Merry Christmas!

Christmas morning started out pretty chilly - 41 degrees and ice patches on the dock. But by the afternoon it had warmed up enough for John to take Dad & Laura for a dinghy ride: The seas were so calm (at least John thought so) they went all the wayout to the pier:

There were only the five of us for dinner - Ma, Laura, Dad and John & me. I decided to make a good old-fashioned comfort meal for our Christmas celebration. Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy - oh yum! We started with a Caesar Salad that John made. Love those anchovies!

I used my beautiful Christmas present from John (I know, not every girl's dream gift but it was exactly what I wanted) to make the pot roast:In my brand new Caribbean Blue Le Creuset Dutch oven, I heated a drizzle of olive oil over medium-high heat and browned a chuck roast that was seasoned with salt and pepper. When the roast was browned on all sides I added a sliced onion and cooked until the onion was soft. Then I added 1/2 bottle of red wine and cooked until the wine was almost evaporated and then added a couple cups of beef broth, a bay leaf and a couple of sprigs of thyme. Next I covered the pot and let it simmer for about 3 hours, until it was just starting to fall apart. I removed the meat and thickened the juices with a little water & flour slurry to make a gravy for the mashed potatoes.

While the meat was cooking I tossed together red onion, carrots, fennel and parsnips in a little olive, seasoned with salt & pepper and baked in a roasting pan for about 45 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Our good friend, and one of my "dough-boys", Joe, brought us gorgeous loaf of bread for Christmas. Perfect with our dinner- thanks Joe!And for dessert, homemade cherry pie and homemade vanilla ice cream:To make the cherry pie, stir together sour cherries, a little of the cherry juice, cornstarch and lemon juice. Pour into the bottom of an unbaked pie crust, dot with a couple tablespoons of butter and cover with the top pie crust. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and cook for another 30 minutes. Vanilla ice cream.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!!

Christmas Eve

We celebrated Christmas Eve and Laura & Ma's new condo:
I made cheese enchiladas and carnitas tacos:

To make the enchiladas - Heat enchilada sauce in a skillet over low heat. In a another skillet heat oil and cook corn tortillas, one at a time, for a few seconds to soften. Next dip the tortillas in enchilada sauce and fill with Cheddar & Monterey Jack cheeses and chopped green onions. Roll up the tortillas and place on a bake sheet. Top with more sauce, cheese and onions. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the cheese melts, about 15 minutes.

For the carnitas - Cut a pork shoulder into large chunks. Season the pork with salt and brown the pieces in a dutch oven. Add a couple of cups of beef broth, the peel from one orange, bay leaf and coriander seeds. Cover the pot and simmer until the meat is tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Remove the meat, shred and put the pieces into a roasting pan. Pour 1/2 cup milk over the meat and cook in a 400 degree oven until the meat is crispy. Turn the meat over and roast until the other side is crispy. If the meat looks to dry add a little of the broth during the roasting.

Parade of Lights

We had a fun group on board to view the Parade of Lights.

Dad with friends Steve, Linda, Santa, Vince and Loraine: Also joining us that night Laura, Jack & Carol, Curt & Carolyn, Whitney (Steve & Linda's daughter), Bob & Cynthia and two of their grandkids - Nick & Cassidy.

Cynthia with her silly grandkids:

Boy Talk:

On the menu:

• Roasted Tomato Bisque
• Mini Flank Steak Sandwiches with Blue Cheese Sauce
• Onion Rings (Thinly slice red onions and marinate in buttermilk for at least 1/2 hour. Dredge in Wondra flour, salt & pepper. Fry in 360 degree oil for about 1 minute. Drain and sprinkle with salt.)
• Pannetone Bread Pudding:
  

Holiday Open House

Laura & Ma recently bought a condo and invited some friends over to show off their new digs. They asked if I would do the cooking - of course I would!

We decided on all miniature appetizers (as promised, recipes are at the bottom of this post - better late than never!)

Caprese Skewers

Garlic Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

Ahi Tuna Parfait

Chicken Lollipops

Mini Bacon Quiche

Mini Mac & Cheese

Meat Balls

Mini Cheesecake

Italian Chocolate Mousse

We started preparing the day before the party: Laura & Bonnie helping with the quiches:Thanks for all your help Bonnie:
We were so busy restocking the table we didn't get many pictures, but here are a few:

And a few of the guests:

Nice picture of Dad & Cynthia:

For those who asked about the cute little dishes, you can find them at http://www.smartyhadaparty.com/.

Caprese Skewers:

Marinate cherry tomatoes and cubes of fresh mozzarella cheese in olive oil. Alternate tomato, cheese and basil leaves on a small bamboo skewers. Drizzle with olive oil & balsamic vinegar and season with salt & pepper.

Garlic Roasted Shrimp Cocktail:

Combine chopped garlic, olive oil and shrimp (use large peeled shrimp with the tails on) to coat the shrimp. Put the shrimp on a baking sheet, in a single layer, and bake in a 450 degree for about 4 minutes, turn the shrimp over and cook until firm about another 4 minutes. Put the shrimp in a dish and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Serve with cocktail sauce.

Cocktail Sauce:
Mix equal amounts of ketchup and chili sauce together and season with lemon juice and horseradish.

Ahi Parfait:

Dice sushi-grade ahi tuna into small dice. In a small bowl, lightly toss the tuna with soy sauce and refrigerate. Dice a mango & avocado into same pieces as the ahi. Add the mango, avocado, diced red onion, chopped cilantro to the ahi. Mix in a about 1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil and sirracha. If available, top with a bit of tobiko (flying fish roe).

Chicken Lollipops:

Use kitchen shears or a paring knife to snip the tendons around the small end of a chicken drummette. Using a paring knife push the meat to the base of the drummette, scraping the bone clean. Combine panko crumbs, sesame seeds, melted butter, sesame oil and cayenne together in a bowl. In another bowl whisk together eggs, mayonnaise and chili garlic sauce. Holding the drummette by the bone dip into the egg mixture, then dredge in the panko crumbs, coating all sides. Place on a baking sheet and bake in a 425 degree oven for 40 minutes, turning halfway through. When done the drummettes should be golden and crisp.

Mini Bacon Quiche:

Cook diced bacon in a skillet until brown and crispy. Remove the bacon and pour off all of the fat except for a tablespoon or two. Add diced leeks to the skillet and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. In a bowl combine half-and-half, Cheddar cheese, eggs, egg yolks, thyme, salt, pepper and nutmeg. When the leeks have cooled add to egg mixture along with the bacon.

Lightly spray mini muffin pans with cooking spray. Roll out a sheet of puff pastry and cut into 3-inch circles. Place the circles into the muffin pan and gently press down. Fill each round with the filling. Bake in a 400 degree oven until the filling is puffed and the crust is browned, about 20 minutes.

Mini Mac & Cheese:

Boil elbow macaroni in salted water. While that's cooking melt some butter in a saucepan, whisk in flour and cook for a couple of minutes, whisk in milk and cook for another five minutes. Add cheddar and American cheeses and whisk until melted. Off the heat, whisk in an egg yolk and paprika and fold in the cooked macaroni. Spoon the macaroni into mini-muffin tins that have been brushed with butter and sprinkled with Parmigiano cheese. Sprinkle a little more Parmigiano on top and bake in a 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes, until golden and sizzling. Let cool for about 5 minutes, carefully loosen the mini macs and transfer to a platter.

Meat Balls in Tomato Sauce:

Mix together, ground veal, ground pork, panko breadcrumbs, melted butter, milk, parmigiano cheese, eggs, garlic, parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes, tomatoes, lemon zest, parsley and salt & pepper. Roll into small balls. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Heat olive oil in a saucepan. Add chopped garlic and saute until light brown. Stir in a can of San Marzano tomatoes, add fresh chopped oregano and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the meat balls to the sauce and simmer until heated through.

Mini Cheesecakes:

Make a crust with either crushed graham crackers or Nabisco chocolate wafer cookies and melted butter.Preheat the oven to 350. Line mini-muffin pans with foil baking cups and spray the cups with vegetable oil spray. In a food processor, crush the cookies. Add the butter and process until fine crumbs form. Spoon the cookie crumbs into the prepared baking cups and press to compact. Bake for 5 minutes, or until almost set. Leave the oven on.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat 16 oz. cream cheese (at room temperature) and 1/4 cup sugar at medium speed until smooth. Then add 2 large eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla and beat until smooth. Pour the cheesecake batter into the baking cups. Bake the cheesecakes for 15 minutes, or until slightly jiggly in the center. Remove from the oven and spread warmed raspberry preserves on top of each cheesecake. Transfer the muffin tin to the freezer and chill the cheesecakes until set.

Italian Chocolate Mousse:

Melt semisweet dark chocolate morsels in heavy whipping cream until well blended. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Whip heavy whipping cream, sugar and Kahlua until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the chocolate, one third at a time, into the whipping cream. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Top with whipped cream and a dusting of chocolate powder.

Thanksgiving Weekend - A Cooking & Eating Marathon

This should have been posted a week ago, but after spending hours working on the blog and just ready to post, I accidentaly deleted the entire thing -- blast! So here you go, better late than never.

I ran across this picture the other day from Thanksgiving 1999. Don't you just love the pearls - so Julia Child: This holiday was truly a galley marathon. Here's a recap:

Wednesday: I took the day off to get a head start on the Thanksgiving cooking. I started by making 1) Turkey Stock to use in the gravy, dressings and soup. I bought a bunch of turkey wings and necks (very inexpensive!) and browned them in a 375 degree oven for 2 hours.Remove the turkey pieces to a large stockpot. This is the best part, all of the little browned bits that are full of turkey flavor:

Deglaze the roasting pan with water and add the juices to the stockpot along with coarsely chopped celery, onion and carrots. Throw in a couple of bay leaves and thyme sprigs, cover with water and simmer, very low, for about 4 or 5 hours. Discard the meat, bones & vegetables and strain the stock into a clean container. Cool and refrigerate.

Next, I made 2) Cranberry Relish - put 12 ounces of cranberries, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 cup of orange juice (I had peach, orange, mango in the fridge so used that) and some pineapple in a saucepan and simmer until the berries pop, about 10 minutes.

I also made some 3) Biscotti to have with coffee in the morning.

On to 4) Pumpkin Pie - I always use Julia Child's recipe for the pie crust because it is almost exactly the same as the crust my grandma used to make. I loved making pies with grandma and think about her every time I roll out pie dough. The dough is made by mixing flour, salt,very cold butter and vegetable shortening (Crisco) until the mixture looks like a bunch of small pea-shaped lumps. My grandma used a fork or a pastry blender, I use a food processor. Next mix in ice cold water, just until the dough starts to come together. Be very careful not to over-work the dough or it will be tough. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least a couple of hours before rolling out. For the filling I used the recipe on the back of a can of Libby's Pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling). My pie plate is a little bigger than average so I made 1 1/2 times the recipe. Is there anything that smells more like Thanksgiving than a pumpkin pie baking in the oven?

Still working on desserts, I made 5) Vanilla Ice Cream. I like really creamy, custardy ice cream. Here's my recipe - beat sugar, a pinch of salt and egg yolks together in a mixing bowl until the mixture becomes thick and pale yellow. In the top of a double boiler heat half-and half until it comes to a simmer. Pour a little of the cream into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly, then put back into the double boiler and continue heating until the custard thickens. Remove from the heat, let cool a little, then add heavy whipping cream and vanilla. Chill until very cold, at least a couple of hours, then freeze in an ice cream machine. I use the Kitchen-Aid attachment to my mixer.

6) Cherry Caramel Sauce - to serve with the ice cream - put cherries and a little water in a food processor and blend until smooth. Melt butter and sugar in a saucepan and cook until the sugar melts and begins to caramelize into a medium-brown syrup. Stir in the pureed cherries and cook for about a minute. Remove from the heat and add heavy whipping cream and a splash of lemon juice.

My family loves their traditional Mrs. Cubbisons Dressing, the same that my mother and grandmother made every Thanksgiving and Christmas, we call it 7) Parson Dressing. The dressing is good but John & I like our dressing jazzed up a bit, so I also made a 8) Sausage Dressing. I cut up cubes from a Ciabatta bread I had made yesterday and dried in a 325 degree oven for about 15 minutes and let them cool. Browned coarsely ground sausage in a large skillet until cooked through and removed to a large bowl. Added butter to the skillet and cooked sliced leeks, chopped apples and chopped celery for about 10 minutes. The cooked veggies went into the bowl with the sausage and I added the cubed bread, dried cranberries, fresh thyme, dried sage, my homemade turkey stock and salt & pepper. I put the dressing into a large casserole and baked, covered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Tomorrow I will finish baking, uncovered for about 20 minutes, when the turkey comes out of the oven and is resting.

Sarah, Jeff & Marco arrived about midnight. We stayed up visiting (yes, Marco too) until 1:00am - time to get to bed, there's more cooking to do tomorrow.

Thursday: Laura, Ma & Dad also joined us for Thanksgiving dinner. I roasted an organic, free-range 9) turkey that had been dry-brining since Monday night. I remain convinced that dry-brining is the way to go - such moist, juicy meat. John carving our bird:

Dad kept Marco entertained while we cooked dinner:

Laura saw a picture of 10) Peas and Pancetta in one my cookbooks and said "Mmm that looks so good, I might even try eating peas." So of course I had to make them. Laura ate them and liked them!! Maybe something to do with all the bacon?? To make the peas-Cook diced pancetta in a large sauce an until the pancetta is crispy. Add shallots and garlic and cook for another minute. Add the peas and cook until tender, this only takes a few minutes. Stir in a little butter and season with salt and pepper.

Jeff made some beautiful 11) Hawaiian Sweet Rolls. We enjoyed them again the next morning when Sarah used the leftovers to make 12) French Toast for breakfast. Yum!
Also on the menu: 13)Mashed Potatoes, 14)Gravy made with some of the homemade turkey stock, and 15)Sauteed Butternut Squash.

It took Marco a little while to warm up to Tom, but once he did he kept John busy inflating & deflating the giant turkey. "Papa, wake up Tom", "Papa, Tom go to sleep".

Friday: We braved the holiday traffic and drove "over the hill" to Westlake Village to pick up special grocery ingredients for tomorrow night's dinner. We had lunch (yes, we we were ready to eat again!) at a great restaurant - Farfalla Trattoria.

Sarah & John volunteered to make dinner tonight, but Jeff & I had a lasagna idea we wanted to try out. Jeff made 16) Homemade Garlic Sausage and I made 17) Fresh Pasta. We have both used the dry no-bake lasagna noodles (and they are good) and have also used fresh pasta sheets that are boiled before assembling the casserole (difficult to work with and very messy). We decided to try making the lasagna with fresh noodles, but not boiling them. The 18)Lasagna was assembled by layering tomato sauce (a very simple sauce because the sausage was very spicy - canned San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil, fresh oregano and salt), pasta, sauce, sausage, fresh ricotta cheese, fresh mozzarella cheese and fresh parmigiano - repeated layering two more times. The lasagna baked, covered, in a 350 degree oven for10 minutes and then uncovered for another 10 minutes. I have to tell you, it was really good and so much easier than boiling the noodles first. We learned that it is important to make the sauce "wetter" than normal since the pasta isn't boiled first and still needs to cook in the oven.

Saturday: Sarah & Jeff took Marco to the Harbor Village so he could run around and burn off some energy. He especially liked riding the carousel horse. I had a warm, comforting 19) Turkey Soup waiting for them when they got back to the boat. I boiled the carcass in the homemade turkey stock and pan drippings from the turkey for about an hour. After straining and discarding the bones and meat, I returned the broth to the pan and added coarsely chopped carrots, celery and parsnips. The veggies were cooked until almost tender. Then I threw in a couple of hand-fulls of pasta shells and when the pasta was cooked I added chopped leftover turkey and seasoned with salt and pepper. Using the carcass, drippings and homemade stock made this the most flavorful turkey soup I have ever tasted.Jeff & I had been wanting to try a Michael Mina recipe we had read about for a long time. Tonight was the night - 20) Butter Poached Rib Eye Steak!!

Lucky for us butter was on sale at the grocery: Sarah & Jeff's friends Beck & Jayme drove up from Orange County and joined us for dinner. We started with an appetizer of 21) Onion Rings - nothing, and I mean nothing, low-cal about tonight's dinner. We thinly sliced red onions and soaked them in buttermilk for a half-hour. Then dredged them in Wondra flour, shaking off the excess, and fried them in Canola oil until golden browned. Seasoned with salt and, oh boy, I think one of the highlights of the dinner.

The theory behind the poached meat is that if you keep the temperature of the clarified butter between 135 degrees and 140 degrees you can cook the beef from 30 to 60 minutes and it won't overcook. We had a little trouble keeping that constant temperature so some of the pieces were cooked perfect and others a little overdone. The meat was also under-seasoned, still good but not a total success. Well, at least we can say we have tried butter poaching beef, learned from the experience and can now move on to another experiment! We served the meat with 22) Spinach Sauteed in Garlic & Butter, 23) Horseradish Mashed Potatoes and the star of the plate 24) Pinot Noir Reduction - Saute chopped cremini mushrooms, sliced shallots, bay leaves, fresh thyme, coriander seeds and peppercorns in canola oil for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle in a little sugar, red wine vinegar and Pinot Noir and simmer until the wine is almost cooked out, about 40 minutes. Add veal demi-glace and simmer for another 40 minutes. Strain the sauce and serve hot. And for dessert 25) Pumpkin Gelato - Beat egg yolks and sugar together until thick and pale yellow. Set over simmering water and whisk until the mixture is hot to the touch and has almost doubled in size. Remove from the heat and stir in pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside. In a separate bowl whip heavy cream with sugar until medium-thick. Fold the cream into the pumpkin mixture and chill for at least two hours. Freeze in an ice cream machine. MmmmMmmm:
25 different dishes!! Time for a break with my sweet grandson:

Down for the count or just resting for the next meal?

John and I often say we wish we lived closer to S,J&M, but the way we eat when we're together maybe it's best we don't -we'd all weigh 500 pounds!!!

A belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We hope your holiday was as much fun as ours.

Oakland Visit

S,J&M took us to San Francisco for lunch at Tony's Pizza Napoletana (take a look at Tony's beautiful award-winning pizzas). While we were waiting for our pizzas we watched beautiful loaves of bread being taken out of the oven, along with this cute little bear:Marco fell in love with"Pizza Bear" so the waitress gave him the bread. Definitely his father's son. I mean really, how many kids cuddle bread?
We also went to the Ferry Building Marketplace, a food lover's dream. The building is filled with restaurants, specialty food shops (bread, cheese, wine, mushrooms, caviar, seafood, meat, etc.,etc.) and kitchen supplies. It is heaven!

"Papa, Gamma zeppelin in sky". Yes, he spotted and said zeppelin. My grandson is a genius!

Marco went into "our room" and came out wearing John's hat and said "Look Papa's boat hat". What a sweetheart:

A trip to Oakland wouldn't be complete without a trip to their incredible Whole Foods - a food Disneyland. We picked up a prime rib and ingredients for a potato & leek gratin. We made a paste with olive oil, crushed garlic, fresh thyme, salt & pepper and rubbed it on the prime rib before Jeff put it on the bbq rotisserie.

What a gorgeous piece of meat and delicious - Good job Jeff:

Potato-Leek Gratin:

Melt butter in a nonstick, oven-proof skillet. Add leeks and salt, stirring to coat the leeks with the butter. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are tender, about 20 minutes. Add thyme, nutmeg, pepper and cream and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Wipe out the pan and grease with butter.
In a bowl, combine Gruyère and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses. Layer sliced russet potatoes in the skillet and spread one-third of the leek mixture on top. Sprinkle with one-third of the cheeses, then chives. Repeat the layering 2 more times.
Cover the pan, transfer to the oven and bake for 45 minutes in a 450 degree oven. Remove the lid and continue baking until the potatoes are tender and the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes more. Sprinkle chives on top. Let the gratin stand for 15 minutes before serving.