Corned Beef Hash

I had never tried corned beef hash until high school, when Rich’ made corned beef hash and eggs for dinner one night. Having liked corned beef from the moment we first met, I certainly enjoyed that dinner. But we haven’t partaken in canned meat since OneDay ’03, when we spent Memorial Day weekend camping in Texas and the only meat was canned sausages.

In any case, we went camping this past Labor Day weekend and were in charge of cooking breakfast one morning. For some reason, corned beef hash and eggs came to mind, and I decided to make a “fresh” version, using fresh potatoes and onions, as well as corned beef from the deli. The consistency is definitely different – canned corned beef hash is like a thick paste with diced potatoes in it, while I diced my beef and shredded the potatoes. It turned out pretty well.

We bought a cast–iron skillet on Saturday, and decided to initiate it on corned beef hash. Here’s how I did it. (You'll notice that I'm not one to mise en place; I don’t tend to have the patience. I usually cook once I’m already very hungry, and I want to prepare something delicious as quickly as possible.)

Corned Beef Hash
1. • 1 pound corned beef, thick sliced
   • 4 medium Russet potatoes
   • 1 medium onion
   • 4 tablespoons butter
2. 1. Boil water for the potatoes. Make sure you use a large enough pot to fit the potatoes and enough water to cover the potatoes when they're added. When the water reaches a rolling boil, add plenty of salt. I just take the salt container and pour a circle into the pot. Then add the potatoes. They will need to boil for 15–20 minutes, or until a fork pushed into the center of a potato comes out easily.
      
   2. Meanwhile, chop your onions. We didn’t have any medium onions, and we only had a few small red onions, so we used combination of onions and shallots:
      
   3. Dice the corned beef. The easiest way to do this is by cutting thin strips in one direction, then turning the cutting board to cut cubes in the other direction.
      
   4. By now, your potatoes are probably done. Get them out of the hot water and do whatever you can to cool them down. Ideas include running cold water over them or submerging them in an ice bath.
      
   5. While the potatoes cool, set your cast–iron skillet over medium heat and add half of the butter. (I cooked it in two batches, so only half of each ingredient will go in the skillet. The other half went into a container in the fridge for tomorrow.)
      
   6. Add half the onions and let them cook while you shred the potatoes.
      
   7. When the onions are translucent, add half the beef and half the potatoes. Mix together and cook until everything is browned to your liking.
      
   8. Taste it an make sure it’s seasoned enough for your liking – I find the the corned beef is plenty salty (as it should be – the “corns” to which its name refers are coarse pieces of salt used to preserve the beef).
   9. Serve the first batch and either repeat the cooking process, beginning with melting the butter, for the remaining half of the ingredients, or refrigerate your pre-cut ingredients and cook up the second batch later. My only warning is that the flavor of raw onions tends to strengthen after sitting in the fridge. A solution would be to cook the onion ahead of time and add them to the cut beef and potatoes before storing.

Crumb snatcher

Charlie sidled up next to me as I was working at my computer. Then he stretched out and peeked over the top of the desk, as if he were interested in what I was doing. But soon his real motive became clear. I had just finished eating prosciutto-wrapped pear slices and I had left a couple pieces of fat on the plate.

A recipe for Janet

This recipe is dedicated to my just-married sister, because when planning her bridal shower a few weeks ago, I learned that one of her favorite foods was corn chowder. So when I flipped through a cookbook looking for an easy soup I could make for a group, this recipe caught my attention. The added bonus was that we got to use the new blender we got for Christmas.
The now-out-of-print cookbook I was looking at, Cooking Great Meals Everyday, was written by Richard Sax, late chef and older brother of one of my mom's old flames. But my mom hunted down a copy of the book to give to Rich for one of our first Christmases together, and we use it quite often. Here's my take on his awesome corn chowder recipe, which took about an hour to prepare and served six to eight (he says four to six):

Hearty Corn Chowder
1. • ½ pound bacon, thickly sliced, cut into 1-inch squares
   • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (he calls for vegetable oil)
   • 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
   • 2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
   • 2 carrots, trimmed and thickly sliced
   • ¾ pound boiling potatoes, cut into ½-inch dice
   • 2 cups cold water, or more as needed
   • ¾ teaspoon salt
   • 1 sprig fresh thyme, or 1 large pinch dried
   • 1⅔ cups whole milk (he calls for 1 cup milk and ⅔ cups heavy or light cream)
   • three cans (15 ounces each) corn kernels, drained (he calls for 5½ cups fresh corn kernels (8 to 9 ears) and advises that "[t]his is one of the times when canned seems to provide more flavor than frozen")
2. 1. Place bacon and oil in large pot. Slowly bring up to heat; cook bacon over medium heat, tossing often, until light golden but not crisp, and fat is rendered, about 10 minutes. Remove bacon with slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Reserve.
   2. Sauté onion in bacon fat over medium heat, tossing often, until light golden, about 8 minutes. Add celery and carrot; toss for another 2 or 3 minutes.
   3. Add potato, enough cold water to cover ingredients, salt, and thyme. Bring to boil; lower heat and gently boil, uncovered, until potatoes are just tender but not mushy, 20 to 25 minutes.
   4. Heat milk and cream together in saucepan until almost boiling. Stir into soup along with corn kernels. Simmer gently, partially covered, for 5 minutes.
   5. Remove 2 cups of solids with slotted spoon. Purée coarsely in blender or food processor. Stir back into soup. Add reserved bacon. Correct seasonings. Simmer, uncovered, 5 to 7 minutes.
   6. Serve hot with buttered bread and oyster crackers, with a green salad on the side. (He recommends, "Serve hot with a pat of butter, if you wish, a sprinkling of paprika and pilot crackers or biscuits," and I accomplished the first by accidentally dropping butter into my soup while trying to butter my bread.)