When I was in college, my friends and I had a habit of saying, ?Put it on the wifely resume.? every time we discovered that one of us had a skill that would surely put us in the ?good wife material? category.
For me, being able to make a cheesecake in my dorm room microwave and sew on a missing button topped the list.
Now that I look back on it, all of these items we used to label as ?wifely? should have probably been labeled ?things everyone should be able to do to improve his or her quality of life.? That doesn?t quite have the same ring to it, but it?s definitely more accurate.
Of course, that didn?t stop me from trying to impress Joey with my cooking when we were dating, and recently I decided to pull out one of the recipes I used to try to win him over years ago.
I?m not sure what makes this brisket a Rocky Mountain brisket, but it?s a great meal for two, especially if you pair it with a nice baked potato or a vegetable. If you try this for a family meal, I?d be sure to add lots of sides to round it out.
This comes from the Spring 2007 issue of ?Cooking for Two? magazine.
Rocky Mountain Brisket
Ingredients
1 fresh, one-pound beef brisket
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke
1 bay leaf
Barbecue Sauce
2/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons water
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon celery seed (I used celery salt)
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
dash cayenne pepper
dash pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Place the brisket, fat side up in an 11x7x2-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Combine chili powder, pepper and salt in a small bowl and then rub it over the brisket. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke and add the bay leaf.
Cover and bake for 2 and 1/2 hours.
Drain and discard juices and bay leaf.
About 10 minutes before the brisket is done, combine all the ingredients for the barbecue sauce in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat (it will spit quite a bit, so be prepared to protect your clothes).
Once you?ve drained the brisket (I found it easier to remove it from the dish to do this), pour the barbecue sauce over it.
Cover and bake for another 30 minutes.
Slice the brisket across the grain. (I did mine in about half-inch slices, which was perfect.)
If you?re in the mood to impress someone special, give this one a try. It?s a bit of a time commitment, but when you taste that tender brisket with just a little bit of spice to it, you?ll be ready to add it to your own life resume.
By Lindsey Young
