First canning of the year
( Making blood orange marmalade: a photo essay )

Here we are. A new year full of possibilities and resolutions. Right now there are people trying to hold onto their goal of eating more healthfully and engaging in the atonement for eating so cheerfully at Christmas. Not my bag but power to those who attempt it.
I am mostly thinking about garlic and things I want to make this year. It isn't exactly a resolution per se but I like to make potential plans to try new things. I think the greater goal or direction is to stay curious about the culinary world. It is all too easy to become a boring jaded foodie sort who says in a faintly condescending voice, "foam? so two years ago." I don't have any interest in foam but if you do -yay. I am thinking more about sticking to what brings me most happiness. The simple enjoyment from making dinner for people I love, taking in all that there is at the market and trying to stay mentally limber and creative when it comes to thinking about what I can do with some ingredient. Most of what I make isn't original but I hope it is good and fun. I think that is really what eating/cooking should be about. It shouldn't be a contest or a race. Let yourself get carried away now and then. Have a sense of humor and take in the bliss.

One more thing...
So this Christmas I made duck and I used this recipe and the gravy that goes with it was pretty delicious. My family went crazy for the gravy. I didn't make a great deal as I don't think I make the best gravy in the world. (this talent goes to my Mom or my Mother inlaw) But people were clamoring for it like it was the best thing since sliced bread. So if you are ever making duck -definitely try this. Simple and the duck turns out exquisite. (I was quite surprised since I had all these warnings about duck being difficult to cook.)

We ate and then we ate some more. No one actually hurt themselves eating but some came pretty darn close.
One of the starring attractions in the Christmas dinner as the timpano. A large drum of pastry filled with good things to eat. It had a significant starring role in the film Big Night. Much like Babette's Feast the food is as much a part of the plot as are the human characters. I saw it when it came out in the theaters. It was Thanksgiving evening and so I was rather full of food. I think if I had seen it under different circumstances I might have eaten my own seat. It is a movie that makes you so hungry. I remember being completely blown away by the timpano and wanting so badly to taste it. I remember a local restaurant in my hometown made it for some fancy dinner.
A few years after that Cucina & Famiglia came out. It was co-written by Stanley Tucci's Mother (he made Big Night) and a chef named Gianni Scapin. I was a lucky fiend who got the book for Christmas one year. It had the recipe. (I should mention that the entire book has terrific recipes; many of which I use on a regular basis.) Eventually I made it for a party. People ate it and enjoyed it. It was quite an undertaking. I have made it a couple of times since then.

Since we were staying home this Christmas and I was hosting, there were multiple requests from my family that I make this for Christmas dinner. My siblings would ask, "you are making this right? right???"

I was making it. As I was also making a million other things for Christmas I had to plan how to prep/assemble everything so that I wasn't spending the entire day cooking. You can make this in one day, but I wouldn't suggest it to everyone. It works better (for your own well being) to prepare over a period of a few days at the bare minimum.

Anyhow, enough talk. Here is a photographic essay of making timpano
( Enjoy )

Well then...
Here we are.
Cookies are baked, lefse is made & dinner is pretty much organized.
It is kind of a quiet day (which I like) we will go for a walk, have a casual lunch and then slowly get into dinner this evening.
Tonight I am combining a couple of cultural approaches to Christmas Eve. I am doing what amounts to the feast of the seven fishes (some Italians do thirteen) I will also be doing some Scandinavian things as well. (My Mother's family is Scandinavian)
We will start with smoked salmon on toast and leek and gorgonzola crostinis. Then we will have Cioppino (a seafood stew) with about five different kinds of seafood. (prawns, calamari, scallops, clams & anchovies) There will also be a simple green salad, pickled herring and a cheese & bacon bun recipe that comes from my Mother's family. Then we will have lefse.
It will be kind of a quiet dinner this year, just the four of us. But it will be cozy by the fire.

Tomorrow my family and a friend will be over and we will be having an epic meal. Imagine combining two cultural approaches to Christmas. We have my husband's English traditions and my Scandinavian/Italian ones. (smorgasbord)

The menu:

Roasted duck with port gravy
Potatoes roasted in duck fat
Timpano
meat board (rosemary salami, mortadella, roast beef, turkey breast)
cheese board (west country cheddar, truffle tremor, local cheeses from my hometown, provolone, havarti)
smoked salmon
spinach wilted in butter & nutmeg
broccoli sauteed with garlic & vinegar
bread, crostinis, crackers
home-made pickles
home-made pate campagne
olives
fruit

Christmas pudding with brandy sauce
Christmas cake
Buche de noel (brought by a friend)
cookies
mince pies
chocolates/sweets
lefse

Plus cider, wine, beer & prosecco

We hope to wake from the food coma sometime around Epiphany.

So what is everyone else having for Christmas Eve/Christmas Dinner?

I hope everyone has a lovely holiday!

A question I am asked on occasion (besides, "what's the deal with airplane food?") is "Do you have a good recipe for scones?" I don't have a good recipe for scones, but I know where a good one is. This one from Gastronomy Domine (her blog in general is fantastic and I encourage everyone to read it.) is a quality recipe. They are real scones -not those giant doorstops often sold in coffee shops. You can make them sans fruit, because some people just don't dig things in their baked goods and they will still taste very good. I made some for Mr. Jenner (my usual test subject when I make things that qualify as English cuisine) and he liked them a lot. He isn't the most unbiased person but I like to think he is a good representative for that island in the North Atlantic.
Also check out her recent recipe for an orange almond cake -that looks pretty damn delicious.

Anyhow...the cooking baking bender continues. I had a friend over today for tea. She brought her gentleman friend (who is an incredibly nice person and he ate a number of cookies so he is always invited) and I made them eat a lot of baked goods. I also sent them home with plenty to share with her family. If she feels like sharing.

Yesterday I rolled out lots of pastry to make mince pies.

I still have a bit of mincemeat left so I will likely make some more so that I can send people home with a few to nibble on during the holidays.

This weekend there will be a little bit more baking and a little recipe testing. Okay and a little shopping at the pike place market. I am running out of cinnamon. Again.

Right so I am in the middle of a lot of manic baking. I see butter and eggs and I have to break out the spatula. It is a pathological yen you could say.
I have baked Pistachio Cranberry Icebox cookies These are terrific because they have the consistency of shortbread. They aren't too sweet, there is a nice mouthfeel and they are delightfully colorful. I had some colored sugar crystals and rolled the logs in that to add even more color. I would eat these with coffee or tea. They also hold up well in the biscuit tin.

Today I baked Lemon Butter cookies. I think these are great because you can use a basic butter cookie recipe and elaborate as needed. The flavor is strong but not overwhelming and the cookie is incredibly simple. I think these will be pretty popular.

I made dough for a pecan spice cookie (still sorting out the notes on the recipe) and will bake that up tomorrow.

Speaking of cookies there was a nifty article in the NY Times about cookie tables in Pittsburgh and their cultural place in weddings in that area. The sheer effort put into a cookie table is amazing. My second though upon reading the article was, "I wish I had had that at my wedding."

...

Current state of the Christmas Cake. I need to apply the royal icing. (possibly tomorrow) Then I will finish letting those sit. The smaller one is going to a friend.


Mincemeat (made with real suet) for the pies. A small article in the Guardian about mince pies. There is that universal experience of nearly choking to death on the icing sugar when eating one of those. Otherwise it isn't Christmas.

Yesterday I also steamed the pudding. I have gone through an obscene amount of butter, suet, dried fruit, sugar & spices as of late. I am loving every minute of it.

So what has everyone else been baking lately?

Today I made Chocolate Hazelnut Crinkles. I made the dough a few days ago and then today we got to baking them. It made a nice large batch and they are pretty delicious. Warm and cozy. Almost like hot chocolate in cookie form. I had help from my son. He was enthusiastic about rolling the balls of dough in the icing sugar. I will be passing these out over the next week or so, we don't eat all of them first.

( Things to read and buy )

I have had guests staying with us since the day after Thanksgiving so things have been busy/chaotic. People are back home, we have put up lights and some other decorations and now I am looking through the books/magazines at various recipes.
I have a couple of Christmas cakes sitting in the guest room that are aging and need a layer of marzipan soon. Then I will be making mincemeat this week so I can eventually make mince pies for my husband. I am putting together a few food-based Christmas presents for a couple of friends and attempting to finalize what I want to make on Christmas Eve. I have a family Christmas party to attend this weekend, so I am thinking about making sausage rolls for that. In between all of that I want to bake a few batches of cookies and make some panettone.

Today I have been slow-cooking a marinara/bolognese sauce for the timpano I will make for Christmas day. (I promise to photograph that at some point) I will freeze that along with the tiny meatballs I have been making so that when it comes to putting everything together it won't take that long. I suspect Christmas Eve will have a heavy seafood theme and Christmas Day is going to be a Smörgåsbord. Mind you it will be one that incorporates English, Scandinavian and Italian traditions. So there will be something for everyone.


So far, my favorite chocolate find this season is the gingerbread spice chocolate bar by Theo. I picked some up on a whim just to see if it was any good and my Mother inlaw absolutely loved it. She ended up picking up a bar or two (along with some other flavors) to take home to England to have at Christmas time. She said she hadn't had anything like that before. I keep thinking that it would make a fun ice cream flavor. Theo also has a peppermint chocolate bar as well.

I am having a lot of fun to say the least.

Christmas puddings by Nigel Slater. There are a few interesting ideas for desserts. The chocolate and chestnut terrine looks especially good.

I recently made Apple Spice Cake and it is terrific. It isn't too sweet and it goes well with tea or coffee. My relations enjoyed this at tea time everyday when they were here.

Heath Bar Blondies recipe that is really good. Something good and easy to make if you are baking at Christmas. Pour into a pan, bake and ta-da you can make someone happy.

Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope everyone had a wonderful day filled with a bunch of food good. I had a great day with my family and a friend. We ate and then ate some more. I have stripped the meat off of the bones and I am in the process of making stock. I like having a good supply of stock on hand.

( snaps )

Our menu doesn't really change all that much from year to year. But it is satisfying and delicious. The most important thing is that there are leftovers and everyone leaves going "oof... I didn't mean to eat that much."
Now to think about Christmas related food. Yes. I am that excited.

Today it was all about making pastry for pies. I had help from my son. He likes to push buttons on the cuisinart. I was looking in the freezer this morning for something and I realized I had around ten pounds of butter in there. I don't know if this is a sign of some kind of a pathological problem or just a keen love of storing things. I am not hoarding it. Really. I just like to make sure I have enough butter on hand when I am cooking.

While looking through the fridge I found some golden beets I had bought and decided to put them to use. I made a rather pretty salad to go with dinner.

( Photo essay of salad making )

For our final Thanksgiving dish for the series this year, I have a sort of Italian dish that is for the Vegan/Vegetarian diners who won't be having turkey/ham/prime rib. It isn't too difficult and the prep isn't too taxing. Its colors make me think of Autumn and so it will not only taste good, but look rather pleasing on the table.

Mushroom Potato Casserole

4-5 medium sized potatoes, peeled/skinned, thinly sliced. (yukon gold is a good variety to use)
1 1/2 onion, finely chopped (should measure about one cup, cut up more onion if need be)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp, chopped oregano
2-4 Tbs olive oil
1 pound mushrooms, stems removed, sliced about 1/4-1/2 inch thick (preferably cremini or porcini)
Salt
pepper
1/2 cup vegetable broth/stock

( Let's chop things )

I have a short shopping trip to make this week, but otherwise I am pretty much set to begin prep. Tomorrow I will be making pastry for pie-crusts. Friday I made/canned a bunch of jars of cranberry sauce. I will have plenty on hand without having to deal with making it on Wednesday or Thursday and I can send home family/friends with their own jars so they can have leftovers galore.


So red!

The second recipe in our Thanksgiving series this year, is kind of about simplicity. I think it is ideal if you are having a small feast or you don't want to do a million side dishes but you want the flavors of different dishes. It may just be roasted vegetables and squash but some of the inspiration came from going for walks and seeing leaves of many different colors. In some ways I am trying to emulate the rainbow of leaves.

Rainbow Roasted Vegetables

1 large carrot, peeled/sliced
1 small delicata squash, peeled/sliced into bite-sized pieces
4-6 potatoes of varied colors (white, yellow, pink, purple, blue) peeled/cut into quarters
2 Tbs olive oil
coarse sea salt



These pink potatoes came from my garden. They are Mountain Rose potatoes. The fun thing about this dish is that you can look for some heirloom varieties that cover a wide spectrum of color to put in this dish. If you can find red or purple carrots -put them in. In this case I used a red skinned potato that has white flesh, a purple potato that was truly vivid in its deep color, the mountain rose and a german butterball potato that is a pretty yellow. The delicata is an italian variety of winter squash that is kind of an orangey/gold color. (if you can't find delicata, butternut squash works well too.) You slice/chop all of them up and toss them with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt.

Put all of this in the oven at 350F for about an hour or until potatoes/carrots are fairly tender.
Now you are dealing with different textures that might cook differently. If you like a more crisp carrot, you can cook it slightly shorter. The squash will be fairly soft but it holds up well. What is fantastic about this dish (besides its simplicity) is the range of flavor you get. It is sweet, salty and buttery. A little something for everyone. You can easily double the size of this dish by adding more vegetables. If you want to add a touch of green, toss in some fennel.

A professional cook explains cookbooks. It is a nice review/explanation of four books that are currently out. We are approaching the holiday season when there is always a significant glut of cookbooks. When I worked in bookshops this was a source of irritation and delight. I recall doing up displays of all the books for that season and there were always a few gems but there was certainly a lot of so-so stuff. You have the various food network stars shilling their latest/newest book, then there are the assorted celebrities and finally there are the specialty books. (Microwave cookery for the left-handed and what not) We mustn't forget the Holiday-themed books too. They were all heavy and usually with bright cheery photographs but the vast majority weren't well-written. I don't even know if I could ever write a quality cookbook. It is the hope and dream to one day accomplish that but I have time yet.

...

Last night I roasted some squash to have with dinner. Normally I don't do too much to the squash because it tastes pretty good with just a bit of olive oil and a bit of spice/salt/pepper. But for some reason this particular acorn squash just didn't taste on. (if that makes sense) So I started to add a bit of butter -not quite it. Then I added maple syrup -still not quite there. Then I added chevre and strangely it worked. I have no idea if this combination of crazy would work again but it suited last night's purposes.

This year for the Thanksgiving series I am starting with dessert. Because I can. I appreciate a good upside down cake and I like to put cranberries to good use. So let's make a cranberry apple upside down cake. It took a fair amount of playing around to perfect this recipe but I eventually got there. This is the sort of thing you want to eat if a pecan pie seems too cloying and you don't feel like eating another slice of pumpkin pie. (though I don't see that happening with me. I love pumpkin pie.

( lets have some cake )


Nothing like a slice of cake after a long day.

Here we are and it is already November. We are slipping into my favorite time of year. What with Thanksgiving and Christmas it is a bona fide party of culinary chaos and fun. I have been reading all kinds of fun things as late. I have also been working on a few recipes and playing around in the kitchen like mad. Soon I will post a few recipes that would be ideal for the Thanksgiving table and I have been slowly planning Christmas Eve/Christmas Day dinner. I have some epic plans let me tell you.

As for today it is kind of quiet. I roasted a chicken yesterday. This morning I removed all of the meat for chicken pie and other things. I am roasting the bones and offal with some vegetables. This will go into a pot later on with some of the other bones/skins/whatever and some water. That will simmer a good long time and then I will have stock for the next couple of weeks.

I listened to this on the radio the other day. It was Greg Atkinson (who is a Seattle food writer/chef) discussing Gourmet magazine's legacy and what it did for the Northwest and vice versa. It was a nice little piece to listen to while I was driving.

Boxes of Satsumas are in the grocery stores. Yes you can get them for the most part through-out the year, but there is something special (and plain old appealing marketing) about seeing the boxes starting in November. My son and I worked out way through a bunch at lunch time. There is all that boring talk about mindful eating; sometimes it is much more fun to engage in absent-minded joyful eating.

fascinating picture slideshow about the last wild apple forests in the world. They are in Kazakhstan. It seems this one particular variety is kind of the Adam and Eve of modern domestic apples.

Hey! Let's make Worcestershire Sauce. I am kind of tempted to try this out.

bbcaddict pointed me toward this cake. I think I have to make this. I love squash, cake and maple syrup.

Judith Jones who wrote The Tenth Muse (one of my favorite food memoirs in recent years) has a blog. It is devoted mainly to the concept of cooking for one. She has a cookbook out devoted to the subject. It is an extension of one section of her memoir (which also had recipes) on the idea of planning and taking the time to cook through-out the week just for yourself. There are some delightful recipes and I like her writing a great deal. Remember she is whom we have to thank for bringing us Julia Child to the published world.

Jones is one of those kindred spirits that truly enjoys the process of cooking and creating.

Here is a snap of last night's dinner.

It was pretty delicious if I do say so myself. Mr. Jenner ate it with a great deal of enthusiasm. I had some for lunch today. It was even better (as is most things like this) the day after. I think I should have made twice the amount so I could eat it until I hurt.

I went to the market today and stocked up on spices and things. As we go into Fall it is time for me to think about making Christmas Cake so it can sit and age. This is the time of year when I go through certain spices in greater quantity. I bought a ton of cinnamon, cumin and cocoa. I also found more chanterelles (for making mushroom soup) and some really lovely potatoes. There was a lot of enticing things to eat.

I am now making lists of things to make in the coming days/weeks/months.

Today I am making beef bourguignon for dinner. It is kind of a beef themed weekend as last night I made Beef and onions braised in beer. It was a case of seeing something nice when grocery shopping and then perusing through Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Though I think it goes a bit further back. I just finished reading Clementine in the Kitchen. It is one of those books I have been meaning to read for years and I finally checked it out from the library. I am afraid I may need to buy my own copy as it is that good. It is a flawless piece of food writing. The author, Samuel Chamberlain was one of the first writers for Gourmet magazine. I think one of the aspects of the book that I liked was how the love of food was such a family experience. His children were just as engaged as he was in the act of eating and experiencing food. I also liked the fact that he discusses the good food found in the United States with some commentary on packaged foods that were coming into their own. Just a terrific book from another age that holds up well.
Sometimes all it takes is a good book to kind of push me to feel dedicated in the kitchen. I am in the mood to try all kinds of things so I am making lists of what to make and things to buy. I will have plenty of projects between now and the end of the year.

As for tonight's dinner, it is slowly simmering and the scent of wine, beef and onions is filling the house. I think by the time dinner is ready we will be more than ready to consume.

Everyone knows that Gourmet has been shut down. I think plenty has been said about it. I am sad and disappointed for a variety of reasons. It feels like the loss of a friend. The website is still up and I made their Spiced Applesauce Cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. It was timely that I found this as I had some cream cheese and applesauce that I needed to use up.


Ta-da, my efforts. I added a bit more cinnamon to the frosting as I like it a little spicier. I am thinking about how to play with this and add a different flavor/texture. Some things are swirling about in my head.

On that note I will leave you with this article by Samuel Chamberlain. He wrote it for Gourmet in 1949.

My Mother gave me some recipes that she and some other ladies in the Home Arts building made copies of. Specifically they were recipes of baked goods that were entered in the county fair that everyone (who helped with judging/organizing) really really liked. I have made a few things and gosh darn they were pretty darn good.
There was a banana chiffon cake that was a definite favorite so I decided to make it.

( Banana Chiffon Cake )

What a September it has been. Started off the month with a bang by giving birth. So... there hasn't been a ton of cooking going on.
This weekend I had a sudden craving for doughnuts. I was dreaming about them. I decided to try my hand at making some cake doughnuts despite not having all things that make it an easy thing. (like a doughnut hole cutter) But it turned out all right.
I took half of them and put them in a bag with cinnamon and sugar. My son declared them pretty good.
They are terrific with tea or coffee even if they aren't terribly pretty.



It is almost Autumn and there is so much cozy food to be eaten. I am kind of giddy.