Twelve Days: The Odd Bits Party

Several years ago, we gave up on an evening out on New Year's Eve. It costs a fortune, especially when you have to factor in the baby sitter. Even when you go to the best of restaurants, you usually don't get the best of experiences. Finding a cab is a nightmare and by the end of evening you're inevitably surrounded by drunks.


Photo Credit Amanda Sudimack, Artisan Events

Instead, we host a kid-friendly New Year's party, ranging in size from 10 to 20 guests. Now you might think that given my occupation, the last thing that I want to do for the evening is slave away in the kitchen. And you'd be right. I don't and I won't. Instead, I call this my odd bits party. The menu doesn't get finalized until I've had a chance to dig through my freezer and the reaches of my cabinets to determine what can be used to create something fabulous. Lobster shells made into stock back in September? Lobster Bisque. Pears, a gift from my mother-in-law, on the verge of becoming overripe? Pear Frangipane Tart. Lambs in a Tuxedo left over from an earlier party. Beet puffs too. Smoked trout from our Christmas celebration of the twelve fishes transformed into trout mousse. In fact, it's 1:00pm. Our guest won't arrive until 7:30, but all I've got left to do is freeze some ice cream and clean the house. Heck, I may even take a nap.

For those interested, here's our full menu:

Oysters and Cocktail Sauce (Thor brand cocktail sauce, a gift from Dirk of Dirk's Fish & Gourmet)
Smoked Trout Mousse with Cucumbers
Caramelized Onion Dip with Potato Chips
Beet Puffs with Goat Cheese Mousse and Micro GreensLambs in a Tuxedo

Lobster Bisque

Braised Lamb on Polenta
Green Salad
Green Beans (courtesty of Amanda Sudimack)
Foccacia

Pear Frangipane Tart
Christmas Cookies
Cocoa Nib Ice Cream

Twelve Days: Matinee Idol

While it may seem like everything my family does revolves around food, it's simply not true. In fact, to prove it, let me explain why's yesterday's post hasn't posted until today.

We went to a show, a matinee actually, at Light Opera Works in Evanston. We saw Pirates of Penzance with its swashbuckling pirates, lovely ladies, bumbling constables, and modern major general. When Thor was four, we played for him the major general's briskly sung anthem and he loved it. He would run laps around our living coffee table and asked for it as the "runaround" song. For two hours, he sat on my lap enraptured by the performance (well, except during the kissy scenes).

We returned home only a little before dinner. With company coming for New Year's Eve, writing a post was not in my future.

Thankfully, I've rediscovered a cookbook from my vast collection, Maryana Vollstedt's The Big Book of Soups & Stews, which made short work of dinner. Prepped within 10 minutes time using almost exclusively local ingredients, I even had time to make some cheese biscuits to pair with it.

Sausage, Corn, and Tomato Soup
Adapted from The Big Book of Soups and Stews
Serves 4

1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
1/4 medium yellow onion, diced
1 small red pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups whole tomatoes, smashed with juice
2 cups chicken stock
1 1/4 cup corn kernels
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Cook the sausage in a Dutch oven, breaking it up with a spoon, until the sausage is no longer pink. Add the onion, red pepper, celery, and garlic and cook stirring occasionally about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, corn, salt, and pepper to taste. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Twelve Days: Ooh La La!

A big component of our holiday festivities is the celebration of my husband, Mike's birthday. The week between Christmas and New Year's is typically slow in his practice and so he often takes the day off even when it falls mid-week. Our day began at Rick Bayless' Xoco with feather light empanadas, crisp crunchy churros and dense rich egg tortas. Evening ended at Balsan, the Elysian's Parisian-style bistro.

Balsan's Executive Chef Bridget Quinlan was recently quoted by Chicagoist as saying that she was offering a kids' menu similar to the adult menu, with no fried foods and ingredients from local farmers. Learning of this, we realized that this would be an ideal place for our family celebration of Mike's birthday.

Thor enjoyed the cheese pizza and a bit of the revelatory Tarte Flambee with its pastry/dough, flaky and tender. I loved the celery root soup, its richness offset by tart notes of apple and pickled ramps. Main courses were terrific, both the rib eye, that Mike ordered, and the pork tenderloin-sausage combo, which was my selection. The biggest treat came at the very end. Chocolate ice cream and creme brulee were delicious, but the Paris Brest was a doughnut hole of perfection. Crispy choux pastry balanced with hazelnut cream and a bit of crunchy sugar - a plateful of heaven that will surely inspire a trip back.

Balsan is welcoming to children with its varied childrens' menu and gracious staff. The hostess was clearly tickled when the little locavore gave dad a thumbs up telling him he was going to the "Bar," when heading down to the bathroom, located on the "Bar" floor according to the Elysian's elevator buttons. Perplexed, Thor told me "it's not like it was my first word!" Indeed.

Twelve Days: In Praise of the Braise

I've always loved the langurous, lazy days of Christmas break. As a kid, I relished the snow days (christening new snow suits), the additional tv I could watch as my mom, a teacher, prepared for the inevitable company that arrived during her week off, and the playdates she arranged for me (though never called that during my kinder years in the early '70s). Today was one of those days in our household.

This morning, Thor and I hosted our good friends, Stuart and Xander. Stuart is married to one of my college friends. Her husband, George, and I happened upon one another in Chicago at the Green City Market last summer. Only a few weeks later, we learned that our sons were in the same kindergarten class. Over the year, through school, farmers' markets trips, and Purple Asparagus events, Stuart and Xander became my favorite mother-son duo. Mother and child are gorgeous and gentle, earthy and comforting. And it wasn't until dinner that I realized how appropriate it was that immediately after their departure, I began the gentle, earthy, and comforting braise of short ribs that we drank with a gorgeous Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.

Oh, and if you wonder what cooking method Thor embodies? The flambee, of course. What kind of cooking method are you?

Braised Short Ribs
Serves 4

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 to 3 pounds short ribs
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 medium yellow onion
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup chicken or beef stock
2 cups canned plum tomatoes
2 garlic cloves minced
1 pinch cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Prehat the oven to 350º F. Heat the olive oil in a medium Dutch oven over medium high heat. Dry any residual moisture from the ribs, salt and pepper them, and then brown them on all sides in batchs if necessary. Make sure not to crowd them or they won't brown properly. Remove the ribs as browned to a plate. Add the onions into the pot and cook slowly until golden about 7-10 minutes. Pour in the wine, scraping the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce by half. Add the stock, tomatoes, garlic, cinnamon, and herbs. Bring to a simmer, return the short ribs, cover, and place in the oven. Cook for 3 hours or until the short ribs are pulling away from the bone. Skim a good amount of the fat from the braising juices and serve on mashed potatoes, polenta, or pasta.

Twelve Days: A Snowy Day Strata

What ever happened to Christmas? I’m not sure exactly when the transformation took place - the expansion and equal compression of the holiday. Nowadays, the Christmas decorations go up even before the Halloween ones come down. On the other end, the holiday seems to come to an abrupt halt (like the pulling of the arm off a record player mid-album). All of that shopping and planning discarded in a momentary storm of torn wrapping paper. The twelve days of Christmas have been compacted into twelve or so hours. The evening of Christmas ends, our heads hit the pillow, the holiday is over and we’re on the next thing.

Not so in our house. The Christmas spirit arrives late here – the tree put up only days before the 25th, the cookies baked within hours of the holiday - but it remains for the full 12 days. To honor our family tradition, I’m going to dispense with the typical year end lists and other New Year’s miscellany, and instead give the holiday its due.

I love when Christmas falls late in the week, Friday being ideal. With the snowy weather, it’s the perfect time to hole up in our cozy basement giving Thor time to play with his new toys and me the opportunity to clean up the scattered mess that Christmas generates – torn tissue, ribbon remnants, and cookie crumbs. We also have the time to enjoy a leisurely Sunday brunch – an opportunity that doesn’t arise much in December. Hot coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice, Bloody Mary’s, and a savory bread pudding using the rest of Floriole’s delicious yeasted corn bread.

Sausage and Cheddar Strata
Serves 4

5 cups cubed yeasted cornbread or brioche
½ pound bulk pork sausage
4 large eggs
1/3 cup 2 % milk
1/3 cup tomato puree
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 roasted red pepper, diced
1 cup grated cheddar

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Lightly toast the bread until firm, but not browned. Cook the sausage until it’s no longer pink. Whisk together the eggs, milk, tomato, salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste. Scatter the bread in a medium casserole dish. Stir in the red pepper, cheddar, and sausage. Pour over the liquid ingredients and bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until the eggs are just set in the middle. Serve warm.

Twelve Days: A Very Local Christmas

This year we celebrated Christmas Eve Italian-style with the twelve fishes. Had we been on Long Island where I was raised, the meal might have been a local one. However, here in the Midwest, we're a bit more limited in our piscean options. So while we did serve Rushing Waters Trout from Wisconsin and Mississippi River paddlefish caviar, we also ate King Crab from Alaska, east coast oysters, and Nantucket Bay scallops. Our more casual Christmas supper fit more with our locavorish tendencies with a Rabbit Ragout served on fresh fettucine.

This recipe is adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks Molly O'Neill's A Well Seasoned Appetite, a terrific gift for your favorite cook.

Rabbit Ragout
serves 4

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 rabbit, about 3 1/2 pounds, cut into 6 to 7 pieces
2 teaspoons kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
2 large carrots, cut into small dice
3 stalks of celery, cut into small dice
1 bay leaf
1 branch fresh rosemary
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups water
1 medium onion, quartered
2 cups roasted tomato puree
1 pound fresh fettucine
2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley

Heat the olive oil in a large lidded saute pan over medium high heat. Brown the rabbit in batches if necessary. Add half the carrots and celery, the herbs, and white wine and simmer covered until the rabbit is tender, approximately a half hour. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Pull the meat from the bones, removing the bones to a medium saucepan and leaving the vegetables and braising liquid in the saute pan. Cover the bones with the water, adding the remaining carrots and celery with the onion. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the liquid is reduced by half approximately 45 minutes. Strain the stock into the saute pan, add tomatoes and simmer over medium low heat for about 20 minutes. Add the rabbit and cook for another 15 minutes. Serve over fresh fettucine.

Fresh Pasta

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons canola oil
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
5-7 tablespoons cold water

Measure the flour onto a clean work surface and make a well in the center. Put the egg yolks, oil, salt and 5 tablespoons cold water into the well, mix with your fingers of one hand. With a dough scraper or a butter knife, mix the flour into the liquid being careful not to break through the walls of flour until the majority of the water has been absorbed. Sprinkle the remaining water a little at a time while continuing to mix with the dough cutter. If the dough is dry, add the additional water.


Photo Credit, Stronghold Photography

Knead until relatively smooth – the dough will still appear to be slightly dry. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a half hour to allow the glutens in the dough to relax.

Divide the pasta dough in quarters and work with one piece at a time, keeping the remainder refrigerated. Flatten the dough with your heel and put through the largest setting of the pasta maker. Fold the dough in half and put it through pasta maker, folded side first, eight more times. Roll the dough through the pasta maker 4 more times, reducing the setting each time and ending on setting 4. Hang the pasta sheets while rolling the remaining quarters. Cut the sheets into fettucine noodles.

Cook in salted boiling water for just a minute or so until el dente.

12 Days of Christmas: The Christmas Star

One of my favorite winter indulgences is lemon curd. Spread onto eclairs, filled into tart shells, and topped on scones, it's velvety and piquant and a delicious change from the usual single dimension chocolate desserts served around the holidays. It's also a godsend to the busy host as it can and should be made ahead of time (up to 2 weeks) giving you time to spend on other more time-sensitive dishes. The thing that it is not is local.

So when I was looking at one of my favorite cookbooks, Cold Weather Cooking by Sarah Leah Chase, and found a recipe for Cranberry Curd, I was pretty pumped. With the exception of orange juice and a bit of Grand Marnier, this is a local product. With a deep rose hue and a silky smooth texture, we packaged it as teacher gifts and spread the remainder in between star cookies for festive Linzer tarts.

Linzer Tarts with Cranberry Curd
Makes 36 sandwich cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt

With a mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after the addition of each one. Add almond extract and beat well. Beat in flour and baking powder on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Mix on medium speed until the dough is well combined.

Form the dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for four hours or overnight. Preheat the oven to 375°F. After the dough is chilled, cut it into quarters and working with one quarter at a time while keeping the remainder refrigerated, roll out the dough 1/8-inch thick. Cut the dough into 2-inch stars with a cookie cutter. Cut out a small star from the larger star. Gather the scraps, wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerating 2 hours before re-rolling. Repeat with remaining dough. Place the circles on a baking sheet lined with parchment or silpat 1-inch apart. Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes without browning. Cool cookies on the baking sheet placed on a rack.

Cranberry Curd
Adapted from Sarah Leah Chase's Cold Weather Cooking

4 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup granulated sugar
6 large egg yolks
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
zest from 1 orange

Combine the cranberries, orange juice and 3/4 cup sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the cranberries have popped and are very soft, approximately 15 minutes. While the cranberries are simmering, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a medium bowl. Push the cooked cranberries through a food mill or a fine mesh strainer. Return the cranberries with the butter to a clean saucepan and bring to a simmer. Whisk in a small scoopful of cranberries into the egg yolks. Add the yolks to the simmering cranberries, whisking all the while. Cook until the curd is very thick about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the Grand Marnier and the orange zest. Let cook and then refrigerate for several hours.