My First Christmas Dinner

Yes, I am too old to have never been head chef for Christmas dinner, but I've been spoiled by a talented mother. This year when she gently wondered if we should all go out for dinner Christmas Day, I made my move.

I knew it would be tough, as I am not a carnivore so I'd be bypassing the traditional turkey and instantly placing myself as the "unpopular" new chef. Mom helped out by saying she'd take care of the turkey portion by getting a simple-to-prepare turkey breast. Meat, check. I was now free to plan as I liked. But could I create a menu that satisfied the traditional palate AND my urge for culinary experimentation? Yes, I could, and I did.

We started with a yummy appetizer (alas, forgot to photograph) by baking halves of red peppers and filling them with a simple greek rice --we did not use carrot and added quite a bit of feta cheese. It was good and looked very Christmas-y.

Thanks to this very blog, I found the PERFECT stuffing (thanks Thomas and Orianne!) and enjoyed eating the leftovers all week. Man, that stuff is serious delicious.

Mom's colleague had given her a fresh spaghetti squash from her own garden, so of course I couldn't resist throwing that into the mix...cutting it in half, gutting it, baking it face-down in the oven for an hour, then adding butter and salt. Easy.

Also featured was one of my favourites--bocconcini and tomato salad. For those who need the basics on this one, the ingredients are:

-- 15 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

--Bocconcini mozzarella balls

--arugula or spring mix

--fresh basil to taste

--balsamic and olive oil vinagrette (just mix these two together and add a bit of salt and pepper)

...and this salad has the added bonus of the red, green and white colours.

The "main course" was a creative veggie pot pie I found on epicurious.com. The roasted vegetables made it quite delicious. The polenta crust meant it was pretty easy. I had to leave out the mushrooms (replaced with broccoli instead) because my brother would have sung an aria of utter disgust if I had included them. We aim to please.

My Mom prepared dessert...a family favourite "Log" which is chocolate wafers layered with whipped cream. This gem needs to spend the night in the fridge to unleash all the soft yummyness.

That said, I of course have to give brother Dave kudos as my "voluntold" assistant for dinner. That man has fun slicing, dicing and the compulsory drinking wine during preparations, which made it fun for me too. Doesn't he look thrilled?!

Merry Christmas everyone!

American Thanksgiving

As the New Year waxes luminously before me I thought it high time I fulfilled my commitment to post and boast this most stupendous gastronomic occurrence. While American Thanksgiving provided the form for this culinary happening, improvisation was the rule of day as friends, local and international, created tantalizing treats both savory and sweet. At the risk of offering a less than complete rendering, our menu consisted of:

• Stuffed Game Hens with Mushroom Miso Sauce
• Fruit Stuffing
• Butterflied Leg of Lamb
• Roasted Salmon with Hoisin Glaze
• Spicy Lamb sausages
• Andouille Cajun sausages
• Southern-style baked Macaroni & Cheese
• Butternut Squash with Orzo and Sage
• Green Leaf Salad with Blue-Cheese & Pomegranate
  
• Scalloped Potatoes
• Corn Casserole
• Fresh Baked Bread
  
• Mont Blanc
• Pumpkin Custard
• and yes, much, much wine
  

Stuffed Game Hens with Mushroom Miso Sauce
Unquestionably, this is the best mushroom sauce I've ever tasted, which says a lot given that I'm from the land of gravies and sauces. I used a combination of chanterelle, oyster, shiitake, and brown cremini mushrooms.

The sauce consists of:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 8 oz wild mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
• 1 cup chicken stock (or substitute vegetable stock)
• 1/4 cup light miso
• 2 tbsp whipping cream
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp chopped chives

1. Heat vegetable oil and sesame oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and saute for 3 minutes, or until softened.
2. Combine stock, miso, cream and soy sauce. Stir into mushrooms. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
   
3. Drizzle sauce and sprinkle with chives.

Fruit Stuffing
All fruit stuffings are not created equal. Orianne chose a recipe from "A Matter of Taste" by Lucy Waverman and James Chatto. The recipe makes about 12 cups and can be cooked on its own in a greased baking dish, baked, covered for an hour at 375.

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 2 green apples, peeled and chopped
• 8 cups fresh breadcrumbs (Ori used Challah bread)
• 1 cup dried prunes, cut in half
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup chicken, turkey or vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon, or 2 tsp dried
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp dried marjoram
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and celery and saute for 5 to 8 minutes, or until softened.
Add apples and saute for 2 minutes.









Combine onion mixture and breadcrumbs. Stir in prunes, cranberries, stock, orange juice, tarragon, ginger and marjoram. Season well with salt and pepper.


Roasted Salmon with Hoisin Glaze
Alright, for all you Salmon lovers out there, here's an easy and delicious way to prepare salmon. I prefer to cook the salmon at a higher temperature as it gives a firmer texture. The rule of thumb is to roast at 450 for 10 minutes per vertical inch when the salmon is measured at its thickest point. This recipe makes 8 Claire-sized portions (as opposed to Rochelle-sized portions which are 20% less). BTW, this dish is served well cold, room temperature or hot - thus making it ideal when struggling to land a number of dishes all at the same time!

• 2 center-cut salmon fillets, 2lbs each (I always ask the seafood shop, or Capers, to cut off of a large fillet so as to prevent getting the tail end which thins out too much)
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp hot Asian chili sauce
• Salt and freshly ground pepper (yes, you absolutely must have a pepper mill!)

1. Place salmon skin side down on an oiled foil-lined baking sheet.
2. Combine hoisin, wine, vinegar, oil, chili sauce, salt and pepper. Spread over top and sides of salmon. Refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 450.
4. Roast salmon for 15 to 25 minutes, or until white juices just bein to appear on the sides. Remove from oven - fish will continue to cook as it cools.

Spicy Lamb & Andouille Cajun sausages
The only advice I'll offer up for preparing sausages on the stove top is to butterfly them and garnish with sauteed onions & peppers.


Southern-style baked Macaroni & Cheese
Comfort food par excellence! While I have no images of this Southern staple - which I had for almost every Sunday dinner (which means lunch for you Canadians) while growing up in Tennessee - I'll include the recipe as so many have asked.

• 1/2 lb cheddar cheese (I realize "orange" cheddar is a bit faux pas these days, but from an authentic Southern American and, dare I say it, aesthetic stand point I'd really suggest violating this unwritten social norm.)
• 1 cup cooked Macaroni Noodles
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Pinch of sugar (a key subtlety often missed.)
• 2 tbsp butter
• Enough Whole milk to mostly cover the noodles (ok, you can use 2% but really with all that cheese does another 1.5% of milk fat really matter?)

1. Cut cheese into cubes in a 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 qt. baking dish, ungreased
2. Stir in 2 eggs & add cooked noodles, salt and sugar.
3. Cover with milk and put pats of butter on top.
4. Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350 - until top starts to brown nicely

Butternut Squash with Orzo and Sage
This here is a staple Claire dish, and once you've tasted it you know why. The recipe is included in the photo - contact C.M. to fill in the details.



Green Leaf Salad with Blue-Cheese & Pomegranate
Delectable greens prepared by Carla and Chris - wonderful souls (and skiing comrades to boot!)


Mont Blanc
Just take a look at Cristina's Dec 12 blog and you'll get the full low-down on this beauty (including the dessert!)

Until next Thanksgiving...
May 2008 be a year full of uplifting experiences with wonderful friends, great food and delicious wine (ok, and the occasional interloping next door feline).

Summer Garden Ratatouille & Polenta

Two nights ago, c-licious and I consulted her very lovely Simply in Season for some dinner inspiration. And we found it: Summer Garden Ratatouille. We took some liberties with the recipe, of course, doubling the fresh herbs. The result was pretty delightful: evidenced by the fact that I'm actually enjoying my leftover lunches this week!

Wine

When Catherine and I set out for groceries, I wasn't feeling all that hungry. Under advice from Kristin, we bought some Prosecco because, according to her, bubbly stimulates the appetite. The three of us made quick work of that bottle. So quick, in fact, I didn't get the chance to photograph it.

We bravely forged ahead by opening a bottle of one Kristin's California acquistitions: a Bogle Petite Sirah. I really loved it. I also loved another Bogle red we drank straight from the bottle on our California roadtrip. Wish I could remember what it was. Anyhow, a winery to remember, I think.

Summer Garden Ratatouille

I don't have the recipe in front of me here, so I'm going on memory alone. But here it is roughly (incuding our modifications).

• 1.5 medium yellow onions, chopped
  
• 4 cloves of garlic, grated
  
• 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 Japanese eggplants, cut into half moons
  

We sauteed the first three ingredients together, and later added the eggplants.

Then we added:

• 4 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
  
• 4 teaspoons dried marjoram (we could find fresh)
• 2 acorn squash, peeled and chopped
• 3 red and yellow peppers, chopped
  
• 8 cups BC hothouse tomatoes, peeled and chopped

(Everybody probably already has a method, but my favourite technique for peeling tomatoes is boil water in a kettle, and submerge the little fruiters in boiling water for one minute.)

All those ingredients required a very large pot. We let it simmer until the water from the tomatoes reduced. Maybe about 20 minutes.

Polenta

We served the ratatouille with polenta, which is so easy to make.

• 4 cups of veggie stock
• 1 cup of cornmeal
• 1 cup parmesan

Bring the stock to a boil and turn down the heat a little. Very gradually add the cornmeal, stirring constantly. Stir continuously for 15 minutes while the cornmeal simmers and thickens. Watch for exploding cornmeal lava.

Remove from the heat and stir in parmesan. Serve immediately because it turns to cement before you can shake a stick.

We were more than pleased with the outcome (see the photo below), and when asked for a quote, Kristin simply said, "A harmonious blend of taste and texture." She's getting good at this quote thing.