Family Chow Hall

Corned Beef Hash is one of those old-time favorites of my husbands. Strangely, this is one that my own mother never made and it took me a few years to understand why DH raved about it. I imagine lots of folks picture corned beef hash as one of those greasy-spoon-diner breakfasts that is never made or served anywhere else. I’ve no idea how many people are keen on trying this out for themselves, but it’s not that tricky and is really delicious, so let’s give it a shot…

First off, you need some corned beef. Now, this is pretty easy to obtain from the deli counter of any grocery and you can just ask the worker behind the counter to cut off a chunk for you instead of slicing it real thin-like. Personally, I quit buying corned beef at the deli because of the extremely high prices. I buy a do-it-yourself hunk of corned beef at everyone’s favorite warehouse — Sam’s Club. It comes in a moderate size (about 3 pounds, untrimmed) that my family easily polishes off in one meal. I usually buy two. If you decide to buy it this way, click here to read my method of cooking it. Corned beef that you do yourself will be more tender and will fall apart the way you want it to for hash. Deli beef will have to be cut into bite-sized chunks.

As I mentioned, I like to cook two packages of corned beef. One gets consumed right away, usually in Reuben sandwiches or just plain with sauerkraut. The second I hide away from the seemingly always hungry people in my house for a day or two and then surprise them by pulling it back out and making cold meat sandwiches or corned beef hash.

Corned Beef Hash
serves 6

1-2 c. shredded or chunked corned beef
3-6 redskin potatoes, diced
1 sweet onion, preferably a Mayan sweet or Vidalia
1/4 c. olive oil
3 T. flour
1 c. skim milk, chicken broth, or a combination of the two
salt and pepper

First off, dice the potatoes, rinse in cold water, and drain. Pat dry with paper towels. If you’re not crazy about putting that much work into it, buy some Ore Ida hash browns, they will be just as good.

Next, chop the onion and get it sizzling with the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the potatoes and leave them alone for a few minutes while one side browns. (I used to fuss over hash browns and always ruined them by stirring too much. Leaving them to sizzle on their own is much better.)

Meanwhile, mix the flour and milk or broth in a shaker container or whip them together with a wire whisk. When the potatoes have begun to brown, slide a spatula underneath them and flip. They don’t need to remain in one large piece, but stirring them up too much causes your corned beef hash to turn to a pile of gooey, mushy potatoes. Once flipped, add the corned beef and wait for the other side of the potatoes to brown.

The last step is to pour the milk/flour mixture over all and let the heat thicken it to a white gravy. Add salt and pepper as desired. If you’re really trying to please someone, serve with eggs.

ENJOY!

What makes a good cook?

How do some people gain a reputation as a good (or bad) cook? Does burning toast early in a marriage doom you to a life as a bad cook?

(If you are looking for a recipe, scroll on down to my last post….)

I think there are several factors in making a person a success as a cook (or anything, for that matter.) I’m not listing this in any particular order, you decide which is most important. If you find yourself lacking in one area, it is easy to grow stronger in other areas.

1. Natural-born talent. Whether you’re talking about basketball, public speaking, making friends, or cooking… I think everyone has certain natural, God-given talents. Areas that they are strong in without putting forth a lot of effort. Not that they don’t have to practice and work to be excellent, it just seems to come easier to them than to others. As far as cooking, I think that the picky eater has an advantage here. Picky eaters have a higher sense of what is good and what is yucky. When they get in the kitchen, they don’t want to make what is yucky because they don’t want to eat it.

2. Attitude. If you are convinced that you are bad at something - skiing, painting, etc. - you will be. Our minds are more powerful than we give them credit for. If we have negative images in our head, we will reproduce them with our lives. If all you can picture yourself doing in the kitchen is burning toast, then it is highly likely that’s what will happen. Try watching cooking shows. They’re great for boosting your confidence and putting positive images in your brain.

3. Practice. All professionals practice. Ice skaters, lawyers, chefs. Success does not come when you fall to the ground and stay there. It comes when you pick yourself back up. When all else fails, try, try again. As Winston Churchill said, “Never give up!” Failure can be one of the best learning tools around. I mean, really, how many times in a row can a person burn toast? Eventually you will get it right.

4. Encouragement. You need a cheering section. Look at football - they’ve got cheerleader and bands urging them on. My husband and kids are great at this. Not only do they devour almost everything I make, they make light of small failures. We never give up and order pizza. My father-in-law, when presented with food that is not-quite-perfect, usually says, “Well, I guess I’ll just have to eat it,” and then cleans his plate. This may seem out of your control, but you can even be your own cheering section. Think to yourself, “Hooray! I did it!”

5. Good Company. Car salesman, dentists, parents hang out together. They trade secrets, they encourage each other. They share problems and help one another solve them. Surround yourself with people who are successful and some of it just may rub off.

If you ever think you’re a bad cook (or anything), work on a couple of these areas and watch yourself succeed!

Here it is, a different take on spaghetti — a great recipe for those picky kids you see eating dry, tasteless spaghetti because they don’t like red tomato sauce. (picture me rolling my eyes) Also a great dish for the accomplished spaghetti-eating adult who just wants something a bit different.

My basic two ways of preparing spaghetti are 1) chunky red sauce and 2) purchased Alfredo sauce. Spaghetti Carbonara is a lighter-tasting spaghetti containing bits of bacon but still retaining an Italian flavor. Mmm…. Mmmm… If my kids read this post, I can promise you I’ll be making this one soon.

I don’t know if the Olive Garden serves this dish, but I can just imagine it — it would fit in really well on their advertisements.

Spaghetti Carbonara
serves 6

1 lb. dry spaghetti
6 slices of bacon
2 T. olive oil or melted butter
1/4 t. chili pepper flakes
1 egg
1/3 c. parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Takes just minutes to prepare! Cut down on the time by purchasing already cooked bacon or preparing the bacon beforehand.

Fry the bacon and place on paper towels to drain. Crumble into tiny bits.

Boil the spaghetti according to the package directions. By the way, any of your long pastas will work here — angel hair, linguine, spaghetti, or vermicelli.

While your noodles boil, combine the crumbled bacon with the oil and pepper flakes in a large bowl. In a small bowl, beat the egg and add the cheese to it.

Drain the pasta and immediately add it to the bacon/pepper mixture. Toss in the egg. The heat from the pasta will cook the egg as you toss it all together. Shake some salt and pepper on top of it all. Voila! You are done! Serve to your hungry family. Don’t forget some salad, preferably a nice, fresh Caesar salad.

Enjoy!