Category — tips

For Christmas I make one big dinner on Christmas Eve for my mother and our family and then another big dinner on Christmas day for my dad and our family – yes, my parents are divorced, so multiple big dinners are a must. Like many of you, there are many different “family” dinners that take place over the season. Thankfully, (at least for this time of year) my in-laws don’t live in town (Illinois) so we don’t have to go from one house to another for all that family time! All those big dinners produce a lot of leftovers. On one of those nights, I generally serve a crown pork roast, which leaves plenty of leftovers. But if you serve, turkey, beef, or ham, whatever; use that cooked leftover meat for this dish! After all the traditional Christmas recipes, Asian stir-fry is a perfect change of pace for any palate!

Here it is December 15th and my garden is still producing herbs and cherry tomatoes. We’ve had a couple of nights of freeze, but the garden is still holding on, gotta love Arizona!

I also love using broccoli in stir-fry, but not only the florets. The stems are wonderful too, don’t discard them! Cut off the florets, then peel the stems and cut them into matchsticks. The stems are crispy and delicious!

When stir-frying, be sure to prep all the various components and set them right next to the stove. Stir-frying happens quickly and having everything ready and at hand is more than important, it is a necessity!

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If you have an upcoming cookie exchange or you’re just looking for a little something different for your own cookie tray, these gingerbread blondies will fit the bill.  It’s hard to find an aroma or flavor that stirs up more Christmas memories than gingerbread. These pretty bars come together quickly and yield 2 1/2 dozen per pan. That’s hard to beat!

White chocolate can be such a pain to work with. The reason? It’s not real chocolate. White chocolate is a confection of sugar, cocoa butter, and milk solids. It first appeared in the 1930s in Switzerland and was invented by Nestle to use excess cocoa butter.  Nestle introduced it to the United States in 1948.  It burns even easier than real chocolate.  To melt white chocolate, place it in a microwave-safe bowl and cook on high for 1 minute. Stir, return to microwave, and cook on high 1 more minute. Remove and stir until completely melted. I prefer Ghirardelli brand white chocolate chips, I find them the best tasting and easiest to melt.
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‘Tis the season… family, friends, and celebration are in the air. When I’m hosting a party, I like to have a welcome cocktail and a small nibble to greet guests as they come through the door.  For a Christmas party, it’s particularly festive to serve the colors of the season; red and green.  And there is a bounty of red and green fruits, vegetables, and herbs to choose from; tomatoes, peppers, beans, apples, pears, berries, grapes, artichokes, broccoli, endive, cucumbers, avocado, limes, asparagus, celery, honeydew, currants, watermelon, cherries, pomegranate, beets, radishes, parsley, thyme, rosemary, and so on…

This recipe calls for two items that you may or may not be familiar with; piquillo peppers and smoked paprika. Piquillo peppers are small tangy peppers native to the village of Lodosa in northern Spain. They are fire-roasted then hand-peeled and packed in their own juices. The piquillo’s firmness makes them perfect for stuffing. They are also enjoyed “straight” with a drizzle of olive oil. The name piquillo is derived from the Spanish word for “little beak”.  Happily, they are available at Trader Joe’s.

Smoked Spanish paprika is also known as Pimenton de la Vera, Dulce. It is a popular ingredient in many Mediterranean recipes and its flavor is essential for authentic Spanish cooking. The peppers are dried, slowly over a smoldering oak fire for several weeks. The result is a sweet, cool, smokey flavor. Using smoked paprika provides a great way to add a smokey flavor without the heat. You can find smoked Spanish paprika at high-end grocery stores such as Whole Foods, specialty stores, or at Penzey’s Spices online.

Instead of using a baguette as the base for this easy appetizer, I sometimes use red and/or green apple wedges. Then, there is no need to even turn on the oven!  Instead of toasting, as you would with the bread, rub with a little orange or lemon juice to prevent apple slices from browning, and then proceed with the spreading of the cheese and dolloping of the toppings. With the help of a food processor, this is another “easy-breezy” recipe.
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The original version of this recipe is from Tyler Florence of the Food Network.  I made his recipe for a series of classes I just finished teaching at Les Gourmettes Cooking School. With Tyler’s Twice Cooked Potatoes, the second cooking is achieved by deep frying the potatoes, and are they delicious! But after serving 33 students in two nights, I came to the conclusion that using the original version as part of a buffet doesn’t work well because of the final frying step. The potatoes are best eaten immediately, as most fried foods are.  What made the potatoes so wonderful was the crispiness achieved by deep-frying.  My double roasting technique results in a similar crisp texture, but without the extra fat, plus the potatoes can now be served hot or held at room temperature, without becoming greasy. Not only are these potatoes a great vegetable side dish, but they also make perfect little party nibbles!

Aïoli is a garlic and olive oil sauce from France, with a texture very much like mayonnaise. Aïoli is sometimes called the “butter of Provence” because it is such an integral part of their cuisine. In Provence, usually, two cloves are used per person, which may seem like a lot, but roasting the garlic as done here, mellows out the garlic considerably.

The Cuisinart has a special feature just for the purpose of making fresh mayonnaise and aïoli. The lid has a spout (a feed tube) with a “food pusher”.  The food pusher has a small hole in the bottom that allows oil to drip slowly into the work bowl at just the right rate, a “slow and steady stream” allowing the mayonnaise to emulsify perfectly.

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The secret to managing the holidays? Just remember the two “P’s” – Preparation and Planning!

For a party or a big holiday meal, always make a game plan. You need to know more than just what dishes you want to serve. Time management and prepping, as much as possible ahead of time, are the keys. Once you have a menu in mind, the first thing to figure out is what time you would like to serve the meal or what time the party is to start. Take that time and work backward. If you need an example of what I’m talking about, look at my Thanksgiving timeline by clicking here.

Next, always look at your recipes and figure out what can be done in advance. I can’t think of even one occasion where I have cooked all the dishes for a large meal or the food for a party on the day of the event. Of course, some an item needs to be made or finished at the very last minute, just be sure to create the menu so that there are only one or two (at the most!) such items, not three or four, or you will be a frazzled wreck before the first guest rings the bell.

Don’t pull a Martha and believe that every single thing must be homemade. If you love the bread or pastries from the bakery around the corner or think that the butternut squash soup from the deli is the best you’ve ever had, purchase those items and serve them with pride, as they do in France! Speaking of soup, smooth and creamy soups make great hot or room temperature hors d’oeuvres. Purchase inexpensive shoot glasses at a store such as Cost Plus World Market and garnish with a few minced chives – so easy, impressive, and fabulous!

Finally, and most importantly, Have Fun! People want to celebrate, spend time together, and relax. The best way for your party or meal to be a success is to be sure you do the same. Enjoy!

Easy Gift Guide
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I’m hosting a dinner party tonight and will be serving another of Jennifer Markett’s scrumptious dishes. She calls them cigars, but after making them today, I’d rename them stogies, look at the picture and tell me what you think. Since I’m serving a large variety of appetizers, I’m only going to make half a batch of these. When a recipe calls for 1 egg and you need only half an egg, crack the egg into a bowl and beat well, 1 large egg equals about 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons). So use only 2 tablespoons of beaten egg, and for this particular recipe, save the remaining 2 tablespoons for brushing the wonton wrappers.

When assembling a number of the same thing, it’s easiest to do it assembly-line style… layout about half of the won ton wrappers (they dry too quickly to do all at once) and top each with the filling.  Brush with the egg one at a time, or it too will dry out or begin to stick to the counter, and roll.

My hope is that all the recent and upcoming appetizer recipes will help with your holiday party planning. After all, Christmas is now less than 3 weeks away … take a deep breath, stay calm, and have fun with your holiday entertaining.
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At last, the day has arrived – whatever leftovers haven’t been eaten, given away, or frozen; are going in the trash. Marissa and Connor head back to their respective universities this evening. Care packages are going with them and then I will have my refrigerator back!

This recipe is a perfect example of when to use light sour cream and cream cheese. There are so many other prominent flavors going on here, that you’ll never taste the difference. When the sour cream or cream cheese is the main flavor, then I prefer to use the real thing, because you can truly taste the difference. As for the fat-free versions – not a good choice – they don’t bake up as well. When a recipe calls for canned green chilies, always go for the whole chilies and dice them yourself. They are better quality than the “already diced”, and it takes only seconds to cut them up.  “Goodbye turkey, see you next November!”

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There are so many Thanksgiving recipes to get posted before the big day!  I figured, I better get the star of the show up soon, as in today!

The turkey here is trussed, which means the wings and legs are bound closed. When you truss a bird, the wings and legs stay close to the body; the ends of the drumsticks cover the top of the breast and keep it from drying out. Trussing helps cook evenly, reduces shrinkage by about 15%, and also makes for a more beautiful roasted bird.

The pictures here are lifted from the internet and will be replaced with my pictures when I actually make my turkey next week. Until then…
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Before we get to the second poached pear recipe – a momentous occasion – for me, at least.  This is my 100th post, never imagined I’d get here when I began my blog back in August! Oh, Happy Day!  OK, enough self-congratulatory for now and on to the work at hand… savory poached pears…

Pears were poached in a sweet liquid and used for dessert in yesterday’s post. Today, these wine-poached pears are used in a savory salad. The flesh takes on a gorgeous deep red color.

Walnut oil is used for the vinaigrette, but olive oil can be substituted. Nut oils should always be stored in the refrigerator. Just like the nuts they come from, the oils go rancid quickly at room temperature.

The “seeds” of a fresh pomegranate are called arils and they should be showing up in markets since it is pomegranate season, take advantage and purchase them now, the season is short. The good news – arils can be frozen. To freeze, spread arils in a single layer on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer for about two hours. Transfer frozen arils to a labeled and dated zip-lock bag. You can easily remove the amount you need when desired and return the rest quickly to the freezer.  They will keep for about 6 months.

This salad is beautiful for any of the upcoming holidays and the poaching liquid can be saved for an upcoming Thanksgiving recipe for Pearl Onions and Wild Mushrooms in Red Wine Sauce, which will be posted later this week.*
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I believe I’ve mentioned this before – I love chai! My brain has been working overtime to come up with recipes to use the chai concentrate that I am totally addicted to. First up are poached pears in chai – these are delicious! The poaching liquid uses a fresh vanilla bean. Vanilla beans (and extract for that matter) are expensive, so be sure you’re getting a nice fresh one. The way to tell if it is fresh is to feel it. It should be soft and pliable, when you bend it, it should not break or crack. Costco sells gorgeous plump beans in a glass tube with a rubber stopper (the stopper helps keep them fresh longer once the package is opened). The glass tube is attached to a large piece of cardboard, look for it in the spice aisle. A good reason to purchase the beans at Costco is because of their high turnover. When purchasing vanilla beans at the grocery store, (where the turnover isn’t as quick) be sure to pull a bottle from the very back of the shelf and give it a good shake and listen to whether it sounds hard or soft. If you get it home and it is hard and breaking, be sure to return it, it is of no use in that state.

Once you remove the vanilla bean from the poaching liquid, allow it to dry on a counter for a couple of days, when it is completely dry, add it to your container of granulated sugar, the vanilla flavor will permeate the sugar and give you lovely vanilla scented sugar.

The best way to core the pears is with a melon-baller. It creates a perfectly round hole in the pear to fill. Tomorrow the other poached pear recipe – savory instead of sweet…
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