Merry Christmas To All

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Copyright © 2005-2010, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Copyright © 2005-2010, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Merry Christmas And Dungeness Crab - They Just Go Together

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Those points of light out on the horizon are our beloved crab fisherfolk who have been bringing in the catch of beautiful Dungeness crab since December 1st. Click here and here and here for more information about crab and a few recipes that need updating badly. Something I will remedy in the new year.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Copyright © 2005-2009, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Frosty Hips For Christmas

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My very best wishes to all of you in the years ahead!

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Thanks and Giving

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Timing is everything.

We'd been living at our current home, a 2-acre mixture of flat, sharp slope, towering redwoods, and invasive blackberries, for a year or so when we (me actually) decided that we had to raise poultry. I'd raised several flocks of chickens in our previous urban backyards and knew the drill.

Some months later, chickens happily scratching dirt, eating bugs and laying eggs, a friend asked if we wanted two bronze turkey chicks to raise for the table. Well sure, why not? Turkeys can't be any more difficult to raise than chickens. And they weren't. These turkey chicks bonded with the chickens right away, sharing both eating and living space. All was harmonious in the avian world.

The turkeys, fed on a healthy diet of bugs, kitchen scraps and supplemental feed, grew and flourished. Flourished and grew. They became so big that the dogs skirted around them, leaving well-enough alone. Smart dogs.

Our turkeys had beautiful, bronzy feathers and intensely ugly faces. Sweetly dispositioned, they could be approached by any human who wanted to pet them. Eventually they outgrew the chicken pen, so we just left them outside to forage and find a place to sleep at night. And on they grew.

Long about September I started calling them Thanks and Giving, Thanks being the slightly smaller of the two which allowed me to tell them apart. October rolled around, then November, and it was time to do the unsavory deed and get these guys ready for the table. I won't go into the details here. Suffice it to say, they were quickly and humanely dispatched, plucked, cleaned and refrigerated several days before Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving at our house is a big event. Family and friends come from far and wide, filling up our small, cozy home with laughter and love. This is the holiday Mr CC joyfully anticipates from year to year not only because of his love for family gatherings, but because he gets to make the stuffing for the turkey. With wild abandonment and gusto. Just like his grandpa Charley used to do.

The stuffing is started at around 8 am on Thanksgiving day. It takes a little over an hour to prepare then is stuffed into the bird which goes into the oven at around 10 am. We've been doing this for years, why not stick to the schedule? Only this time, when we opened the oven door to put the stuffed bird inside, it wouldn't fit. We looked at each other. We looked at the bird. My, it was big. It was bigger than any turkey we'd ever had. In fact, it was huge. We hadn't weighed it. We hadn't measured it. It hadn't crossed either of our minds to do so. Sometimes tradition wears a blindfold.

Mr. CC had to rig up a rack that sat on the bottom of the oven so the bird would fit, just barely clearing the top of the oven ceiling in our old Wedgewood gas stove. Whew! Turkey in and starting to cook, we turned to other matters. Friends and family who had not already arrived the night before started trickling in. Merriment abounded. Throughout the day the turkey was basted, side dishes were made and the table was set. We would sit down for dinner at 5:30.

Around 4 o'clock a thermometer was placed into the turkey's thigh. Hmmm, not even close. The temperature of the meat was way too low. We cranked the oven up a bit, kept the foil tent in place and closed the oven door.

5:30 came. And went.

6:30.

7:30.

The constant sounds of conversation and laughter began to wane as people wandered into the kitchen looking for food. And the turkey still wasn't done. That's when it began to dawn on Mr CC and I that we hadn't just miscalculated the size of this bird, we hadn't calculated at all. Even when it wouldn't fit into the oven, it hadn't occured to us that it might take many more hours to roast than our previous experiences with turkeys.

At about 8:30, our group of 24 very quiet loved ones looked longingly at the array of side dishes ready for the table. Those faces, filled with hunger, could not be denied. We sat down and ate. The turkey was still in the oven, no mashed potatoes or gravy had been prepared, but we ate anyway. The relief was palpable. Laughter swelled once again. It was Thanksgiving.

The turkey finally came out of the oven at 10 o'clock. Those with enough room in their sated stomaches took a few bites and declared it the most delicious turkey they'd ever tasted, and certainly the biggest.

For weeks afterward, we ate turkey sandwiches, turkey croquettes, turkey omlettes, turkey soups and turkey stews. We gave turkey away to friends, we sent turkey home with family. Thanks, the smaller, 37-pound bird, as we determined the following day, was wrapped and put into the freezer to await the time when we would do this again, sometime in the distant future, where memories of life's awkward moments finally come into their own as humorous stories to be told around the Thanksgiving table.

My friend Katie, blogging from France at Thyme For Cooking , has asked food bloggers to post their most embarrassing holiday recipes for "Skeletons in The Pantry". I do have a recipe for this event, but am not able to post it yet. Meanwhile, reading Katie's intriguing invitation, this little reminiscence just flowed out of my fingertips onto the keyboard this morning. Then I had a hankering to share. I will also share that cleaning and plucking a 40-pound turkey is an experience I will never forget, nor am likely to repeat.

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

May Visions of Sugar Plums...

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...dance in your heads

Merry Christmas!

I'll be taking a bit of a break for the holidays

My very best wishes to all of you for a joyous,

prosperous and peaceful 2007

Holiday Brie En Croute

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With Mushrooms, Rosemary, Marjoram, Thyme and Port

It wouldn't feel like the holidays at our house if I didn't make this practically foolproof appetizer at least once. Take it to a party, set it down among the other offerings, stand back, watch and listen.

People ask, "What's this?", while simultaneously popping a piece into their mouths. Then the eyes roll followed by gutteral sounds of pure pleasure that punctuate the air, making heads turn.

Such is the appeal of a round of brie that has been stuffed with a melange of mushrooms, onion, herbs, garlic and port, wrapped in puff pastry and served hot from the oven. Crackers optional.

This is the first of what I hope will be three items that I'll be submitting to my blogger buddy Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen for her special version of Weekend Herb Blogging, Holiday Cooking with Herbs. The other two waiting in the wings are my mother's Braided Raisin Bread and my own Persimmon Flan. I can't wait to see the round-up on December 23rd, as the food bloggers who regularly submit entries for WHB are such wonderful, creative cooks.

I made these last night for a special ornament party that our neighbors host every year. Always a much looked forward to party, the food and the friends keep getting better and dearer.

Mushroom Stuffed Baked Brie
adapted from a very old Sunset Magazine recipe

Ingredients:
2 8-ounce rounds of Brie (I've used one 16-ounce round and several 10-ounce rounds)
2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
flour for the pastry
1 egg, beaten, for the pastry
1 pound of mushrooms, finely chopped (these can be all button or a mixture of several wild mushrooms such as chanterelles, shiitake, oyster and crimini)
1 cup sweet onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely diced
2 teaspoons each dried marjoram and dried thyme
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
Pinch kosher salt
Several grinds Tellicherry pepper
1/4 cup ruby Port
1 tablespoon butter for the pan

Preparation:
Keep your rounds of Brie in the fridge until the last minute. You want them very cold.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter, add the onions and saute until just softened.
Add the garlic, herbs, salt and pepper and saute just a few more minutes.
Add the mushrooms, raising the heat to medium high, and saute until the liquid that is released from them has evaporated and the mushrooms are gently browned.
Add the Port and cook until the liquid has been absorbed.
Set the pan aside, off the heat, and cool to room temperature.

Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees.
When the stuffing has cooled, using a sharp knife cut each Brie round in half horizontally, laying the rounds cut side up.
Using a floured pastry cloth, roll out a sheet of the puff pastry to about 15x15 inches, then trim to a 12-inch diameter circle saving the pastry scraps for making leaves and berries to decorate the pastry packet. If you are making a larger Brie, trim your circle accordingly. There should be enough pastry to entirely enfold your stuffed Brie.
Place a piece of foil bigger than the brie packet on a cookie sheet.
Place the pastry round on the foil.

Place a round of Brie cut side up in the center of the pastry circle and spread with 1/4 of the mushroom filling, smoothing it out to the edges.
Place the other half of the Brie round on top of the filling, cut side down, and spread with another 1/4 of the filling.
Brush the edges of the pastry circle with some egg wash.

Begin to enfold the Brie by bringing an edge of the pastry up and over the Brie and mushrooms. The pastry should reach to the middle of the top of the Brie.
Brush the top of that pastry with more egg wash and repeat with the rest of the pastry, folding in the pleats of dough that are made as you go around.
You want to egg brush each part of the pastry that will be covered by more pastry, creating a seal. Cut the pastry if needed so you don't end up with too much on top.
Using the leftover scraps of pastry, cut out leaf shapes, stars, whatever you like and make a few "berries" by rolling the pastry into little balls.
Brush the top of the pastry packet with egg wash and lay the leaves and berries on the top, effectively covering up the pastry folds.

When finished decorating, brush a final egg wash over the entire top and sides of the Brie packet, taking care to not let egg drip under the packet which can cause it to stick to the foil while baking. I know this from experience.
Place the tray in the freezer and freeze the Brie packet, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Place the frozen Brie, or Bries, in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until the pastry has turned a golden brown and the cheese and filling begins to ooze out from the pastry. (I've never known this NOT to happen, so I I just play along like it's all part of the charm. Last night both of my Brie packets oozed filling like a dam had broken, as you can see from the photos.)
Lastly, take your lovelies out of the oven and, using a very wide spatula such as my fish turner (which worked perfectly, by the way, making it a truly multi-tasking tool), remove them to the plate or platter on which you will serve them.
Surround them with crackers if you wish and decorate the plate festively with sprigs of non-toxic greens and red berries. Or not.

Then get on that fabulous black dress with the slit to mid-thigh and the cleavage down to, well, you know, throw on your mother's rhinestones and your kicky black sandal heels and head out to the party.

Holiday Blogging By Mail

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The package from my Blogging by Mail 'Secret Santa' arrived today filled with delicious goodies from Helene at Tartelette. Helene has been baking up a storm, cleaning her house and doing a thousand other chores in preparation for spending the holidays with her family in France. Her penchant for baking is truly inspiring. You simply must go to her blog to see the recent Gateaux Basques and the peppermint meringue kisses.

My package came with Helene's homemade biscotti and blue cheese crackers (yum!), Belgian "Fruits de Mer" chocolates, all in the shapes of shellfish, a sweet Santa in a glass bell jar, gingerbread candles and so many more wonderful goodies. Thank you so much Helene! Mr. CC and I already sampled the biscotti for tea this afternoon and they were delicious.
A special thanks to the very stylish Stephanie of The Happy Sorceress for hosting this Holiday Blogging by Mail event. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Menu for Hope III raffle is going gangbusters, with over $13,000 raised in just 3 days. There are so many fabulous prizes donated by food bloggers all over the world that, at just $10 per ticket, how can you resist? Let's make this year's event the biggest and best ever! Click here to read all about it, see the prizes, and make your donation. It's that simple. You could be the winner of some of the best prizes the food blog world has to offer and help hungry people the world over at the same time.

My raffle donation, Code UW22, may be seen here. Please join us!

Cranberry Apricot Ginger Chutney

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I came across the foundation for this condiment many years ago, wrote the recipe on a post card, folded it in half and stuck it in the yellow-orange plastic recipe box that I've had since I was in my 20s. Over the years I've changed the measurements and ingredients quite a bit from the original and in doing so have made it mine. I wouldn't for the life of me know to whom to attribute it anyway.
I like this chutney for its sharp tangy-sweetness and slight heat from the cayenne. It makes a wonderful addition to "day after" turkey sandwiches.

Fresh cranberries

Turkish Apricots, snipped

Organic crystallized ginger cubes, chopped

Cranberry Apricot Ginger Chutney
(Print Recipe)
Ingredients:
3 cups fresh cranberries, some coarsely chopped (chopping is not necessary though)
1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend or 1/2 cup regular light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1/4 cup golden raisins, left whole
20 Turkish dried apricots, snipped into pieces with kitchen scissors
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or 1/4 teaspoon if you like it hotter but be careful, too much can ruin the taste
3 tablespoons cranberry juice, such as one sweetened with apple juice, not sugar
tiny pinch kosher salt
1/3 cup toasted, roughly chopped pecans

Preparation:
In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients except for the pecans, and place over medium heat.
Stirring often, cook the mixture until the brown sugar has melted, the berries begin to pop and the ingredients begin to meld together and become juicy.
Remove from the heat and stir in the pecans.
Allow to cool in the saucepan then remove to a lidded storage container and place in the fridge to chill.
Remove from the fridge about 1/2 hour before serving to allow it to come to room temperature.

Cook's Notes:
Low carb warning! If you are counting carbs this chutney will not appear on any low carb food list. Even with the use of the Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, it's loaded with fruit sugars.

Lime Jello Salad . . .

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... or Mouldy Moldy Salad, as we kids used to call it to tease our mother. My mother served this Jello salad at Thanksgiving and Christmas for as long as I can clearly remember those holidays. She must have started sometime in the 50s, as the WearEver aluminum ring mold that's shown here is what she always used and it comes from the late 50s. In my family, not having this molded gelatin concoction at the Thansgiving table would border on the unforgiveable.

On the handwritten 3x5 recipe card, it says that the recipe came from Jeanne Bryant, a friend of my mother's from our church potluck dinners that we attended on Sunday nights in the Fellowship Hall of the Davis Community Church (what memories I'm having!). From the first time my mother put this on our dinner table, she was not allowed not to make it every holiday season. We children would jump up and down in her kitchen chanting "mouldy moldy salad! mouldy moldy salad!", at which my mother would pretend to be annoyed. The salad always appeared on her Thanksgiving table; of such are loving memories and traditions made. My mother is gone now and although it's been a number of years, I'm particularly missing her as I write this.

I inherited my mother's mouldy moldy salad ring mold and every Thanksgiving I bring it down from the top of my kitchen cupboard, wash and dry it and set it out to receive this time-honored, if a little old fashioned, treat.

Before I assembled the recipe today, I thought of low carbing it by using diet Jello and reducing the fat content by using low or no-fat ingredients. Not only could I just then feel my mother cringe at such blasphemous thoughts, it occurred to me that some things are sacrosanct and just shouldn't be messed with. When the salad is un-molded for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, I'll take a photo and put it on this post. Note: 11/2008, it took 2 years, but I finally remembered to take a photo.

Lime Jello Salad (or Moldy Salad)
Recipe courtesy of Skip Hills via Jeanne Bryant
Ingredients:
1 large package lime Jello brand gelatin
2 cups boiling water
1 #2 can* crushed pineapple in its own juice
1 cup canned milk, such as Carnation
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped finely

Preparation:
In a large glass or ceramic bowl, dissolve the Jello in the boiling water, stirring until all the gelatin has melted and the liquid is clear. Allow to cool to below lukewarm.
Stir in the rest of the ingredients, gently using a wire whisk. Having a few lumps of mayo here and there is part of this salad's charm.
Pour into a 12-cup mold of your choice and chill until the gelatin is completely set.**
To un-mold, fill your kitchen sink with about 3 inches of very hot water.
Quickly dip the mold into the hot water, half-way up the sides, for just a few seconds, taking care not to splash water onto the gelatin.
Take the plate or platter you wish to present your molded salad on and place it over the top of the mold.
Holding the mold and the plate firmly in your grasp, flip the whole thing over and give it a quick up and down shake.
The gelatin should gently drop onto the serving plate. If it doesn't, repeat the process with the hot water dip. It's important to not leave the mold in the hot water for more than a few seconds as it will melt the gelatin at the edges and compromise your presentation.

Cook's Notes:
* This is what the recipe says, a number 2 can. Since I don't know what size that is, I've been using a 20-ounce can and it has worked just fine.
** This gelatin mixture will set up much faster than regular jello because less liquid is used. I put it in the fridge just over an hour ago and it's already set. It will hold, unmolded in the fridge for several days.