Sunday Dinner Dreams (recipe: Braised Beef Brisket)
Another Sunday rolled around. Another Sunday Dinner in the making. Since we’ve become empty-nesters, the number of plates set on the dining room table for Sunday Dinner varies. Sometimes it’s only two and sometimes the table is slap full.
In my dream world, extended family would live nearby and Sunday Dinner would be a time the whole family honored and anticipated. People would bring their favorite dish to share. You could count on Aunt Martha for Banana Pudding, Cousin Joyce Ann for Fried Chicken and Uncle Bubba for biscuits and cornbread. Special tables would be set up to serve as a buffet for the gracious multitude of food. Gallons of Southern Sweet Tea would find a home in the cooler filled with ice. The ice cream churn would be standing at attention ready to accept the cream, sugar and vanilla. The young ‘uns would gather outside, after they’d changed from their Sunday clothes, and divide up in teams for a lawn game which would keep them occupied while the adults got the food ready. Cousins would grow up with cousins. Close family friends would be included in Sunday Dinner and would be called Aunt and Uncle by the children even though they weren’t blood relatives. Hound dogs would traipse in the yard. All Southern dreams include hound dogs.
Everyone would be called inside when the food was ready and would stand silently as Granddaddy blessed the food. ”Amen” was said in unison. People would then proceed to fill their plates and all manner of gushing over the food would be in order.
“Will you look at those Lady Finger Peas? I can’t wait to dig in to those. Lucille, where on earth did you find them?”
“Oh, land sake’s alive! I do declare that I could eat my weight in Chicken and Dumplings! Did you make those, Voncille?”
“I’ve got my eye on Granny’s Red Velvet Cake! I think I best go hide me a piece right now.”
Everyone ate and talked and laughed and loved. They all genuinely cared about each other.
My dream stops before the cleaning up starts. I like it that way. We can worry about the clean-up later. I imagine the mature ladies would be in the kitchen washing the dishes and mopping the sweat from their foreheads with the handkerchiefs they stored in their bosoms. “Whew, it is HOT weather”, someone would say. ”Sho’ is. I have suffered in this heat”, another would comment.
The long-standing tradition of Sunday Dinner has fallen prey to a changing society. Families often lives miles apart. Sunday is a regular work day for some. People are mobile and don’t lite in one place long enough to form a connection with people around them. Susan Lutz has a blog named Eat Sunday Dinner…Or Something Like It dedicated to bringing back the tradition of Sunday Dinner. I’m not alone in my love of the tradition.
Regardless of the frequency or number of plates involved, I relish Sunday Dinner. I’ll hold on to the tradition. In my dream, Sunday Dinner lives forever even if I’m one of the mature ladies mopping their foreheads.
Y’all come see us!
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Braised Beef Brisket
Once the brisket is prepped, you pop it in the oven and forget it for 4 hours except for the occasional basting which makes it perfect for Sunday Dinner because you’re freed up to tend to other things. You can’t really forget about it because your nose will keep reminding you. It smells heavenly while it’s cooking. The sweet and tangy sauce has a slight BBQ-y flavor with a thin, smooth consistency.
2 1/2 pound beef brisket
3 medium sweet onions, peeled and sliced
4 to 5 stalk of celery, wash and sliced including tops
2 medium or one large garlic heads, tops sliced off
3 carrots, washed and cut into pieces
1 pound tomatoes, diced
8 ounces tomato sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 shakes Tabasco sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
Place onion, celery, garlic and carrots in a roasting pan. There’s no need to peel the carrots or take the skins off the garlic. I peel the onions only because the peelings come off when you slice them, anyway. We’re going to strain all the vegetables out of the juice. I splurge on a disposable pan when I’m cooking a dish that has sugar and a long cook time. Sometimes that sugar gets burned on and it’s almost impossible to get it off.
Score the fat cap on the brisket. The fat needs to stay on during the cooking process to retain moisture in the meat. Remove the fat before serving.
Throw the brisket on top of the vegetables. Add a generous sprinkling of salt and ground pepper.
Mix together next 6 ingredients and pour over brisket. Throw in the bay leaves. Cover and cook on 300 degrees for 4 hours or until the meat is fork tender. Baste occasionally while cooking.
Remove the brisket when done and strain the liquid. Return the liquid to the pan and cook on medium high heat until reduced by half which will intensify the flavor. Dissolve a tablespoon of cornstarch in cold water, add to the sauce, continue cooking until thickened.
Trim the fat cap from the brisket, slice on the bias. Serve over grits and top with sauce. Goat cheese is a nice addition to the grits. I was out of goat cheese and used grated Parmesan cheese instead.
I remember those Sunday dinners well from my childhood!! My Daddy had five brothers and sisters so when the “family” all gathered at Grandma’s for Sunday dinner there were a lot of people. All the families brought their own Sunday dinner and it was spread out for everyone to share so you got to taste roast and fried chicken, potato salad, fresh vegetables and a whole array of other things from everyone else’s table. My grandma ALWAYS had a huge pot of chicken and dumplings and even though I have tried yours and various others, they are good but they never taste quite like Grandma’s!! Those were wonderful days – all the kids got to play in my Grandaddy’s school bus that he drove during the week – we all loved it. Thanks for those wonderful memories resurfacing again!! You’re the best! We also used to have “dinner on the ground” at church usually once a year and the whole church family would bring food to share – talk about a lot of good country cooking – it was amazing!
My husband’s grandmother drove a school bus and he talks about playing in the school bus, too!
What great memories you have!
Jackie, Kudos once again, I envisioned this post as a part of a really good movie !!
The “icing on the red velvet cake” , was knowing that art TRULY does imitate life !
Keep them coming….
Thanks, Kurt! I still got a few stories in my back pocket (I hope!).
Hey Jackie would you believe I just pulled out a brisket to cook today! Can’t wait to try your recipe.It sounds sooo good.I love your story.My family use to do the same on Sunday’s and weekends.I sure do miss those days.Those were the good old day’s.Keep up the great work.I knew if I logged on your website I would find something good to cook.Thanks! You inspire me!
Janice,
It’s so good to hear from you, Cuz! Enjoy the brisket!
I know some mamas around here that cook for their kids and grands every Sunday that rolls around. It would be a nice thing to look forward to wouldn’t it? Brisket recipe looks and sounds delish….and I see there are peas. We must have peas and look at those grits!!!! Whew I am glad it’s almost lunch time!
Jean,
We do have to deal with reality at some point, don’t we. I still can have my dream of big Sunday Dinners every Sunday!
We actually do manage to have Sunday dinners with extended family every once in awhile, surely not every Sunday, but I’d be game for that. At our house I have a house rule that has and always will stand : Family meals are always eaten together everyday of the week ! Our girls know if they go out with friends somewhere, they are expected to be home at dinnertime . As they grow and get older and go out and get jobs and such , I assume I will struggle to get everyone home for a nightly meal, but then I guess we’ll strive for that Sunday meal;but until then I’ll cherish what I’ve got .
We love us some beef brisket here at our house, my recipe differs from yours, so I think I’ll have to give yours a go next time I cook one.
I need to go play catch with your posts, as I’ve not be online in awhile.
Ginger
Family dinners are of the utmost importance. I applaud you for making them a house rule. After the children become involved with outside activities, it becomes more a challenge to have sit-down family dinners. We certainly went through a period where our kids were going in different directions. I still made sure the have as many sit-down family dinners as we possible could. Don’t give up on that, Ginger!
I think you really hit the nail on the head Jackie when you said, “The long-standing tradition of Sunday Dinner has fallen prey to a changing society.” Shame so many families don’t understand these traditional values are a necessity. Which explains why we have so many issues in our schools and society today? I don’t think people realize how fanatical they have become just over a stupid cell phone? Take one away and watch them go crazy. I lived in an era where we used cell phones only for emergencies. I still do that today because of choice. Try unplugging every now and then from the world. I believe one of the things that made me who I am today was because of our southern traditional values like our dinner side table chats and trust me we had some real doozy conversations. Everything under the sun and my dad was long winded ( I often would say, “I bet we could fly a kite with a long string in that wind) So don’t expect any short answers from my dad. Every now and then my mom would disagree about something someone said and off they went to the races it was so funny. We would often look at each other and roll our eyes and say something dumb already knowing the answer. Probably one of the main reasons why I moved out was because of my dads lengthy lectures. I’m not sure but I think he liked to talk so we were his audience. Just once I would like a simple answer without a long it turning into a discussion just making a decision going out to eat was a project in our household as they could not make up their minds. I could go do something and come back and it was still up for discussion (lol) (Love ya Dad) Ironic I don’t see too many kids socializing anymore at the dinner table they eat out everywhere else and have a totally different agenda so its like going to the dentist and prying their mouths open to get any information out of them and they wonder why everyone has so many issues today? Yet they have no problem texting the world all day long about something trivial. I don’t think parents realize one of the biggest issues today is we are overwhelmed with too much technology. People need to unplug from the world if not just for a few hours and learn to communicate and show respect with others this was often instilled at the dinner table. No phones, no TV or distractions in fact when someone called they would often say, “I’m sorry we are eating right now I’ll have them call you back when we are finished.” When was the last time you heard that? When the door bell rang it was another event. “We are eating they will be out in a moment have a chair.” Would you like something to eat? They were immediately invited to dinner we made room and set a place it’s a tradition. Didn’t make any difference we always had enough just like you were at an old italian family dinner. You see dinner time was a “cherished sacred time to socialize.” Call me crazy but now I kind of miss those traditional conversations & meals at my parents especially over the holidays. I miss the cranberries being spilled on the table cloth by my dad or gravy and everyone making fun of him or whom ever for doing it that was one of our family traditions. It was a time of laughter and fun I feel for the next generations as they have missed out on so many events. Shame I see the southern traditions slowly fading away into the sunset because people are too busy being wrapped up in their own little worlds. Which is why I got more involved documenting and sharing Southern traditions and lifestyles? We need to write them down and share them even do a movie before they become extinct.
)
Tom,
What an eloquent comment! Families sharing a meal is a wonderful tradition and it’s so much more. Studies have shown that families who sit down together have less dysfunction than the families who always eat on the fly. Your example of people being tied to their phone is one of my pet peeves, too. Not only does is it disruptive at mealtime,it’s just downright rude. I’m dismayed by how common courtesies and manners have become less important in our society. We need to reconnect with each other and our upbringings. Be polite. Be good. Do right. It’s not that hard to figure out.
Thanks so much for sharing, Tom!
Jackie- I loved your dream of a perfect Sunday dinner. It’s exciting to see so many people who are as excited about Sunday dinner as I am. I didn’t eat much brisket growing up, but I wrote about the magical power of brisket on my blog eatsundaydinner.com, which you were so kind to mention in your post, and I’m looking forward to trying your recipe. I love the fact that it has apple cider vinegar in it. I’m from Virginia and I’m a sucker for the stuff.
Looking forward to reading more,
Susan
Hi Susan! Welcome to Syrup and Biscuits! I will search your blog for your post about brisket. I’m eager to read that.
I wish you many happy Sunday Dinners!
did your grandfather repeat the same prayer word for word each time? mine does, and i can recite it with him, i’ve heard it so many times.
Grace,
That was usually the case! I find myself saying the same prayer over and over, too!