The guests ‘may’ be sober, but the bird is definitely juiced! It arrives with a few cups of tequila and Grand Marnier in its belly.
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Hope all you fathers out there had a very special day!
Roasted Vegetables with Mojo Rojo
whole carrots, whole beets, mini sweet peppers, french string beans, purple potatoes, cipollini onions and a head of garlic (in their skins).*
Everything was brushed with a mixture of olive oil, S&P, thyme, rosemary, fennel seeds (the carrots and beets got a splash of balsamic glaze in their mixture). Roasted at 350 degrees till tender.
Mojo Rojo: Puree 1 jar Goya piquillo peppers (or sweet pimentos), 1/2 cup olive oil, a little salt, a splash of sherry vinegar, 1/2 cup of walnuts and almonds.
Escarole Stuffed with Cheese and Wrapped with Proscuitto
I got this idea from Taste With Eyes and couldn’t wait to try it. It was a big hit with fathers and mothers alike!
She used a fancy French Supreme cheese and an outdoor grill, but I made do with a some crumbled feta and a 450 degree oven since there was no room on the grill.
Grilled Corn
Basted and grilled with olive oil, S&P. Then tossed with a mixture of warm honey and lime zest. Topped with scallions.
Yes, we also had the traditional grilled meats – steak, ribs, sausage, chicken, burgers and franks…all expertly seasoned and grilled. Keeping with the ‘grill’ theme, we ended with skewers of grilled fresh fruit served over cheese cake.
A great menu all-around but, this time, I’m just featuring the veggies. They were that good and deserve to be showcased on their own.
*oops, I forgot the zucchini and I had such an interesting presentation in mind. Oh, well, another day.
In our family of 17-around-the-table-for-holidays, there are only 4 cooks…me, my sister, my son and my niece. My son was busy when we started making plans for Mother’s Day so it was left to the 3 mothers to plan the dinner. (But he did step up for dessert and it was FABU!)
The senior mothers (my mom and aunt) retired from hosting family dinners a while back but, in deference to the occasion, we asked them what they’d like for Mother Day. It wasn’t brunch…it was a resounding “pasta” dinner. So the 3 chef-esses decided to do 3 different pastas.
My niece who has the 2 smallest children decided to do a typical red sauce pasta with tiny meatballs (left). My sister made a delicious pesto pasta with fresh tomatoes and olives (right) and I did what I call a ‘Flavors of the Mediterranean’ pasta. I plan to publish the recipe in a special event pasta post I’m planning; but, meantime, here’s a teaser of the approximate 15 ingredients that go in before the pasta.
This time ‘save the best for last’ was a real truism…a citrus custard tart with fresh blueberries. I think Jim will be posting the recipe on his blog, Our Family Food Fight.
I hope you all…mothers, fathers, daughters, sons…had a nice day.
Back Story: For Christmas Day dinner, my son wanted a fried turkey and went out and purchased the fryer. But we had a rain-out. Fast thinking and successful surgery to de-bone the carcass to get it cooked quickly followed and we ate a very delicious (though not conventional) roast turkey.
Fast Forward: March 8 is my son’s birthday. In our family, the birthday person chooses the dinner…the person closest by blood ties does the cooking…and everyone else shows up to eat and celebrate. My son was still hankering for that fried turkey so that was his dinner choice. Thankfully for me, because that also meant the party would be at his house and that he would be handling half the dinner which was a big help since we were going to be 21 people.
Cell phones in hand to dial 911, his cousins and friends stood a good distance behind him cheering/jeering(?) as Jim lowered the turkey into the boiling hot oil.
45-minutes or so later, he pulled out a beautifully golden 20+ lb. bird.
It didn’t take long after that for the birthday turkey to look like this:
For me dinners like this are all about the sides. However, not wanting to go the traditional Thanksgiving menu route since we were cooking outdoors, I made 4 side dishes that could be served at room temperature. Two had a decidedly Mediterranean theme and two had a Southwestern twist.
From my Spanish and Italian roots, I conjured up a pasta that was made with long-simmering garbanzos, chorizo, tomatoes, green olives and dressed with olive oil and lemon.
This was a rice salad made with sauteed spinach and artichokes to which I added toasted pignolis, feta cheese, a LOT of lemon, and olive oil.
A big hit with the kids was the roasted sweet potatoes that were dressed with a vinaigrette made from fresh lime juice and lots of zest, honey, a little olive oil and a little chipolte (ssh, don’t tell the kids).
Corn, avocado, cheddar cheese, black olives, capers, scallions dressed with fresh tomato salsa and extra squeezes of lemon.
It was supposed to be just these 4 sides but not wanting to waste all those gallons of hot oil, my son threw in a few pounds of sliced white potatoes after he removed the turkey. They don’t look so good but they were might tasty.
The party ended with Carvel ice cream cake…some traditions die hard!
Truth be told: (1) While the turkey was very moist, I prefer a roasted bird. (2) I’m not telling you how old my son was on March 8th. I’m not that truthful!
Here’s the recipes I promised. They’re so worth trying.
Picadillo Stuffing may not be the most photogenic…but it’s definitely the most tasty! While I’m surely not the first person to make this, I didn’t follow anyone’s recipe — so here’s what I did (to the best of my recollection).
Ingredients: 4 lbs. ground meat (I used beef and pork), 2 links of chorizo minced small, 1 lb. corn bread stuffing. (Yes, this is definitely a meat lover’s stuffing with that ratio), onions, garlic, green pepper (all finely diced), yellow raisins and prunes soaked in 1 cup of red wine, 2 small cans of Goya tomato sauce, stuffed olives, capers, cumin, oregano, Sazon (or adobo seasoning), S&P, splash of sherry vinegar, splash hot sauce.
Method: Made 1 day in advance. Saute onion, garlic, pepper. Add chorizo and tomato sauce to create a sofrito (base to build on). Add ground meat breaking it up as it cooks down. Add raisins, prunes & wine, dry seasonings and cook over medium heat. Taste. This is supposed to have lots of flavor. Continue to adjust seasonings until the taste is BOLD. Splash sherry vinegar and hot sauce to taste.
The next day I brought the meat to room temperature and then blended it with a bag of cornbread stuffing and a little chicken broth to moisten it. Baked covered for about 30 minutes and uncovered for an additional 15 to toast top.
Chimichurri Sauce: 1 bunch of Italian parsley, 1 bunch of cilantro, garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes, S&P, juice of 1 lemon, and a splash of red wine vinegar blended to desired consistency.
Note: (1) Leftover chimichurri is great as a marinade or topping with any poultry or meat or as a base condiment for a casserole. (2) It also makes a delicious vinaigrette. I took some sauce thinned it out a little, added a little sugar (well, a packet of Splenda…one has to watch one’s calories. What a joke during the holidays!) It was a great dressing for the avocado salad.
Pumpkin Flan with Praline Brittle: The recipe for the pumpkin flan was not ‘original’, but it was perfectly executed by Jim. Click here for recipe.
COMING IN 2009
• I got a ‘light tent’ and some new plates for food photos for Christmas. I’m being forced into upping my game and I’m exploring some new food art opportunities.
• Announcement of new event coming January ’09. Hint: You’ll need a passport.
Riddle: What do marinated artichoke hearts, figs, capers, cheddar cheese, Greek olives, porcini mushrooms, walnuts and vinegar have in common?
Answer: They were all invited to my home along with 7 friends.
The Plan. It all started with this e-mail invitation I sent out when 2 friends visiting from NY requested a ‘food fight’, a la what we do at Family Food Fight. To create the menu, each person had to select a random ingredient and then everyone coming had to make a dish that included at least 3 of the ingredients. (See invite for more rules.) Unfortunately, one person had to drop out (but we kept her ingredient, hee-hee). The final ingredients, picked randomly by each of the 8 participants: walnuts, vinegar, porcini mushrooms, capers, cheddar cheese, figs, marinated artichokes, and Greek olives.
The night of the challenge. We started off with a festive champagne cocktail with floating edible flowers. (Yes, I still had them 10 days later…those Debbie Meyer green bags really work.)
After our brief ‘happy hour’, we went straight into our tasting dinner. Courses were presented one-at-a-time in tasting size portions. Each and every dish was a winner. Nothing fell short. And, lucky us, we had a gradual and natural progression of selections from appetizer to dessert. Compliments to the chef x7!
Presented pictorially in the order it was served with links to recipes.
Gazpacho, Mini Empanada & Plantain Salsa
I made the first course…gazpacho served with a mini chorizo-fig empanada; plantain salsa was served as garnish. I used 5 of the ingredients: sherry vinegar, calamata olives, figs, capers, walnuts.
Mini Quiche
Roseanne brought cheddar & marinated artichoke quiche cups. She found the recipe on the All Recipes website and used 3 ingredients: cheddar cheese, marinated artichoke hearts and olives.
Stuffed Escarole
Scarolelle Imbottite. Carolyn found a recipe from one of her favorite chefs, Lydia Bastianich, which she adapted to include figs, capers and olives as her chosen ingredients. This photo is in preparation stage. See recipe for how to finish the dish.
Mediterranean Tilapia
Maryann brought a tilapia which she covered with a very rich putanesca-pesto like sauce and used 3 of the challenge ingredients: marinated artichoke hearts, olives, capers.
Porcini Pasta Treat
Mary created a pasta with porcini mushrooms, figs, walnuts and gorgonzola. This was our only porcini mushroom dish…and it was a real treat. She used 3 ingredients.
Stuffed Chicken Breast
Liz created a stuffed chicken breast which was served with a rich fig reduction sauce, a tiny potato, and roasted garlic and figs. 5 challenge ingredients were used.
Warm Figs & Marscapone
Katie found a recipe for this fabulous dessert and added her own touch to it by serving it on a crepe. She used fig balsamic vinegar, walnuts and mission figs to meet her challenge requirements.
The Chefs
Happy and over-satiated after seven very delicious courses and a variety of wines later, it was difficult to muster the energy to pose for a photo. We all agreed the dinner was a huge success, a fun activity, and something we’d like to do again. You should try it!
(Warning: The more people you invite, the more food you have to eat!)
Thanksgiving is celebrated at my sister’s house…she’s a good cook too and a great hostess. Yesterday we were, I think, 18 people. I was too busy photographing and eating the food so, sadly, I only managed to capture 4 people. 
The welcoming pig chef who announces the occasion.
Tablescape: Note the kiddie table covered with brown paper and crayons.
Some of the appetizers: pumpkin-pesto pizza pinwheel; guava paste, boursin cheese & almonds, and the star of the show a baked pumpkin cheese fondue.
Some of the sides: mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts & chestnuts,
carrots, and fennel, arugula and pomegranate salad.
mmmm…stuffing and gravy
Deep dish apple pie by Jim; store bought pumpkin pie;
pumpkin cookies by Teri; fruit salad by Carolyn.
And a few of the people we are thankful for:
Nina and Michael
Nico and Adriana
Hope you all had a wonderful day…don’t forget Blogger’s Aid which is fighting world famine.
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