Recipe: Slow-cooked beef brisket and homemade french fries

Sunday consisted of a full day's worth of cooking (well, combining several ingredients into a crock pot and letting it cook for 7 hours) and delicious smells that enveloped the entire apartment. There is nothing I love more in the fall then experimenting with dishes you can make in a crock pot. The smells open up your sinuses and the meal warms your body.

Slow-cooked Beef Brisket

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (5- to 6-pound) first-cut or flat-cut brisket
2 large onions, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 (12-ounce) can beer
1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup regular molasses
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Brown the brisket well on all sides. Place the browned meat in the slow cooker. Add more oil, if needed, and sauté the onions until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Scrape the vegetables into the slow cooker.

2. Pour the beer and broth into the sauté pan and bring to a boil, scraping up the meat bits in the pan with a wooden spoon. Pour over the meat. Add the tomato paste, stewed tomatoes, bay leaves, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, molasses, soy sauce, and paprika to the slow cooker. Cover and cook for 8 hours on LOW or 5 to 6 hours on HIGH, or until the meat is fork-tender.

3. Remove the meat to a cutting board and slice it thinly against the grain. Skim any fat from the cooking liquid, discard the bay leaves, taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper.Spoon the cooking liquid on top or on the side.

French Fries

Ingredients

2 potatoes
1/4 cup of Canola Oil
Thyme
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper

Directions

1. Soak the potatoes in warm water for 30-45 minutes before cutting.

2. Slice the potato in half and then slice into thin, long strands. You can use your judgment for how thick you want your wedges to me; I prefer mine on the thinner side.

3. Throw the potato slices in a bowl and mix with the canola oil until all the fries are covered.

4. Season with thyme, garlic power, salt, and pepper till taste.

5. Spread out the fries on a baking sheet on top of greased aluminum foil (or non-greased parchment paper). Bake at 350 degree till golden brown.