Easy Mother's Day

Any excuse for a party, right? If "Mother's Day" gets my kids over for a few hours, I'm all for it.

As it turned out, most of the kids didn't make it, but Lydia and the two oldest grandkids DID! We played croquet in between rain showers. I won - but only because we didn't have enough balls and I had to partner with my husband, who is very good at croquet.

I always lose, you see.

But the food was a winner: Chicken Panini and a salad. Now that's easy.

I cooked chicken breasts on my grill pan.

Then I made some secret sauce. But I'll tell you what was in it.

Remember that apricot brandy I made last Fall? Remember that I couldn't bear to throw out the brandy-infused apricots? So I froze them. Those apricots were the base for yesterday's sauce, after I put them through the food processor:

Then I simply added  mayonnaise and Dijon mustard and stirred well:

I bought some flat bread for the sandwiches, added cheese, onion slices, and lettuce, then grilled them in my waffle iron:

Mmmm....

Even better (or just as good, anyway) were the Alfajores for dessert. These Peruvian cookies are made with lots of cornstarch, so they're a little weird. The filling is caramelized sweetened condensed milk. The recipe was in the newspaper last weekend and I thought they sounded good.

They were. Easy to eat a lot of those things.

For Your Amusement:

It's not all that easy making one of those fancy layered drinks. Mine turned out like this:

It's called an Irish Flag, in early honor of St. Patrick's Day (yes, I am half Irish, no, I'm not Catholic. Don't care, either). It's supposed to be lovely, clear layers of green (creme de menthe) on bottom, white in the middle (Bailey's), and "orange" (brandy) on top.

You can see it's a little cloudy. And I made it three times, to try and get it right!

Sure tasted good, though.

The Week - The Day

In two hours, the guests will arrive. The turkey is in the oven, having waited its turn after the pies (2 pecan, 2 pumpkin) and the rolls. I managed to resist tempation and did not eat a roll when they came out of the oven. They are now safely wrapped in foil, ready for reheating later, and thus invisible to me.

We hope. I do know they're there.

This bread recipe is screwy. The first time I made the rolls, I used the temp called for and set the timer for a few minutes less time, to check them.

They burned.

This time, I lowered the heat 50 degrees and set the timer ten minutes less. I had to rescue them a few minutes early, but they're perfect. Sheez!

The potatoes are peeled and cut, ready for boiling and mashing. The giblets are beginning to simmer. The table is set, with side tables set up for appetizers in the living room, and an extra card table in the dining room, for the overflow. I have discovered I no longer have enough wine glasses (I'm a danger to all around me), enough napkin rings, or napkins that go with our nice dishes. I will try to remedy these things before Christmas.

For now, we'll make do. All the people coming over here love each other - no one will be upset by such faux pas.

Here's how things look so far. And yes. I'm having fun!

The Week - Day 3

Well, the last minute Family Thing addition to my schedule fell OFF the schedule about 8 p.m., SO....

Today I think I just need to make the pies. Which I could conceivably do tomorrow morning. But let's see - tomorrow, I will have to peel, cook, and mash the potatoes, roast the turkey for a few hours, make gravy (but that can't be done until the turkey is finished).

The stuffed squashes will have to be baked, but they will go in the oven when the turkey comes out. They only need about half an hour, during which the turkey will be "resting," and then getting carved.

Is that it? Thanksgiving is a potluck, so guests are bringing appetizers and sides. Oh, I have to make the salad, which will mean cutting up a couple of apples, washing and tearing the lettuce, then combining everything. The dressing is already made, just need to toss it with the salad.
 
There shouldn't be a lot to do tomorrow. Will the pies be better if they're cooked the same day? One advantage to that is that I don't need to find room in the frig for the baked pies. That's a BIG push toward waiting to bake them.

Which means I don't have a darn thing I need to do today, except pick up the CSA box and buy the salad greens. Maybe I'll go shopping...

The Week - Day 2, con't

I added the stuffed squash to today's prep list. There are Family Things going on, and I'll be lucky to have even a few hours to cook, tomorrow. I think what I've left are the pies (4 of them) and prepping the turkey. I have a couple of last minute items to pick up at the store, and I'll get our CSA box at 4:00.

There's something else... but my list is downstairs. Anyway, I think I'll make it, now that the squashes are done.

They look properly pretty, too!

The Week - Day 2

I overslept. This is a minor miracle. Weird dream, too, but it was kind of cool.

Today: turkey delivery from Wind Dancer Ranch. I'm babysitting two of the turkeys until their owners can get here to pick them up. I wonder if I need ice to keep them cold?

Do I want to brine my turkey? I haven't decided, but I'm leaning toward doing that.

Food Prep:
Freeze the second batch of pumpkin ice cream
Make cornbread, break it up and toast it until dry and crunchy. Set aside for Friday.
Make the cranberry-zinfandel salad dressing. That's for Thursday.
Make cranberry sauce, for Thursday AND Friday.

Hmm. What's for dinner tonight?

The Week - Day 1, con't

A successful meal, lots of conversation, and good wine, was had by all. Behold the pasta:











and the lovely veggies:

I forgot to take a picture of the pumpkin ice cream, but that will put in more appearances during the week. Trust me - it was good!

The Week - Day 1

Today is lunch with out-of-town friends. The menu is

Sun-Dried Tomato Tapanade with Crackers
Antipasto Vegetable Platter
Roasted Pepper, Kalamata Olives Pasta
Pumpkin Ice Cream with Graham Cracker Bits and Whipped Cream

Wine? Dunno yet.

So far, I've steamed the veggies and they are splashing in the marinade.
The peppers have been roasted and are resting in a plastic bag.

I did the breakfast dishes, too.

The Holidays are Here...

I'm trying to be good, although I know I must face the reality of the holidays. This week alone, I've got three big meals to prepare. I will not deny myself a taste of everything - the real work will be to restrict myself to small amounts. And watch the drinking.

I consider it a good holiday if I don't GAIN anything, but these days, that's how I feel about every day. I love the holiday food, too. Pumpkin and other squashes are just about my best favorite - in any form. I'm serving stuffed acorn squash as a side to the turkey on Thursday, and my kid's favorite sweet potato casserole on Friday. There will be pumpkin pie of course, with whipped cream. And pumpkin ice cream will put in appearance at each of the big meals. I'll be making that today, because the first meal is tomorrow (lunch with some out-of-town friends).

This year, an exciting plan is to give my six-month old grandson his first bite of grown-up food during the festivities: baked sweet potato. The camera will be ready for that!

Last year was the first time in YEARS that I cooked a turkey. It didn't get done in the allotted time - we ended up having to toss some of the carved pieces into the microwave. This year, I'll allow more time, but honestly - I used the time/temperature charts from many sources, and it didn't work! I think it was a 16 pound bird, and I roasted it for 5 hours at 350. By all the charts, it should have been done.

I notice this with nearly all the meat I cook in my oven. Chicken, beef roasts, turkeys, whatever... they take a lot longer to cook. Yet the thermometer in the oven shows the right temperature. And other things, such as the rolls I baked the other day, get done far too soon!

Why can't it just be simple?

Anyway, this year our turkey is a fresh one from Wind Dancer Ranch. I can't wait to taste it - I'm really excited about it.

Happy Yule!

Busy day, wasn't it?
Here are a couple of pictures showing part of the bounty:




the cookies








The kids (the brunch is there, too)

Happy Yule to All!

As promised, I made the mushroom galette for Solstice dinner (courtesy of Nicole and her wonderful mother). Oh my. It was so good. Even the crust turned out well, and that's always hit or miss for me. I baked it on my pizza stone, and it was flaky and olive-oily and light. It blended perfectly with the earthy mushrooms and spinach and guyere cheese.

It will be a regular addtion to my menus, methinks. Such a lovely thing to do with mushrooms.

Tonight is Christmas Eve, the special night my husband and I share together. I have a light dinner all ready (it's wrapped and stuffed in our stockings - except for the champagne, which is in the fridge), We'll light a fire (I hope) and have our meal, then we'll take our champagne to the living room and open our gifts to each other. It's always a fun and magical time.

In our next house, I hope we have one room that we can have both fireplace AND Yule tree together. That will make it perfect.

Tomorrow my kids come over and we have brunch-that-lasts-all-day. Baked ham, beef brisket, oat scones, peanutbutter coffeecake, scrambled eggs, country-fried potatoes with roasted peppers and onions...

Eggnog, mimosas, tea... and of course all those cookies and cakes. We'll open presents with them and play lots of games. In good years, we always take a long walk, but this year, a slow recovery from surgery means it's not a good idea. And there are no dogs to walk with us, either.

But we have two pregnant couples this year, although only one will be here for Yule. And the best news of all: my stepson is home from Iraq, safely with his family in Honolulu. Life is good, and I know we're lucky.

So Merry whatever holiday you celebrate, and Happy New Year, too! On to 2009!

Back for the Holidays

I've missed a couple of months of entries and I feel quite bad about that. I've been distracted by an illness in the family, which has taken a lot of my time and attention. But things are slowly on the mend and I'm going to try and be back.

Yes, I did cook for Thanksgiving. We had ten people all together. Usually, we do a potluck, but this year, for one reason or another, I elected (and was elected) to do all the cooking, except for the appetizer and dessert.

I'm out of practice cooking turkeys. It was a fumble - not quite done at the time it should have been. I cooked it for five hours! But there you have it. It was necessary to toss the thing in the microwave and maybe not cut to close too the bone.

What a mess. But it tasted great and the rest of the meal turned out fine: Sweet Potato Casserole, Cornbread Stuffing (that wasn't stuffed into the turkey), Mashed Potatoes, gravy, cranberry relish, and a yummy salad with greens, cranberries, toasted pecans, apples, and a cranberry-pinot dressing.

Yum. And did that carcass make a great broth when I cooked it the next day!

The next day, all the kids came over and I made stuffed pizzas - one sausage/mushroom, and one pesto/cheese. That one was the big winner and I must make it again!

We had cookies and ice cream and blueberry pie for dessert. Lots of wine. Due to my husband's illness, my son had gallantly pulled all our Chrismtas decorations out of the garage and set up our tree. So the kids helped decorate it after dinner. That's the earliest I've had it up, but what a great help it all was! Thanks kids!

The turkey soup I made was a big hit a few days later. I used the broth and meat from the carcass and added extra carrots and celery and broccoli (including the leaves). I didn't have potatoes, so I made a batch of spaetzle to simmer in the pot as noodles. Great soup!

So the food juggling continues. I'm still trying hard to not let anything go to waste. I even put the leftover whipped cream in little mounds and froze them. These are great for a quick dessert.

I won't promise to post everyday, but I will promise to try. I haven't been working, either and probably won't start up again until the new year. So this is a strange time for me, but I expect things to return to some form of normal.

Soon!

Long Weekend

Memorial Day is coming up and we've had the weather for it. It's been hot!

But, the Bay Area being what it is, it has already begun to cool off. Still, I think we'll have some pleasant weather for parades and cook-outs.

No cook-outs for me this year, though. This weekend (Friday through Monday) I'm feeding my science fiction addiction and attending BayCon, the SF convention in Santa Clara. I'm workshopping my book, looking for feedback from people in the Industry.

What's that? You're concerned that food will be a challenge at the convention?

Boy, are you ever right about that!

I could take my lunch. The problem is, meals at these things tend to be great opportunities for networking, or just plain socializing. What's an aspiring writer to do?

Eat lots of salad, I guess. And try to pretend it doesn't bother me if the ingredients were grown in South America or China, using lots of chemicals. I will do my best. I plan on researching the hotel and finding out if they have any Real Food on the premises. It is the Bay Area. I have hope.

This Saturday, however, we are deserting the convention for the A's. This will be my first baseball game of the season and I can't wait! Excitement is tempered, sadly, by the horrid report in last week's paper about the state of the food facilities at the coliseum. I'm not sure I'll be able to enjoy my hot link and beer.

Things like that make me want to take over all the food production and make sure it's clean. There really is no excuse for poor sanitation.

So I have a strange and exciting weekend coming up, one where food is strictly a side issue. But for me, it's always important, and I'll be on the lookout for the Best Food I can find.

Holidays and Cookbooks

I did have a post last week, but Blogger ate it and I didn't have the energy to write it again. In fact, I've learned my lesson: write all posts in Word first, then copy into the blog. Anything to reduce stress!

Whatever that entry was about is long gone from my mind, so I'll start with something new. I got a new cookbook for Mother's Day!

It's nearly impossible to give me a cookbook as a gift and not make me happy. This one is Food to Live By and it's put out by Myra Goodman of Earthbound Farms.

First of all, the pictures are fantastic. Not just the food - there are wonderful pictures of the farm in Carmel, including cute little kids on field trips discovering that food grows in the dirt! The cookbook was very popular with everyone gathered at my house yesterday. My daughters had to look through it page by page. In fact, I just got of glimpse of it - I didn't get to sit down with it until everyone went home!

Obviously, I haven't tried any recipes yet. But they all look wonderful - lots of salads of course, but also a chapter on meats and one on pasta and another on vegetables, and dessert, too! There's also an entire chapter on raspberries, which made me want to run right out and plant a few bushes. I may do that, anyway!

So what did we do for Mother's Day? I like to cook - you knew that - but it's often a problem for my daughters, who like to cook, too. Since, as Mom, I'm not supposed to do anything, I was told they'd bring the ingredients and we could all cook things together! I thought that was a great solution, because I love sharing the kitchen with my kids and grandkids.

It was hectic and crowded. Lots of "excuse me, I need to get in that drawer" kind of thing, but we all had fun.

I made the Cheeseboard Collective's wonderful oat scones and had them ready early, so people could munch while they worked. While Lydia made a gorgeous fruit salad (we put the grandkids to work washing and slicing strawberries), Gloria and I made the Cheeseboard's Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins. Gloria zested and juiced the lemon and mixed it with the sugar, yogurt, and cream, while I mixed the dry ingredients.

When all that was done, Lydia made Strawberry Bellini's. This took a lot of attention from everyone, since my ancient blender decided to go on the blink, and we tried to figure out what was wrong. We ended up using the immersion blender. I love those things, but they aren't great for large batches.

But it all worked and they got the strawberries pureed and strained and mixed with cold prosecco and poured into wine glasses. Oh, they were good!

Cahlil, the almost-12-year-old, whipped up some cream for the salad and then made scrambled eggs - he's got the food bug, too! I fried up some bacon and brunch was ready.

A great time. I sent the leftovers home with the kids, saving two oat scones for Rick and I. I forgot to send the leftover whipped cream with the kids, so I'm going to make little "nests" on a baking sheet and freeze them. They'll be great for future desserts!

My Late St. Patrick's Day

Being part Irish, but not Catholic, St. Patrick's Day is purely for fun around here. But since I was working the on the Day Itself, I had to put off any celebration for a week. THEN we had a party.

Not a rowdy party. We're not that young. But we had four friends over and I cooked dinner and we listened to Irish music and had a good time. That's what it's about, isn't it?

Here's a side issue that I face everytime we have people over:

I've taken to setting up appetizers on a card table in the living room. It's the only way I can think of to get people to go in there. Otherwise, I swear that every party I have would take place just in the kitchen. With a small table and four chairs, we end up with a lot of people standing around. I don't know why this happens, but it does. It must have something to do with the layout of the house or the furniture. It's a straight shot from the front door to the kitchen, but you have to go left around a banister and left again between a table and the sofa to get into the living room. The way the furniture is arranged makes the living room kind of closed off. Maybe people feel trapped.

But I like the card table idea: for this party, I put on a nice spring tablecloth, some green and white flowers, and my Celtic Cookbook propped up behind all the food. I located several books about Ireland and spread them around the living room, so people could glance through them if they wanted. I had a tray of steamed asparagus and cut jicama surrounding a dip of goat cheese and chives. Another tray held crostini's with a bean spread. This was really colorful and quite good. The recipe is below.

I also put out a block of Irish Cheddar and made cocktails of Guinness and champagne (a Black Velvet). This all made for a nice time to sit around and catch up with our friends and their latest adventures.

Dinner was corned beef and cabbage, and I say "why not?" Maybe we're all peasant stock, but we loved it. The brisket was from a grass-fed cow and so tender it felt just like butter. The cabbage was from my CSA farm and so were the potatoes I threw in there. A few organic carrots rounded out the dish.

I also made that delicious Soda Bread - a crusty, brown loaf of tender wheat and buttermilk, with butter melting on each slice. Dessert was simple: sliced strawberries with whipped cream sweetened with Stevia. We served everything with a fruity Zin or a Sauvignon Blanc.

It was all wonderful.

So the holiday was done in style, with friends and love. It didn't matter at all, that it was a week late.

Bean Crostini (modified from Cooking Light):

1 bunch Kale or other greens (I used Swiss chard since that's what I had from the CSA)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 can cannellini beans, drained and washed
3 small tomatoes (plum works best), seeded and chopped
Salt and pepper
Baguette slices, toasted

Wash and chop the greens. Cook in 3 cups boiling water for 6 minutes. Drain, reserving one cup of liquid.

Sautee the onion, garlic, and oregano in the olive oil for 5 minutes, then add the beans, tomatoes, and reserved liquid. Cook for 3 minutes, and mash with a potato masher until beans are crushed, but not puréed. Add the greens and stir well. Let simmer until most of the liquid is gone.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread on toasted baguette slices and serve.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I really am half Irish, and on this day, when all the world lays claim to Irish blood, we can all celebrate some part of Ireland's gifts to world.

I celebrate the mysticism, the incredible, lush land, the words, the songs, and the food.

I know that Irish cooking is usually considered up there with British cooking, when it comes to bland and boring. But even at their worst, both cultures have given us something we can feel good about, whether it's Yorkshire pudding from Britain, or Lamb Stew from Ireland.

And if you're really in doubt, go buy "Celtic Folklore Cooking" by Joanne Asala. Those people knew their land and the rivers and their ocean, and they used them all in delicious and inventive cooking.

Modern Ireland has been neck-and-neck with the rest of the world in embracing "Real Food." Some of the best chefs in the world live there and they've returned to the roots of Celtic food: Ireland's rivers and the ocean provide a diverse array of fish and seaweed, her green hills provide the best beef and lamb, the creamiest butter and yogurt, and even in that rocky soil, the Irish farmer has coaxed many vegetables besides potatoes.

So quaff a beer, find a unique Irish dish to have for dinner, put on some Irish music (no, not the unicorn song - find some real stuff), and wear green.

Here's to Ireland: blessings be!

Easy plans

I'm in the kitchen today. My own, this time. I must get started on baking for the holiday. And I have chili to make with turkey leftovers. I've decided to make a batch of sausage.

My back hurts, so no sitting at the computer. Standing and cooking is just the ticket!

Prep Day

The turkey is brining, the cornbread is drying, the sweet potato casserole is cooling. The giblet stock is in the frig, as is the homemade cranberry sauce, and the prepped ingredients for the stuffing. The housekeepers are coming but after that I'll probably work on the veggies for tomorrow.

What to do for dinner? I've been quite persistent at using up leftovers this week, so I have room in the frig and freezer. We still have some spaghetti sauce, but I don't want to use pasta. I also don't want to cook the spaghetti squash, yet.

I think I'll make a soup out of the sauce. Add some water (or maybe wine), throw in some cannellini beans and toast some bread with olive oil, salt and pepper. I've got a rind from the parmesan cheese that will go good in that, too. The sauce already has spinach in it, but I'll see what's in the freezer, in the veggie department. The more, the merrier!

Sounds good, no?

Thanksgiving Plans

I get to cook nearly everything this year - a real treat for me! I'm brining the turkey, which is probably old hat to everyone, but since I don't usually do the turkey, I've never tried this before.

The brine is made and is cooling in the frig. Tomorrow morning, we'll pack the turkey in it and load it into our cooler with lots of ice.

Tomorrow, I also need to make the cornbread for the stuffing (something else I haven't had for a long time, since I don't do the turkey) and I'll make the sweet potato casserole, too. That leaves the oven clear for turkey and stuffing on Thursday. I've decided to forego dinner rolls, this year. I like to make the rolls, but really, why would we need more bread?

I will probably also do the prep work tomorrow, for the green bean/mushroom salad and the sauteed shredded brussels sprouts, and maybe the giblet gravy to use as stock for the stuffing. Thursday, I'll make the mashed potatoes and the stuffing. Appetizers are just crackers and cheese. Our guests are bringing the dessert (a lemon pudding cake) and I already have the pumpkin ice cream done.

So, um... it looks like Wednesday is my big cook day and Thursday is finish-up-and-set-the-table day.

I love to cook!

Good things to eat

Super-easy pasta sauce for two people:

1/4 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced (large cloves - lots of garlic!)
1 large tomato, diced
1 jar anchovies, drained
1 or 2 basil leaves, chopped

Sautee the onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil (you can use the oil from the anchovies if you want) for a minute until the onion softens. Add tomto, anchovies and basil. Let simmer until liquid from tomato has reduced, 5 - 10 minutes. Stir it occasionally.

Serve over whole-wheat pasta or spaghetti squash, with parmesan cheese.

You don't need salt for this. The anchovies take care of that!

I roasted pumpkins last night and I've got lots of pumpkin pulp, so it's going to be soup time. Maybe a loaf of pumpkin bread? I'll use it up one way or another. I roasted the pumpkin seeds this morning and they're still in the pan, crunchy and salty. I've had a few. Must stay away!

It's also time to start thinking about Thanksgiving. It's kind of nice that this meal is traditional and includes favorites from previous years. There is very little planning to do. I could almost do it in my sleep. Our meal is with friends and it's always a potluck. I wouldn't mind doing the whole thing, but I think other people also enjoy preparing the food. The thunder must be shared!