The Best St. Patrick's Day Recipes

St. Patrick's Day is the time to dress in green and put on your yarmulke? That's if you're combining the cuisines of the Emerald Isle and the Promised Land. And you'll feel like you've found that leprechaun pot o'gold at the end of the Western Wall when you try my luscious Jewish recipes using Irish Corned Beef, that's now on sale this week, just like the loaded deli classic Corned Beef Sandwich pictured below.

I like traditional Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage, and it's easy enough to make, but for the money, I like my Corned Beef between 2 slices of rye and topped with a cabbage Coleslaw, Jewish deli-style. So just keep on reading to see my tasty recipes below for Easy Deli Corned Beef and  Easy Homemade Pastrami.

Easy Corned Beef Recipe - VIDEO

If you didn't notice, this week offers up cheap hunks of Corned Beef at half the normal price! I usually clear out my freezer for this St. Patrick's Day beef celebration and stock up on a few Corned Beef briskets. They freeze well, and I like to smoke them during my patio summer cookouts.

The day after St. Patrick's Day, the price dropped to $1.99 per pound!

Cabbage for Corned Beef and Cabbage is normally cheap, but during St. Patrick's week, it is even cheaper.

Traditional Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage is easy to make. Boil the whole Corned Beef brisket for about 3 to 4 hours until the meat is tender. Next, remove the corned beef and cook chopped cabbage, carrot, and potatoes in the salty broth. 

I like to dump half the brine/broth as it's very salty and replace it with regular water. When the veggies are tender, return the corned beef to the pot to reheat. That's it, just pile on your plate a thick slice of Corned Beef with tender veggies. Check out my video below.

Easy Homemade Corned Beef with Cabbage - VIDEO

You'll want a batch of Coleslaw to go along with my Homemade Deli-Style Corned Beef Sandwich. Especially when cabbage is selling for pennies a pound this week. Just click here to get a cheap$kate Deli Coleslaw recipe.

Our most famous deli in Los Angeles is Canter's Deli on Fairfax Boulevard. They are especially known for Pastrami and Corned Beef Sandwiches.

For their 60th Anniversary at this location, they served Corned Beef on Rye Sandwiches for 60 cents! If you don't believe me, then just watch the video below as proof positive.

Canter's 60c Corned Beef Sandwich- VIDEO

Every summer, I throw a Pastrami Sandwich Party that features a Reuben and Rachel Sandwich. What takes these sammies over the top is that they are grilled in butter on rye bread grilled with melty Swiss Cheese...sooo gooood.

A Reuben Sandwich is stacked with Pastrami or Corned Beef, Swiss Cheese, Sauerkraut, and Russian Dressing (of course, you can substitute with mustard). Sour to the nth degree, Sauerkraut ignites smoky Pastrami and pungent Swiss Cheese on Rye Bread into an explosive flavor bomb.

Reuben Sandwich- VIDEO

A Rachel Sandwich is toasted the same as a Reuben but substitutes Sauerkraut with Coleslaw. Both sandwiches share Russian Dressing, which is easy enough to make - just a mix of mayo and ketchup.

Rachel Sandwich- VIDEO

And if you have any meaty leftovers, then add them to a caloric breakfast scramble of Eggs and Pastrami or Corned Beef (my recipe is a click away here).

My mashup between a Mexican burrito and a Jewish Deli classic sandwich is a delicious mouthful. 

A Pastrami & Coleslaw Burrito is a 99 Cent Chef recipe you'll only find here in the Cheap$take cocina (kitchen).

Now, if you really want the wildest use of leftover pastrami, then go no further than the next video, on the making of an Oki Dog.

It is basically a Burrito with hot dogs, cheese, chili, and pastrami. Yes, it's a cholesterol-clogging tortilla-wrapped depth charge that will literally take your breath away. Just watch the video below to see it being assembled (and click here to read its Japanese origin story).

Oki Dog with Pastrami - VIDEO

In my  Homemade Pastrami Recipe Video link here, I show you how to brine a beef brisket in the refrigerator for a week. But if you buy a package of Corned Beef, you can skip that stage and go right to cooking it like in the video below.

So keep scrolling down to see my Corned Beef and Pastrami recipes (you can also click here to see more Pastrami Recipe photos and text).

Keep an eye out for that yarmulke-wearing leprechaun with a tzitzit under his green jacket. If you catch him, make sure one of your 3 wishes is one of my delish dishes.

This St. Patty's Day post is all about the beef. So stock up on Corned Beef and get to cooking. You can be sure that the Blarney Chef is not full of it this time - these are some of my best and favorite recipes.

Easy Homemade Deli Pastrami - VIDEO

Play it here. Video runs 2 minutes 42 seconds.

Ingredients for Corned Beef and Cabbage

• 1 corned beef - I use cheap point-cut corned beef on sale. They usually weigh 3 to 5 pounds. You can follow the package directions for cooking corned beef. 
• 1 whole cabbage - chopped. It has a tough root stem you can remove, but it will tenderize. I only remove if it's discolored brown and extra tough. 
• 1 carrot chopped - You can add another carrot or two, depending on the size. Sometimes I like more veggies.
• 2 red potatoes chopped - You can boil the red potatoes whole, but they will take an extra half hour to cook. Okay to use white or russet potatoes. Also, add more potatoes if you like.
• Water to cover corned beef - When corned beef is cooked, taste the broth for saltiness; if too much then replace half the broth with freshwater and taste again.  

Directions for Corned Beef and Cabbage

Corned Beef is a thick and tough piece of meat, so you need to low-boil it for about 3 to 4 hours until tender. Time will vary depending on the size of the whole Corned Beef. Mine was about 4 pounds. Cheaper cuts of Corned Beef can be fatty, is so it's okay to trim off some of the fat.

You can follow the Corned Beef package cooking directions. Usually, you cover Corned Beef with water, about 5 cups worth. Most times, you have a small packet of spices and herbs included, so open and empty the contents into the water.

In a large pot, bring the Corned Beef in water to a boil, lower to a low simmer or low boil, and cover the pot. Cook for about 3 to 4 hours. Check on the pot every hour or so to make sure the liquid does not cookout, and add more water if needed. It's okay if the liquid cooks out by half; this will make an intense broth for the veggies.

After about 3 hours, you can chop the cabbage, carrot, and potatoes.

When the Corned Beef is done, remove it and set it aside. Taste the broth to see how salty it is. More than likely it's too salty, so pour out half the broth and add an equal amount of freshwater. Now taste to see if the broth is milder. Repeat this step if necessary to reach your desired flavor.

Once the broth meets your tastes, then add the chopped veggies. Bring to a low simmer, cover the pot, and cookthe  veggies for about 20 minutes.

If you like crunchy cabbage, then cook the carrot and potato first, about 15 minutes, then add chopped cabbage. Cook until cabbage reaches desired crunchiness, usually 10 minutes or so.

Finally, return the cooked Corned Beef to the pot with the veggies and let it reheat for about 5 minutes.

This is a one-pot meal, so just slice off hunks of Corned Beef and serve with the cooked veggies.

When slicing the Corned Beef for sandwiches, make sure to cut across the grain of the meat. Of course, you'll want to try out a slice to see how yummy it is. Notice the lean meat and its rosy color inside.

For a Deli-style Corned Beef Sandwich just add mustard to rye bread. Layer on your favorite cheese, corned beef, and coleslaw. From 2.67 pounds of corned beef brisket, I made 3 sandwiches. I served it to my ex-NYC neighbor, Deb, and she raved about how delicious it was. I hope you will like it too!

Directions for Cooking  Easy Homemade Pastrami

Remove corned beef from the package and follow the cooking directions.

Typically you add corned beef to a large pot with a cover and fill it with water to just above the meat. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer, cover and simmer for at least 3 hours. Check on it from time to time to make sure the water doesn't cook out (the water can cook out by a third, and that's okay, as the meat will continue to steam).

When finished boiling, remove the meat and set it to drain. Make a dry rub to coat the meat for smoking. Mix the pepper and coriander and coat all sides of the brisket.

Dry Rub Ingredients for Smoking

• 1 tablespoon ground coriander - they are the tan brown seeds in the herb package that normally comes with corned beef. You can sometimes find ground coriander in grocery spice racks, too.
• 2 tablespoons of ground black pepper - okay to use less. Sometimes black pepper can overpower everything, but I like my pastrami that way.
• Wood chips for smoking the pastrami on a BBQ grill -- about 4 cups.

Now time to smoke it. You mainly need an outdoor grill with a cover. I have a 2-burner gas grill. The object is to smoke the meat with indirect heat. That is, place the meat as far away from the flame as possible. The meat is already cooked, so you just want to smoke it at this stage. If you have a simple outdoor charcoal BBQ grill, then build a fire way off to one side.

The flame is under a pan of wood chips. You could even loosely wrap a large handful of chips in aluminum foil and place them over hot coals or a gas flame.

Depending on how large and hot the flame source is, the wood chips should start smoking in a couple of minutes. When the smoke starts, place the boiled brisket as far away from the flame as possible and cover the grill tightly.

Check every 10 minutes or so and replace the wood chips with fresh ones as they cook away if needed. I smoked my pastrami for an hour. Even a half-hour of smoking will give the Corned Beef great flavor and create a crunchy, crusted Pastrami.

In the hour of smoking, I had to replace the blackened wood chips a couple of times. The meat will still heat up and brown, even away from the heat.

If you are using a coal-burning grill, your smoking time may be shorter, as they often burn hotter than a more controllable gas grill (about half an hour of smoking?). The length of time it takes for the wood chips to stop smoking is all the time you really need.

After the pastrami is smoked, place it on a cutting board, slice across the grain, and make a big fat Pastrami Sandwich - your way!

I'll leave you with a pot o'gold at the end-of-the-rainbow video humor. It's time to wake up and smell the Shamrocks, I mean, coffee!

Voting and Noshing for President 2020

There are regular vote polling places and then there is Downtown LA Staples Center, home of the world champion Lakers basketball team. 

And check out below all the goodies you can pick up at Staples Center for just casting your vote here!

                                                   Click on any photo to see larger.

Linda and I went last Friday in the early afternoon. We found parking on neighboring streets near the main entrance. 

There may be stadium parking too, but we went the quickest and easiest route - we found parking meters for a dollar an hour.

There was no line and it was so easy just to walk in and drop off your mail-in ballot. 

All poll workers wear a mask and are stationed throughout Staple's lobby to direct you to drop off boxes or polling stations to fill out a ballot right there. It is a large lobby and you have plenty of social distancing.

Since this is a sports arena you get stickers and a pen and that's not all - they are handing out LA Lakers face masks, too. Don't be shy, go ahead and grab 3 or 4 more for your fellow Lakers fan neighbors or family. 

And feel free to use the hand sanitizer and disposable gloves before you use the touch-screen voting machines.

At the end of the polling area are a couple of photo-op backgrounds to use and share on your social media if you like. 

But the main draw, besides having your vote counted, was a kiosk right at the street light crossing button in front of Staple Center. Look for the Korean. American. BBQ. canopy covering a folding table. 

Right behind the table are food storage containers with foil-wrapped to-go burritos, sausage, and pulled pork sandwiches. At least that's what we've tried so far.

Hours usually go from about 10:30 or so until the food runs out sometimes by 4pm or a little later. I can't vouch for the hours exactly as I suspect the voting crowds will quickly surge from here on out. If you want to make sure to get a bite, the sweet spot is from 11am to about 2pm.

The food purveyors at the table the couple times we visited are from Seoul Sausage, a Korean BBQ inspired line of signature sausages, fried chicken, plus tasty side dishes sold around town in farmers markets, wineries, and pop up eateries. Click here for details including their latest ventures.

Believe me, their weiner dogs are the bomb! The sausage is sweet like Korean BBQ, course ground for extra bite, and large and juicy too. Korean BBQ meats are typically marinated in plenty of garlic, soy sauce, ginger, and sugar and honey (and more stuff) -- a killer marinade. Anyone who has enjoyed Southern BBQ will enjoy Korean BBQ. This day our sausages were pork.

These kiosk versions came with 2 sauces to slather on or dip with. 

The red sauce is not ketchup or salsa, but a pickled sour grated veggie. While not as spicy as classic Kimchi, the chili and salty fish sauce flavors are still instantly addicting. 

If that is too much for you then try the white garlic & sour cream sauce, with a whisper of horseradish heat. I like them both and chowed it all down...every drop and morsel. My taste buds were slam-dunked by Seoul Sausage!

I would line up for these sweet sausage sandwiches anywhere or anytime. But beware as they go quickly at the Staple Center outdoor food kiosk.

But don't worry because there is a rotating supply of other sandwiches and wraps in the food kiosk queue including a pork, black beans, and rice Burrito from Border Grill by the 2 Hot Tamales (LA chef mainstays of Latin and World Cuisines.) and a Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich from Dulan's, one of the best soul food restaurants in South LA. 

The pork, black bean, and white rice Burrito is fat and filling. There are a lot of chunks of pork that have the flavor of slow-roasting with banana leaves or green chilies - not sure which? The Burrito is loaded with white rice and black beans, lending a Cuban cuisine touch.

I also had a Pulled Pork (or chicken) Sandwich courtesy of Dulan's Soul Food. It's sloppy with sweet BBQ sauce on a brioche bun. And a couple pickle slices add a nice sour contrast to sweet ketchup-style BBQ sauce. 

Since the meat is shredded and smokey it's hard to tell if ii's pork or chicken. Either way, the BBQ Sandwich is a knockout.

The sandwiches are grab-and-go so I was remiss gathering ingredient lists.

How did L.A get so lucky to have these talented cooks and chefs supplying voters with a tasty slap on the taste buds for taking the time to cast a ballot? 

Be a good citizen and do vote, be it Democrat, Republican, Green Party, Libertarian, or whoever you choose. I'll leave you with my write-in candidate (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) I voted for !!

Pastrami & Coleslaw Burrito Video - Leftovers Series

My mashup between a Mexican wrap and a Jewish Deli classic sandwich is a delicious mouthful. Check out my latest recipe video below for all the tasty details to build your own Pastrami & Coleslaw Burrito.

 Play it here, video runs 31 seconds.

One of my favorite recipes is an Easy Homemade Deli Pastrami made with a hunk of beef brisket. It's really easy to make, especially when you use grocery store-packaged corned beef. All you need to do is boil it tender, then smoke the corned beef for about an hour; that's it. No outdoor grill? Then finish the tenderized corned beef with a light coat of liquid smoke in the oven.

Get my written recipe with step-by-step photos by clicking here. Here is my Easy Homemade Pastrami recipe video.

Play it here. Video runs 2 minutes 42 seconds.

What I like with my Homemade Pastrami is a cool stack of Coleslaw. I have a Deli Coleslaw version, a click away here. Shredded cabbage, some carrots, and mayo are the basic ingredients. I also add a little bit of vinegar and olive oil to bring it over the top.

When I make a Homemade Deli Pastrami, there are leftovers (unless it's patio party time, then forget about it.) I sometimes use up leftovers during the week with Pastrami and Scrambled Eggs for a hearty breakfast or two (my recipe is here.)

You can get cooked and sliced pastrami from regular grocery stores and deli markets. When I splurge for a pastrami sandwich from a Jewish Deli, like Cantor's in Los Angeles (video below), they pile the sandwich so high that I often don't finish it. So I usually have enough leftovers for a burrito later.



Now, how does all this fit into a burrito? Damn well if you ask me. It may appear a strange combo, at least until you take a big bite. Rich, peppery hot pastrami and cool coleslaw are a killer mashup that fits well into a flour or wheat tortilla.  You could even add the combo into regular, smaller corn tortillas for Pastrami & Coleslaw Tacos. Build-your-own tacos are always fun for any summer party.

You want to make sure to heat up the tortillas for a minute to soften. I microwave leftover pastrami pieces - it only takes 15-30 seconds to get piping hot again.

Leftover coleslaw often loses some mayo when it becomes watery, but that's easy to fix. Just drain off the white liquid, then mix in a tablespoon or two of fresh mayo to make coleslaw creamy again. Since you are working with mayo, make sure to keep coleslaw refrigerated until ready to use.

I always have a couple of packages of corned beef in the freezer for summer barbecues. I get them during St. Patrick's Day holiday week. That's when they cost around two dollars per pound - a great deal.

Cabbage, carrots, and mayo are cheap any time of year. I can even find medium and large sizes of mayo in my local 99c only Stores.

So try my leftovers recipe sometime. Roll your own Pastrami & Coleslaw Burrito, and don't forget the Coleslaw?

Ingredients (1 serving)

• Leftover pastrami - enough to fill a burrito. My Homemade Pastrami blog post recipe is a click away here.
• Coleslaw - fresh or store-bought. My Coleslaw recipe is here.
• Flour, corn, or wheat tortilla - use any type of tortilla you like. I used a wheat tortilla.
• 1 teaspoon oil - optional, for heating up the tortilla. You can heat the tortilla without oil, too.

Directions
Start heating up a tortilla(s) in a frying pan or a stovetop grill. I used one wheat tortilla. You can heat it with or without a little cooking oil. You only need to cook it for about 30 seconds on each side, depending on how hot the pan is. All you are doing is softening the tortilla so it folds easily and warms up.

While the tortilla warms up, heat a nice amount of pastrami, enough to fill a burrito. It's up to you how stuffed the burrito will be. I usually heat my leftover pastrami in the microwave. It only takes 15-30 seconds. You can also heat it in a frying pan.

I like to use cold coleslaw in my Pastrami Burrito, but it's okay for it to be at room temperature. Of course, keep any leftover coleslaw in the refrigerator, as it has mayo that can go bad over time.

Now time to assemble like any burrito. Just add pastrami and coleslaw on a warm tortilla and fold. Corn tortillas are usually smaller, so pile it on like you would a typical taco, which is open-faced.

A decadent addition would be a pungent cheese like Swiss. Make sure to put it between the warm tortilla and hot pastrami so it melts a little.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.