Countdown to 2015

We’ve opted to avoid the crowds and revelers and cook at home tonight as we wait for the ball to drop in Times Square to usher in 2015.
There are some nice Yukon Gold potatoes in the pantry. The Deen brothers have a Recipe that will do nicely. I’m substituting Swiss Cheese for the Gruyere and cutting that recipe in half. We’re going to try to swear off of potatoes in the new year and don’t want too many leftovers.

Three Cheese Potato Gratin

<a href="https://someenchantedeating.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/img_1059.

Next I sliced mushrooms, onions, and Brussels Sprouts to prep for the side dishes.

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Onions

I sliced the Brussels sprouts about a quarter inch thick instead of halving them. It gave the dish a nice texture.

Finally, Kevin cooked the skirt steak using a piping hot cast-iron skillet and Michael Symon’s recipe. It was really simple and fast and surprisingly tender and flavorful.

Michael Symon’s Grilled Skirt with Mushroom Gravy

Everything came together nicely and we enjoyed a fashionably late dinner by candlelight.

Here is wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2015!

Christmas is Cancelled!

Sorry! Posted incomplete by accident when shifting the iPad to a table. Here is the full post.

Merry Christmas to everyone! Yesterday afternoon I received a phone call from my Mom. At first I could barely hear her voice and I chalked it up to a bad connection. We hung up and I called back. The signal was better, but she still did not sound like herself. She was sick 😦
Fever, chills, sinus drainage and icky over all. Our Christmas Day family holiday had to be cancelled. Aside from not feeling well, she did not want to pass this sickness on to anyone else in the family (thanks Mom!). We quickly regrouped and planned to delay our family celebration until Saturday to give her time to recuperate.
We proceeded with our Christmas Eve dinner with Kevin’s Mom and our daughter while our son worked on duty protecting the country at his Air Force Base in Florida. This year’s Christmas Eve meal just didn’t come together smoothly. Our 5-pound prime rib had not completely defrosted and still registered a cool 60 degree F. internal temperature after an hour and a half in the oven. Much to my dismay it had not completely defrosted after 48 hours in the refrigerator. It ended up in the microwave roasting for the rest of the way to a 140 degree internal temperature. It was not the medium rare that we expected. It was more like medium. I forgot to put sour cream on the grocery list, so we ended up with bottled horseradish sauce instead of my favorite home made version. Kevin wanted Brussels sprouts and had picked some up at the grocery store. When I pulled the bag out of the refrigerator I observed that they must have had their growth stunted because they were miniature in size and a bit mealy on top of that. I cleaned them up and roasted them, but the pile that resulted was not enough for 4 people. Canned green beans to the rescue. We just used the balsamic glaze made for the Brussels sprouts on both of the green vegetables and it sufficed. At long last dinner was ready and we went to the table and ate, pondering what we could make for our Christmas Day meal as we had not been planning to cook. We had used all of our potatoes, mushrooms and milk and there was no fresh meat in the refrigerator. We found a beef tenderloin portion in the freezer, sweet potatoes and asparagus. A plan began to form.
This morning we went to pick up Kevin’s Mom to join us. The nurse aide reported that she woke up not feeling well and had asked to stay in bed and skip breakfast. They let her sleep in a bit, but then encouraged her to get up, bathe and get dressed. She was in the process of getting dressed when we arrived. With watery eyes, she insisted that she did not want to put us out or have us spend our day taking care of her. Despite her protests we, dabbed her tears, put her coat on and headed to the car. We had not eaten breakfast and she hadn’t either. We needed something light to tide us over so I pulled out a can of crescent roll dough, brushed the triangles with a little melted butter, sprinkled on some cinnamon sugar, and dotted the dough with some caramel balls. I carefully rolled them up and baked them for about 10 minutes. Voila! Instant pastry!

Next I started on lunch. Kevin found a recipe for poached tenderloin that sounded like an easy preparation. We substituted vegetable stock for beef stock (we didn’t have any in the pantry) and it turned out very nicely, It was a little more done that we prefer, but was still very tender and tasty.
Here’s Claire Robinson’s recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/claire-robinson/beef-tenderloin-with-port-sauce-recipe.html

We prepared the asparagus very simply, tossed with some Sesame-flavored olive oil and sprinkled with coarse salt and pepper on a roasting pan, baked at 400 degrees F. for about 20 minutes. We warmed the soup leftover from last night’s dinner and it was just enough for everyone to have a small bowl.
This recipe comes from the Junior Auxiliary of Vicksburg, MIssissippi, the Vintage Vicksburg cookbook.

Elegant Fresh Mushroom Soup

1/2 cup butter
4 cups green onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons flour
5 cups chicken stock
3/4 to 1 lb. fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced, reserve a few for garnish
1 1/4 cups light cream

Melt butter, add onions, salt and pepper. Cover and cook very slowly for 10 minutes being careful not to let the onions brown. Remove from heat and stir in flour. When smooth, add the stock. Return to heat and stir until soup boils. Add the mushrooms to the soup and cook about 10 minutes more. Transfer soup to a blender and carefully blend until nearly smooth. Use caution as the hot liquid can pop the lid of the blender and cause burns through splatter – cover the lid with a towel. Return to the cooking pan and add the light cream. Heat until hot, but not boiling. Before serving garnish with the reserved mushrooms. Makes about 6 to 8 servings.

The salad consisted of some iceberg lettuce, candied walnuts, Craisins and Mandarin Oranges dressed with a Pomegranate-Quince Vinaigrette. I used a recipe given to me by my friend Carol, many years ago. It is my go-to home made dressing. It is very versatile and the flavor can be subtly different depending on what type of flavored vinegar you use. Here is the original recipe. Thanks Carol!

Carol’s Vinaigrette Dressing

1 cup salad oil (may use olive oil if you prefer)
1/2 cup wine vinegar – Red Wine or Raspberry Vinegar are very good
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. celery seed

Combine all dressing ingredients and whisk until emulsified. Toss with lettuce or spinach of your choice. May use nuts, avocados, mandarin oranges, strawberries, or blueberries or any combination that appeals to you.

Amanda made the sweet potatoes from this recipe she found on Pinterest:
http://carmelmoments.com/maple-whipped-sweet-potatoes/

With everyone helping in the kitchen the meal came together quickly and for not really planning anything ahead of time it turned out really well and we all enjoyed it.

The Tradition Continues

The first year we were married I got some family recipes from Kevin’s Mom and Aunt Willie for his favorite Christmas Cookies. Buckeyes, Snickerdoodles and Cherry Winks are his top three. Today we had his Mom come and spend the afternoon with us. She recently had to move from an assisted living facility to a Memory Unit at an area Nursing Home and we thought she would enjoy spending some time with us while the house is decorated for the holidays and I was going to be baking cookies. Her long term memory is good and and even though she kept asking me what I was making, she remembered the cookies themselves and where the recipes came from. My daughter and I were working on the Cherry Winks and she asked if she could help. This is her mother’s recipe and she said she’d made dozens and dozens of this cookies with her when she was younger. Kevin’s Grandma had stopped baking by the time he was old enough to eat cookies, but his Mom continued to bake them. She has a lot of arthritis now so I asked if she wanted to put the maraschino wink on top of the cookie. She can’t stand for long periods, but she stood at the counter and did the first couple dozen with me, then got fatigued and had to sit down.

Cherry Winks

5 cups corn flakes
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cups finely chopped dates
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cups chopped Maraschino cherries
15 quartered Maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Crush corn flakes and set aside (I pulsed them a blender). Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add eggs and vanilla and remaining ingredients except for quartered Maraschino cherries and crushed corn flakes. Take tablespoon of dough and form into a ball; roll in crushed corn flakes. Top with quartered cherry. Bake for 12 -15 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes 5 dozen.

These are all packaged up now and ready to take to work tomorrow for a cookie swap. Maybe they’ll become a new tradition for someone who takes these cookies home tomorrow.

Party Day

Friday morning we awoke to rain, but the temperature would stay above freezing all day. The kitchen was empty and quiet in contrast to the lively crowd that would fill it that evening.

My husband and daughter took the day off and my sister, Diane, and niece, Brianna, came to help with the preparations.

We made tomato sandwiches, mini Muffaletta Sandwiches, put out home made salami and cheese, plated cookies and candies, put out the serving dishes and got everything ready. Most of the recipes I used had been posted before on this blog. I made some Pomegranate tartlets with mini pie tart shells I had baked Thursday evening. These were a new item this year and they were excellent! I found the recipe in an old Pillsbury recipe booklet of Holiday recipes.

Pomegranate Tartlets

3 Pillsbury Ready Crusts (from two boxes of two crusts each)
1 pomegranate
1 3-oz. package vanilla pudding and pie filling mix (not instant)
1 3/4 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons dark rum
powdered sugar for dusting

Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Remove pie crusts from pouches. Unfold the crusts and press out the fold lines. With a 2 1/2″ round or scalloped cookie cutter, cut out crusts into 36 rounds. Press each round into miniature muffin tins. Bake in preheated oven for 7 to 9 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove tartlet shells from pans and place on cooling racks. Cool at least 10 minutes. I let them sit overnight. Meanwhile cut the pomegranate in half and remove seeds. Here’s a link demonstrating the technique that I use. The only thing I do differently is to fill the bowl about half full of water. If any pith falls out with the seeds it floats to the top and can be easily skimmed off and discarded.
http://lifehacker.com/5895852/deseed-a-pomegranate-in-10-seconds-using-a-wooden-spoon
Set the seeds aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the pudding mix and whipping cream; stir with a wire whisk to blend. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in rum. Immediately spoon about a rounded teaspoon of filling into each tartlet. I used a small cookie scoop and it worked well. Top each tartlet with about a teaspoon of pomegranate seeds. Cover loosely and refrigerate at least 1 hour, or until serving time. Just before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Here’s another new recipe I tried that went over really well:

Bacon and Pineapple Yam Bites

1 large fresh yam (about 12 ounces) peeled
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon Caribbean or Jamaican jerk seasoning
8 slices bacon
1 (20-ounce) can chunk pineapple, drained or fresh pineapple chunks
2 tablespoons brown sugar (may need more)

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut yam crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. In small bowl, combine butter and jerk seasoning; blend well. Brush mixture on both sides of each yam slice; place on ungreased 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan. Cut each slice into bite-sized pieces to make about 40 pieces. Spread pieces about 1/4-inch apart. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 8 to 10 minutes or until yam pieces are crisp-tender. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until almost crisp. Cut each bacon piece into about 5 pieces. Top each yam piece on baking pan with a bacon piece. Dip each pineapple chunk in brown sugar; place on top of bacon. Secure each stack with a toothpick. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 5 to 7 minutes or until thoroughly heated. With pancake turner, immediately remove from cookie sheet. Place on serving platter or tray. Cool slightly before serving. Makes about 40 appetizers.

Finally, everything was ready. Guests started coming a little earlier than 3:30 , but we were ready. People were coming and going all evening long until about 10:30 p.m. We saw so many friends and families and enjoyed every minute of it. It was well worth all of the work to share this special evening with all of our guests!

Holiday Haze

Well, the end of the week went by in a whirl. Thursday my niece, Chelsea, and my daughter, Amanda, came over and we worked on things that could be made closer to the party. One of Chelsea’s favorite buffet items has been Cream Cheese Penguins. This year she and Amanda put them together.

Cream Cheese Penguins

18 jumbo olives from a 15 3/4 oz. can
18 small ripe olives
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 carrot, at least 6 inches long and 1 inch in diameter, cut in 1/4″ slices
18 frilled toothpicks

Carefully cut a slit in each jumbo olive from top to bottom on one side only.
Insert about 1 teaspoon cream cheese into the olive to fill cavity. Cut small notch out of each carrot slice to form feet. Press cutout carrot notch piece into center of small olive to form beak. If necessary, pierce small olive with small paring knife or toothpick to make a hole. Using a frilled toothpicks stack small olive (head), stuffed jumbo olive (head), and carrot slice (foot), adjusting so that beak, cream cheese breast and notch in carrot slice line up. The penguin will stand better if slices are stacked with the larger holes facing downward. These are too cute !

We also made Tortellini Skewers, Cheese Stuffed Dates wrapped with Prosciutto and Spiritos Salami Bites (previously posted), lots of them. The cousins cleaned all of the vegetables for the veggie tray and cut crustless rounds out of two loaves of thin sandwich bread for mini tomato sandwiches. They also assembled the Chocolate Cannoli sandwich cookies, which were a new recipe this year. This one comes from Ted Allen. We broke a couple of them by accident (maybe) and had to taste them! Mine were thinner than the photos of the recipes, but they tasted wonderful!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chocolate-cannoli-sandwich-cookies-recipe.html

Later that evening I made the Hidden Valley Ranch Dip and made Corn Pancakes for Salmon and Corn Pancakes. I also sliced Roma Tomatoes and put them on half sheet pans on paper towels to drain the juices overnight. I turned in to rest up for party day.

Of Mice and Mibs

I realized late last night that I hadn’t posted at all yesterday. It was a very busy day! My long-time friend, Mibs, (given name Mary) retired last year and told me then that once she quit work, she would come over to help me with the Christmas Party, True to her word, she called early Sunday morning and we set up a day for her to come over. She arrived about 9:00 a.m. and we set to work making Cherry Mice. There are over a hundred standing by in the Tupperware box, ready to go for tomorrow.

We worked on items that really go faster when two people work together. We worked side by side for at least 12 years in the Operating Room as surgical nurses. I took another position at the hospital and it’s been over 10 years since we worked together, but it was funny how we can still read each other’s minds, anticipate what needs to be done and have fun doing it. We made the Emanaditas and took a break for lunch. We had Cheese Tortellini Soup. It’s quick to put together from scratch and is good on a cold Winter’s day with a nice glass of white wine and good Italian bread.

Cheese Tortellini Soup

1 tablespoon butter
4 cloves of garlic
1 32-ounce box chicken stock
1 9-ounce package of cheese tortellini (Tri-Color is fun at the holidays)
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1-14-ounce can stewed tomatoes with juice, chopped
1/2 5-ounce package of fresh baby spinach
6 fresh basil leaves, cut in chiffonade or 1 teaspoon dried basil
additional Parmesan Cheese for sprinkling on top

Melt butter in a large heavy saucepan. Add garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes, but do not let garlic brown. Stir in broth and torellini. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in tomatoes, spinach and basil. Simmer for 2 minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve with additional Parmesan cheese to taste.

Makes about 4 servings.

After lunch we made Maple Chicken Drummies, Mini Pigs in Blankets and Rumaki. We opened a bottle of Chateau St. Michelle Riesling to sip as we worked and toasted good friendship. Much was accomplished – thanks Mibs!

After Mibs went home for supper, I kept working and baked the Sugar-
Glazed Ham, made the Shrimp Remoulade sauce, Hot Artichoke dip was assembled and Nieman Marcus Dip prepared. I know this recipe is popular and has been around for years, but I had not tried it until we had a carry in at work and my co-worker, Megan brought some in. Thanks for the recipe Megan!

Nieman Marcus Dip

1 cup Hellmann’s Mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Mix all ingredients together. For a large gathering, double the recipe. Serve with crackers.

Excuse me for now, but I have a few eggs to peel for Fines Herbes Deviled Eggs. Recipes not provided in this post are available in the archives!

Persimmon Cookies

I was up early this morning and began by rolling and cutting out the Empanada dough. I almost had cut out all of the rounds when I realized I hadn’t made any C shapes to mark the Chicken Empanaditas. That would have led to a bit of confusion over which is beef and which is chicken, since I always make both. Luckily there was just enough dough to make enough C-shaped pieces. I wouldn’t want to disappoint my daughter’s friend Chris, who believes these are personally monogrammed for her.

Next I hand dipped a bucket full of Buckeyes in a melted mixture of chocolate chips and paraffin wax. These are perennial family favorites.

The next item of the morning was Persimmon Cookies. my Great Uncle Bud had a persimmon tree on his property and my Dad and his brothers grew up eating them. We happened to see them at the Global Market over the weekend and picked up a couple. They were pretty firm so I had to let them sit on the counter to ripen. This morning they felt soft enough to try so I peeled them, cut them up and gave them a whirl in the blender to make the purée for this recipe
:http://allrecipes.com/recipe/persimmon-cookies/

The orange color is pumpkinesque, but the flavor is unique. They are a tasty spice cookie with bits of the soft persimmon that go well with the raisins and walnuts.

Light Day

Today was a light day in the kitchen, which is uncharacteristic for my cooking marathon week. I made the Pizelles this morning, but I had a special errand to run this afternoon. We received an early Christmas present that I had to pick up. Our son, Adam, got leave approved unexpectedly for this week and flew in today from his Air Force Base in Florida. I picked him up and we went directly to his favorite restaurant, Lion’s Choice for roast beef sandwiches that you can only get in the St. Louis area. If he could stuff a suitcase full of these sandwiches and take them back with him, he would. After lunch we stopped at Trader Joe’s to pick up a few items then headed home. We had Thanksgiving leftovers for supper then put the ornaments on our Christmas Tree while watching The Muppets Christmas Carol on the iPad. As he says, “It’s not Christmas yet” until we see that holiday video and sing along to all the songs we love and know by heart. Once the decorations were up he headed out with his sister to do some errands and shopping. I am running low on steam so I sat by the fire and unwrapped Hershey Kisses that will magically pair with maraschino cherries and turn into chocolate mice later this week. We watched a comedian do a monologue on his right brain vs. left brain and while I unwrapped, I let my right brain wander a bit. A question began to form in my mind as I tossed the foil wrappers into a bowl. Is it worth saving all of these wrappers to recycle? I hate to waste anything and I try to recycle everything I can. How much foil could there be in a family-size bag of Hershey kisses? Then I had to find out. I began balling the wrappers up tightly as I went along. When the bag was empty I was surprised at the diameter of the compressed foil. Does it really matter that I saved it to toss in the recycling bin? Well, I’d like to think that every little bit counts. It may not help me personally, but maybe it will make a difference in time for my kids or even their kids. Tomorrow is another day to cook and begin working on the savory recipes.

Cookies That Look Like Doilies? Pizelles!

Last week my Mom and Dad were at our house. We were sitting in our great room and my Dad looked up at a framed doily on the wall that my Mom had crocheted for us years ago. He asked what those cookies were that I make that look like that one in the middle, and if I was going to make them for the Open House.

I replied “Pizelles”! My Mom had picked up a Pizelle waffle iron at an auction years ago in a box with an item that she wanted. She she did not want the Pizelle maker so I asked her if I could have it. Occasionally I’ll bring it out of the kitchen closet to make these wonderful crispy vanilla (or anise) flavored cookies. The recipe comes from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian cookbook, but I always cut the recipe in half because it makes about 100 cookies! Here’s my half-recipe that I made today for the Open House.

Pizelles

3 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 stick butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon vanilla or anise extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Bet the eggs and sugar together until thickened and pale. Add the cooled melted butter and vanilla or anise flavoring. Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix until smooth. Preheat the Pizelle maker, using the indicator lights to check when it is ready. Lightly spray the top and bottom of the baker with non-stick cooking spray. This should only have to be done once for the entire batch of cookies. Place a heaping teaspoon of batter in the bottom half of the baker. Close the lid and watch the ready indicator button to let you know when the cookie is done. This usually only takes 30 seconds or less, depending on how dark you set the color control. I set mine right in the middle. Carefully remove the cookies with a fork. They may stick together if the batter runs, but you can use a kitchen scissors to trim the excess for prettier cookies. Allow to cool completely and store flat in an airtight container.