Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I tucked this into a thread about cookbook wishes but it didn't get picked up so I'll be a little more blatant - CMD2012, aka Carey, is mowing down some candles today

Yes I am! Thanks!

So ... Birthday meal?

We went out for dinner to our favorite Italian restaurant. We had Calamari with Sriracha aioli as an appetizer. I also had veal scallopini Oscar that was served with mashed garlic Parmesan potatoes an assortment of roasted vegetables. And a hazelnut torte for dessert. The food was good but the menu was a bit limited as it's been sold to new owners (we found out when we arrived). They've cut the menu down a lot.

And then it's been two birthday breakfasts out. Yesterday was chorizo hash served with poached eggs, multigrain toast, and a side of spicy lentil patties (house made veggie breakfast sausage). This morning was a classic diner breakfast. I got two new cookbooks: Ina's cooking for Jeffrey (I have her brisket with onions and leek recipe in the oven right now) and the new one from Anthony Bourdin. I haven't had a chance to look through it in detail yet but on first glance it looks good.

Hippo birdies!

Sounds delicious. I love anything with hazelnuts. Happy belated birthday!

I can definitely recommend Ina's brisket recipe. It's easy, tasty, and makes a surprising amount of gravy. You start with only 1/2 cup beef broth and 3/4 cup of wine, so I was a bit worried about this, but you get lots in the end - I guess it's a combo of 2 lbs of onions that melt down, the leeks, and the juice from the brisket.

One small thing of note though: the recipe called for 5 - 6 lbs of brisket that she said to brown in a 13 inch Le Creuset dutch oven. Hmmmm. My 6 lb brisket was so big it barely fit into my large roasting pan, so there was no way it was going to fit into a dutch oven to brown. In hindsight I could have cut it in half and browned each one separately, but as it was I browned it in the roasting pan over two burners, and it wasn't as even as I would have liked. Or, maybe I should have bought a point cut instead of a flat. Plus, 6 lbs of flat cut brisket is $51 here. Yikes! Not exactly a budget cut. Although I suppose it did make a ton and will freeze well.

Happy belated BD! Glad it turned out so well!