Holidays in my family have always been about food. My mother is an awesome cook, all self-taught, and my life has been filled with good eats. It's also made for some intimidating moments because her chef's hat is a big one to fill so I get nervous when I cook something for everyone. This year was no different and it was full of comical errors. Let me give you some examples.
For weeks I struggled over what to serve for Christmas Day dinner. I knew we were going to have a standing rib roast but beyond that, I wasn't sure what everyone would like to have as sides. Oh, and dessert! Don't get me started on how hard it was to pick out a dessert! My mom kept saying, "Why does everything have to be homemade? Just buy something." Well, Mom, because you always made it all, that's why! At some point, it was decided that we would have Potatoes Dauphinoise, Green Beans, and yorkshire pudding. For dessert, I was making the Guinness Cake that I had made for Sean's birthday and the Pioneer Woman's Peach Maple Crisp. So far so good right? Well, the Guinness Cake recipe had it topped with a Cream Cheese Icing, which I like, but I wanted to do something that looked fluffier so I settled on a Swiss Meringue Buttercream that I had seen at BakeSpace. Christmas Eve day, I went ahead and made the frosting, just in case I messed it up. Good thing I did that. It was a more complicated frosting than I'm used to making because a double boiler and egg whites were involved but I got through that part with flying colors. In fact, I made it through the whole process with flying colors and my buttercream was GORGEOUS and I was so proud of myself! I dipped my finger in the excess that was on my mixer paddle and closed my eyes, ready to taste the gloriousness that is buttercream, when.....ACK! I used SALTED butter instead of unsalted. Hol. Lee. Crap. People, there was 1 and 1/4 lb of butter in there AND 5 egg whites. Crap, crap, megacrap! I had to start over. Damn.
Double boiler...mmphfg.....boil the water...mmpfgh....water's boiling, put egg whites in bowl....mmmpfgh...turn around and completely forget about egg whites in double boiler over boiling water...WHAT. Crap! Again?? Do it all again?? Really??? Jiminy Christmas. Ok. So at this point, I decide to just do a seven-minute frosting, which is white, glossy, and beautiful and it turned out just fine. First fiasco- check. On to the second.
At dinner the next night, I had to fix Green Bean Casserole because the fancy french green beans purchased at the store a couple of days earlier looked like someone has snuck a bird into my fridge and asked it to kindly poop all over them. They were brown and moldy and I was hacked. No bigee, everyone likes Green Bean Casserole so that was fine. What wasn't fine was what transpired next. The roast was cooking in my main oven, which is tiny (2 cu ft) so I had to use a toaster oven that I got last year to cook everything else. No problem. Well, one problem...Have you ever made Green Bean Casserole? You bake it for 25 minutes, take it out and top it with fried onions then put it back in the oven for 5 minutes to brown the onions. Apparently, I think 5 minutes and 15 minutes are the same because I burnt the hell out of the topping. Fiasco number two - check. On to the third...
The roasts came out of the oven and looked beautiful, smelled fantastic, and they gave off a bunch of glorious drippings to use to make gravy and yorkshire pudding. While the pudds were in the oven, my mom and I set to making the gravy in the roasting pan on the stovetop. There were many spices in the bottom of the roasting pan because I had slathered them on the roasts before cooking them and the gravy was looking and tasting great. Suddenly, my mom said, "What's that plasticky smell?" I paused and took a whiff. "I don't smell anything." Then I laughed and said, "The way this dinner is going though there could be Saran Wrap on the eye and I wouldn't be surprised." We laughed and went about our business with cooking and eating dinner. Once dinner was finished and everyone had gone home, Sean and I were cleaning the kitchen when I heard him exclaim, "Oh man! That's great. That's beautiful!" I turned and saw what he was freaking out about - a melted plastic lid all over the eye on my stove as well as the bottom of my roasting dish. **Sigh** Oh well, it was a delicious dinner anyway. Maybe next year I'll make it flawlessly. HA! yeah right.
Seriously though, all the goof-ups aside, we had a nice dinner and I learned a lot about how to do it better for next year. Hope you all had great holiday meals, too!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Sausage, Black Beans, and Yellow Rice...GOOD!
So, one recipe I used to make all the time last year is the one I'm about to give you for Sausage, Beans, and Rice. IN fact I made it so much so that we got sick of it and I had to quit making it. Well, I made it last night for dinner and it was DE-lish! Are you ready for it? Here we go. Disclaimer, this recipe is from the book, Fat Fallacy.
You will need:
1 can of black beans (soup size)
1 ring of kielbasa, turkey or pork whichever you prefer
Yellow rice, comes in a tube (see pic below)
ground cumin
Cajun seasoning
pepper
garlic salt
olive oil
worcestershire sauce
First, take the kielbasa and cut it into bite size pieces. Then, in a good size (medium to large) skillet, heat 3 Tbs of olive oil and add the sausage to it. Add a generous amount of worcestershire sauce (1/4 cup maybe) to the sausage and cook over medium heat. While it's cooking, liberally sprinkle cumin and cajun seasoning over it, maybe 1 or 2 tsps of each. Toss the sausage and make sure all pieces get coated with worcestershire and spices. Let this cook until nice and crispy brown, about 10 minutes.
Sausage when it goes in the pan.
nice and crispy. It's so hard not to eat all these by myself!
Once the sausage is done, scoop it out and try and leave some of the oil in the pan. Pour the black beans into the pan. I know some folks rinse their beans but I just dump the whole thing in and cook it all up. Over medium heat cook the beans for about 20 minutes, adding cumin, cajun seasoning and garlic salt. Be careful here because your cajun seasoning may have salt in it so taste your beans before you add the garlic salt.
While the beans are cooking, prepare the rice according to the package directions. I do this in the microwave so I don't have too many pots on the stovetop. The rice and beans should be done around the same time. When they're done, combine it all together. Yes, it's not much to look at but it is damn good!
Being mixed...
Ready to eat!
I know it's not pretty but it really is tasty. Anyone I've ever fixed this for has loved it! I hope you do, too!
You will need:
1 can of black beans (soup size)
1 ring of kielbasa, turkey or pork whichever you prefer
Yellow rice, comes in a tube (see pic below)
ground cumin
Cajun seasoning
pepper
garlic salt
olive oil
worcestershire sauce
First, take the kielbasa and cut it into bite size pieces. Then, in a good size (medium to large) skillet, heat 3 Tbs of olive oil and add the sausage to it. Add a generous amount of worcestershire sauce (1/4 cup maybe) to the sausage and cook over medium heat. While it's cooking, liberally sprinkle cumin and cajun seasoning over it, maybe 1 or 2 tsps of each. Toss the sausage and make sure all pieces get coated with worcestershire and spices. Let this cook until nice and crispy brown, about 10 minutes.
Sausage when it goes in the pan.
nice and crispy. It's so hard not to eat all these by myself!
Once the sausage is done, scoop it out and try and leave some of the oil in the pan. Pour the black beans into the pan. I know some folks rinse their beans but I just dump the whole thing in and cook it all up. Over medium heat cook the beans for about 20 minutes, adding cumin, cajun seasoning and garlic salt. Be careful here because your cajun seasoning may have salt in it so taste your beans before you add the garlic salt.
While the beans are cooking, prepare the rice according to the package directions. I do this in the microwave so I don't have too many pots on the stovetop. The rice and beans should be done around the same time. When they're done, combine it all together. Yes, it's not much to look at but it is damn good!
Being mixed...
Ready to eat!
I know it's not pretty but it really is tasty. Anyone I've ever fixed this for has loved it! I hope you do, too!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Let me talk to you about Brussels Sprouts
A much maligned vegetable indeed but one that, when prepared right, can be one of the most delicious things you have ever eaten. First and foremost, it is imperative that you begin with fresh brussels sprouts. In many cases, frozen vegetables are just as good as their fresh counterparts, but in this instance fresh is a gazillion times better. Frozen brussels always taste skuny and yucky to me but fresh ones have a wonderful flavor. The recipe I prefer to use is the Barefoot Contessa's. Ina Garten is a little snooty but there can be no denying that her recipes turn our right every time. This recipe can be found in her book, Barefoot In Paris or you can find it on Food Tv's website.
Brussels Sprouts Lardons
2 tablespoons good olive oil
6 ounces Italian pancetta or bacon, 1/4-inch dice
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts (2 containers), trimmed and cut in 1/2
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup golden raisins
1 3/4 cups Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned broth
Heat the olive oil in a large (12-inch) saute pan and add the pancetta. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the fat is rendered and the pancetta is golden brown and crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the pancetta to a plate lined with a paper towel.
Add the Brussels sprouts, salt, and pepper to the fat in the pan and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the raisins and chicken stock. Lower the heat and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sprouts are tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes. If the skillet becomes too dry, add a little chicken stock or water. Return the pancetta to the pan, heat through, season to taste, and serve.
*********note from evie***** I do not add raisins when I cook this but last night I did use craisins for the first time and it was GOOD. Don't poo poo it until you try it.
Here are the fresh sprouts, cooking in the bacon drippings. Smells so good...
At this stage, I've added the broth and they cook until most of the broth is gone. I add the craisins and the reserved bacon pieces and serve alongside a piece of salmon that I totally overcooked. Sprouts - good. Salmon - BAD.
For the past couple of days, I've been eating some buttermilk biscuits that I made from scratch. It's a recipe that I got from Pinch My Salt's website (see links) and I just adore these biscuits. When it's cold outside, nothing says comfort like a warm, soft, fluffy biscuit!
Also, a couple of days ago, I made a ginormous batch of Split Pea with Ham soup and we've been living on that as well. I would take a photo of that but as my friend, Rinnyboo, can attest, it doesn't look very good. Tastes great but it's ugly as a mud fence. My recipe for that is simple:
1 leftover hambone with ham still on
6 cups of liquid (I used a combination of Chicken and Turkey Stock and water)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 package dried green split peas (1 lb?)
2 carrots chopped
1 onion chopped
In a large stockpot, add liquid, hambone, and split peas. Bring to a boil, cover, and then lower heat and simmer for one hour. After one hour, add the chopped onion, carrot, and thyme leaves, cover and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. Taste and add salt and pepper as necessary. Remove from heat and let cool. Remove hambone from the pot, leaving as much ham in the soup as possible. Cool soup and then store in refrigerator. This makes A LOT of soup so you may want to freeze half of it.
I'm still struggling with my eating habits, friends. I'm at 194 and holding which I'll be happy with if I make it through the holidays at that weight and don't add anymore. Hope everyone else has been faring well!
Brussels Sprouts Lardons
2 tablespoons good olive oil
6 ounces Italian pancetta or bacon, 1/4-inch dice
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts (2 containers), trimmed and cut in 1/2
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup golden raisins
1 3/4 cups Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned broth
Heat the olive oil in a large (12-inch) saute pan and add the pancetta. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the fat is rendered and the pancetta is golden brown and crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the pancetta to a plate lined with a paper towel.
Add the Brussels sprouts, salt, and pepper to the fat in the pan and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the raisins and chicken stock. Lower the heat and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sprouts are tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes. If the skillet becomes too dry, add a little chicken stock or water. Return the pancetta to the pan, heat through, season to taste, and serve.
*********note from evie***** I do not add raisins when I cook this but last night I did use craisins for the first time and it was GOOD. Don't poo poo it until you try it.
Here are the fresh sprouts, cooking in the bacon drippings. Smells so good...
At this stage, I've added the broth and they cook until most of the broth is gone. I add the craisins and the reserved bacon pieces and serve alongside a piece of salmon that I totally overcooked. Sprouts - good. Salmon - BAD.
For the past couple of days, I've been eating some buttermilk biscuits that I made from scratch. It's a recipe that I got from Pinch My Salt's website (see links) and I just adore these biscuits. When it's cold outside, nothing says comfort like a warm, soft, fluffy biscuit!
Also, a couple of days ago, I made a ginormous batch of Split Pea with Ham soup and we've been living on that as well. I would take a photo of that but as my friend, Rinnyboo, can attest, it doesn't look very good. Tastes great but it's ugly as a mud fence. My recipe for that is simple:
1 leftover hambone with ham still on
6 cups of liquid (I used a combination of Chicken and Turkey Stock and water)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 package dried green split peas (1 lb?)
2 carrots chopped
1 onion chopped
In a large stockpot, add liquid, hambone, and split peas. Bring to a boil, cover, and then lower heat and simmer for one hour. After one hour, add the chopped onion, carrot, and thyme leaves, cover and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. Taste and add salt and pepper as necessary. Remove from heat and let cool. Remove hambone from the pot, leaving as much ham in the soup as possible. Cool soup and then store in refrigerator. This makes A LOT of soup so you may want to freeze half of it.
I'm still struggling with my eating habits, friends. I'm at 194 and holding which I'll be happy with if I make it through the holidays at that weight and don't add anymore. Hope everyone else has been faring well!
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