Isn’t it strange how sometimes you go out for dinner and you are drawn to order the same thing at one restaurant and then another?  Recently, that item for me has been candied pecans. I use candied pecans often at home as well, but there is always something a little different about the ones I get while eating out. I finally asked a chef friend, what the difference was. He informed me that restaurants often first candy the nuts and then fry them. That makes sense since I often wondered how their pecans were so much more “toasted” than mine. If you would rather not fry the nuts, just go to this previous post for candied almonds, and substitute pecans for the almonds.

You may be able to find balsamic glaze at the grocery store, I know that Trader Joe’s carried it at one time, not sure if they still do, but it is easy to make at home and easy to store extra for use again later.  I served this salad to three men last night, and in their honor, since they are “manly men”, this is now referred to as a “manly man” salad!
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Bruschetta (pronounced brus ‘ketta) is a snack or appetizer from Italy. It consists of grilled or broiled bread that is traditionally rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil, salt, and pepper. There are more variations of toppings than one can count, making it a very fun and versatile hor d’oeuvre.

I love roasting cherry tomatoes that have been drizzled with olive oil, salt, and pepper. They are sweet and tangy and are like little bursts of goodness in your mouth. If possible, use different colors of tomatoes for an even more pleasing presentation. In the photo below, my daughter, Marissa, and her boyfriend, Alberto, are enjoying the bruschetta with us on New Year’s Eve.

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Happy New Year, wishing you and yours a happy, healthy, prosperous 2010!

To start the year out on a yummy note, why not combine two Italian favorites? This is a quick and easy lasagna, with no boiling of noodles or making of a time-consuming homemade sauce.

Just purchase the various items for the layers and go to town assembling a big old pan of goodness. To change to a vegetarian dish, substitute diced or sliced zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, and/or bell peppers for the sausage. Sauté the veggies in an additional tablespoon of olive oil and proceed as directed.

When it comes to nutmeg, there is no comparison between freshly ground and the already ground stuff you’ll find in the spice aisle. Purchase the whole nutmegs and use any of the tools above to grind it fresh when you need it.

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There aren’t too many dishes more extravagant than a rich and creamy lobster bisque. This is a short-cut version because it begins with already cooked lobsters, making it quicker to pull together. Both of my lobsters were female (also known as hens), which was a happy and unexpected bonus since they included the roe which is also called the coral or caviar. Enjoy and have a fun and safe (that doesn’t have to be an oxymoron) New Year’s Eve!

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Say the word “casserole” and you will generally get one of two typical responses… a huge smile filled with excitement from the person who knows that something hearty, filling, and tasty is about to come their way… or a turned-up nose and rolling eyes from the person who envisions a sticky, gooey, mess of food about to be forced upon them.

Because of that second reaction, I was tempted to call this dish a “Bake” instead of a “Casserole”.  I even searched through online thesauruses looking for an alternate name, but call it what you may, it’s a casserole.  And exactly what is that?  A casserole is an ovenproof dish sometimes with a tightly fitting lid, made from earthenware, glass, or metal. The word ‘casserole’ also refers to the mixture of the food itself which is prepared in the oven in this dish. The word is derived from the Old French word casse and the Latin word cattia meaning a “frying pan or saucepan.” As often happens, the name of the cooking utensil was used for the name of the dish.

So, if the word is derived from a French word, then how does it end up sounding so pedestrian? Maybe it is because, when some of us were growing up, the contents in the casserole dish were often called “surprise”, as in Turkey Surprise, or even worse, Spam Surprise; almost a guarantee that this would not be a happy or delicious “surprise” at all!

As with many casseroles, this one is made using leftover meat, pork from Christmas dinner, to be exact. Feel free to use another leftover meat, such as chicken or beef in place of the pork. Additional vegetables can be used as well; bell peppers, green beans, kidney beans, or whatever you have on hand or dream up. I used a mix of three different “green” salsas to get my 3 cups needed, do the same if you have a mix of jars in your refrigerator.  I hope the only surprise you receive upon making and tasting this casserole, is that it makes your taste-buds sing!
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This lovely red soup is perfect for Christmas or Valentine’s Day. It is decorated with crème fraîche.

Crème fraîche is a thinner form of sour cream developed by the French. It has a slight tanginess because it contains bacterial cultures. But the amounts of cultures are far less than those in sour cream, so it has a smoother taste. One of the advantages of crème fraîche is that it doesn’t “break” as sour cream may when added to sauces. This is due to its higher fat content.

Crème fraîche is becoming more and more available in stores, but is still just as easy to make at home. To do so; pour 1 cup heavy cream into a jar, add 1 tablespoon buttermilk, cover, and shake. Leave covered, on the counter, in a room temperature draught-free place for  24 hours. It is ready when it is thick. Do not worry about the cream going bad, the benign live bacteria in the buttermilk will multiply and protect the cream from any harmful bacteria. After the 24-hour “counter time” place it in the refrigerator. It will continue to thicken and take on a more tangy flavor as it ages. Crème fraîche will keep in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.
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We all have certain foods we have never liked and do our best to avoid.  Carrots are one of those foods for me. I really don’t care for them raw and I despise them cooked! I go out of my way to pick them out of soups and stews and obviously don’t serve them as a side vegetable at home.

So imagine my shock when I discovered that I loved them in their nearly purest form in a creamy soup!

I first encountered a version of this soup when asked to make a triple batch for a Jacques Pepin book signing. I had planned on just having my husband, Dave, be the soup tester since he loves raw carrots. Loves them so much that the palms of his hands actually turned orange after eating too many raw carrots over a short period.

He tasted it and said it was good and the seasoning was balanced, but feeling the need to try it myself before serving it to Jacques, himself, and to the students at the signing, I took the tiniest little taste.

I could not believe it was cooked carrots I was eating. What makes this soup so great is the addition of sesame oil, it is the perfect complement to the carrots. I served this as a first course on Christmas Eve this year and served it as soup shooters for two separate Christmas parties we hosted last year.

I used the frozen turkey stock I made for Thanksgiving, so the picture below shows the frozen solid, ziplock-shaped, form in the pan with the carrot, melting over high heat. No need to thaw ahead of time, just drop it in the pot and go!
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As stated in yesterday’s post, this bacon is a Christmas and Easter breakfast tradition in our house. It’s basically “Bacon Candy”.  So sweet, crispy, and decadent! And it couldn’t be easier to make. It is pictured above with our other Christmas breakfast tradition – Cinnamon-Pecan Rolls. That recipe is on yesterday’s post. Also pictured here today, is Connor and the five mini-oil paintings he made as gifts for the family. Nothing better than beautiful and heart-felt homemade gifts from a talented person. Thanks, Con!

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Christmas at the Hopkins’ house was full of family, food, fun, food, gifts, food, friends, more food, and laughter. The most honored and long-standing tradition in our house is our Christmas breakfast. It always consists of only two items; the artery-clogging, sickeningly sweet, and utterly delicious and delectable brown sugar-baked bacon and cinnamon-pecan rolls. These rolls are only made on Christmas day, as your heart and waistline could not bear them more than once a year. And the bacon, that we have twice a year. Once on Christmas to celebrate Jesus’ birth and then again on Easter to celebrate His resurrection. Of course, the bacon itself has nothing to do with either blessed event, just with our traditional family meals. Again, the bacon is only eaten twice a year because of its horrific health ramifications! Today’s post shall focus on the rolls and tomorrow, the bacon. The dough for the rolls is a classic James Beard recipe for Refrigerator Potato Bread, the original recipe can be found in his book, Beard on Bread, available on Amazon.com.

I make a double batch of the dough and use it three times over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The first third is used for potato rolls for Christmas Eve dinner with my mother, the next third for the cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, and the final third for a fresh batch of rolls for Christmas dinner with my dad. If you would like to do the same, the dough needs to be made on December 23rd and refrigerated overnight to begin the process. The dinner potato rolls are also a traditional part of our Thanksgiving meal each year.

Another thing I just have to share with you is what caused all the laughter at our house this year. I stumbled upon the funniest thing a few weeks ago. Decoy gift boxes at theonion.com. They are the most clever and hilarious things I’ve seen in a long time.  I purchased the four-pack, check out the site when you have a free moment and consider buying a pack for next year or for birthday gifts throughout 2010.

Dave, Marissa, and Connor with their decoy boxes

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