zoramargolis

Oy. I just found out that my new house has a Bosch refrigerator and dishwasher. They are 4 years old.

Sweet potato, onion and lemon cakes with Greek yogurt dollops and chives

These sound intriguing. Were they made with cooked, mashed sweet potatoes, or were the sweet potatoes raw, like a latke?

last night:

salad

mushroom-barley-bean soup. Base was smoked turkey stock. Quite an array of 'shrooms went onto the soup: roasted foraged maitake, from the freezer; oyster; crimini; dried porcini; dried lobster.

last of the bread pudding

2013 Veramonte pinot noir

escolar: fish you shouldn't eat too much of

escarole: a bitter leafy green

smoked turkey stock

mushroom-barley-bean soup on the horizon

I'm not hillvalley, but I'm highly opinionated so I'll respond as well. The texture of celeriac is different than potato--it's more watery, less starchy. I think to make latkes with celeriac, the best strategy would be to mix it with potato. That, as I'm imagining it in my mind's palate, would be fabulous.

non-meatless monday

charcoal-grilled rib-eye steak

NC style kale (bacon, onion, cider vinegar, brown sugar and hot sauce)

baked sweet potato

2013 Maipe cabernet

think puerco al pastor. it's what happened when a Lebanese guy emigrated to Mexico with one of those vertical grills.

Just because she has all of those ingredients in her pantry doesn't mean she uses them all in mole poblano. I love Dame Diana, but she can be an insufferable curmudgeon. Don't feel bad about making mole from scratch. I made turkey with mole negro de Oaxaca for Christmas (smoked the turkey with apple wood chunks), but I used Oaxacan mole paste as the base. I've made mole from scratch many times, but I simply was not physically up to it this time around. Nothing to feel ashamed of, though. It was delicious and everyone loved it.

I'm probably a little late to this party, but I can't help chiming in. Soup of the evening. Celery root, potato, leek, onion, chicken broth, aromatic herbs, when everything is cooked, puree and add some cream. Perfection on a cold night.

pan fried, panko crusted (canned) salmon patties with remoulade sauce

haricots verts with roasted red pepper, lemon and garlic

pan crisped new potatoes dusted with pimenton picante

bread pudding

2012 Botani dry muscat

"Mexican minestrone": homemade chicken broth base; onion, leek, garlic, carrots, celery, cumin, coriander, Mexican oregano, ancho chile powder, allspice, tomatillos, roasted poblanos, potatoes, black beans

herb-brined eco-friendly pork chop, stovetop grilled and then baked in mole negro de oaxaca

homemade refried beans (leftover)

pico de gallo

"clean out the fridge" bread pudding made with various bits of baguette, fig bread, brioche, gingerbread, egg nog, whole milk that have been hanging around since Christmas.

DB Vienna lager

After a large lunch at Joe's Noodle House and an unexpected lengthy bookkeeping chore, I wasn't up for making any kind of formal NYE dinner. J announced a desire to make deviled eggs, his mother's NYE tradition. So I rummaged around for other bits in the refrigerator that would make a smorgasbord-type meal along with the bottle of Mumm's Napa Valley sparkling wine that was chilled and ready for the "festivities" such as they ever are with us. I found some dense, thin German pumpernickel that served as a worthy underpinning for some cream cheese and the Ducktrap smoked salmon that I hadn't gotten around to opening. I sprinkled the triangles with capers, meyer lemon juice, and slivered scallion, and wished I'd bought some fresh dill.

J insisted on following the stuffed egg recipe in his American Test Kitchen cook book, even though when he read out the ingredient list I told him that it sounded uninteresting and would need help. He threw up his hands when my prediction proved accurate and left me to enhance the yolk mixture (the ATK recipe called only for grain mustard, apple cider vinegar, and worcestershire sauce, s&p). I chopped up shallot, cornichons, capers, parsley and thyme (again wishing for some dill), added more mustard, a bit of horseradish, a few drops of hot sauce. Much tastier, he agreed.

A board with Vermont Creamery cultured butter, stilton, brie, taleggio, and P'tit Basque; some slices of Olli spicy salami, sliced cucumber, spicy olives, and grain mustard. A basket of baguette toasts and slices of Atwater fennel/fig bread.

It turned out to be a lovely way to snack and chat as we end the year and look forward to the many changes ahead in 2015.

smoked turkey, round four:

turkey pot pie, with onion, leek, carrot, celery, fennel, garbanzos, potatoes, roasted red pepper, and frozen peas

bechamel was made with 1/2 butter, 1/2 schmaltz, homemade chicken broth and Clear Creek Creamery whole milk, splash of dry marsala

pie crust made a la Canal House video, with whole egg was indeed easy to roll out

2013 Royal chenin blanc

smoked turkey, round three:

turkey tostadas with homemade refried pinto beans, shredded p'tit basque, lightly dressed lettuce, sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo (painted some tortillas with oil and crisped them in the oven

Sipping broth instead of tea or coffee in the morning has been recommended to me. I haven't tried it yet, but drinking broth/brodo/bone broth is all the rage, it seems. Sounds like you have a worthy candidate.

tonight was round 2 of the smoked turkey, this time with my bbq sauce

North Carolina style collard greens (directed by K: cooked with bacon, onion, garlic, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and Sriracha.) cooked until meltingly tender.

corn bread with butter and honey

pecan pie with whipped cream

fat tire

When the idea of making tamales was raised, I quashed it due to the ungodly amount of time and energy that would take. However, I did agree to do a meal in a similar vein, which wouldn't require me to spend quite as much time on my feet in the kitchen. Mole negro de Oaxaca made from scratch would have been out of the question, but I did happen to have in my refrigerator a jar of Oaxacan mole paste from Guelaguetza, the wonderful Los Angeles restaurant. I made a quite delicious mole with the paste, homemade chicken stock and san marzano tomatoes. The recipe on the label suggested adding some Oaxacan chocolate, and I happened to have some in my pantry.

The turkey was purchased at The Organic Butcher of McLean, raised at a farm in Middleburg, VA. It was brined overnight in an herbed salt/sugar brine and smoked over charcoal with applewood chunks.

guacamole and chips

pico de gallo

applewood smoked turkey with mole negro de oaxaca

saffron rice

refried pinto beans made with duck fat

tortillas

port, stilton and kerrygold butter on baguette slices, walnuts, apple slices, clementine

salad with watermelon radish, garbanzo beans, avocado, etc. and meyer lemon vinaigrette

slow roasted atlantic salmon from BlackSalt

cauliflower puree

ginger cake with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

2012 Drylands sauvignon blanc

For dinner on Thursday I'm planning a poule au pot. Yesterday, I bought an old stewing hen at Bestworld on Mt. Pleasant Street (0.99 a pound!) and simmered it in lightly salted water with a large onion for four hours or so. On the day itself, I'll poach a whole young chicken in the broth, with carrots, turnips, leeks, and cabbage, and a forcemeat of bread, sausage, foie gras, and chicken liver wrapped in cheesecloth. We'll start with potato pancakes with caviar and sour cream and champagne, then have some of the broth, and then the poached chicken with the forcemeat and vegetables with a Bandol rosé. Should I clarify the broth (and possibly call it bouillon), or would that be too fussy? On the other hand, should I add something to it, like pasta or rice? And I'm thinking of serving an aioli with the chicken and vegetables. Is that a good idea? I think mustard and cornichons are more traditional, but aioli is obviously more luxurious. 

I wouldn't sully that glorious broth with pasta or rice. You're already starting with a starch, in the form of potato pancakes. I'd strain the broth through a muslin towel before you start your poule au pot. Assuming you are poaching, it shouldn't stir up too much sediment. taking everything out of the pot and then clarifying your consomme will certainly make it more elegant, but you might not need to do it. I'd go with aioli. sounds fabulous.

Using some water is a method designed to prevent the fat from burning before it has completely rendered. Lard is done that way, as well. When I made schmaltz the other day, I waited until all the fat was rendered out and the water had boiled off before adding the onion, because I didn't want the onion to overcook. The problem with draining off the fat before cooking the onion is that all of the schmaltz will not have the wonderful flavor of cooked onion. I had a hard time getting some of the gribenes as crispy as I wanted them to be, so I drained off the fat through a strainer, then I picked the larger cracklings out with a pair of tongs, layed them on a paper towel-covered plate and microwaved them like bacon until they were all good and crisp. The onions and cracklings stayed together, the perfectly clear, onion-flavored schmaltz was in a separate container. We've been eating some mighty tasty chopped liver for the past few days, made with the schmaltz/gribenes re-combined. And I added a tablespoon of schmaltz to the oil that I cooked latkes in yesterday, for a flavor boost.

We have an eclectic group of friends coming over, and to meet all the difffering food requirements, I'm thinking tamales for Christmas dinner.  Mushroom/poblano and black bean/greens fillings, roasted chipotle sweet potatoes with lime crema on the side, and a "southwestern" slaw.  A pecan pie for dessert along with a couple of sorbets for those who want something a little lighter.  Sangria and margaritas to drink.

The lime crema is a great idea. You might consider also making a cooked green salsa or mole verde to serve over the tamales. Maybe it's just me, but I like a little splash of warm salsa put on the tamal when the wrapper is opened.

potato latkes with homemade applesauce, quince sauce, and sour cream

mache salad with meyer lemon vinaigrette

leftover brisket

leftover barley pilaf

guiness stout ginger cake with whipped clear creek dairy cream

2012 Botani dry mu

scat

big cooking day today, and last night I made chopped liver with schmaltz and gribenes, and roasted an eggplant in the woodstove. K has been in Chapel Hill all week; she's on her way back with her bf, but won't get here until close to 9 p.m. tonight, which is a little late to be starting to make latkes. I'll probably do them tomorrow. today i made a braised brisket, chick peas in the pressure cooker, applesauce, quince sauce (for me--I'm allergic to apples), and baked a Guiness stout ginger cake (the recipe is from Claudia Fleming's wonderful dessert book The Last Course.) I'll probably make farro or a barley pilaf to go with the brisket.

a fabada-paella hybrid improvisation. slow-cooked sofrito of onion-garlic-tomato-roasted red pepper with cumin, pimenton and porcini powder nd a splash of red wine. gigante beans cooked in the pressure cooker with lots of aromatics. Spanish short grain rice. eco-friendly chorizo, steamed, browned, sliced. cauliflower, chopped into small pieces. boneless cooked chicken. all combined and moistened with sufficient bean cooking broth and chicken stock to cook the rice. baked in a moderate oven for 25 minutes or so. served with chopped Italian parsley.

comice pear and chocolate sea salt caramel

2011 La Montesa rioja