Happy Twenty 10!

Black-eyed peas!

The South's single New Year tradition is to eat black-eyed peas as a reminder to be grateful for everything you have by eating a very humble meal of cow feed on the first day of the year.

The tradition goes back to post Civil War South. Black-eyed peas were an import from Africa, used as feed for animals, and not considered suitable for human consumption. They were left behind by Northerners, who to this day are still unaware of this delightful little legume, but I digress. No matter your social or economic status before the war, it was for many Southerners the only thing on their grocery list. Southerns survived on what was not taken and now generations of Southerners keep up this poetic and philosophical tradition of starting the year off humbly by reminding themselves of where they've been and how far they've risen. Most people I talk to eat them and don't know why, just that you're supposed to. :-)

Along with the "humble" tradition is the much more festive, superstitious version that I was only recently made aware of via FoodNetwork: coins and bills. Apparently the little beans represent coins and are served with greens to represent bills. So eating a bowl of black-eyed peas and greens on the first day is supposed to bring you wealth, or something like that. I like this one too, because if you start your year off living a frugal life, you'll probably have reserves by the end of the year.

Lady Bug BDay Party

Thank you, Laci, I could not have done it without you!!! Mwah!!




My first event. For the first time, I served people who had no obligation to like anything - strangers. My niece, Margaret, celebrated her first birthday with her first best friend, Juliet (gotta get a pic of this little lady - her lashes go on for days) and admittedly, I felt a little pressure to really, really try like I've never tried before- after all, they can hate it, my family is contracted to think everything is awesome even if it's horrible! haahaa Anywho, we had about 45ish big and small people RSVP to this gig and being that I live in LA, putting together a menu means that certain expectations are expected - it has to be fresh, organic, and it must have vegetarian options.

Whatever, here's the menu (sans the beef dish - once again, victim of having only one oven)

White Bean Dip -

standard recipe of cannellini bean (canned white kidney beans, rinsed), parsley, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper


Served with pita chips (organic, store bought - tooth breaking hard)



Ginger and Sesame Chicken cups -

Chicken breast marinated in green tea and ginger with soy sauce, rice vinegar, fresh ground pepper and hot peppers. I made a fairly standard ginger and sesame dressing, which was a little spicy and a little sweet and drizzled it over the chilled chicken on iceberg lettuce "cups". My lettuce wasn't cooperative and I couldn't find skewers longer than a toothpick to keep them together, so my presentation was a bit off. Tasted good. That's all that counts. Right?



Bean Burritos -

Vegan chili (see earlier post, modified a bit to be smoother - I also used lentils and black beans) rolled into tortilla cones brushed with a little Tapatio and sprinkled with cheddar and baked in a 400 degree oven for about 13 minutes





Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Skewers -

Super sweet grape tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, drizzled with olive oil, sea salt and fresh ground pepper







Cheese Souffle Pastry, garnished with Asparagus -

Process was a bit more than my usual simple and quick prep; and after feeling a bit down about the Thanksgiving souffle's not working out on time, I didn't have any real motivation to achieve Alton Brown perfection, so I deviated from the chemistry and it worked - like REALLY worked. It's now apparent to me that going by recipes is just not my thing - it must be done by taste, feel and look. Too much butter, not enough milk, really sloppily measuring the flour - had Laci separate the eggs from the yolk (what's my deal with eggs?- they hate me) and whip up the whites to perfect peaks. I folded the heavy mixture with the perfect egg whites and let the mix sit while I prepared the pastry.

I used Pepperidge Farm frozen pastry and rolled them out to twice their size - as thin as I could get them without falling apart. Here's where I got crazy: tiny muffin pans would have been appropriate, but I'm cheap and couldn't help myself, so I made tiny muffin pans out of oil sprayed foil squares:







Ok, my hands are so dry from all the cooking and dishes - must soak them in heavy lotion and drink a cocktail - it was fun, though. I love this stuff.

Souffles are for Pansies

Cocky, yes, and perhaps it was a bit of beginners luck, but how hard is it to follow directions? The real challenge will come when I start experimenting - oh the possibilities!

I had a little problem with the egg whites, which I'm blaming on a hand mixer that kept falling apart on me and I had to fish out the beater many times with my fingers - that should probably not happen - delicate work. The egg whites had a little water left at the bottom of the bowl, which I left in the bowl, but I probably lost an egg white which kept them from getting more lift int he final product. And I'm surprised at how quickly they cool, er fall...

cheese souffle in the oven:


Right before eating:

Ginger Spiced Coffee

Shake some ground ginger in your coffee - gives a warm spice to your daily cup.

THANKSGIVING 2009

Holiday at the Hill House


Le Plate of Grup (Grup? Do I have a cold? Well, yes...)

Le Menu:

Butternut Squash Soup garnished with Duck Confit (store bought)
Beef Wellington


Mashed Potatoes (they'll be special, but due to having only one oven, there would be no way for me to keep another baked good warm and fresh with everything else) "Le Big Sigh"
Spicy Fried Brussels Sprouts
Smoked Cheddar Cheese Souffle
Caramelized Onion, Garlic and Parmesan Tart
Norwegian Style Pickled Beets
Pickled Carrots

Dessert
Spiced Apple and Pecan Pie Cups
Gingered Marscarpone Cups

Cheese plate

Shopping list and recipe lists are done and organized - I've got the majority of the list in the refrigerator and I've tested my souffle recipe. Now to get the produce.

The red wine sauce for the Wellington took nearly 9 hours from start to finish, but it was SOOOO worth it, and two days later, I used it as the gravy for a Shepard's Pie. It is the best sauce:

Red Wine Sauce (from the Beef Wellington recipe in Cooks Illustrated)
2 1/2	pounds beef oxtails , trimmed of excess fat
2	medium carrots , chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
2	medium ribs celery , chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
4	small onions , chopped coarse (about 3 cups)
1	large head garlic , broken into cloves, unpeeled
2	teaspoons tomato paste
1	bottle red wine (750ml)
4 - 6	large shallots , minced (about 1 cup)
1	bay leaf
10	sprigs fresh thyme
1	can low-sodium beef broth (14 1/2-ounces)
1	can low-sodium chicken broth (14 1/2-ounces)
1	teaspoon whole black peppercorns
6	parsley stems
1/4	cup ruby port
	4 tablespoons unsalted butter cold, cut into 4 pieces Red Wine Sauce 1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine oxtails, carrots, celery, onions, and garlic in large flameproof roasting pan; spray lightly with cooking spray and toss to combine. Roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until beef and vegetables are well-browned, 40 to 50 minutes, adding tomato paste to roasting pan after 30 minutes. 2. While oxtails and vegetables roast, bring wine, shallots, bay leaf, and thyme to simmer over medium heat in heavy-bottomed 8-quart stockpot or Dutch oven; reduce heat to low, and simmer slowly, uncovered, until reduced to about 11/2 cups, about 30 minutes. Set pot aside. 3. Place roasting pan over burner(s) set at high; add beef and chicken broths and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits on bottom of pan with wooden spoon. 4. Transfer contents of roasting pan to stockpot with wine reduction. Add 7 cups water, peppercorns, and parsley stems, and bring to boil over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until richly flavored and full-bodied, 3 to 4 hours. Strain broth into large glass measuring cup or container (you should have about 2 cups), discarding solids in strainer. Cool to room temperature; cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. 5. While beef Wellington bakes, skim hardened fat from surface of stock using soup spoon and discard. Transfer stock to small saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat until reduced to about 1 cup, 10 to 15 minutes. Add port; set aside off heat. 6. While beef Wellington rests, return broth to simmer over medium heat and whisk in butter 1 piece at a time. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper and serve with beef Wellington.

the Norwegian Beet Pickles will be a staple in my fridge: (recipe will be up soon)

Instant Mashed Potatoes

You should be ashamed of yourself!

Steps to the easiest mashed potatoes:

1. Big pot of water (keeping up with me?)

2. Place potatoes in water - skin on - wash the dirt off ---you probably have eyes all over yours, so take those off and start using your produce in a more reasonable amount of time, loser.

3. Boil until done. Oh right, you probably don't know when they're done - if the knife (the thing you probably should just kill yourself with) slides through the potatoes without crunch or resistance, they're done. Or if you press on them a little and they start to crack open...

4. You have a couple of options (didn't know you had options with potatoes?). Here's where you start whining and bitching, but suck it up - you'll thank me:

a. you can just start mashing and adding liquid (milk or broth), butter or olive oil, salt and pepper

or

b. place the hot potato in a towel and literally wipe the skins off and add your liquid, fat and seasoning

Easy, healthier, tastier and REAL.

Know what's in your food! Make it yourself!!!

Posted with love albeit with a little frustration at seeing all the garbage in the grocery store.

Onion Tart - Taste of Thanksgiving

Inspired by a friend and restricted to only what is available in the house at the moment, a savory tart was made.

We are doing this for Brunch, Thanksgiving 2009 and serving with heirloom tomatoes - stay tuned to details on how exactly it will be done, but I'm thinking small hand tarts, so they can be snacked on and would fit on small plates.