Christmas Dinner 2010

You will need to take a walk after this meal!  Delicious.

Fall River Rib Roast

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup minced parsley
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated lemon peel
• 4 teaspoons dried thyme
• 8 juniper berries, crushed
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 4-8 drops Tabasco sauce
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 10 pound standing rib roast of beef

Combine parsley, lemon peel, thyme, juniper berries, garlic, pepper, and Tabasco in a blender or food processor.  Add oil tablespoon at a time, blending until a smooth paste is formed.  Add lemon juice and blend.  Rub mixture over surface of roast.  (recipe calls for covering and refrigerating for 24 hours but we just popped it in the oven and skipped that step.)

Bring roast to room temperature before proceeding.  Place roast in large, heavy roasting pan in preheated over at 500 degrees for 15 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 350 and continue roasting for 15 minutes per pound for rare, 20 minutes per pound for medium or 25 minutes per pound for well done.  Let roast rest for 10 minutes before carving.  Serve with Horseradish Sauce.  Recipe to follow but we just used store bought.


Hunters Horseradish Sauce

Ingredients

• 6 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup butter, melted and hot
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped
• 6-8 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 2-4 drops Tabasco Sauce
• 3 tablespoons minced Fresh Parsley

Combine egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and pepper in blender. Mix until well blended or food processor.  While machine in running, add hot butter in slow stream. Transfer to a large bowl and fold in whipped cream.  Add horseradish and Tabasco to taste.  Fold in minced onion and parsley and transfer to serving bowl.


Green Beans with Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pound green beans trimmed and rinsed
• 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise or heavy cream
• 1 Tablespoons Shallots (optional)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup olive oil or veg oil
• 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper (optional)

Steam the green beans until tender, about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile , in a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, mayonnaise, shallots, salt, and pepper.  Add the oil in a slow stream, whisking constantly until the vinaigrette is well blended. Toss the cooked beans with the red pepper and enough vinaigrette to coat, about 1/3 cup.  Serve warm with extra vinaigrette on the side if you like ( I just dump it all in and then I can't stop eating these green beans).

Wednesday in Washington

We spent the last 3 days out on an island in the Puget Sound.  The forecast called for rain everyday but we had pretty amazing weather.  We built the largest fires and hiked all around.  Today we took the passenger ferry back and headed for Seattle.  Lunch at Maximilien...a nicely kept secret located at Pike Place Market.  Almost too full for dinner and we made the most delicious spicy seafood gumbo.  I swore I was too full to eat even the smallest amount but ended up having two helpings.  Recipe below.

Gumbo with Shrimp

Gumbo poured over Pearl Cous  Cous provided the most wonderful texture

Ingredients

• 1/2 red onion diced
• one red and one orange bell peppers diced (or several of the small sized red/orange peppers)
• 6 tablespoons veg or olive oil
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 can diced tomatoes with juice (14.5 oz)
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup clam juice
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Creole Seasoning (makes it pretty spicy so may want to use less if you don't like it hot)
• 1/2 lb cooked andouille sausage (optional) we made it on the side 
• 1 lb large precooked shrimp
• 1 teaspoon file powder
• Pearled Couscous made according to package instructions 

Dice onion and peppers and have them ready to go.  Heat 6 tablespoons oil over med heat add in 6 tablespoons of flour and whisk until incorporated.  Cook mixture (roux) stirring constantly for 4 minutes. Careful not to burn.  Add in onion, garlic, and peppers and cook stirring occasionally until softened, about 8-10 minutes.

Add Tomatoes, stock, clam juice, bay leaves, creole seasoning and bring to boil over medium high heat then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes to blend flavors.  Stir in shrimp (and sausage if using it) Sprinkle in the file powder and stir for 30 seconds.  Remove from heat and discard bay leaves.

To serve, spoon pearled couscous (or rice) into warm bowls and ladle gumbo on top.

Fudgey Friday!

Spent all day packing for Seattle but was able to throw together some peppermint pistachio fudge.  It's so good...now if only I had room to pack it.  Not sure the fudge will make the trip.  It will be fine in the fridge until we get home...but I must find a way.

Fudge

Ingredients

• 3 cups of chocolate chips
• 2 cups of small marshmellows
• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup pistachios
• 3 candy canes crushed

Line an 8x8 square pan with foil and smear with butter.  Add together the chocolate chips, marshmellows and sweetened condensed milk in a large microwave safe bowl.  Microwave 2-3 minutes stiring every minute until melted together.  Stir in vanilla until smooth.  Mix in pistachios.  Pour mixture into lined pan and cool.  Once cooled, pull fudge out of pan, sprinkle with crushed candy cane and cut into small squares.

A Facebook Christmas!

Christmas Vacation begins now

2 weeks away from work.  I have a great job so it's more the commute that I won't miss during my 2 weeks off.  So much to do tomorrow.  Tonight, it's ballet and hockey for the kids.  Popped in some breaded chicken from costco for them and some tilapia for Sean and myself.  Paired with rice and broccoli and it's a no fuss meal.  I cooked up some jasmine rice on the stove with a stock (for added nutrition)  you can use vegetable or chicken, and a drib of olive oil.  We tend to eat A LOT of broccoli because it's a sure bet the kids will reluctantly eat it.  They still don't love veggies.

You Scream, I Scream, we all Scream for Candy Cane Ice Cream!!!

Just cooked up the mixture.  Now it will cool for a few hours and then into the ice cream maker.

Candy Cane Gelato

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 crushed up candy cane

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, mix milk and cream. Warm until foam forms around the edges. Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until frothy. Gradually pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture gels slightly and coats the back of the spoon.
3. Cover, and chill for several hours or overnight.
4. Pour the mixture and the crushed up candy cane into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Eat or transfer to a sealed container, and freeze until firm. If the gelato is too firm, place it in the refrigerator until it reaches the desired consistency.

Monday...disaster

I made this great potato soup recipe...except I forgot that it called for 2 TABLESPOONS of salt and it should really be 2 TEASPOONS.  Too salty to eat...well Owen loved it.  Bummer.  corrected recipe below.

Ingredients

• 3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled ( left this out)
• 4 red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks (if small double this amount)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons salt ( or to taste)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt ( ;eft this out)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• chives for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat a large slow cooker by turning it to the High setting and covering with the lid.
2. Place the cut-up potatoes in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave on High for about 8 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked and steaming hot.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, place the butter in the preheated slow cooker, and cook and stir the onions and garlic for about 5 minutes, until the onions turn golden. Stir in 1/2 cup of milk, and whisk in the flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in the remaining 3 cups of milk, and let the mixture come to a simmer in the slow cooker. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until the soup begins to thicken.
4. Stir in the hot cooked potatoes, crumbled bacon, sour cream, Cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, seasoned salt, parsley, red pepper flakes, celery salt, and dried basil. Stir to mix the soup well, reduce the slow cooker setting to Low, cover, and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with chives and serve

Saturday Blizzard!

One way to keep warm during a blizzard is to cook.  We had pancakes and waffles for breakfast.   I thought about making more cookies but we can't seem to eat the ones I've already made.  I decided to bake more bread to use up some of the sourdough starter that seems to be growing.  Let me know if you need some.  I hope it survives the two weeks at Christmas.

Decorating the Christmas tree is another way to keep warm.  I have to say...this year my tree is a disappointment.  I put on new lights and they have a funny color to them...LED white... they blind you so the ornaments sort of disappear.  I think I will be buying more lights for next year.  Not sure what I will do with these lights...I'll probably just keep the tree unlit this year.  I watched the HGTV celebrity Christmas decorating show and was inspired....to one day have a decorator do mine.  Somehow this year I really missed the boat on the decorations.  My tree just looks tired.  It may be time to invest in a new one, but not this year.

For lunch I made cheese quesodillas.

Cheese quesodilla and Mrs. Refros green salsa

I make the quesodilla on a griddle with raw tortillas from costco, but a skillet works too.

This is good on everything, if you like  it hot! Looks like you can buy it in bulk at Amazon.

Sourdough bread is baking.  I will wait for it to finish before I hit the hay.  Owen has an early hockey game (7:15am).  I have a lot of bread...if it's not too snowy I'll have to go to the store for more fondue cheese to eat up the bread.  It's time to start giving some of this stuff away.

Thursday...early dinner doesn't mean you can't have something delicious

Chicken Cordon Bleu with parmesan red potatoes and broccoli

I started cooking 15 minutes after I walked in the door.  I realized half way through the recipe that I needed wine for the sauce...grabbed a bottle sitting on the counter we received for a gift only to discover it was Italian Champagne.  Thought I'd better drink it before it goes flat, but no one to share the bottle with.  The boys are off to hockey and Anne has her Christmas program right after.  I hope the bubbly lasts until the end of the night so Sean can have some...

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 4 slices ham
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

This recipe's Ingredients were scaled to yield a new amount. The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield of 6 servings.

1. Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.
2. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
3. Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.

What to do on little time?

Come home late and not sure what to fix because one of the kids needs to be somewhere within the hour?  I turn to pasta drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.  I swear my kids could eat that every night. 

cooks up quick

They love Rigatoni but tonight it's wagon wheels!

San Pellegrino...compliments any meal.  

Sunday...a good day for baking.

Owen had two hockey games this morning.  He scored the winning goal in the first game and they tied the second game.  It was very exciting.

The Pfeffernuese dough has been sitting for well over a week and is ready to be baked.  I had baked a few men on Friday for the girls to decorate at the party.  They had fun.  I made a few more today.  I added some noses for something different.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with pfeffernuese; it's a hard small spicy cookie.  Good with coffee but be careful, they care addictive.  I made a double recipe which means I made thousands today.

Grandma use to keep them in Christmas tins but I don't have enough so I used a huge plastic bag.

She use to cut them out with a funnel.  Her mother in law cut hers out with a thimble...can you imagine?  I fashioned a tool out of an apple corer by melting away the sides so only the round part will cut.  I did this 13 years ago and I have to say it's held up well but I noticed a crack today.

After the pfeffernuese was baked, I made sourdough waffles.  I found this recipe (posted below), but it doesn't make enough.  Owen doesn't care for sourdough...not sure how that's possible if he's related to me so he only ate one.

So good with maple syrup.  I ate mine with raspberries, blueberries, and whipped cream.  A fun thing to do for dinner.

Sourdough Waffles

• 2 (or more) cups of starter
• 
1 Tbs. sugar

• 1 egg
• 
1/2 tsp salt
• 
2 Tbs. veg. oil

mix well, set aside.

From this batter, spoon out what you need for the waffle into a mixing bowl.

In a shot glass, mix 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and a small amount of water, stir to dissolve the soda. Then gently fold this into the mix. It will start to become light and airy. Pour onto waffle iron (or griddle for pancakes). These will be very light.Repeat the shot glass/soda mix for each waffle.

The soda controls the lightness. If very sour, use a tad more soda. If you use too much soda the waffles will taste somewhat bitter.

It’s great with pure maple syrup.

Hurray for Saturday!

The party went off splendidly.  The girls were great.  They had fun decorating Pfeffernuese Men.  I had the dough already made so why bother to make gingerbread.

It was so cold today.  Halfway through the day, after we cleaned house and put it back together, we decided to take Anne to Village Point to spend some of her gift certificates.  We got hungry.  We usually stop and eat but I thought, hey it's a perfect kind of day for fondue.  We stopped at the store for a package of fondue cheese and a bottle of wine.  So fun, and very filling.

picked up this fondue set online at JC Penny for about $25

I think Owen liked it best!

homemade sourdough bread

Almost forgot to write the happy birthday message!

The cake is finally done! Girls will be here in 3 hours!

Chocolate Cavity Maker Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package dark chocolate cake mix
• 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup coffee flavored liqueur
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, oil and coffee liqueur. Beat until ingredients are well blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Spoon into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until cake springs back when lightly tapped. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then turn out and cool completely on wire rack.

Ganache Icing

Ingredients

• 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)

Directions

1. Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the rum if desired.
2. Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Start at the center of the cake and work outward. For a fluffy frosting or chocolate filling, allow it to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk until light and fluffy.

Tonight I make Chocolate Cavity Maker Cake

Anne loves chocolate and sweets so this should be right up her alley.  Not exactly sure what I'll do for decoration.  I'll post a picture with the finished product so stay tuned!.................

UPDATE:  Cake smells delicious but I tried to flip it too soon and so it's not photo worthy.  I will make another cake for the party and drizzle chocolate ganache with fondant decor.  I'll take a pic of that one so stay tuned on Friday.

Tonight we had salmon marinated in balsamic dressing.  Recipe called for Italian but I didn't have any...well it didn't taste that great.  Definitely edible but I'd avoid doing that again.  I made the Steakhouse bread again in the bread maker and again it was delicious.  It's a small loaf so perfect for 4 people.

This Calla Lilly has lasted for about a month now.  I bought three plants and as the flowers begin to wilt I put them in vases.  I've not had to throw out any yet.  They are amazing.  Quite a value

Oh What Fun!

Here are some pictures of a few of our cookies.  We finally finished tonight.  They are little pieces of art and will be hard to part with but at the same time...what the heck would I do with this many cookies if I kept them.

I love this one Anne came up with

These are ones Owen did

I love this star Anne made

Christmas Cookies with the kids

Finished decorating  about half the cookie.  This was the first year that the kids were really interested for more than a couple of cookies.  Anne came up with some incredible designs.  I think we may do this more often now that they finally enjoy this.

Royal Icing, using plastic bottles

1 bag confectioners' sugar
4 T. meringue powder (actually, I just dump some in but that sounds about right)
2 t. flavoring (usually almond)
warm water

Put confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in mixing bowl.  Start beater and mix slowly
for a few seconds.  With mixer running, add 3 to 4 T warm water.  Add flavoring.  Continue
mixing and adding water a little at a time until you get the consistency you want.  Divide and color!

NOTE:
Remember that royal icing only takes a long time to dry after you put it on a cookie.
Until then, it turns to concrete in seconds.  Keep your containers covered until you are
ready to use it.

Cookies are ready for decorating.  There are a lot, so we may have to do them in stages.  Starting... Tomorrow.  Stick a fork in me, I'm done.

Chocolate Gelato and Warm Steakhouse Wheat Bread

I had two successes today.  After waiting for the bread to bake and the gelato to freeze and eating my round 3 of Thanksgiving, we had incredible warm bread and gelato!!!  I'm posting the recipes here because they are the best so far.  Note this is the first time I've made bread that I really love in a bread machine.  I was almost ready to give up and only use it for dough. 

So good with a pat of butter

Gelato in the machine

Chocolate Gelato

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Nutella
• 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, mix milk and sugar. Warm until foam forms around the edges. Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks until frothy. Gradually pour 1/2 the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return egg mixture to saucepan with the rest of the milk; cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture gels slightly and coats the back of the spoon. Add in the Nutella and coffee granuals (optiona) If small egg lumps begin to show, remove from heat immediately.
3. Pour the mixture through a sieve or fine strainer into a bowl (if you don't get lumps you can skip the sieve). Cover, and chill for several hours or overnight (until completely cool).
4. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a sealed container, and freeze until firm. If the gelato is too firm, place it in the refrigerator until it reaches the desired consistency.

 

 

Steak House Wheat Bread

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 cup unbleached bread flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons  yeast

Directions

1. Place the warm water, butter, honey, salt, coffee, cocoa, sugar, bread flour, whole wheat flour, and yeast in the bread machine in the order listed. Put on regular or basic cycle with light crust.