Sunday dinner

A few weeks ago at he farmers'  market I bought a lovely brisket from Lonesome Pines Meats and I thawed it last night.  Right now it is in the oven according to Grandma Dorothy's instructions, with some of my own twists.  I take two packs of onion soup mix and put one pack under the brisket and the other on top (sans the package for those of you who are too literal).  For moisture I put some au jus in the roaster and covered the pan with foil and have it  going low and slow in the oven at 325 degrees.   When I get back from the farmers' 'market, hopefully with some more onions and young potatoes, I will add them along with cut up carrots and parsnips to the mix and cook covered another hour.  Then I will take the meat out of the pan and and brown the veggies,  I'll cool the meat in the fridge to make it easier to slice thin.  I'll reheat the whole shebang and have lovely pan gravy.

The point is this is a comfort food day.  Makes me think of Dorothy, the Aunties, Friday night dinners with the family, and some how my parents are not in that mental picture.  My parents were very insular and didn't like to do family functions.  We used to go out for dinners on Saturdays and Sundays.  Mom was pretty well behaved those days, not drinking until dinner or after.  Although Sunday mornings she was usually hung over and doing wash, or not, but that was the excuse my dad gave  his mom as to why my mom never came with us on our Sunday visits.  Doing laundry was shorthand for hung over and I think grandma Ceil knew that.  She made a good brisket too, but not as good as Dorothy's.  She would make green beans with hers and browned potatoes, but Dorothy's was more like a deconstructed stew waiting to happen.  I add parsnips as I like them and they add a nice flavor to the mix.

And now I am off for my walk with the brisket safe in the oven.  And now you, too, have my brisket recipe with slight modifications to Dorothy's recipe.  Enjoy.