners had the market cornered on heirloom
desserts, but it appears Canadians can give us a run for our money!
One he talks about a lot is a Boiled Raisin Cake. I asked her about it once
while we were up for a visit and she told me it was a bit of this and a pinch
of that and you cook it till it looks just so.
And since I was in another country, had half a bottle of wine in me and was on
vacation mode, I didn't retain much of the conversation.
Still on the hunt, I decided to look through a bunch of my old cookbooks to
see what I could find. I love any excuse to pull out my collection.
I have a box of old community and church cookbooks from all over with yellowed
pages and missing covers. I love looking at recipes with ingredients like
oleo and sweet milk. You can’t find that kind of nostalgia on
the internet.
I especially like to look for old cookbooks like these when I’m traveling. I’m
pretty familiar with most classic Southern recipes so stumbling onto old
cookbooks from other parts of the world is fascinating to me!
I didn't find a Boiled Raisin Cake like Husband described but I did find
something called a Sour Cream Raisin Pie.
I kept trying to ignore the pie because I was after a cake but I couldn't get
it out of my mind. The sour cream cooks up almost like a caramel and the
raisins plump up and get all lovely and the whole thing is wrapped in a warm
blanket of cinnamon and nutmeg.
I had to try it.
I found several recipes and while they all had the same basic ingredients, the
amounts varied greatly. And so did the cooking method.
Some cooked on the stove and some baked in the oven. I decided to go with the
stove-top method for the custard because then I could taste and tweak as I
went along instead of throwing it all in the oven to cook and hoping for the
best.
I hashed out what I thought would be a good ingredients list then started
cooking!
I AM SO HAPPY I MADE THIS RECIPE! I love what happens to the sour cream when
you cook it with sugar on the stove! I had no idea sour cream could transform
into something like this!
I was tempted to leave the words “sour cream” out of the recipe title because
the filling is NOTHING like sour cream and I know there are folks who won’t
try this because of the name.
I get it. It doesn’t even sound very good. Sour cream and raisins are
not ingredients that conjure up mouthwatering cravings or entice midnight
refrigerator raids. But they are the main stars of the recipe so there’s
really no way around it.
When researching the recipe, I saw some topped with meringue, some topped with
whipped cream and a few without anything on top.
I decided to just top mine with Cool Whip. Before you get all preachy at me
about Cool Whip, here’s my 2-cents on the topic… real whipped cream doesn't
stay whipped forever so if I know something I’m making is going to spend a few
days in the fridge before we’ll eat it all, I use Cool Whip. If I’m serving
guests, I’ll usually use real whipped cream since it will all be eaten
immediately.
The best thing is that you can top your pie with whatever your heart
desires!
If you want to make something different for Thanksgiving or Christmas,
definitely give this vintage pie a try. It has all the warm notes of a pumpkin
or apple pie so it’ll feel like the holidays, but it won’t be the same-ol’,
same-ol’!
UPDATE: I finally figured out how to make the Boiled Raisin Cake. I
LOVE IT. And I understand now why it holds such a sweet spot in Husband’s
heart – it’s surprisingly delicious!
Click here for the recipe.
Recipe for Vintage Sour Cream Raisin Pie
Vintage Sour Cream Raisin Pie
Yield: 1 Pie
Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 25 Min
An old-fashioned raisin cream pie recipe made with sour cream, sugar and raisins and pecans (or walnuts) with warm spices, and whipped cream topping. Perfect for Thanksgiving!
Ingredients
1 deep dish pie pastry shell
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 egg, beaten
1.5 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2-3 cups cool whip
Additional cinnamon for dusting
Instructions
Cook pie pastry crust per package instructions then set aside.
Combine sugar, sour cream, egg, flour, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a saucepan and stir well until combined and smooth. 1 C each sugar and sour cream, 1 egg, 1.5 Tbsp flour, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg
Stir in raisins then heat and stir over medium heat until slightly boiling. Once slightly boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until mixture has thickened. 1 C raisins
Stir in nuts then pour filling into pie shell. Cool to room temperature then refrigerate, uncovered, until cold. Once cold, top pie with cool whip then dust with cinnamon. 1/2 C nuts, 2-3 C Cool Whip
Cover and refrigerate to store.
Notes
I almost always double the recipe when I make this.
A double batch of filling will fill 2 deep-dish or 3 regular pie crusts.
You can use all-purpose or self-rising flour in this recipe.
Do not use light or fat free sour cream in this recipe - the filling will not cook properly.
I don't know if these can be frozen. I *think* so but have never tried it myself.
An easy recipe for deviled eggs with sriracha and crumbled bacon perfect for
parties, game day or just changing things up a little!
Oh, I am SO ready for summer to be over. I go through this every year. In the
spring I’m planting flowers everywhere, hanging twinkle lights on the porch,
creating “pool party” playlists and looking for any excuse to be outside and
entertain.
But now? There is nothing enjoyable about South Carolina in August. It’s just
too hot.
All my plants are dead. I don’t care.
The pool has a hint of green. I don’t care.
The back porch is covered in dirt and dust. I don’t care.
I. DON'T. CARE.
I’m so ready for Fall I can’t stand it. I want boots and stew and knit scarves
and pumpkins. I want to make a big ol’ pot of something that you eat with a
spoon. And I want to cuddle up on my couch with a fleece blanket.
Up yours, summer. I’m done with you.
So when we were invited to some friends’ house to watch the Auburn and Clemson
games Saturday I was relieved to hear we would not be doing anything fancy and
that I could just bring a few pizzas for the kiddos. Roger that! I
wouldn't even have to go to the grocery store! Just hit Little Caesar’s on the
way there. That’s my speed this time of year!
But then I had some time to kill and was feeling a little guilty about not
making something to take with me. I mean, that’s what I do.
I cook stuff.
I opened the refrigerator to find a whole lot of nothing staring back at me.
And while I technically had time to run to the store, the thought of getting
in a hot car and schlepping to the store over all that black asphalt just made
me want to cry.
I had bacon and eggs. And that was about it. So I just decided to make deviled
eggs. And then I got to thinking about adding bacon to them. Which lead me to
wonder what else I could add to them. So I continued on with the whole ‘bacon
and eggs’ thing and thought about what else I like with that combo...
Hot sauce! I like hot sauce on my scrambled eggs. Lots of it. Which lead me to
sriracha. Which lead to the creation of these beauties and there were a HIT!
An easy recipe for deviled eggs with sriracha and crumbled bacon perfect for parties, game day or just changing things up a little!
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 30 Min
Ingredients
12 boiled eggs, peeled
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sriracha
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of garlic powder
Dash of onion powder
1 cup crumbled cooked bacon
Instructions
Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Place yolks in a small mixing bowl then arrange whites on a serving platter or deviled egg plate.
To egg yolks add mayo, sriracha, salt and spices then mix well with an electric mixer or the back of a fork. If your filling is thick, add more mayo, one tablespoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. Taste for salt and spices then add more if desired.
Fill each egg white half with yolk filling.
Top each egg with crumbled bacon.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
TIP: Easily fill egg whites with deviled egg filling by spooning it into a zip-top bag. Snip one corner from the bag then pipe filling into the whites. If you have any frosting/icing piping tips, pop it into the corner before adding the filling for a professional look.
