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| Okay the food pictures are not mine (see gourmet.com or marthastewart.com) but I am sure mine looked just like that - ask the roommate. And I threw in some Walking Dead Porn (you can reach me here Norman) |
Lets just say what everyone is thinking...this holiday
season was not like the others. Thanksgiving became Black Thursday and
Christmas became That Holiday Target Gave Away My PIN.
At one point as I sat in my traditional corner of the living
room to watch the offspring of more mature family members scamper around the
tree I said to my cousin, “this doesn’t feel like Christmas”. As she watched her own young children
rip open the underwear that Santa had left, her response was to the point and
oddly chilling, “it hasn’t felt like Christmas since we were their age”.
This was my first Christmas as a non-Christian, my first
Hanukkah as a Jew, and my ONLY Thanksgivukkah: Jew Giving Edition. And because
Sister is off saving lives with her new crew at the fire department we’ve moved
some holidays around to better suit our needs. In the end it’s worked out much
better for me. I would rather have the family Christmas closer to the weekend.
There is nothing worse on Christmas Day than having to watch Kathie Lee and
Hoda. Saturday morning cartoons are better.
And due to screwy holiday schedules at hospitals around the
nation, my roommate and his family did not celebrate Christmas along with the
rest of the world. So to have some
sense of Christmas Spirit in the form of dinner my roommate had his own parents
over for some nosh the week before Christmas. I offered to cook instead of
awkwardly sitting in my room watching The Walking Dead Christmas Special:
Zombie Jesus.
I sent my roommate out with an explicit list of what was
needed. And after he left the
torture chamber he calls The Gym he returned with my goods.
The evening’s menu was as follows:
French Onion Bites
Pork Roast with Winter Fruits and Port Sauce (non-kosher
meat with a nice kosher-ish sauce)
Frisee Salad with Cranberries and Pistachios
Glazed Carrots with Orange and Ginger
Dark Chocolate Cake with Frangelico Buttercream Frosting and
Dark Chocolate Ganache
A few notes on the ingredients -
1. Please do not be afraid
of talking to your butcher. He handles a lot of meat and loves to talk about
it. Trust me. There is nothing better than having a large slab of meat wrapped
up in a nice tight package being thrust at you with a passion.
2. Like wine and
underwear you should buy the middle of the road bacon. This past year I have
experimented and bought the “sale” bacon (too thin and fatty), the “fancy”
bacon (too expensive and not enough to go around), and the “middle of the road”
bacon (I recommend a nice Black Label).
3. Belgian Endive and just regular old non country exclusive Endive look
completely different. Make sure you bring Google to the grocery with you. Be adventurous and by the Belgian. It's more fun.
RECIPES:
PORK ROAST WITH WINTER FRUIT AND PORT SAUCE
Serves 8
Active time:1 hr
Start to finish: 3 1/2 hr
INGREDIENTS
For stuffing
¼ lb California dried apricots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
¼ lb pitted prunes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2/3 cup ruby Port
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small shallot, finely chopped
3/4 stick unsalted butter
1 tart apple such as Granny Smith, peeled and cut into
1/2-inch pieces
For roast
1(6-lb) bone-in pork loin roast (10 ribs), frenched, at room
temperature 1 hour
9 or 10 bacon slices
For port sauce
½ cup ruby Port (I maaaaaybe used Blackberry Manshewitz)
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 ½ cups water, divided
2 teaspoons arrowroot
DIRECTIONS
Make stuffing:
Simmer apricots, prunes, and Port in a small heavy saucepan,
covered, 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes.
Cook onion and shallot in butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet
over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add
apple and 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally,
until apple is just tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in apricot mixture and cool.
Stuff and roast pork:
Preheat oven to 500°F with rack in middle.
Make a pocket in center of roast by making a horizontal 1
1/2-inch-wide cut into 1 end of roast with a long thin knife, repeating from
opposite end so pocket runs all the way through. Then make a vertical cut
through center (forming a cross) to widen pocket. Push about 1 cup stuffing
into pocket using a long-handled wooden spoon (you may need to stuff from both
sides if roast is long). Reserve remaining stuffing for sauce.
Season roast with 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and put
in a large flameproof roasting pan. Wrap with bacon, between rib bones, tucking
ends under roast.
Roast pork 20 minutes, then reduce oven to 325°F and roast
until an instant-read thermometer inserted 2 inches into center of roast (do
not touch bone or stuffing) registers 155°F, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours total.
Transfer roast to a cutting board, reserving pan, and let
stand, loosely covered with foil, 15 to 20 minutes. (Temperature of meat will
rise to about 160°F; meat will be slightly pink.)
Make sauce:
Skim fat from pan drippings and reserve 1 1/2 Tbsp fat.
Straddle pan across 2 burners and add Port to drippings, then deglaze pan by
boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute.
Strain
pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids.
Cook shallot in reserved fat in a heavy medium saucepan over
medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in
pan juices, 1 1/4 cups water, and reserved fruit stuffing and bring to a
simmer.
Whisk together arrowroot and remaining 1/4 cup water until smooth, then
whisk into sauce with any juices from cutting board.
Simmer sauce, whisking occasionally, until slightly
thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Carve roast into chops by cutting between ribs, then serve
with sauce.
Cooks’ notes:
Stuffing can be made 2 days ahead and chilled.
Uncooked roast improves in flavor if stuffed, seasoned, and
wrapped with bacon 1 day ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before
roasting.
SOURCE
Gourmet Magazine, December 2008
FRENCH ONION BITES
Serves 36 hors d'oeuvres
Active time: 1 hr
Total time: 1hr
INGREDIENTS
- 36 thin (1/4-inch) slices of baguette (from 1 baguette)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large onions, chopped (about 4 cups)
- 1 garlic clove, lightly crushed
- 1 small bay leaf
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- ¼ cup white wine
- 1 ½ cups finely shredded Gruyere (using a microplane, about
3 oz)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle
Arrange slices on a large baking sheet and bake in oven
until golden, about 8 minutes. Let cool.
Meanwhile, heat butter and oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet
over medium heat until butter is melted, then cook onion, garlic, bay leaf, and
thyme with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, covered, stirring
occasionally, 10 minutes.
Uncover skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until deep
golden, about 10 to 15 minutes more. Add wine and cook until entirely
evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Discard garlic clove, bay leaf, and thyme. Transfer
to a small bowl and keep warm, covered.
Preheat broiler.
Arrange toasts on a large baking sheet, then top each with a
rounded teaspoon of caramelized onions and sprinkle generously with shredded
Gruyere. Broil 3- to 4-inches from heat until cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes
(watch carefully).
SOURCE
Gourmet Live, 22 December 2010
FRISEE SALAD WITH CRANBERRIES AND PISTACHIOS
INGREDIENTS
- 3
tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2
tablespoons Champagne vinegar
- 1/2
teaspoon sugar
- Coarse
salt and ground pepper
- 1
head endive, trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1
large head frisee, trimmed and torn into bite-size pieces
- 1/2
cup dried cranberries
- 1/2
cup toasted pistachios, roughly chopped
DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, and sugar.
Season with salt and pepper. Add
endive, frisee, cranberries, and pistachios. Toss to combine; season with salt
and pepper.
SOURCE
Everyday Food, November 2010
GLAZED CARROTS WITH ORANGE AND GINGER
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower
- 2 pounds carrots, cut into 1-inch lengths, halved if thick
- 1 cup canned reduced-sodium chicken broth or water
- 1/2 teaspoon thinly sliced orange zest
- 2/3 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 1/2-inch piece peeled fresh ginger, cut into matchsticks
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
DIRECTIONS
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add carrots;
cook, stirring once, until beginning to brown, 2 minutes.
Add broth, orange zest, fresh orange juice, and ginger;
season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, cover, and
cook until crisp-tender, 10 minutes. Uncover, and cook over medium-high until
carrots are tender and liquid is syrupy, 7 to 9 minutes more (there should be
only a small amount of liquid remaining).
Remove skillet from heat; add butter, and swirl skillet
until melted. Season with salt and
pepper.
SOURCE
Everyday Food, November 2008
