Monday Mantra: Aut Viam Inveniam Aut Faciam

A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation".

Every Monday I will post a new thought, idea, or focus for the week. When you need a breather from life, when you need a little inspiration, or when you're about to jump over the conference table and strangle your co-worker, remember the mantra.

Monday Mantra: Aut Viam Inveniam Aut Faciam: I will either find a way or make one

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned in the past how stubborn I am...no? Well, I am. Really stubborn. And because I also have a gluten allergy, I am limited in what I can and can't eat. So when I found out Famous Dave's has the most delicious burnt ends possibly ever (sorry to everyone from Kansas who had the best burnt ends formerly), and that I can't eat them, I had to find a way to make them myself. Stubborn + Determined = GF Burnt Ends. Yay!

This brisket recipe all by itself is awesome. I've made this many, many times and always with a resounding YUM from all who eat it. In fact, this is often a requested item, so just in that all by itself you know you've got something good here. All you have to do is take that and do a little more work to get your delicious burnt ends. And while this does take some serious time, it is worth it.

Gluten Free Burnt Ends

Get yo'self a Brisket and your favorite GF BBQ sauce, and get to cooking! 

Ingredients for Brisket:

1 four-pound untrimmed brisket

1 tablespoon of salt

1.5 tablespoons of black pepper

1 teaspoon chipotle/chili pepper

4 cloves of garlic, diced

1 onion cut into slivers

1/2 cup of GF soy sauce 

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 

1/4 cup of water
1/2 cup broth

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.

2. Mix together the salt, black pepper, chipotle (or as Jack from Jack in the Box says, Chip-a-top-lay) and diced garlic, and rub all over your brisket (more heavily on the meatier side but also a bit on the fat side as well). Allow the brisket to come to room temperature.

3. In a large roasting pan, add the slivered onions, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, and water.

4. Place the brisket in the pan, fat side up.

5. Cover the pan tightly with first parchment paper, then aluminum foil, and bake in the oven for four hours.  Continue cooking for another hour, or roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes per pound.

6. Take the brisket out of the oven...it should be tender to the touch. Let it sit out of the pan for half an hour.

To turn your brisket into burnt ends (this is how I did it, anyway):

1. Trim the hard fat and soft fat from the meat, leaving on some of the meat for that little extra oomph

2. Take what you just trimmed and chop it up. Put it in an oven safe dish and cover with your favorite BBQ sauce. Cover with parchment paper and foil, as before. 

3. Bake on 250 degrees for an additional 30-45 minutes (you will want to adjust this depending on how crunchy or tender you want these. I did 30 minutes and they were tender, but I would've liked more crunch)

4. When they reach your texture of choice, let them cool and cover with additional BBQ sauce as needed.

The leftover meat from the brisket can be eaten right away, or you can keep it warm to serve with the burnt ends.

I found the original version of this next recipe on Tasting Table, but as I'm not a big fan of regular white potatoes and several other ingredients that it called for, I modified it. A lot. This is the strangest tasting potato salad you will ever eat. It's also delicious. I had multiple thumbs up from the guys on this one, so you know that's a good sign since there were "green things" aka vegetables in here. My only suggestion would be to maybe leave the snap peas out. I like them by themselves more than I do in this salad. Also a reminder, whenever you're buying additional ingredients (like  the Dijon mustard or the soy sauce) make sure everything is 100% gluten free.

WTF Sweet Potato Salad

Taken and modified from Tasting Table

Ingredients for Dressing:

1/4 cup plus two TBSP's veganaise 

1 TSP garlic seasoning

1 TBSP fresh lemon juice

1 TSP dijon mustard

1/8 TSP tabasco sauce

1/4 TSP paprika

1/4 TSP cumin

1/4 - 1/2 TSP black pepper

1/4 - 1/2 TSP sea salt

1 TSP soy sauce

Ingredients for the Salad:

2 large eggs

2 pounds sweet potatoes

1 cup snap peas, ends trimmed

6 ounces ham, diced (GF of course, but also preferably nitrate free)

1 red bell pepper diced

1 yellow bell pepper diced

2 celery stalks thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped dill pickles

2 TSP's extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Make the dressing: In a medium bowl whisk together the veganaise, garlic, lemon, mustard, Tabasco, paprika, cumin, black pepper, soy sauce, and sea salt. 

2. Hard boil your eggs in a medium saucepan over high heat for 15 mins. Immediately (this is the key to easy shell peeling) put them in ice cold water with ice. When they are cool enough to handle, roll them on the counter and crack the shell, the peel away, then dice them up.

3. Bring a large pot of water to boil on high heat. Add the potatoes and boil for 20-30 mins, or until tender. Use a fork to check them (it should easily puncture the potatoes). Turn off the heat and add the snap peas to the hot water to cook. Leave them in for 2 mins, then remove the potatoes and the peas. Cool them under cold running water. Cut the potatoes into small bites. I removed the skins, but do as you please with that. Chop up the snap peas.

4. Put the potatoes, eggs, snap peas, ham, bell pepper, celery, and dill pickles into a large bowl. Add the dressing and mix well. Add a little more salt, pepper, and veganaise if you want a creamier salad. 

Enjoy!

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