A brisket for friends

In the middle of my first week of working at Chatelaine I started missing my old colleagues at House & Home. Don't get me wrong; I love my new colleagues -- they're fantastic! But looking around my gorgeously (almost) finished reno and feeling super grateful for all of their suggestions -- the great Cameron MacNeil did the job, but other House & Home angels, especially the wonderful Stacey Smithers, also weighted in with opinions, and I wanted them all to see the place and enjoy the new kitchen in action. So an impromptu Thursday night dinner for six was planned.

But what to serve? I wouldn't be home until 6pm, dinner was called for 7pm, so a work-ahead meal was needed.

The fab Sasha Seymour would be attending, and she insisted on brisket. She styled the shoot for the photos in the House & Home 2012 trends spread for January, pictured here, and she wanted to taste that brisket again. (She was actually super aggressive about it.) I told Sasha that I had no time to go out and buy a brisket, so god love her, she placed an order, picked it up, and dropped it in my oversized mailbox just before I got home Wednesday night.

Then I got marinating and braising, made mashed potatoes, honey roasted carrots, a lemon vinaigrette for the arugula and apple salad I'd throw together the next night, and a salmon spread to nibble on when my stylish guests arrived.

Ding dong! 7pm. I take the brisket from the oven, warm up the potatoes and carrots, cook some peas, toss the salad and away we went, much wine and stories christening my colourful new kitchen and dining room during its first real dinner party.

These friends are keepers.

And so is this brisket recipe.

Amy’s Beef Brisket

(serves 8-10)

Ingredients:

1 5lb single brisket

1 cup Coca-Cola (not diet, not Zero, just Classic please)

1 cup apricot jam

1/2 cup tomato sauce (homemade or store bought)

1 packet dry onion soup mix, such as Lipton's

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp kosher salt

fresh cracked pepper to taste

Method:

1. Mix marinade ingredients together, pour over brisket in a roasting pan, cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. Or, if you don't have that much time to spare, several hours will do in a pinch.

2. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 325 F then cook covered brisket for 3 hours, then uncovered for an additional 1/2 hour. Let cool, then refrigerate (this aids in slicing). Skim any excess fat. When cooled, slice thinly against the grain and add back into pan with sauce.

3. About a half hour before you’re ready to serve, preheat oven to 350 F and reheat brisket for 20-30 minutes, spooning sauce over it a couple of times.

More easy meat

Since my landmark brisket stew recipe was so popular (I received 20-plus emails from successful brisket stew cooks) and since weather like this calls for ribs like these, here's another easy beef dish.

You’ll love these oven-roasted ribs. Which is to say, you’ll love them if the gob-smacking aroma wafting through the house for two-plus hours doesn’t kill you before you can eat them.

Miami Ribs

(serves 6)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

3 lbs thick cut beef short ribs (a.k.a. Miami ribs)

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup water

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp mustard powder

3 garlic cloves, minced

fresh cracked black pepper

Method:

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

In a large frying pan, heat oil, then brown ribs on both sides. Transfer to a large foil-lined baking dish.

In a bowl, combine remaining ingredients, stir until sugar dissolves, then pour over ribs and move them around until evenly coated.

Cover pan with foil and cook for 2 hours. Remove cover and cook for about 20 minutes more, or until browned and tender.

I like to serve them with some sort of starch (rice, potatoes) and quickly steamed spinach.