The best tradition of all- FOOD

Christmas 2001


Food is a very important part of the traditional holiday celebration, is it not? Okay, so maybe food is a very important part of anything I write about, but that is beside the point. One of my fondest childhood memories was having fresh from the oven sticky pecan rolls for breakfast on Christmas day. Since then our traditions have evolved as we have all grown up, although I do still love sticky pecan rolls (in my family it is pronounced sticky "pe-can" rolls just like it is spelled.)

Since we live far away from each other we are usually all under one roof for about a week once every year. So in 2001 we started our first holiday cook off between me and my siblings. To give my mom a break we each take a turn at preparing a meal for the family. Dinner is usually followed by another grown up family tradition and that is our annual hot toddies. It is the one time of year I have a little something to drink and also the one time my husband helps in the kitchen, although these two things are not necessarily corollated. I think my favorite contribution to the cook off was a dish that my husband and I served up called Zinfandel-Braised Beef Brisket. It was actually just a recipe we found in a newspaper, but it turned out really great and I think it is worth sharing.



2 cups zinfandel or other
fruity, dry red wine

½ cup fat-free, reduced-sodium
chicken broth

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 (2 ½ -pound) beef brisket, trimmed

2 teaspoons salt (divided use)

½ teaspoon freshly ground
black pepper (divided use)

Nonstick cooking spray

8 cups sliced sweet onion
(about 4 medium)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 ¼ teaspoons dried thyme
(divided use)

6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 carrots, peeled and cut
into ( ½ -inch) slices

2 celery stalks, cut into
( ½ -inch thick) slices

1 ½ pounds small red potatoes,
cut into quarters

1 ½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

Chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 325
Combine wine, chicken broth and tomato paste, stirring with a whisk; set aside.
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle beef with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add beef to pan; cook for 8 minutes, browning both sides. Remove beef from pan; cover and set aside.
Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, onion, sugar and 1 teaspoon thyme to pan. Cook on stovetop 20 minutes, or until onions are tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, carrots and celery; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place beef on top of onion mixture; pour wine mixture over beef. Cover and place in oven.
Roast in the oven for 13/4 hours.
While the beef cooks, place potatoes in a large bowl. Add 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon thyme, oil, oregano and red pepper; toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer on a jellyroll pan coated with cooking spray.
Remove beef from oven; turn beef over. Place potatoes on lower rack in oven. Cover beef; return to oven. Bake potatoes and continue roasting beef at 325 F for 45 minutes, or until beef is tender. Remove beef from oven; cover and keep warm. Increase oven temperature to 425 F. Place potatoes on middle rack in oven, bake 15 minutes longer, or until crisp and edges are browned.
Remove beef from pan; cut across the grain into thin slices. Serve with onion mixture and potatoes. Sprinkle with parsley. Makes 8 servings (about 3 ounces beef, 3/4 cup onion mixture and 1/2 cup potatoes).