Thanksgiving Menu

We visited my family in Virginia over the Thanksgiving holiday. It was a small gathering of eight for what turned out to be an early Thanksgiving dinner (lunch). As usual, my roasted turkey cooked quicker than I had anticipated and we were ready to sit down by 1:00pm.

I kept the menu basic and to the point. Everyone loved it. Here was the menu with links to the recipes that inspired my cooking this year.

Fresh Cranberry Salsa
Tortillas Chips

Brined and Roasted Maple Turkey
Homemade Gravy
Cornbread and Sausage Dressing
Mashed Potatoes and Celery Root
Roasted Cranberries
Green Bean Casserole
Baked Yams with Marshmallows
French Rolls and Butter

Hanger Steak Dinner

The holiday weekend inspired us to invite a few friends over for a barbecue. My meat supplier has hooked me up with some beautiful hanger steaks so we decided to give them a go.

Weekend Barbecue Dinner

Assorted cheeses, fig spread, with crackers and bread

Black beans, grilled corn cut from the cob, roasted red peppers, and teardrop tomatoes
in a Blood Orange Dressing

Roasted Lemony Potatoes

Grilled hanger steaks with balsamic chimmi churri sauce

Assorted berry crisp with oatmeal topping served with vanilla ice cream

The black bean salad was really nice. I made the dressing with the juice of one blood orange, Canola and Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper. It was tangy but boring. I wanted creamy. I added some mayo until it had a creamy edge over the tang. It was a bit salty, but over all the vegetables it was magic.

The baby yukon potatoes were microwaved and then quartered lengthwise and put on a roasting pan. I combined a little lemon juice, a few tablespoons of olive oil and a few shakes of some greek seasoning. This mixture was brushed on the potatoes. There were then put in a 400F oven for about 20 minutes until browned at the tips.

I bought a cheap bottle of Balsamic vinegar and then reduced it down to about 1/2 C of liquid. A little of this was used as the base for the chimmi churri. Chopped parsely, minced garlic, salt, fresh ground black pepper and a pinch of red chile flakes were also added. It was dark and glossy.

The steaks were marinated for about an hour in some Worchestershire, soy sauce and chopped garlic.

The guests brought the crisp and it was fabulous. I'm still eating the leftovers!

Menu for a Country BBQ (or Cole's Bday Lunch)

For those who are interested, and I believe there actually are a few, here is the menu and a few links to recipes from the Country BBQ lunch we had last weekend for our little boy - Cole.

• Homemade Lemonade
  WOW - was that tart. Next time, taste and add more sugar!
• Watermelon Wedges
  Make sure they are cold, best on ice.
• Quick Pickles - assorted vegetables
  No recipe, looked online at a few recipes and winged it. Good stuff!
• Pat's Cole Slaw
  Best basic and addictive slaw - ever! 1/3 each, sugar, mayo and vinegar
• Corn on the Cob
  Basic, boiled and buttered.
• Creamy Tarragon Potato Salad
  No recipes, only a craving for creamy tarragon dressing.
  It could have used more salt.
  New potatoes, celery, mayonnaise, tarragon, sour cream
• Baked Maple Beans
  These were cooked over 12 hours. I used navy beans.
  I'd do these again anytime. I trust Bobby Flay's American fare recipes, always hearty, always tasty.
• Grilled Lemon Chicken
  This was the best grilled chicken I've ever had.
  We used two techniques, brining and basting.
  We found this Chez Panisse brine and decided to try it.
  I wanted an award winning grilled chicken and I found this
  garlicy basting recipe from Oregon. Fabulous, but a bit salty.
  I need to weigh or measure somehow the amount of ice I add to the brine
  in the cooler to make sure the amount is correct according to the recipe.
• Pat's 4 Bean Salad
  I don't have her recipe - this and the cake were the only things I didn't cook!

There you have it, a feast fit for a crowd of four or forty year olds!

Avenue Report for March

Well Avenue has still got it. We had a fabulous dinner there on Thursday. We shared the fois gras as a starter. They always have a fois on the menu. When it is a seared preparation, we love to order it with a glass of Sauternes, both to share now that we're watching our weight. A few bites is all you need and this month's fruity accompaniment made for a savory, sweet and rich sensation.
The owners know us by name now and Teddy was very sweet and gave the two of us the big booth in the corner with mirrors. We had never sat there and while that may not seem an interesting point about our evening... it is. The corner booth allows you to see the whole restaurant surreptitiously. Bruce was spying on everyone, people watching at will. Teddy pointed one of their investors eating in a booth by the front door...all very interesting.
Our waiter's doppelganger, the bus boy, served me the wrong entree and I tore into it before they could whisk it away to the other table. I didn't order the Elk, but wow, it was wonderfully tender and juicy. I had ordered the lamb loin, for the side dish (roasted eggplant and espelette{a small roasted red pepper}), but ended up with carrots and the elk. The staff were very kind and brought me a plate of the vegetables from the lamb dish and they were smokey-licious.
Bruce ordered the two way pork dish. The shoulder was fall-apart tender and the soubise was the star of the dish. Soubise is an onion enriched stock based sauce. The tiny diced onions were cooked down to tender sweetness. The only problem was that the sauce was a bit too sweet to match with the wine.
Yes, we're watching our weight (fluctuate wildly when we eat like this) but we didn't turn down the free dessert Teddy brought us. We had the chocolate cake with marshmallow spoon which is a lovely cup of moist cake and the perfect way to end the meal.
Once again, we are so thankful for the quality of food available at Avenue. Love it.

Sorry, we can't tell you.

It's the day after. Time to review my work. Critique the food and vow to learn from any mistakes. I'm trying to stay focused on this process, but my boys have absconded with four whisks from my kitchen and are playing an attack game in the next room quite loudly. Ah, the battle has now ended, and they even remembered to put them in the sink so I may wash them before the next battle!

Okay. Asian feast. Yes, the Ahi Poke. Now called: Pacific Rim Ahi Poke
We picked up the sashimi grade ahi in Redondo Beach at International Seafood. A nice 2" slice with a thick rigid rind of dark blue scales.
But the flat leafed herb I picked up at the Saigon market was not shiso leaf. So, I kept it simple with the ahi, scallions, avocado and daikon in a soy sauce, mirin and wasabi dressing. It was GOOD. The avocado and ahi so tender and tasty in the dressing, the daikon shreds added a little crispy texture. I served the Poke with sesame flat bread which added another harmonious flavor and a nice crunch.

Vietnamese inspired Grilled Steak and Herb Salad
We've made the beef salad a few times. It's out of the Lettuce In Your Kitchen cookbook by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby. They call it Spicy Cabbage Salad with Chile-Rubbed Flank Steak. It turned out wonderfully. We left the herb leaves (cilantro, thai purple basil, and mint) whole for the first time. It worked perfectly because we could prep the salad early and it didn't turn brown from oxidation on any cut edges. I'd definitely do that again.
We used a gigantic beef sirloin steak. Bruce did a great job grilling it. There can never be enough dressing for that salad, excellent stuff - sweet, salty, spicy, sour - hits them all. I just had left overs of it for lunch.

Thai Green Papaya Salad
Those things are tough to grate. I didn't enjoy that task. But the salad was pretty darn good. Not the best I've ever had, but good. I read a few recipes for this dish and we did a little research over the past two weeks. Bruce and I had lunch at Chaba Thai Bay Grill in Redondo Beach twice and dinner once and we've ordered their green papaya salad each time. We were only able to have it twice. The first time was the best. It was fresh and very spicy and the acidic dressing had a real kick. We tried asking the chef for information about their dressing and received a polite, "Sorry, we can't tell you." The second time we tried to order it, they said it's not available at lunch, which is strange because that's when we had it last! The third time we ordered it at dinner and it was not the same. It was boring, soggy, not sharp tasting and it had mushy tomatoes in it. Eeew. I digress.
My salad was tasty and a friend who had some of the left overs claimed it was better than any she's ever had at a restaurant. But it's just not as good as the one at Chaba Thai Bay Grill, if you get it on a good day. The dressing I made was very similar to the one on the Beef Salad above (chilies, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, peanuts). I've gotta keep working on this one.

The Noodles: Stir Fried Egg Noodles with Chinese Mustard Greens and Chicken
I stumbled upon "Hunan Style Egg Noodles" with a label written in Thai, not Chinese, at the same Saigon Market in Gardena. I was nervous after reading the cooking instructions when I got the package home. It said to soak in cold water, cook in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, drain, and then they are ready to cook. That just didn't make sense to me. But I did it. And after straining they looked like they were going to clump up and be a mass of messiness. But I charged on anyway, wondering if the final dish would be even edible. I heated up the wok and stir fried some ginger, garlic and added ground chicken. Cooked thoroughly and broke into tiny bits, removed from pan. A little oil, more garlic and ginger, then the mustard greens, sliced red pepper and scallions, toss toss toss, add noodles and our magic sauce toss toss toss add meat back, toss and serve. What magic sauce you might ask? It's called Sweet Chile Sauce for Chicken, it's a bright red sauce you can get in any decent Asian grocery store.
I was amazed at how well the texture of the noodles turned out. They were slippery slick and the sauce melded great with all the other ingredients. Not bad for completely winging a made up Asian dish!

I had to make a second batch of the Green Tea Ice Cream. There didn't seem to be enough with just one. But I don' t think I needed to, we had plenty. It was good, everyone liked it. I would have liked a more intense green tea flavor, like the stuff I get at cheap Japanese take out joints with it's otherworldly green tint.

We skipped one of the whites wines (the one with the horse on the label, the Sauvignon Blanc). But I think the show stopper was the Granache from Spain - Los Rocas, at $13.99 a bottle, I think I'm going back there to buy a case! Fabulously rich and smooth and could handle all the spice on the plate. Loved it.

Okay, that's it. I'm going to have a scoop of that green tea ice cream!

Three White, One Red

Joe helped me choose some very fun wines to go with my menu.

First, to pair with the Ahi, avocado, soy sauce, shiso and daikon:
2006 Colombelle a Southern France mixture of 70% Colombard and 30% Ugni Blanc.
Promises citrus and tropical fruit flavors.

With the Thai Green Papaya salad and it's spicy acidity:
2005 Haras Estate Sauvignon Blanc from the Maipo valley in Chile.
This one will also offer citrus and fruity aromas but with more body.

A nice red to go with the Vietnamese Beef Salad with basil, mint and cilantro:
2004 Las Rocas Garnacha from Spain.
Loads of rich plumy fruits and earthy too!

For dessert, the Green Tea Ice Cream:
2004 Dante Rivetti Riveto, Moscato d'asti
A light refreshing finish to a big meal.

Looking forward to it!

That ain't Irish

We're having a few people over for dinner on Saturday. We've been eating lots of Thai lately and Japanese is now a weekly staple so the menu is Asian inspired. As always, there is a planned menu and then there is what happens during the 24 hours leading up to hosting a meal. We will see if I can find all the ingredients I want to make these dishes. And it's not just finding them, it's finding them in good quality. We will see.

St. Patrick's Day Dinner for Six

(If St. Patrick lived in South East Asia somewhere)

Hawaiian Ahi Poke

with avocado, cucumber, daikon and shiso leaf

Spicy Thai Green Papaya Salad

Vietnamese Grilled Steak Salad

with cilantro, basil, mint, and peanuts over Napa cabbage

Shanghai Stir Fried Noodles

with red peppers and mushrooms

Homemade Green Tea Ice Cream

I still haven't bought the wines. I'm putting myself into my wine guy's hands. (Joe at http://manhattanfinewines.com/)

Happy grocery shopping!

Evolution of a Dinner Menu

Steinbeck was so right, about the "best laid plans" thing. So we had dinner for 5 adults it turns out. The menu turned out like this instead of the post from yesterday:

Braised Beef Short Ribs with Spring Garlic, Red Wine and Porcini Mushrooms
Roasted Root Vegetables with coarsely ground Cardamom - carrots, parsnips and potatoes
Apple and Blueberry Crisp with almonds and oatmeal

The meal was good. I didn't have time to deal with a starter at all. It was actually a double dinner party night. I made pork ribs, fried potatoes and broccoli for my two boys and two others BEFORE our adult dinner guests even arrived. I'd do the crisp again, but use lots more topping and very thinly slice the apples as the Pink Lady apples were quite firm.

I'm most proud of the short ribs. No recipe, just winging it and they were awesome. Here's what I did:

Red Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs

Serves 5-6

Ingredients

3 lbs Beef Short Ribs cut into 3" pieces (ask your butcher)

2 Tablespoons Flour

Salt and fresh ground pepper

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

3 heads green/spring garlic

3 whole carrots

3 stalks of celery

1 large onion

500 ml (3/4 bottle) red wine - something good, but not fancy

1 15oz can Beef Broth

1 oz. package dried porcini mushrooms

1 Cup boiling water

bouquet garni of fresh herbs - 3 sprigs parsley, 2 sprigs rosemary, 3 sprigs thyme, tied into a bundle of cheesecloth

Method

In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Open up your meat package, rinse the meat and pat dry with paper towels. Salt and pepper the meat. Sprinkle with the flour. In small batches, fry the beef ribs in the oil making sure to brown on all sides. This takes time, but it's worth doing a good job. As the beef finishes, remove to another dish and set aside.

Chop the onion, garlic, celery and carrot into large dice (3/4" - 1"). Make sure to remove any fibrous outer layers of the garlic heads.

When the beef is all browned, pour out all but 2 Tblsp. of the oil. Add all the diced vegetables and lower the heat to medium. Stir well coating the vegetables with the hot oil. Cook for about 5 minutes while you prepare the bouquet garni and boil water for the mushrooms.

Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl. Add 1 C boiling water. Let sit 10 minutes. Taste the soaking water. If it tastes good, not musty, not dirty, but like mushroom tea, use the water in the dish. If the water tastes terrible, don't use it, just strain the mushrooms, use them and a cup of water instead.

Salt and pepper the vegetables in the pan. Return the beef ribs to the pan. Tuck the bouquet garni into the mix. Pour in the wine and beef broth. Now add the mushroom water. Bring to a boil. Put on a tight fitting lid.

Put in a medium low oven (325F) for about 3 hours until the meat is falling off the bone. Pull out the meat and put on a platter. Using a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables to another bowl. If you'd like, de-fat the juice and return to the pan. Reduce, the juice for a few minutes and taste for seasoning.

Enjoy!

Midweek Dinner for Six

Well, I hope they are omnivores. It makes things so much easier. Besides, I have my heart set on short ribs. Yes, I know, beef. It's so banal. But comforting as well. And easy.

Red Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs
Roasted Parsnips and Carrots with butter and parsley
Egg Noodles with poppy seeds and butter
Green Beans "perfectly cooked" with pepper bacon dressing
Some great white and red wines, to be picked and/or purchased in the next 24 hours
Apple and Blueberry Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream

God, I hope they are omnivores.