What's for Dinner #16 - 12/2016 - the (sometimes) Crazy Holiday Yule Edition

As a Spartan, we thank you. Hope the orange was tasty.

I love crab louie … I only eat it when I am in San Francisco, which is not often enough. I rarely if ever see it here on the east coast … bring back crab louie!!!

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So, to the last meal in what has probably been the most significant for my country during my lifetime (and not in a good way).

To nibble on while we cook - smoked salmon, cream cheese, blinis

To start - potted shrimps

Main course - roast rib of beef, roast spuds, parsnips, steamed cabbage, Yorkshire salad, gravy, horseradish sauce

Cheese - there’s still a mountain from Christmas - Bournes’s Cheshire, Leagrams Lancashire & Blackstick’s Blue

To conclude - lemon tart - or, if ya wanna be posh - tarte au citron (supermarket buy). By the by, my dessert of the year was the lemon tart we ate at Michelin 1* Murano in London back in September. Faultless.

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perfect!

I think I’m drooling!

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Gratuitous kitty selfie, my parents ’ kitty Pigs. (His full name is Pigwidgeon but we only call him that when he’s in trouble)

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Sounds like a fantastic meal!
What’s in a Yorkshire salad…?

Last cooking project for the parents’ freezer was calzones, which i made with pizza dough i talked their favorite local shop into selling me. Somehow calzones are scarce in their area and they love to order them when they come to nyc. I’m a total amateur so they’re a bit “homemade” looking…! Hahaha. Insides were spinach/ricotta/mozzarella/roasted garlic and sliced field roast italian sausages. About six more went to the freezer.

Since dairy hates me i had one without the cheese. Steamed baby artichokes alongside with a quick lemony mayo (best foods in CA).

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They look great to me!!

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There’s a couple of versions. In our family it is simply thinly sliced onion and cucumber steeped in malt vinegar. I’d never heard of a different version until I Googled for it a couple of years back - the variation adds thinly sliced lettuce and spring onions to the basic mix.

Champagne is open . I am cleaning out the fridge .
New York steak ) After watching Francis Mallmann I have decided to throw the steak on the coals with the fire I have going . Salted . Cooked rare . Since there is champagne , I will make a sauce of champagne , butter ,shallot , and some cream to drizzle over the thinly slices of steak , then top with coarse black pepper .
Baguette ) Sliced lengthwise one half inch thick . I will saute in olive oil lightly , drain . Then I will top it with a traditional tarte flambe topping . Bacon , onion , creme fraiche . Cut into toast points .
Eggs ) Hard boiled , quartered . Served with baby dills and Dijon .
Happy New Year :wine_glass::confetti_ball:

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Francis Mallmann … I like your inspiration :slight_smile: bon appetite
Enjoy …

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A large charitable donation to the Salvation Army this morning…my, look at all of that room in my closets and dresser! And a bit of an extra tax credit come tax time can’t hurt.

Then to Whole Foods to pick up a few things for some appe-teasers for today, since I didn’t have breakfast.

Mid-afternoon Scooby Snack was Manchego cheese with membrillo (quince paste) and Marcona almonds; crostini with goat cheese, fig and pear jam, prosciutto and a few drops of a 40 year aged balsamic; red grapes and Satsuma orange segments. A glass of white while I noshed.

Dinner was duck breast with blood orange-balsamic-Sriracha drizzle, Israeli couscous and steamed green beans, with a glass of Ecco Domani Merlot.

Dessert will be a couple of mini-desserts from WF - I’m leaning towards the chocolate tart and the creme brulee tart. A glass of Licor 43 will be alongside.

I doubt I’ll make it to midnight but we’ll see what entices on the TV, as I’m not inclined to watch Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve without Dick Clark. It just ain’t the same. Maybe I’m just too old.

So - let’s say farewell to what ended up being a not-so-good year, and send out wishes for something better. Happy New Year to all.

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Ohhhh, I want to kiss that nose! Many cuddles to Pigs!

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That sounds good to me! Somehow i don’t end up buying malt vinegar very often, I’ve made something similar with rice wine vinegar but will certainly give it a go with some malt vinegar soon. I love anything in a vinegar or brine…

A last minute decision to make my DH’s family’s traditional xmas bread meant I was at the store when it opened this morning. Then we went up to my folks house and baked four loaves of Poteca. While driving to deliver a loaf to my in-laws we were lucky enough to catch this awesome double rainbow. I’m hoping it’s a sign that 2017 will be okay??

My dad was cooking a pot of slow cooked shredded pork so we got dinner to go as a bonus.

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I’ve started a new thread for Jan 2017 here:

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Lovely! (and the rainbow’s nice too.)

Are you Slovene?

Wallyeats, I assume you ask because of the reference to Poteca? I’m not Slovene, but the tradition comes from my mother-in-law whose relatives are probably from that area. I asked her about the bread and she said that she always bought it at the baker (she grew up in Racine, Wisconsin) and when she moved to CA decided to find a recipe and make it herself. Somehow DH and I inherited the tradition. The Poteca we make is a lightly sweetened yeast dough that get’s rolled out, filled with a walnut honey mixture, rolled into a horseshoe shape, and baked. It’s really very good and pretty easy to make.

Here’s the uneaten half loaf.

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