New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve, 2008... ah, the memories... I guess I nailed number 3 there, and wasn't able to hit "publish."

Once again, my desire for an excuse for good food outweighed my common sense. New Year's Eve is a day/evening when we do three things:
1) massively clean the house in preparation for all manner of superstitious good luck stuff
2) watch a lot of college football
3) drink an inordinate amount of alcohol

So why do I also plan for us to eat things that take a lot of time in the kitchen?!?! Not sure. Perhaps I'm masochistic.

Tonight's menu:

Roasted rack of lamb (just the cutest weetle wack of wamb you ever did saw!)
Potato Nests with Caviar (don't gasp, it was the cheap grocery store stuff)
Bacon-Wrapped Sausages (ok, gasp, I'm confident the saturated fats are good for me)
Cut Veggies with Onion-Garlic Dip
Aaaaaand, probably some mac & cheese for the kids (gluten-free of course, can't be contaminating my kitchen.)

The lamb was TASTY. Much too small, at less than a pound...

Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Roasted-Rack-of-Lamb/Detail.aspx

Bacon-wrapped sausage recipe: http://ezinearticles.com/?Bacon-Wrapped-Sausages&id=321589

Merrye Yule!

Another oldye but a goodye... do we know how to party, or what?

Honeyed Rolls

Mushrooms Tarts

Herb salat

Rosted Beets

Buttered Porray (collards)

Fried Turkey (Swan)

Some sort of sauce/gravy!!!

Gingerbread

Sugared almonds

Wine

Pardon My French

Happy 100th birthday, Julia Child!

In honor of the late culinarian, we had a Feast of Butter. Cod Meuniere (couldn't find any sole), mashed potatoes (which I actually peeled, bein' fancy), sauteed green beans with onions and white wine, and a grated carrot salad. And, of course, a lovely bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, because one can not toast Mrs. Child with ice water.

I generally make up for the lack of cream in my mashed potatoes by adding insane amounts of butter. And a little chicken stock. And did so tonight... but they were still the most-boring food on the plate. The carrot salad was surprising- once I finally added enough salt it was quite tasty. The bit of wine for a braise on the beans was phenomenal, especially as the onions absorbed so much of it. The fish was absolutely amazing. So very easy to make and so, so, so tasty. It went with the Kendall-Jackson Sauv Blanc beautifully. I am not sure how authentically-French any of it was, beyond the fish, but I do know that it was fantastic.

I worked from this recipe for the salad, substituting mandarin-infused olive oil for the peanut oil.

For the cod, I followed Julia's guidelines. Melt one tablespoon each of butter and olive oil in a large pan. Salt and pepper the fillets, dredge in flour (Better Batter flour worked for a gluten-free option) and saute 1 or 2 minutes on each side. Don't overcook. If it flakes, it's too done. Remove the fish to plates and sprinkle with freshly-chopped parsley. Wipe out the pan (she said... ha... I had fish sticking all over the place) and add two more tablespoons of butter, swishing it around and letting it brown lightly. Take off the heat, add the juice of half a lemon, and the pour over the cooked fish.

I'm doing this for all the fish I cook forever. SO fucking good. Pardon my French. I am so full.

Kung Hei Fat Choi

The Year of The Rat. Hmmm... in lieu of eating an actual rat, I decided on this meal. I based it off a few different recipes I found online... and included 8 wedges of orange, because oranges are lucky (or at least traditional) and 8 is lucky... the lettuce represents money, and therefore wealth in the new year. We shared a platter instead of having a whole fish or whole chicken... which represent family unity and togetherness.

Sautéed Shrimp and Oysters

½ pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pint shucked oysters
Coconut oil
2 tablespoons ginger, julienne
1 carrot, julienne
2 tablespoons white wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, in 2” pieces
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons tamari
1 teaspoon fish sauce

Bring 4 cups water in large saucepan to boil. Plunge oysters and shrimp into boiling water. Cook 10 to 15 seconds, until edges begin to curl. Remove with slotted spoon and drain.

Blend cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water until smooth. Stir in tamari and fish sauce. Set aside.

In a hot wok coated with oil, add the ginger and fry until golden brown. Add the carrot and stir-fry until soft. Add the shrimp and wine. Then oysters, green onions, and garlic. Stir-fry for 30 seconds then add the reserved sauce. Remove from heat once sauce thickens.

Serve in bowls of butter lettuce.

We also had curried noodles, with the noodles very purposefully unbroken and uncut. Cutting them cuts one's fortune. Wouldn't want to do that.

To all the food I've loved before

Now that I can't have gluten (or so many other things) I'm not sure when I might once again have my cake and eat it, too. So, here I have a memorial to the delectable goodies of the past.

The Strawberry-Covered Chocolate Cake

This was my inside-out idea for my 29th birthday. It tasted great, but the frosting was so soft it rather oozed off the cake over time. Not that it needed to last all that long. Cakes are not baked to be looked at!

The lovely confection followed a birthday feast:

Crostini with Roasted Artichoke Pesto
Served with Trinity Oaks Johannesburg Riesling

Tomatoes with Fried Goat Cheese & Herb Salad
Grilled Grass-fed Rib Eye
Served with Napa Valley Vineyards Reserve Merlot

It was nummy.

And then there was last Thanksgiving.

My first (and last for a long time, not by my choice) time preparing the feast. We invited some single (or otherwise alone for the holiday) soldiers to join us. I was too busy to get pictures of the spread, but one of the guys did. If he makes it back from Baghdad, I'll get copies from him to post here.

The menu:

Butter-Roasted Turkey with Pan Gravy
Cornbread and Sausage Dressing
Fresh Cranberry-Orange Relish
Maple Bourbon Sweet Potatoes
Green Bean Salad
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Southern Collard Greens
Sweet Potato Bacon Biscuits

Pumpkin Pie with Fresh Whipped Cream
Cranberry-Apple Crumb Pie
Chocolate Cake with Apricots and Almonds
Coffee, Tea & Cocktails

The chocolate cake with leaf cut-out apricots and almonds. It was fun to decorate. But not much was eaten that night... everyone was too full.