Since this was our second Christmas together, we decided to try again to honor Ray's Italian heritage. Tradition on Christmas Eve is the Feast of Seven Fishes, a seven course meal of, well, seafood and fish. Since we were pretty sure we couldn't eat a 7 course meal, we trimmed it down to a four course meal, and even then had to hold over two courses to the next day !
I made homemade catsup...yes, I did ! We are trying to eliminate high fructose corn syrup from our diets, and I found a recipe for this. It only takes a minute to make, and has a really unusual flavor. I used my homemade catsup to make homemade cocktail sauce for some shrimp for the first course.
My family tradition was always oyster stew, so that was the second course. The recipe is quite simple:
Oyster Stew
3/4 pound fresh, shucked oysters, in liquid
2 ribs celery, diced fine
1/2 medium onion, diced fine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups whole milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Dash or two of Tabasco sauce (as much as you like)
Saute celery and onions in butter just until slightly soft. Stir in flour until well combined. Add liquid from oysters, milk and seasonings. Continue to stir until slightly thickened. Add oysters and cook just until the edges of the oysters start to curl. Serve with oyster crackers.
Admittedly, we ate too many shrimp and too much oyster stew, but it tasted so good ! We held over the remaining courses to the next night. Swordfish en papillot and lobster mashed potatoes !
Monday, December 27, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Mexican Venison Meatloaf
When I make meatloaf, I never use a recipe. I generally try to use up leftover veggies and sauces in the refrigerator, and hope it turns out well. It always does, miraculously.
We had half a jar of leftover salsa, a red pepper and half an onion that needed to be used up. So, it became meatloaf. Here it is:
Mexican Venison Meatloaf
2 lbs ground venison (any ground meat will work)
2 eggs
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup salsa, divided
Mix all of the ingredients, but reserve 1/2 cup salsa. Put in a loaf pan and our remaining salsa over the top. Bake at 400* for 1.5 hours.
And, the best, easiest potato side dish ever...just dice two large potatoes, place on a cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the top, and generously season with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Bake along with the meatloaf, for about 30 minutes. YUM !
We had half a jar of leftover salsa, a red pepper and half an onion that needed to be used up. So, it became meatloaf. Here it is:
Mexican Venison Meatloaf
2 lbs ground venison (any ground meat will work)
2 eggs
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup salsa, divided
Mix all of the ingredients, but reserve 1/2 cup salsa. Put in a loaf pan and our remaining salsa over the top. Bake at 400* for 1.5 hours.
And, the best, easiest potato side dish ever...just dice two large potatoes, place on a cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the top, and generously season with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Bake along with the meatloaf, for about 30 minutes. YUM !
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Artisan Vinegars and Venison Fajitas
This summer, in an effort to use up some of the herbs from the garden, I started making homemade vinegars. They are nice to use for gifts, and make some different salad dressings and marinades. I started with a blueberry basil vinegar, which makes an excellent blueberry vinaigrette. Next was a fennel, thyme and peppercorn vinegar, to use up some extra fennel.
I wanted something to marinade meat for fajitas. I made a cilantro, garlic and jalapeno vinegar for this purpose. Since I am always looking for new ways to cook all of the venison we have, I decided to marinate venison steak with a mixture of my cilantro vinegar, some canola oil, grill seasoning and cumin. I let it marinate for 24 hours, so the flavors would infuse the meat. Because of the vinegar in the marinade, it also starts to "cook" the outside of the steaks.
From there, fajitas are simple. I sauteed onion and red peppers. I removed the meat from the marinade and pan seared it for approximately 4 minutes per side, so they were medium rare. Served with some steamed tortillas, homemade salsa (canned this summer), cheese and sour cream, they were as good as anything I have eaten in a restaurant. Ray must have agreed, he had four ! And we had the leftovers for lunch, during a break from the cookie baking extravaganza.
And, I have beautiful, handcrafted vinegars to send as Christmas gifts.
I wanted something to marinade meat for fajitas. I made a cilantro, garlic and jalapeno vinegar for this purpose. Since I am always looking for new ways to cook all of the venison we have, I decided to marinate venison steak with a mixture of my cilantro vinegar, some canola oil, grill seasoning and cumin. I let it marinate for 24 hours, so the flavors would infuse the meat. Because of the vinegar in the marinade, it also starts to "cook" the outside of the steaks.
From there, fajitas are simple. I sauteed onion and red peppers. I removed the meat from the marinade and pan seared it for approximately 4 minutes per side, so they were medium rare. Served with some steamed tortillas, homemade salsa (canned this summer), cheese and sour cream, they were as good as anything I have eaten in a restaurant. Ray must have agreed, he had four ! And we had the leftovers for lunch, during a break from the cookie baking extravaganza.
And, I have beautiful, handcrafted vinegars to send as Christmas gifts.
Turkey Spinach Wild Rice Leftover Soup.
As we planned our Thanksgiving menu, I was determined not to have the traditional green bean hotdish. So, I came up with a recipe for a spinach and mushroom gratin, that was a bit less than successful. The flavor was nice, but it had a lot of liquid, so was a bit slimy.
Not wanting to be wasteful, I turned it into a soup ! The gratin was originally fresh spinach and mushrooms, sauteed in garlic, then layered with sliced roma tomatos and parmesan cheese, and topped with buttered bread crumbs. I dumped the whole thing in a pot, added some extra chicken stock, diced up leftover turkey and wild rice. I let it cook for a bit, then thickened it with a roux and added a bit of half and half just before serving.
I seem to have a knack for making a mistake, and then turning it into something really unique. The problem with these dishes is that they are difficult to replicate. But, it is all a lesson on re-imagining everyday foods.
Not wanting to be wasteful, I turned it into a soup ! The gratin was originally fresh spinach and mushrooms, sauteed in garlic, then layered with sliced roma tomatos and parmesan cheese, and topped with buttered bread crumbs. I dumped the whole thing in a pot, added some extra chicken stock, diced up leftover turkey and wild rice. I let it cook for a bit, then thickened it with a roux and added a bit of half and half just before serving.
I seem to have a knack for making a mistake, and then turning it into something really unique. The problem with these dishes is that they are difficult to replicate. But, it is all a lesson on re-imagining everyday foods.
Dutch Babies
Contrary to what this might sound like, this is actually a traditional breakfast, not small children from Holland. Some people remember these from the Pannekoeken restaurants.
It is somewhere between an omelet and a pancake, baked in the oven. I had never tried one until Ray mentioned it was a traditional holiday breakfast in his family. So, the challenge had been issued...
Dutch Baby
Preheat oven to 425. Place a heavy skillet in the oven and heat for at least 10 minutes.
Mix the following in a blender (I use the immersion blender):
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
Nutmeg or cinnamon to taste (optional)
When pan has been heated, remove from oven and place 3 tablespoons unsalted butter into the pan. Let it melt, then pour in the batter. Return the pan to the oven, and bakeabout 20 minutes, until it is golden brown and puffy. It can be very dramatic to slide the finished Dutch Baby from the pan onto a plate on the table. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with fresh fruit.
We soaked some berries in Grand Marnier the night before. And we always enjoy these with a mimosa, made with mango orange juice. These are simple, and very impressive !
It is somewhere between an omelet and a pancake, baked in the oven. I had never tried one until Ray mentioned it was a traditional holiday breakfast in his family. So, the challenge had been issued...
Dutch Baby
Preheat oven to 425. Place a heavy skillet in the oven and heat for at least 10 minutes.
Mix the following in a blender (I use the immersion blender):
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
Nutmeg or cinnamon to taste (optional)
When pan has been heated, remove from oven and place 3 tablespoons unsalted butter into the pan. Let it melt, then pour in the batter. Return the pan to the oven, and bakeabout 20 minutes, until it is golden brown and puffy. It can be very dramatic to slide the finished Dutch Baby from the pan onto a plate on the table. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with fresh fruit.
We soaked some berries in Grand Marnier the night before. And we always enjoy these with a mimosa, made with mango orange juice. These are simple, and very impressive !
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Combining Two Memories
This was our first Thanksgiving cooking at home. Because I am the primary cook in our household, it fell to me to try to create a Thanksgiving meal that recalled our fond memories of childhood, but still satisfied my need to make it unique. The argument begins over the stuffing...
We both love stuffing, but we have very different memories of what is the perfect stuffing. Ray's is very sweet, with apples, currants and roasted chestnuts. Mine is very simple, with celery, onions and sage. So, we combined the two, and miraculously, they worked together ! Here it is:
Chestnut,Sausage,Apple,Cranberry and Sage Stuffing
3 medium onions, diced
1 bunch celery, diced
1/2 cup butter
4 cups turkey or chicken stock
2 pounds mild turkey breakfast sausage, browned
One package fresh poultry herbs (sage, rosemary and thyme), chopped fine
1 1/3 pounds roasted chestnuts (weight before roasting), shelled
3 small Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
6 ounces dried cranberries
12 cups dried, cubed wheat bread
Saute onions and celery in the butter until soft. Add the stock, and cook until bubbly. In a large pot or bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients. Pour the stock mixture over the bread mixture and combine well.
We like the stuffing in the bird, but this will increase your baking time a bit. Or, put the stuffing in an oven proof pot and bake for about a hour. This will give you the nice crunchy bits on the outside, and a nice moist stuffing on the inside.
Oh, and for the record, brining a turkey is awesome, but contrary to a lot of web advice, the Alton Brown method of roasting a turkey was not very effective for a stuffed bird.
More to come on leftovers, and "the morning after" breakfast.
We both love stuffing, but we have very different memories of what is the perfect stuffing. Ray's is very sweet, with apples, currants and roasted chestnuts. Mine is very simple, with celery, onions and sage. So, we combined the two, and miraculously, they worked together ! Here it is:
Chestnut,Sausage,Apple,Cranberry and Sage Stuffing
3 medium onions, diced
1 bunch celery, diced
1/2 cup butter
4 cups turkey or chicken stock
2 pounds mild turkey breakfast sausage, browned
One package fresh poultry herbs (sage, rosemary and thyme), chopped fine
1 1/3 pounds roasted chestnuts (weight before roasting), shelled
3 small Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
6 ounces dried cranberries
12 cups dried, cubed wheat bread
Saute onions and celery in the butter until soft. Add the stock, and cook until bubbly. In a large pot or bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients. Pour the stock mixture over the bread mixture and combine well.
We like the stuffing in the bird, but this will increase your baking time a bit. Or, put the stuffing in an oven proof pot and bake for about a hour. This will give you the nice crunchy bits on the outside, and a nice moist stuffing on the inside.
Oh, and for the record, brining a turkey is awesome, but contrary to a lot of web advice, the Alton Brown method of roasting a turkey was not very effective for a stuffed bird.
More to come on leftovers, and "the morning after" breakfast.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
The Fiadone Incident
Technical difficulties prevented me from posting the pics of this beautiful Italian pie. But, you need to read the story.
Since Ray and I have known each other, he has been talking about this pie from his childhood. The first effort was a search for candied citron, which you only find around the holidays. So we stocked up on this last year, and I never got around to making the pie.
I don't like to make things I need to roll out, like pie doughs, sugar cookies etc. But, I promised, so I finally sat down with this recipe. The crust isn't really like a pie crust, it is more like a cookie, so it didn't need to be rolled out quite as thinly as a regular pie. It also has anise seed in the crust, which gives the actual pie a very distinctive flavor.
The filling is very simple, it is two pounds of ricotta cheese (yes, two pounds!) eggs, candied citron, raisins, eggs, salt and sugar. Then you mix it up and bake ! It originally called for a lattice top, but to save time I cut some maple leaves out of the dough with a cookie cutter. Baked, and done ! It really did not take as long as I thought it would, so I procrastinated for no reason.
There are those times when you bake something for someone you love and it doesn't have any impact. This was NOT one of those times. Ray ate almost half of the pie at the first sitting. The remaining pie lasted only two more days. I will make it again, and Ray promises next time to share with others, as it is really too wonderful not to do so.
Next, the foodie Thanksgiving !
Since Ray and I have known each other, he has been talking about this pie from his childhood. The first effort was a search for candied citron, which you only find around the holidays. So we stocked up on this last year, and I never got around to making the pie.
I don't like to make things I need to roll out, like pie doughs, sugar cookies etc. But, I promised, so I finally sat down with this recipe. The crust isn't really like a pie crust, it is more like a cookie, so it didn't need to be rolled out quite as thinly as a regular pie. It also has anise seed in the crust, which gives the actual pie a very distinctive flavor.
The filling is very simple, it is two pounds of ricotta cheese (yes, two pounds!) eggs, candied citron, raisins, eggs, salt and sugar. Then you mix it up and bake ! It originally called for a lattice top, but to save time I cut some maple leaves out of the dough with a cookie cutter. Baked, and done ! It really did not take as long as I thought it would, so I procrastinated for no reason.
There are those times when you bake something for someone you love and it doesn't have any impact. This was NOT one of those times. Ray ate almost half of the pie at the first sitting. The remaining pie lasted only two more days. I will make it again, and Ray promises next time to share with others, as it is really too wonderful not to do so.
Next, the foodie Thanksgiving !
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