Wanted to make something in honor of Rusty and Cristiana staying in town with us.  They hail from Germany and Italy, and thought this Stella Cake might make them feel at home.  You can find the recipe at http://www.apollinas.com/?p=820.

Ingredients:
2 cups Bisquick biscuit mix
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degree. Mix biscuit mix, milk, and cheddar cheese until soft dough forms; beat vigorously for 30 seconds. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Mix melted butter, garlic powder, and dried parsley; brush generously over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

Makes 10-12 biscuits.

So you know I made that brisket recipe on Wednesday, and we ended up with a bit left over.  I'm a little bored with my usual fallbacks for using leftovers, but when I spotted the half bag of broccoli & cabbage mix, unused spring roll wrappers in the pantry (these keep forever), and a bit of Zoe’s homemade popcorn chicken in the fridge, my cooking muse enlightened me.  Eggrolls!

I made a big batch of these, individually wrapped them in plastic wrap, and then put in freezer.  You can take them right out of the freezer and fry. 

And here’s a trick I’ve learned the hard way in the past:  Your egg roll filling ingredients must be drained of excess moisture and cooled before rolling. Soggy, hot filling makes soggy egg rolls.

Ingredients:
2 T. oil
1 shallot
Minced garlic to taste
2 ½ cups broccoli and cabbage mix (if long strands, give it a rough chop)
1 T. rice or cider vinegar
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. brown sugar
1 cup cooked leftover vegetables
2 cups leftover brisket, shredded fine
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped fine
15 spring roll or egg roll wrappers

Instructions:

In a wok or heavy pan, heat the oil on medium-high.  Stir fry the onion, garlic and broccoli mix until soft, about 1 minute.  Add the vinegar, soy sauce and brown sugar and stir-fry another minute.  Turn off the heat, and then add the cooked leftover vegetables, brisket and chicken.  Mix thoroughly.

Scoop out the filling to a baking sheet and spread out to cool. Prop up one end of the baking sheet so that it tilts and will allow all the moisture to drain to one end. Let cool for 15 minutes.

Discard all of the accumulated juices. Use paper towels to blot the filling to rid of extra oil or juice. Now, you're ready to wrap.  Only use 1 heaping tablespoon of filling for each egg roll. Keep the rolled egg rolls in neat, single layer and covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying. If you want to stack the egg rolls, make sure you have layer of parchment paper in between the layers to prevent sticking. Keep wrappers also covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Refrigerate up to 4 hours until ready to fry or freeze.

To fry the egg rolls, fill a wok or pot with 2 inches of high-heat cooking oil. Heat the oil to 350°F or until a cube of bread will fry to golden brown within 10 seconds. Lower the egg rolls, frying 4 to 6 at a time, turning occasionally until golden brown, 1-2 minutes. Place on wire rack to drain and cool.

NOTE: To fry frozen egg rolls, do not defrost the egg rolls – just add them to the oil frozen, frying 4 to 6 at a time. Add an additional 1½ minutes to the frying time since they are frozen.

Cooking brisket in a smoker is a time-consuming, but rewarding, process.  It requires many hours and vigilant babysitting, and although I love the leisurely pace that Slow Cooked on Sundays recipes allow for, I wanted a brisket version that was a little more self-sufficient. 

American Test Kitchen came up with a great one, which included an ingenious trick - elevating the brisket above the liquid so that it mirrors the dry cooking that brings out the best in brisket.  After all, the brisket cut is not the cheapest out there, so if I'm going to end up with a braised roast instead of smoky brisket, I might as well use a cheaper cut. 

Scoring the fat on the brisket at ½-inch intervals allowed the rub to penetrate the meat. The original recipe called for a metal loaf pan, but for my smaller crockpot, I used a small round baking dish.

Ingredients:

SPICE RUB AND BRISKET
•1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
•2 tablespoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
•1 tablespoon ground cumin
•1 tablespoon paprika
•1 teaspoon salt
•2 teaspoons pepper
•1 (4- to 5-pound) brisket roast, fat trimmed to 1/4 inch thick and scored lightly

AROMATICS AND SAUCE
•3 tablespoons vegetable oil
•1 onion, chopped fine
•2 tablespoons tomato paste
•1 tablespoon chili powder
•1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
•2 garlic cloves, minced
•1/2 cup water
•1/4 cup ketchup
•1 tablespoon cider vinegar
•1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke

Instructions:

Combine sugar, chipotle, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper in bowl. Rub sugar mixture all over brisket. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour or refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook until beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Stir in chili powder, chipotle, and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Following photos at left, mound onion mixture in center of slow cooker, arrange inverted metal loaf pan over onion mixture, and place brisket, fat-side up, on top of loaf pan. Add water to slow cooker, cover, and cook on high until fork inserted into brisket can be removed with no resistance, 7 to 8 hours (or cook on low for 10 to 12 hours).
 
Transfer brisket to 13- by 9-inch baking dish, cover with foil, and let rest 30 minutes.

Carefully remove loaf pan from slow cooker. Pour onion mixture and accumulated juices into large bowl and skim fat. (You should have about 2 cups defatted juices; if you have less, supplement with water.)

Transfer brisket to cutting board, slice thinly across grain, and return to baking dish. Pour 1 cup reserved defatted juices over sliced brisket. Whisk ketchup, vinegar, and liquid smoke into remaining juices. Season with salt and pepper.

MAKE AHEAD In step 3, wrap brisket tightly in foil and refrigerate for up to 3 days. (Refrigerate juices separately in airtight container.) To serve, transfer foil-wrapped brisket to baking dish and heat in 350-degree oven and cook until brisket is heated through, about 1 hour. Reheat juices in microwave or saucepan set over medium heat. Continue with recipe as directed.

NOTE:  We used leftover brisket to make Brisket Eggrolls!

2-3 pound chuck roast
salt & pepper
1 cup of red wine
2 cups of beef broth
1 yellow onion
3 carrots, sliced
1 cup of mushrooms, halved
......
2 pounds of red potatoes
4 tablespoons of butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 cup of sour cream
......
2 tablespoons of flour

Pat the chuck roast with a paper towel, then coat it in salt & pepper.  Heat a large Dutch oven over high heat for 1 minute.  Sear each side of the chuck roast for 2-3 minutes, browning it on each side.  When all sides are browned, add red wine and beef broth to the pan with the beef.  Quarter the onion, then put it in the pot with the beef, wine and stock.

Roast covered in a 250 degree oven for 5-6 hours, until the beef pulls apart easily.  Add the mushrooms and carrots into the pot, then roast for 30 more minutes.

Cut the potatoes in quarters and put them in a large pot filled with water.  Boil the potatoes until fork tender, about 10-15 minutes.  Drain the potatoes, the pour them into a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Add butter and sour cream.  Turn the mixer on low, and continue stirring until the potatoes mash up.  Salt and pepper to taste.  If you need to keep them warm, place them in an oven safe dish covered with foil and keep at 250 degrees until you are ready to serve.

Remove the roast from the oven.  Remove the meat from the pan and set it aside, cover with foil.  Place the Dutch oven with the onions, carrots, mushrooms, wine and drippings on the stove over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour until smooth.  You may need to add more flour if you'd like a thicker gravy.  Heat for 3-5 minutes until it thickens and is bubbly. 

Add roast back into the gravy and vegetables.  Serve with warm mashed potatoes. 

Ever get on a food kick?  Last summer it seemed like I could have had my chicken salad every day for lunch. 

Right now I'm enjoying the creativity of using leftovers for yummo omelets. 

Here are two recent hits!

Spinach, ricotta, shallot, tomato, oregano

Asparagus, bacon, parmesan, creme fraiche

See more breakfast posts.