CityMama™

Corned beef and cabbage

It was frickin' delicious.

New Year's Eve 2008

Perfect Korean pear. It always reminds me of New Year's.

We passed a mellow evening at home. We had sashimi and sushi and a Southern-style dinner (pics follow). I'm not sure when my family started eating black-eyed peas on New Year's or how that even became a tradition in a Korean-Italian family, but so be it. The black-eyed peas that were simmered with a ham hock from our Christmas lunch were purchased in an Indian market. That gave me a chuckle. What a country we live in, huh?

Friends stopped by on their way to and from dinners and parties which made our evening more festive, and by 10:00 PM, the girls were in bed, and J. and I were on the couch sipping champagne and watching a movie.

Happy New Year, dear CityMama readers!  May your 2009 be full of peace, prosperity, and joy.

—Stefania

New Year's Dinner: CityMama's Slow-Baked Brisket

I just posted a lamb recipe for another New year's dinner idea, but if beef is more your thing, read on!

We always eat black eyed peas for New Year's and this year, since we'll be keeping it mellow and I can cook anything I want, I settled on brisket to go with the creamy peas.  I perused some recipes from around the interwebs and all of them seem to have the same idea in common: bake it slow and low for hours and hours in some kind of marinade, then devour when it's fork-tender.

A lot of recipes also have liquid smoke in common. I am not a fan of the flavor of liquid smoke (and I'm not even sure what it is), I just know that I didn't want those chemicals on my brisket so I opted for a more natural alternative that I hoped would give the same smoky results: alderwood smoked salt. (Hickory smoked salt would also work.)

New Year's Dinner: Butterflied leg of lamb with feta and olives

For Christmas, my sister gifted me a boneless leg of lamb (yes, we're that kind of family) and instead of my usual rosemary-garlic treatment, I decided to Greek it up with olives and feta. If you are looking for an easy and elegant New Year Eve or Day dinner, this is just the thing, and best of all, you don't need a lot of fancy ingredients.

Scenes from Thanksgiving weekend 2008

It was a weekend full of food and family and deep thinking. More on that later, but for now, this is how we passed the time. It was pretty great.

Homemade gravlax...

Lots of dill is the key for me.

48 hours later, slice thinly and serve with mustard sauce.

The alien cauliflower that became a delicious three cheese, prosciutto, and cauliflower casserole.

The cranberry-walnut-blue cheese tart that everyone was too full to eat so it's now in my freezer.

Bunny reads her Thanksgiving poem as uncle and cousin look on.

My little beauties. Aren't their outfits cute? ;-)

Our Thanksgiving Menu

I finalized my Thanksgiving shopping today. We've been through the farmer's market, the regular market, and I think it's safe to say that there is nothing left to buy at Costco, we cleaned it out. P.S. If you haven't bought your turkey yet, Costco has organic fresh turkeys for a little over $2.25/lb. That's practically the same price as those hormone- and antibiotic-laden Butterballs, so hie thee to your Costco for a better-for-you turkey.

Our menu is truly a collaborative effort as you will see. Our focus is mostly on seasonal, local foods, but a couple of side dishes were picked mainly because they just sounded so damn good. I'm cooking two turkey's this year because we got two smaller ones instead of one biggie, and I wanted to do one on the grill and one in the oven. So without further ado, I present, the Butler Family Thanksgiving 2008.

Appetizers (this is what we'll nosh on throughout the day while we watch the parade and football)

• Auntie Jill's (my sister's) Famous Clam Dip and Potato Chips
• Homemade gravlax (from local wild salmon) and mustard sauce
• Salumi (bresaola, fennel salami, prosciutto, Serrano ham)
• Assorted cheeses (P'tit Basque, Triple Cream Explorateur, Pt. Reyes Blue) w/ bread and crackers
• Crudités & olives
• Zia Gabriella's Salmon Mousse (made by my sister)

Then we will all go for a loooooooooong walk.

Thanksgiving Dinner (served at dinner time)

• Auntie Sheila's Mimosa Turkey done on the grill (basted with champagne, orange juice, and butter—will post recipe!)
• Traditional Turkey with Whiskey glaze
• Mashed Potatoes
• Twice-baked potatoes
• La Brea Bakery Stuffing
• Fresh Cranberry-Orange Sauce
• Gravy
• Green beans (still deciding on preparation)
• Walnut, Blue Cheese, and Cranberry Tart
• Southern Fairytale's Yellow Squash and Zucchini Casserole
• Spicy Hot Pepper (from Auntie Charlene's CSA) and Fresh Corn Pudding
• AMomTwoBoys' Three Cheese and Prosciutto Cauliflower Gratin
• Suebob's Chestnut, fennel, and shallot confit
• Butternut squash puree

Then maybe we'll take another looooooong walk before:

• Pumpkin Pie (baked by my hippie church's Senior High Youth Group)
• Auntie Jill's Apple Pie
• Sour Cherry Pie
• Coffee & Port

What are you cooking?

Walnut, Blue Cheese, and Cranberry Tart [NaBloPoMo Day 19]

As promised, here is a recipe for a savory tart that can be served as a first course along with a simple green salad or with your Thanksgiving meal. I first came across the recipe about 10 years ago in an ad for Diamond walnuts.  As is to be expected, it is heavy on the walnuts.  I like nuts, but I found the tart a little too walnuty for my taste. This time when I make it, I will decrease the amount of nuts.  I am also going to adapt it slightly this year and use caramelized onions instead of regular sauteed onions. I'm going to use 4-6 onions depending on the size and caramelize/reduce those down to one cup.

If you don't like cranberries you can substitute firm pears or figs.

Also, the quality of the tart depends on the kind of blue cheese you use.  My family (especially Bunny and Wallie) are blue cheese freaks so I am going to increase the amount of cheese by about 2 ounces.  One of my issues last time around was that it wasn't cheesy enough. For best results, I highly recommend you use one of the following of my favorite blue cheeses:

• Italian Gorgonzola
• Italian Gorgonzola Dolce which has a creamier, sweeter flavor
• Pt. Reyes blue cheese (eat local California!)
• Australian Roaring 40's (one of my all time faves)
• Irish Cashel blue cheese
• an artisinal blue cheese from Wisconsin like Hook's (eat local Mid-west!)
  

So without further ado, here is the recipe for the tart. Ground walnuts can be found in the baking aisle if you don't want to grind them yourself.

And if tarts aren't your thing, just try not to drool while looking at the photo and recipe of this Blue Cheese Cheesecake. I might have to make both!

Gearing up for Thanksgiving [NaBloPoMo Day 18]

Our Thanksgiving table last year, a hodge-podge of vintage pieces, Anthropologie linens, IKEA plates, and wedding china and crystal, both my mother's handed down to me, and my own.

I'm going to admit it right up front: I've been a NaBloPoMo failure.  It was definitely a lofty goal for me to try to post here every day, but unfortunately, I just can't do it, during November or any other month. My heart it is rebellious, and even though my intentions are good, I just can't post this often. (I'm trying!)  If you blog every day, my hat is off to you.

Having said that, however, I do want to talk about Thanksgiving since it is my favorite culinary holiday. It's the holiday that in the United States and in my house, always features the best of what fall has to offer: fresh poultry, grains, nuts, legumes, potatoes, berries, greens, fruity olive oils, and local wines. I so look forward to this Sunday's Farmer's Market trip. We've been avoiding the farmer's lately in the interest of saving a little money, but you couldn't pry me away from the farmer's market the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

I break my Thanksgiving into three parts: appetizers, main meal, dessert.  (This is last year's menu.) Because my family traditionally eats our Thanksgiving dinner late, at dinner time, the day is spent noshing on an assortment of lovely hors d'oeuvres accompanied by drinks as we take in the Thanksgiving Day Parade and also a parade of football games.  My sister and I cook and fiddle about in the kitchen, cousins play, my brother and J. spend the day on the couch (or making us martinis), my mom is in charge of hors do'oeuvres and making oyster bisque. Our list of Thanksgiving Day pre-dinner nosh doesn't change much and usually includes:

• assorted cheeses and salumi
• chicken liver-truffle paté with plenty of cracked pepper and accompaniments (French cornichons, onions)
• Wallie's favorite smoked salmon and accompaniments (capers, onions)
• clam dip and potato chips
• crudités
• beer/wine
• martinis and old fashioneds

Here are some of my thoughts about Thanksgiving last year in the hopes that it might inspire you to start thinking about your own meal. But we're far from done here. Let's keep talkin'.

Scenes from Passover Seder

Last Saturday the girls and I went to our very first Passover Seder. (J. ended up getting called into work which was a big bummer.) We arrived at 5:30 and set out our shared dishes on the buffet. I made roasted chicken with Greek olives and separate dish of roasted asparagus. Other dishes included: two carrot dishes (very yummy), brisket, kugel, sweet potato tsimmis, a layered matzoh-spinach-beef dish, gefilte fish (I eat most everything but...), several salads, and macaroons and chocolatey desserts. Most everything was delish although I realized I am just not a potato kugel fan. I dont know why—I love everything in it, but just not everything together. We started the meal with matzoh ball soup, and since it's something I make often, the girls devoured that. (Bunny ate 5 balls.)

We followed a Haggadah which included modern references (as I understand it). We opened the door not just for Elijah but for Miriam, too. I liked that part. The girls we so patient and good. They were kept busy by the coloring activities and being seated at a table with other kids. I worried as I flipped through the Haggadah noting that dinner wasn't served until several pages in. By the time the soup was served, my gals were both raising their hands for the vegan soup with vegetarian matzo balls which was brought out first. "Are you sure you don't want to wait for chicken," I asked them? They shook their heads "no," and commenced slurping up their soup. Also a big hit with them: the charoset and making their "hillel sandwiches."

The seder lasted almost three hours and was fascinating...interesting...and quite moving. All the adults took turns reading the Passover story. Bunny was picked to asked one of the four questions but was too shy to do it so another child stepped in. Because we had read a story about Passover Seder leading up to the event, the girls were very excited about finding the afikomen. They didn't—and by that point they were both so tired that I thought at least one meltdown would ensue—but no. They were smiley and genuinely happy for the little boy who ended up being the lucky one.

In all, we had a great time. I love sharing experiences like this with my girls because we can all learn together. I look forward to next year.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Now that you've made all that pasta what do you do with it? If you were me on Easter, you make Fettuccine Alfredo, that's what!

This is not one of those Alfredo recipe that is swimming in heavy cream. It's a light recipe (well, as light as anything containing one stick of butter can be) that lets the silky-lightness of the pasta shine through.

FETTUCCINE ALFREDO CITYMAMA-STYLE

For this recipe you'll need:

• one recipe of fresh fettuccine (or equivalent for six people)
• one stick of unsalted butter
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1/4 nutmeg
• 3 cups of grated parmigiano or pecorino romano (reserve half cup for passing at the table)
• salt and pepper to taste
• truffle salt (optional)

Put pasta water on to boil. Salt generously.

Cut up butter and place in a large bowl. (I bought this bowl in Deruta, Italy and hand-carried it back on the plane with me. It is my favorite pasta bowl.):

Put cream and nutmeg into a small saucepan and warm through on med-lo heat:

Add the cheese to the butter:

When pasta water is boiling, add the fresh pasta slowly and stir well. Fresh pasta cooks very quickly and should be done in 1.5 to 2 minutes. Do not over cook or pasta will be mushy.

Drain and add to pasta bowl and stir quickly and well. Slowly add in warmed cream until desired sauciness is achieved, you may not need all the cream (you can save the unused cream and add it to a veggie soup or tomato pasta sauce). Salt and pepper to taste. Serve at once passing cheese and truffle salt at the table (if you really want to gild the lily).

My girls will eat anything if it has truffle salt on it: hard-boiled eggs, crudités, pasta, polenta, risotto...for that reason, it's a great investment.