After spending 24 hours smelling this wonderful beef brisket cooking in my house we had to have it for dinner tonight. I was originally making it to have on hand for other dishes like pupusas, tamales, tacos, BBQ and many others. I decided today as I was pulling the meat out, at which time I just had to taste it, that this meal could not wait. I think I’ve also been watching too much of Guy Fieri’s show on the Food Network, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Great comfort food ideas on that show. Couldn’t believe the hamburger stack I saw last night where the buns were actually two grilled cheeses. Over the top or as Guy would say “Off the Hook!”
My plan was to have the brisket, mashed potatoes and green beans. Then I remembered I had all the ingredients to make Elana Amsterdam’s Nutty Bread that she posted on Elana’s Pantry. If you read my blog regularly you know I don’t bake often because it requires measuring and too many steps. This bread only had a few steps and not a lot of liquid measuring. This could work. I baked the bread in the afternoon and it only took me 10 minutes to get it into the oven. It tastes great and I loved soaking up my gravy with the bread.
Oh, and you’re probably wondering where the green beans are in the photo. Totally forgot until I was plating the meal for dinner. Oh well, there was parsley and chives in the potatoes.
So don’t think you need to wait until winter to make a meal like this. It’s great anytime.
Beef Brisket Ingredients:
1 large piece of beef brisket
1 cup water
1/4 – 1/2 cup Rosemary Salt -Kalyn’s Kitchen recipe
1/8 cup fresh cracked pepper
2 bay leaves crushed
Directions:
Put the beef into your crockpot and add the water. Next cover the top with the remaining ingredients. Make sure you put the meat in fat side up so all of that great flavor flows through the meat. I cooked mine on low for 24 hours. It was spectacular.
Gravy Ingredients:
Au Jus from the crockpot
arrowroot slurry (equal parts arrowroot and cold water mixed)
Directions:
Strain the liquid from the crockpot into a pan. Bring to a boil and stir in your slurry. Keep stirring until it thickens which should be fast.
Mashed Potatoes Ingredients:
8 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2-4 TBS Earth Balance Soy Butter or your favorite butter
1/4- 1/2 cup Almond Milk or your favorite milk at room temp
Salt and Pepper to taste
3-4 parsley leaves sniped
small handful of chives sniped
Directions:
Peel and cut your potatoes into a pot of water with salt. Boil until tender, around 10-15 minutes. Drain potatoes and put back into the pan you cooked them in and place on stove that has been turned off. You want to let the excess moisture evaporate out of the potatoes. I add the butter and milk and grab my masher. I don’t like mixers. Now make sure you only add in a little milk and butter first, mash and see if it needs more. If you add in too much you’ll have paste.
As for the green beans, well I’m sure you’ll come up with something great.
What is your favorite comfort foods to eat? What to you add to your mashed potatoes?
These are totally random comfort foods, but mine are Veggie Sushi and Cereal. I could eat them every day and be completely happy.
I like to add Non-Dairy plain non fat yogurt to my mashed potatoes. Chicken Stock is an excellent addition, too.
Katrina- I've never heard that combo of sushi and cereal for comfort foods. Great ideas for the potatoes!
These are totally random comfort foods, but mine are Veggie Sushi and Cereal. I could eat them every day and be completely happy.
I like to add Non-Dairy plain non fat yogurt to my mashed potatoes. Chicken Stock is an excellent addition, too.
Katrina- I’ve never heard that combo of sushi and cereal for comfort foods. Great ideas for the potatoes!
Its funny, I am not Mexican but my favorite comfort food is always Mexican. And potatoes!
Carol- I think I'm with you on the Mexican as comfort foods. Especially pupusas. Potatoes were always my favorite comfort food next to chocolate. On Thanksgiving my mother-in-law use to make me my own bowl. 🙂
Its funny, I am not Mexican but my favorite comfort food is always Mexican. And potatoes!
Carol- I think I’m with you on the Mexican as comfort foods. Especially pupusas. Potatoes were always my favorite comfort food next to chocolate. On Thanksgiving my mother-in-law use to make me my own bowl. 🙂
i'm still trying to figure out what to add to GF/CF mashed potatoes!! I look forward to hearing more ideas. Butter is so hard to replicate!! ALthough i do LOVE expeller pressed coconut oil, which doesn't taste coconutty… but love how it acts on toast and in baking!! Mmm…
and yeah… potatoes are definitely on my list of comfort foods.. i'm such a carb addict… I could just eat plain rice too. Actually i made a big vat of it last night! lol.. i love rice!
Carrie- The sky is the limit as far as what you can add to potatoes. They take on the taste of what you add. Let me know what you try.
i’m still trying to figure out what to add to GF/CF mashed potatoes!! I look forward to hearing more ideas. Butter is so hard to replicate!! ALthough i do LOVE expeller pressed coconut oil, which doesn’t taste coconutty… but love how it acts on toast and in baking!! Mmm…
and yeah… potatoes are definitely on my list of comfort foods.. i’m such a carb addict… I could just eat plain rice too. Actually i made a big vat of it last night! lol.. i love rice!
Carrie- The sky is the limit as far as what you can add to potatoes. They take on the taste of what you add. Let me know what you try.
I just found your blog today. Our family just started a gluten and dairy free diet for our family of 7. I am SO excited to start trying your recipes. I have searched for many gluten free recipes and just substituted dairy, but I love how all yours are also dairy free. I would like to make this meal tomorrow but I have one question; 1/4 – 1/2 cup seems like a LOT of salt to me, especially if using the Au Jus as a gravy. Is this the correct measurement. Just wanted to be sure before making it. I didn't see that in any of the other comments. Thanks so much.
Jessica thank you for stopping by to say hello! It's so great you are cooking for your family. It will make it so much easier to live gluten and dairy free. So for this recipe it's not just salt but Rosemary Salt so there is not as much salt in there as you would think. I use Celtic Sea Salt because it's full of great nutrients. I would never use the same amount of table salt. Also, start with less, you can always add in more the next time. One more thing, it depends on the size of your meat that you are cooking. Let me know how you're doing and stop and chat sometime. Also don't forget to sign up for the newsletter so you can get the top 10 gluten free lists.
Diane, I made your fabulous brisket for an "International dinner" at my church, where food was showcased from all over the world. And received so many compliments. Even had one guy tell me I won the prize for the best food ever. He also sent his wife to me to get the recipe 🙂 My own husband doesn't typically like roasts because they are usually tough and chewy when I make them. But he and my five kids all loved this. Thanks for the tips. I made the Rosemary salt recipe as stated using regular sea salt. (I will try getting Celtic Sea Salt for future recipes) and only used 1/4 cup of the mixture. It turned out perfect. I am making a list now of more of your recipes to try. I also signed up for your newsletter. I am looking forward to reading that. Thanks again for responding.
Jessica so glad to hear everything went so well. I love when I can feed people and they're happy, especially when they're in my family. Cooking can be fun and easy and I'm so glad it was both for you. Thank you so much for sharing this.