Christmas Fare

We had a very quiet Christmas this year.  Christmas Eve was spent at Laura's & Ma's condo.  Dad and Laura's friend Louann joined us.

I made Cornish Pasties for our dinner.  A Pasty is a meat pie that originated in Cornwall as a meal for the miners.  There were large amounts of arsenic in the mines so the pies were designed to be eaten out of one hand until the miner reached the last corner of pie.  The last bite was discarded to feed the "mine ghosts" and it kept the miners from ingesting too much arsenic.  My great-grandfather, who lived in Scotland, took a Pasty to work with him everyday for his lunch.  He worked as a butcher so didn't have to worry about arsenic, but he loved the meat pies - especially when accompanied by an entire bottle of Worcestershire Sauce to wash the Pasty down!  In honor of Pop I added a little Worcestershire to my Christmas Pasties.

The traditional recipe is made with raw beef, potatoes and vegetables, encased in pie crust and folded in the shape of a turnover.    I wanted to make sure the meat was good and tender, so I pre-cooked the meat and veggies - kind of like a hash. I cut a chuck roast into small pieces and browned them in olive oil in a dutch oven.  Then I added red wine and continued cooking until it evaporated and then added beef broth and a bay leaf and simmered for about an hour.  Next I cut a couple of potatoes into small cubes, added to the beef and cooked until the meat and potatoes were tender.  (Any root vegetables - carrots, turnips, etc. could be added, but my family is a bit picky about such veg, so I stuck to basic meat & potatoes). While the meat was cooking I sauteed a chopped onion in a skillet until it was caramelized.  I added the onion and a bit of Worcestershire to the meat and seasoned with salt and pepper.  While the meat mixture was cooling I made a basic, but buttery,  pie dough.  I rolled out the dough, cut out 5" circles and placed a large spoonful of the meat mixture onto each circle.  Then I folded the dough over the meat into semi-circles and crimped the edges together.  I placed the pies on a cookie sheet, made small little slashes in the top of the crusts and baked at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until the pies were golden brown and the juices started to bubble up through the slashes.

Christmas Day was celebrated aboard Poseidon with Ma, Laura & Dad. On the menu:

John's delicious Caesar Salad:

Prime Rib (roasted very simply with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder):

 

Popovers:

And Cheesey Stuffed Potatoes and Peas with Leeks & Bacon:

Hoping your Christmas was merry, Linda & John:

Christmas Chocolates

I haven't made chocolates in probably twenty five years. At that time I had a candy business with a good friend and neighbor that we called  Sweet Impressions.  We made custom candies for friends' and family wedding showers, baby showers, parties, etc. and then started selling our candies at craft fairs. I don't think we ever made a dime, but had great fun staying up half the night drinking wine and making what we thought were very creative chocolates.  Next I tried a venture selling candy-making supplies in people's homes - kind of like Tupperware parties.  I would teach everyone how to make their own chocolates and then I would try to sell them supplies - don't know what I was thinking, because anyone who knows me knows that I am the worst salesperson on earth!  I also sold nautical themed chocolates in the Ventura & Channel Islands Harbors.  Great fun at the time but I finally had to admit I was never going to get rich making chocolates and that it was time that I got a real (by that I mean paying) job.

I'm not sure what inspired me to make chocolates this Christmas, but it was fun and brought back lots of great memories. My first candy-making experience was learning how to make hand-dipped chocolates when I lived in Logan, Utah in the mid-seventies.  I wasn't quite that ambitious this year and used plastic molds.

One filling was made with bittersweet chocolate, cream, butter and mint extract and another with milk chocolate, cream, butter and Kahlua.   Spread a thin layer of melted chocolate in the plastic mold, chill in the freezer for a couple of minutes, add filling, top with more melted chocolate and chill until set. For the seashell  molds I swirled in a little white chocolate before adding the filling.

Wishing you a sweet holiday season!

Thanksgiving

We decided to go a bit nontraditional for our Thanksgiving dinner this year.  Still roasted a beautiful turkey, but skipped most of the "normal" trimmings.

We started with a Heirloom Tomato, Caper and Bay Shrimp Salad - yes, we're still getting great tomatoes in November - amazing. 

Our next course was homemade ravioli.  Jeff brought garlic sausage he had made with his cousin a couple of weeks ago.  The pork was fresh from his cousin's farm. For the filling I cooked the sausage, added fresh chopped spinach, a couple of eggs and Asiago cheese.  The sausage was so delicious we didn't need any other seasoning.  Jeff made the pasta sheets and John assembled and cut the ravioli. Marco helped out too - his ravioli are on the far right:

A real family effort:

I dressed the ravioli in a very simple tomato sauce - San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil, fresh oregano, fresh thyme and salt:

"I'm ready! Let's eat."

Next up - Roast Turkey, Potato Fennel & Leek Gratin, Roasted Beets with Clementines & Mint and Parkerhouse Rolls.  Everything went swimmingly until my dad decided to steal a roll off Marco's plate.  Do not come between that boy and his food:

To make the Potato, Fennel and Leek Gratin - Sauté leeks in a butter in a small skillet. Place ½ of the leeks in a small casserole. Layer with thin potato slices, thinly sliced  fennel, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle liberally with Jarslberg cheese. Repeat the layers. Pour heavy cream over the casserole and top with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Cover with foil and bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until the top is browned and the potatoes and fennel are tender, about another 20 minutes.
It was a nice change from mashed potatoes & gravy - not that there's anything wrong with mashed potatoes!!

Marco helping with the beets:

To make the Roasted Beets with Clementines & Mint, Marco & I mixed roasted beets (red & yellow) cut into chunks, segmented Clementine tangerines, a little olive oil, chopped mint and seasoned with salt.  It added a beautiful, vibrant color to our plates:

And for dessert - Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie and ..

Vanilla Ice Cream with Cranberry Sherbet Swirl:

Marco giving me advice on how to serve the dessert - no wonder my back was so sore the next day!

Our menu made for a very relaxing day with plenty of time to play board games and visit. 

And for our after-dinner entertainment, Marco played the drums for us:

And then kept himself amused with Dada's computer while we did the cleanup.

Thanks Dad, Ma, Laura, Jeff, Sarah & Marco for joining us you give us much to be thankful for.