A Texan style feast

I have a friend who lived in Texas when she was little.  I mentioned to her once before that I have recently discovered the cut of meat known as brisket which is NOT well known or popular in Australia.  She said her Father used to cook brisket, so I decided to cook this for her and her family.  I served the brisket cut up and coated in a serving sauce, cornbread, baked beans, slaw and for dessert we had a peanut butter pie with whipped cream (yummmeeeeee).  She said it was very similar to what she remembered when she was in Texas (but her Father enjoyed chilli so they had a lot more spice in their food that what I had).

Oven Roasted Brisket:
Trim all the fat from the brisket, then massage the dry rub mixture into both sides of the meat making sure it is well coated.  Place the meat on a wire rack over a baking tray in a slow oven and cook for first 30 minutes uncovered to allow the rub to crust a little, then cover with foil and continue cooking.  Every 30 minutes ensure that you baste with the basting sauce.  Cooking times are 30 - 45 minutes per 500 grams.  Don't even think about increasing the heat or reducing the cooking time, rumour has it that brisket is like shoe leather if it isn't slow cooked at a low temperature.  When you are ready to serve finely slice and place in serving dish and spoon over the hot serving sauce making sure all the meat is thoroughly coated.

Dry Rub:
Mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup paprika, 1 tablespoon each of black pepper, salt, chilli powder and onion powder and 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Basting Sauce:
Combine 1/4 cup red wine, 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon each of ground coriander and mustard powder and a few drops of tabasco sauce.

Serving Sauce:
Combine 1 cup tomato sauce, 1 can tinned tomatoes, 1 chopped green capsicum, 1 chopped onion, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons spicy sauce (I used a plum and shiraz sauce that I had in the pantry), 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, a sprinkle each of nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and black pepper.  Simmer until capsicum is tender.

Cornbread:
Sift 1 cup of polenta, 1 cup SR flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt into a bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups milk, 60 grams melted butter, 1 egg and 2 tablespoons maple syrup.  Mix into flour and stir until well combined.  Spread into a greased and lined 20x20cm baking pan, sprinkle with extra polenta.  Bake for approx 25 minutes in a moderate oven until cooked when tested.  I put fresh rosemary leaves and dried chilli flakes in mine but I was advised that this was not necessary.

Baked Beans:
Chop 1 onion and cook in 1/2 cup butter in a medium saucepan.  Add 3/4 cup tomato sauce, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon mustard powder and 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.  When well combined, pour into an oven proof dish and add 1.2 kg canned beans (I use 2 cans of cannellini and 1 can of red kidney beans but you can vary this according to what you have in the cupboard or your own personal taste).  Bake for 1 hour in a hot oven.  Optional - when ready to serve, top with chopped fresh coriander leaves.

Slaw:
Shred 2 cups cabbage and  finely chop 1/2 an onion.  Mix 2 tablespoons white vinegar and 2 tablespoons mayonaise with 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper.  Add dressing to cabbage mix and mix well.

Peanut Butter Pie:
This is a recipe that I have been wanting to try from a fellow blogger.  For this recipe you will need to go to Pastry Hall Bakery http://pastryhallbakery.blogspot.com/2011/07/peanut-butter-pie.html
(it was fantabulous - yes it was so good that I am making words up.  My daughter had two pieces for breakfast this morning).  I had to "Australianize" a few of the terms before I made this - a graham cracker crust is made with wheatmeal biscuits, butter, cinnamon and sugar (similar to a cheesecake crust), powdered sugar is icing sugar mix and cool whip is canned whipped cream.