Well, the holiday cooking and eating marathon for 2010 has just about come to an end. We ate a lot of great food this year. There were many standout dishes, a few misses and a couple of ‘what the @#$% happened to that??’ We risked and experimented with new recipes and techniques, made old favorites, and learned something new with each and every dish. I learned that it doesn’t matter who the renowned chef is that writes the recipe, if you don’t test it first you may not like the results. I learned that if you trust your instincts, you’re likely to be happier with what you serve. I learned that if the dish doesn’t turn out the way you hoped it would, it’s not the end of the world. As in life, cooking is an exciting journey, not a destination. Just when you think you’ve tasted or perfected the best macaroni and cheese, ever, someone reworks the dish in a totally new and unexpected way, and blows your socks off. God, please grant me the open mindedness to recognize and appreciate bold, new, unconventional, and innovative approaches to food and the ability to enjoy it for the rest of my life. Amen!
I relearned that chefs have huge egos. Deservedly so, they work long, hot, excruciating hours, for minimal compensation, and they work tirelessly to satisfy one of our basic needs. Ergo; if you would like special treatment in a restaurant, seek out the chef, chef de cuisine, chef owner, sous chef, whoever happens to be in charge of the kitchen, and thank them. Treat them with respect, buy them a drink, compliment their food, and ask them to cook for you. Chefs love to cook outside the confines of their daily menus. Make it worth their while and you will be rewarded with a meal you won't soon forget. Chefs are artists, if you understand and appreciate them, they will perform for you.
So here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from our 2010 holiday meals. We’d love to hear about your successes and mishaps, please share your comments!
Misses:
We had a few glitches with our rib roast this Christmas. First, we couldn’t keep our new butane torch lit. Try as we might, the blasted thing would not ignite, so we had to use a different method for roasting which turned out just fine. The biggest issue was with the herbed salt crust which we applied a few days prior to roasting. Even after thoroughly wiping off the crust, the exterior of the roast was way too salty. I was bloated for two days. Thankfully, the interior was delicious. Next time we’ll season the roast before it goes into the oven as we’ve done in the past with excellent results. The roasting method we used was the tried and true ‘low and slow’ method. Roasting at 250 degrees until the internal temp reached 110, then removed the roast and allowed to rest for about 15 minutes, raised the oven temp to 500, put the roast back in and achieved a beautiful brown crust in about 10 minutes. Too bad the crust tasted like the Great Salt Lake and was completely inedible.
Hubby says he’s tired of Rib Roast, wants to do tenderloin next year. Sounds good to me, just hold the salt…..
Yorkshire pudding: We didn’t make the big fluffy ones from Jamie Oliver, long story but the end result is ours turned out more like hockey pucks. We can’t figure out why they didn’t puff up, I’m going to make Jamie’s just to test the recipe because they look so great. They should go well with just about anything.
Hits:
On a sweeter note, Tyler Florence’s whipped sweet potatoes with bananas and honey which we served at Thanksgiving were fantastic. It was hands down the favorite dish this year.
The turkey was wonderful too. We purchased two smaller birds as we like to have more dark meat; Jack deboned the birds, brined then roasted them. Delish! Heard some people had a salt issue with their brined birds, we rinsed ours thoroughly after brining and did not have a problem. Comments?
Made a delicious warm rice pudding with blueberries on Christmas Eve for dessert. Made it with Carnaroli rice which is used for making risotto, Aborio will work just as well. It was lovely. Many years ago I worked at Strings, a wonderful Denver restaurant owned by Noel Cunningham, the king of charititable giving. Their first pastry chef was a crazy Brit named Woody. He used to make an amazing blueberry rice pudding, which when warm out of the oven made me weak in the knees. I was the daytime bartender, and had the pleasure of enjoying many wonderful desserts prepared by him. He was delightful man;I miss him and think of him often.
Another hit this year was the French toast made from Panettone bread for Christmas brunch. Lordy, it was good. Panettone bread is available during Christmas and New Years, if you haven’t tried it, you’re really missing out. It’s great just plain and lightly toasted, but it truly shines as decadent French toast. You can add rum, Amaretto, or Grand Marnier to the batter, or keep it simple. Add orange zest, vanilla, cinnamon, whatever sounds tasty. You can stuff it, top it with berries, make elegant individual servings or make it in a large pan for a party. It’s easy, inexpensive, travels well if you’re bringing a dish, and best of all it tastes fabulous. I’ve never made the bread from scratch but it would be fun to try.
Beware, it’s addictive. Even cold leftover Panettone French toast is impossible to pass up. The few remaining pieces lasted all of about 1 hour in the fridge when brunch was over.
Thank you for reading and following our blog. Please feel free to pass it along to any friends who you think might enjoy it. We’re looking forward to a stronger economy in the year ahead as Roxanne and I gear up for a busy and exciting new year in real estate. We appreciate your referrals more than you can possibly know and hope that you will continue to think of us when you hear of someone who is buying or selling their home. You rock!
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What’s up with eating
those Black Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day?
Typically a southern tradition as the practice of eating black-eyed peas for luck is generally believed to date back to the Civil War. At first planted as food for livestock, and later a food staple for slaves in the South, the fields of black-eyed peas were ignored as Sherman's troops destroyed or stole other crops, thereby giving the humble, but nourishing black-eyed pea an important role as a major food source for surviving confederates.
Today, the tradition of eating black-eyed peas for the New Year has evolved into a number of variations and embellishments of the luck and prosperity theme including:
- Served with greens (collards, mustard or turnip greens, which varies regionally), the peas represent coins and the greens represent paper money. In some areas cabbage is used in place of the greens.
- Cornbread, often served with black-eyed peas and greens, represents gold.
- For the best chance of luck every day in the year ahead, one must eat at least 365 black-eyed peas on New Year's Day.
- Black-eyed peas eaten with stewed tomatoes represent wealth and health.
- In some areas, actual values are assigned with the black-eyed peas representing pennies or up to a dollar each and the greens representing anywhere from one to a thousand dollars.
- Adding a shiny penny or dime to the pot just before serving is another tradition practiced by some. When served, the person whose bowl contains the penny or dime receives the best luck for the New Year, unless of course, the recipient swallows the coin, which would be a rather unlucky way to start off the year.
- The catch to all of these superstitious traditions is that the black-eyed peas are the essential element and eating only the greens without the peas, for example, will not do the trick.
I am an avid fan of black-eyed peas as I grew eating them from my grandmother’s kitchen. She and my grandfather owned a farm in rural New Mexico. They raised their own beef, pork, chicken, and eggs and tilled a large garden each year. They always had a dairy cow for fresh milk and butter. She was the consummate country cook and I loved her food. I will concede that enjoying the flavor of black-eyed peas, frequently described as nutty, earthy and buttery, is an acquired taste. Whether to enhance or disguise the flavor, depending on your point of view, there are several popular ways to serve black-eyed peas, other than as a simple side dish:
Hoppin' John - Although served throughout the year as well, Hoppin' John is one of the most traditional New Year's Eve and New Year's Day dishes in the South. Black-eyed peas are cooked with rice, pork (such as chopped pork or ham, hog jowls or hambones, fatback or bacon) and seasonings. Sometimes chopped onions and hot sauce are added. For a delicious vegetarian version leave out the ham hocks and use a good vegetable broth instead of the 6 cups of water for added flavor.
- one pound dried black-eyed peas
- two small smoked ham hocks or meaty ham bone
- two medium onions divided
- three large cloves garlic halved
- one bay leaf
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 1 can (10 to 14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with chile peppers, juices reserved
- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
- 3 ribs celery chopped
- 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, minced
- 2 tspcajun or creole seasoning
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 3/4 tsp ground cumin
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 4 green onions, sliced
Preparation:
In a large Dutch oven or kettle, combine the black-eyed peas, ham bone or ham hocks, and 6 cups water. Cut 1 of the onions in half and add it to the pot along with the garlic and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently until the beans are tender but not mushy, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove the ham bone or hocks, cut off the meat; dice and set aside. Drain the peas and set aside. Remove and discard the bay leaf, onion pieces, and garlic.
Add 2 1/2 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the rice, cover, and simmer until the rice is almost tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.
Mince the remaining onion then add to the rice along with the peas, tomatoes, and their juices, red and green bell pepper, celery, jalapeno pepper, Creole seasoning, thyme, cumin, and salt. Cook until the rice is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the sliced green onions and the reserved diced ham. Serve with hot sauce and freshly baked cornbread.
Black-eyed peas salad with Basil Dressing - a light and tasty way to enjoy those peas....
- 3 cups cooked black-eyed peas
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- one small sweet red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
Basil Dressing:
- 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
- 3 Tbls chopped fresh basil
- 2-3 medium cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 1/2 tsps sugar
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 1 cup olive oil
- fresh basil for garnish
Preparation:
In a serving bowl combine the black-eyed peas, 1/4 tsp salt, chopped onion, celery and red pepper. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, chopped basil, garlic, sugar, remaining 1/4 tsp salt & pepper. Gradually whisk in the oil until well blended.
Combine peas and dressing, cover and chill thoroughly at least two hours or overnight. Garnish with fresh basil and serve. Serves 6.
Enjoy your Black-eyed peas but remember, as with any legume, don't forget the BEANO!
Happy Eating, see you in 2011!
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