Tour of Fifty States: Vermont's meal

Menu:  New England Boiled Dinner, Apple Pie

Outcome:  The New England Boiled Dinner was okay, but we would have preferred a little more flavor.  I chose to put the corned beef and the vegetables in the crockpot and let it cook on low for the 12 hours that we were gone on that workday … the meat came out quite tasty and very tender, but it seemed that the long cooking time washed out the taste of the veggies.  I was unable to slice the meat, it just fell apart as it was lifted from the crock pot (behaving rather like a pulled pork.)  Yes, cabbage is included in the recipe; however, there wasn’t room in the crockpot for it!  (I added some yellow squash so I think it took the room that the cabbage should have had. 
Next up:  Bill’s turn!  He chose Delaware!

As for the apple pie – delicious!  It was topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and we served two different Vermont cheddars beside each slice (the sharpness of the cheese helped to cut the sweetness of the pie.) 

New England Boiled Dinner

Prep time: 15 min.  Cook time: 4 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 ½ lb. corned beef brisket or plain beef brisket
• 15 peppercorns
• 8 whole cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt, if using plain brisket
• 2 medium sized turnips, peeled and quartered
• 4 red new potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 3 large carrots, cut into thirds and the thickest pieces quartered lengthwise
• 1 small head cabbage, cut into fourths

  

  New England Boiled Dinner

  Directions

1. Put the brisket in a 5 or 6 quart Dutch oven and cover with an inch of water. If you are using corned beef brisket and it does not come already packed in seasoning, add peppercorns, cloves, and a bay leaf to the pot. If using plain brisket, add a tsp. of salt for every quart of water. Bring to a simmer and then cover, lower the heat until it is barely simmering. Keep at a low simmer for four hours or until the meat is tender (a fork goes through easily).
2. Remove the meat and set aside, keeping the meat warm. Add the vegetables to the pot. Check the broth for taste. If it is too salty, add a little more water to taste.
3. Raise the temperature and bring the soup to a high simmer. Cook at a high simmer until done, about 15-30 minutes longer, depending on the size of the cut of your vegetables.
4. Slice the meat in thin slices against the grain. You may find it easier to slice if you first cut the roast in half along the same direction as the grain of the meat. Then slice smaller lengths against the grain.
5. Serve with horseradish or mustard or both.

Note:  Corned beef can be pretty salty, so you may want to rinse it first before cooking. If the broth ends up being too salty, you can serve just the meat and vegetables, without the broth, or add water to the broth to dilute it.

Serves 6 to 8.

Apple Pie

Vermont designated apple pie as the official state pie in 1999.

Ingredients

• 4-6 apples (use combination of Granny Smith, yellow, and red)
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. Apple Pie Spice
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 egg, beaten (for brushing on top crust)
• 2 pie shells, unbaked, frozen

 

Apple Pie with Vermont Cheddar

Directions

1. Peel apples, cut into thin wedges.
2. Combine remaining dry ingredients in a small bowl.
3. Layer half of apples and half of sugar mixture in pie shell and then the other half.
4. Dot the apples and sugar mixture with small chunks of butter.
5. Cover with 2nd pie shell, cut slits in it, and brush with the beaten egg. 
6. Bake at 375F for 40-45 minutes until apples are soft and crust is golden brown.
7. Serve warm, with a slice of Vermont Cheddar Cheese on top OR drizzle some real Vermont Maple Syrup over the top.

Makes 8 servings.