Jewish Fusion

Adapted from a brisket recipe by Marlene Sorosky Gray, a Danville cookbook author and authority on Jewish holiday cooking. Brisket is much easier to slice when cold, so plan to make this at least one day ahead.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry red wine
  1 cup beef broth
  1/4 cup pure cranberry juice (unsweetened)
  1/2 cup water
  1/4 cup honey
  3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  1 onion, halved and sliced
  4 cloves garlic, minced
  2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  4 pounds beef brisket, trimmed of fat
  Salt and pepper to taste
  6 ounces portabello mushrooms, thickly sliced, then cut in thirds
  1 cup dried cranberries

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 300º. In a roasting pan, whisk together the wine, broth, juice, water, honey and flour until the flour has fully dissolved.
• Stir in the sliced onion, garlic and rosemary. Season the brisket with salt and pepper.
• Place the meat in the pan, fat side up. Spoon some of the sauce over the top.
• Cover tightly and bake for 4 hours, basting every hour until tender when pierced with a fork.
• Remove from oven. Transfer brisket to a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
• Cool to room temperature, then wrap in foil and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
• Pour sauce into a bowl, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
• About an hour before serving, preheat oven to 375º.
• Slice the cold brisket thinly and on the diagonal against the grain.
• Overlap slices in roasting pan.
• Remove any surface fat from the sauce, reheat the sauce and pour it over the meat.
• Add mushrooms and dried cranberries, pushing them into the sauce.
• Cover and bake until meat is heated through and mushrooms are tender, about 1 hour.

Serves 6 to 8

Try these other great brisket recipes:

Five Spice Brisket

Brisket with Apricots

Here’s a quick and easy potato latkes recipe that you’ve probably never considered before.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
  1 medium onion
  4 cloves garlic, minced
  ¾ cup packed fresh basil leaves, very finely chopped
  3 eggs whisked
  ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  1 teaspoon salt
  ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
  Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.
  Peel potatoes, then grate them in a food processor using the grating disk.
  In a colander, rinse the grated potatoes under cold water.
  Squeeze out the water in small batches between your hands over the sink to remove excess moisture.
  Then grate onion in the food processor.
  Stir in garlic, basil, egg substitute, cheese, oil, salt and pepper.
  Place a ½ cup of the potato mixture into each muffin cup, packing the mixture firmly.
  Bake the latkes until lightly browned and firm, 45 to 50 minutes.
  Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before unmolding.

Recipe adapted from EatingWell.com