(43-232) Corned Beef & Cabbage With A Twist

Tonight we went to my Aunt Fran's house, for our traditional, St. Patrick's day dinner.  If it took you a minute to wrap your head around that sentence; I'll confirm what you're thinking.  NO, neither Luis nor I are any part Irish.  However, being the nice Jewish girl that I am; I've always been a big (yes,) HUGE fan of Corned Beef; and I rather enjoy the cabbage as well.

Well, a number of years ago, my Aunt Fran (my mom's older sister, who lives about 25 minutes from me;) invited us to come over for Corned beef and cabbage, and it has become somewhat of an annual tradition for us.

I have to say, that I have never tasted Corned beef quite like my Aunt's, because she puts an orange marmalade glaze on it; which I think, is a very nice twist.  So last year during dinner, I expressed an interest in making the Corned beef myself; and she kinda gave me the recipe; but neither of us wrote it down.

A few days later I bought a Corned beef and I was going to attempt to make it following my Aunt's instructions, as best as I could remember them; but then, while I was Instant Messaging with my friend Jason; he gave me an alternate recipe which sounded good; so I decided to go with his recommendation instead of my Aunt's.

Suffice it to say, that there has only been one night that I've ever had to throw away a dinner that I'd cooked, due to it being inedible; and it was when I attempted to make the Corned beef; per Jason.  In all fairness, I don't blame Jason's recipe; I believe that I just needed to cook the meat A LOT longer than I did.

I'm not sure why I've always found the idea of cooking a Corned beef intimidating; but I think I learned enough tonight,  to confidently attempt to make it again.  I learned that there are two kinds of cuts for a Corned beef; the point cut and the Flat cut.  "The Point cut is a rounder, thicker cut with more fat on it than the flat cut.   The Flat cut is leaner and shows off the grain more beautifully;" according to Startcooking.com

Since everyone seemed to enjoy the Corned beef; I made sure to get Aunt Fran's exact recipe this time; and of course; I'm going to share it with you...

I'm told that if you follow the directions that accompany your Corned beef, you really can't go wrong.  Rinse your Corned beef, then place it in a pot, cover it with water, any brine that's in the bag, and the seasonings.  Cover the pot, and as soon as it comes to a boil; turn it down to a low simmer and cook it for one hour per pound.

After the meat has simmered, for the appropriate amount of time, remove your Corned beef from the pot; but don't discard the water, because you can cook your cabbage and potatoes in it.  Please note, this is a personal preference as there may be excess fat in this pot.  I can tell you that this is how my Aunt made her cabbage and potatoes and they were cooked perfectly, tasted delicious, and they weren't greasy or fatty AT ALL.

It will take longer for your cabbage and potatoes to cook then it will to glaze your Corned beef; so once you're ready to get your glaze on; , spread orange marmalade over the meat.  Put the meat in the oven either on Broil and 450, or just at 450, depending on your oven.  After about 5 minutes; you can lower the temp to 350; and cook approximately 15 more minutes.  Keep your eye on the beef while it's in the oven because as soon as the marmalade starts to become a dark crispy color; your Corned beef is done.  My Aunt recommends using an electric knife if you have one; and remember to slice the meet across the grain. 

So there you have.  If you try this recipe and you enjoy it; please send me an email and let me know.  Once I try it again; rest assured I'll be sure to share my experience with you.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

(43-231) He's At It Again...

On many occasions, I've told you that my husband, Luis, finds things like you wouldn't believe.  In fact, I've previously mentioned SO MANY different things that he's found; that I can't even link you to all of the posts.
In case you've never read "The Bumpy Ride" before; or you're in need of a lil reminder... One time we were swimming in the ocean in San Diego and Luis found a wallet with $60 in it; IN THE OCEAN.  Another time, he found a BEAUTIFUL, vintage, diamond engagement ring, on the beach in Puerto Vallarta, using his metal detector.  He's found a camera,  a number of cell phones; and even a Blackberry or two, again; just to name a few.

So yesterday Luis called me and asked how we cash our Costco rewards check that we'd gotten from our Costco American Express card.  I told him that we present the check at the register, as a form of payment; or we could go to customer service and cash it in.  I questioned his reason for asking; and he told me that he'd found one of these checks in the parking lot at work.  I thought to myself; "he's at it again;" and then I asked the amount of the check.   Luis nonchalantly said $1,930.62  YES, you read that right; $1,930.62!  HOLY Crap!  I thought, "If I was this person, I'd be going out of my mind;" but then again if my rewards check was $1,930.62; that would probably just be a drop in the bucket for me.  I say this because my rewards check was $62.45 and I spent about $5000 (or thereabouts, last year;) so can you imagine who much this person spent in order to have such a large reward?

Being the people that we are; Luis and I wanted to try and help the person who lost their check.  We planned on bringing the check to our local Costco, to see if there was a way for them to contact their corporate office and ultimately contact the member; but we decided to try calling American Express first.

I explained to the customer service rep, that I was just calling to be a good Samaritan; because my husband had found someone else's rewards check and it was for a sizable amount.  The representative told me to shred the check because it wouldn't be possible to locate the member.  I suggested that their accounting department should have records of the reward check numbers and considering the amount of the check,  for the members sake it would help to document his account, stating that the check had been destroyed, so they could issue him another without any concern.  Again the  rep just told me to shred the check; and he thanked me for calling.  Oh well.  We tried.

Tearing up the check for $1,930.62 was so bittersweet; but alas it was not ours.  I sure hope that the individual doesn't have any difficulty obtaining a replacement check.    And how bout that Luis?  I mean who but him, would find such a thing?  He never ceases to amaze me.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

(43-230) Wet 'n' Wild

Now if this was a "different" kinda blog; that title might really garner me some attention.  But since this is the blog that's all about, observational humor, my personal journey, life lessons, and (say it with me) "The Greater Good;" y'all know where this post is heading.

I get such satisfaction out of writing a post like today's; because you know I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE when I can tell you about a SUPER deal.  Talk about the Greater Good!  Now, it certainly is possible that I'm the last to know about the news that I'm going to share; but you know me... If just one person will benefit from what I've discovered; I'll be happy.

So a couple of weeks ago I was driving home from my office and I heard an ad on the radio for Wet 'n' Wild Phoenix, water park.  Now two years ago when Wet 'n' Wild first opened here; we'd bought season passes and I thought that it was well worth the money; but NOW, they are having such a spectacular sale; that we're going to buy tickets, even though we hadn't been planning to.

If you purchase 4 or more tickets before March 21, 2011 the ticket price is ONLY $49.99 plus tax, per person ($54.64) for a season pass.  If you buy 3 or less, it's $59.99 plus tax, per person,  ($65.57) which is still a great deal.  But wait; there's more... Wet 'n' Wild unfortunately charges $7 per day for parking, BUT you can purchase a Gold pass which would include:
•Unlimited admission during the 2011 season
•FREE parking
•Special Bring-A-Friend FREE days on specific days during the season
•5 FREE tube rentals
•Discounts on private cabana rentals: Save $10 weekdays, $15 weekends & holidays
•10% discount on a 2011 souvenir cup
•20% discount on all merchandise

The price for the Gold pass is $69.99 plus tax  ($76.50) if you buy 4 of this pass type or more, and $79.99 plus tax, ($87.43)  if you buy 3 or less of this pass type.  The way I see it, my kids won't need the pass that includes parking; in fact I could PROBABLY just buy one ticket that included parking; OR to be on the safe side; I could purchase my tickets with  friend(s); so that we we would purchase a minimum of 4 gold passes at the $69.99 rate and all adults would then have parking included; AND if we bought the children's tickets together; people who may not have been eligible for the discount before; could now receive it.  See, what did I tell you?  Greater Good, Greater Good, Greater Good!  Am I always thinking and yes, PLANNING; or what?

Now you may be saying to yourself; "Self, this is a lot of money for a family of 4 or more,) BUT when you consider the fact that the regular price of a one day admission is $34.99 plus tax for anyone over 42" and $27.99  plus tax for seniors or anyone under 42"; this is a deal that's too good to pass up.  If you do choose to forego this offer, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that you can get a 10% discount if you buy the general admission $34.99 priced ticket,  online. 

Remember; you don't have to be a fan of the "wild" rides, in order to enjoy the summer at Wet'n'Wild.  They have a wave pool, and a lazy river for those of us who are a little tamer.  They have a wonderful, water play area with a variety of slides for children of all ages; and a giant bucket that fills up with water, then spills over for a Colossal, cool down.

Wet'n'Wild is currently open from 11am until 5pm daily, for Spring break through March 20; although, I don't foresee that my family would be going there during this time.

If you don't reside in the Phoenix area; I apologize that this great deal doesn't pertain to you; and I hope to tell you about something that will be useful to you personally, in the near future.

As temps in Phoenix are expected to get up into the 90's this week, knowing that we'll have these great tickets to look forward to for the summer; already makes things seem much cooler.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING