Easter Dinner

This was a completely atypical Easter for my wife and I. She had surgery last Wednesday and we informed the family that we wouldn't be attending the Easter gathering.  I had to work for an hour or so this morning at 9am and that was a good thing, because it turned out that was my only reason to shave and get dressed.

I had decided to go non-traditional for dinner this year.  I had a corned beef brisket in the freezer (I bought a couple on sale around St. Patrick's Day) and I defrosted it yesterday, then brined it overnight.  If you haven't discovered brining, get to it.  The meat comes out so juicy and tender that it's totally insane. I discovered brining last Thanksgiving and I use that technique every chance I get now. It produced the very best turkey I've ever cooked, and I have a special talent for poultry dishes. A simple concoction is 1.5-2 gals water, 1/2 cup salt and 1 cup sugar. Add bay leaves,other fresh spices or just cracked pepper if you like. Scale down for the size of meat and amount of water that you use. 

This morning, early, I set it up in the crock pot with about 12 ounces of orange juice, sprinkled the brisket with peppercorns and let it go for about 5.5 hours on high. I was going to chop some fresh rosemary and sprinkle that in it too, but I hadn't used the orange juice marinade before so I decided to eliminate an additional variable.   If anything, I am a systematic cook.  Definitely not fine dining, but usually very tasty and reasonable healthy.  Sides included broiled asparagus sprinkled with extra virgin olive oil, cracked pepper and salt, mashed potatoes, followed by dutch apple pie and french vanilla ice cream for dessert.  Still way too much food for two, but we'll have great leftovers for a couple of days. We actually delayed dessert for about two hours.

It's kind of strange not feeling rushed to get someplace, then forcing yourself to try to stay awake in a crowd after a big meal. We couldn't really go out for a post-prandial walk because of my wife's surgery but it was nice to have a no pressure holiday for a change. She did dress for dinner, but promptly regressed into those comfy pajamas. I was never much of a PJ man until about 5 years ago, but if nature and man didn't intervene on certain days, I think could pretty much live in them when inside my home and be a happy camper.

While I certainly did miss seeing 'the fam' today, it was great to be alone with my wife. All of the kids are growing and going in their own directions, we're getting older and some are thinking about ditching Michigan to move to warmer climes.  I do wonder how long the usual holiday routine will last. No matter where you're at in life, I think you can potentially be at the best point in your life.  I'm wondering more often if this is the best part of my life.  I sincerely hope not and I'll try to make every year, month, week, and day better than the previous. I hope you do, too.  Happy Easter, and to my Jewish friends, Happy Passover.