We just hosted our 23rd annual New Year's Day Brunch. Joined by good friends and family, we celebrated the first day of the New Year with food, champagne and very cold temperatures. The menu consisted of (I'll start with dessert; always my favorite course) little, individual graham cracker tart shells filled with a rich chocolate ganache and topped with giant, torched homemade marshmallows. It's become somewhat of a tradition that I make a dessert that I can torch! I just loved these tarts and the good news is, you do not have to make your own marshmallows, as I did. You can use purchased, grocery store marshmallows. But what I found, long after brunch was over and all of the dishes had been washed and put away, and I pulled another little tart from the refrigerator as a bedtime snack -- it was extremely good without the marshmallow on top! You could easily serve this dessert unadorned as individual tarts, or easier yet, one large tart (a small shard of gold leaf would be beautiful... or a sprinkling of fleur de sel, maybe a drizzle of caramel; just make sure you use really good chocolate - it's key). ChocolateGanacheS'Mores adapted from Deep Dark Chocolate by Sara Perry Crust • 1 1/3 cups non-trans fat graham cracker crumbs • 1/3 cup granulated sugar • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter Filling • 5 ounces premium dark chocolate, chopped (I used Callebaut) • 1/2 cup whole milk • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces • Pinch of salt (I used fleur de sel, and I used more than a large pinch, but I love it when used with chocolate) • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Topping • large, fresh homemade or purchased marshmallows (link to recipe below) 1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. In a medium bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter until well blended and crumbly. Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch tart pan and lightly press onto the bottom of the pan; or use 10 individual, small tart pans as I did, approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Bake until set and fragrant, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. 2. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk and butter until the butter is melted (I did this in a microwave); stir to combine and pour the hot milk mixture over the chocolate. Let stand for several minutes, then stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the salt and vanilla and let cool completely. Pour into the crust and refrigerate until well-chilled, at least 4 hours. 3. Right before serving, top with a homemade or purchased marshmallows and brown with a butane torch. Serve while the marshmallows are still warm. Make your own Marshmallows (just delete peppermint candy from the recipe) I feel as though I took the easy way out this time, making a Sherried Creamed Chicken Almondine (served on purchased Pepperidge Farm Puffed Pastry Shells) that I have made many times before and usually serve on mashed potatoes. It's delicious, my family is crazy about it, it's easy (even if you quadruple the recipe) and it's perfect comfort food, something everyone at the table was hungry for. The best part, however, is just getting together with the same friends that have joined us for this annual event the past 23 years. TAKE a LOOK:
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My most memorable meal took place many years ago when we lived just outside of New York City. Several of us were being treated to dinner out by my husband's boss. The restaurant was called THE BOX TREE and was located inside of an old townhouse near the United Nations Building. Every detail of that evening for me is unforgettable. When we arrived at the address for the restaurant we were unsure whether or not we had the right location. There were no signs showing the establishment's name. The door was locked. When we knocked, a little curtain over the window was pulled aside and we were asked our name. Once they confirmed our reservation, the door swung open and we were shown to our table in one of the two very small dining rooms. The beautiful, old silver flatware was French. The menus had no prices on them. Only our host knew what this meal was going to cost. The fois gras I ordered as an appetizer was delivered to the table by two waiters - one to hold the giant French porcelain tureen, the second to remove the lid and scoop a portion onto my plate. I was informed afterwards that the veal with truffles, my entrée, had been the most expensive on the menu. (Sorry.... I didn't have a menu with prices listed. I tend to low-ball if I know what things are costing.) I have never had an experience equal to that in a restaurant again. I don't even know if the Box Tree still exists. And, when I thought that fairy tale night had ended, I walked toward the exit and on a little table near the door was a dish of Meringue Mushrooms. I had never seen a Meringue Mushroom, let alone eaten one. I now make my own. Since this is the first year we will ever be in our own home for Christmas, I plan to make a Buche de Noel (another first) for Christmas Eve dinner; and of course, it will need to be surrounded by mushrooms! • MeringueMushrooms • • 3 egg whites • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar • 1/8 teaspoon salt • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract • 1/2 cup superfine sugar • 2/3 cup (4 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted • 2 teaspoons cocoa 1. Beat the first 5 ingredients at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves (2 to 4 minutes). 2. Spoon mixture into a decorating bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe 1 1/4-inch-wide mounds for mushroom caps and 1-inch-tall columns for stems (approximately 32 of each) onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. 3. Bake at 200˚F for 1 hour and 30 minutes; turn oven off. Let meringues stand in closed oven 2 hours. 4. Spread a thin layer of melted chocolate on the flat side of the caps. Trim rounded end of stems to make flat (I found a micro-planer works great.); press against chocolate to attach to caps. Sprinkle with cocoa. My amazing, 89 year-old father has endured this past week, a successful 9-hour surgery for pancreatic cancer. He is exceeding everyone's expectations. His extremely gifted surgeon Neal Wilkinson at the University of Iowa Hospital, said my father is doing as well or better than his youngest patients have done during recovery after this surgery, and we are all expecting him to continue to improve as each day goes by. My hope is that my father is able to play golf every day next summer! He deserves it after the year he's had. And if you're wondering, he was also an amazing baseball player in his younger days. "Buckshot" pitched to Babe Ruth - how cool is that? I had been looking forward to July 25th for days. It was the day the bikers riding in La Tour de France would be ascending Mont Ventoux. We watch the Tour de France almost religiously each summer. I think I like cycling, but honestly, the reason I'm glued to the television screen during La Tour is because of the scenery. I'm a sucker for the cobblestones and tiled roofs of France. When the cyclists are on secluded stretches of road, I'll find little jobs to do around the house. But as soon as my husband yells, "Hey, look at this!", I run back to the t.v. and images of another village I now want to visit. Seeing the 20th leg of La Tour was especially important to me because we always stay near Mont Ventoux in the Vaucluse region when visiting Provence. Last summer we based ourselves in Carpentras and wherever we ventured during the day, Mont Ventoux was most likely in our sight. My husband, who has become more interested in cycling over the years and participates in Ragbrai (the bike race across Iowa) with our youngest daughter, has never joined me on my visits to Provence. But he seemed intrigued, seeing the shots of lavender fields and vineyards during La Tour yesterday. I'm hoping he'll consider a trip with me. He could ride his bike from village to village and I could meet up with him for lunch, taking a break from the markets and brocantes -- my favorite pasttimes in Provence. Since we would be getting up at 6 a.m. (on a Saturday!) to watch the ascent of Mont Ventoux, I decided to assemble a strata the night before, to have as breakfast Saturday morning. The great thing about a strata is that you can work with what you've got. I had 2 cooked hot Italian sausages in my freezer along with a baguette. I sliced the baguette and covered the bottom of a buttered gratin with half. Over that I layered the sliced sausages and mushrooms from a jar in my pantry. I sprinkled about a cup of shredded Gruyére over the top, along with leaves of fresh basil from my garden. I covered this with another layer of baguette slices and more shredded cheese. I whisked together 4 large eggs and about a cup of half & half, seasoned with salt and pepper, and poured this evenly over the bread. (Feel free to add more cream or milk if the strata seems too dry). Covered with plastic wrap, the strata was placed in the refrigerator until the next morning when I popped it into a preheated 350˚F oven for 30 minutes. I wish the red peppers in my refrigerator had been roasted when I assembled this late Friday night. They would have been a great addition.
We are getting some new windows this week. The original windows to our 1928 home no longer function efficiently (did they ever?). Draperies rustle in the gentle breeze -- when the windows are closed! Our windows never would have been classified as "energy saving" windows. So, this week I took down the linen roman shades I made and anything hanging on the walls near the windows that came out. I have cleaned my rooms, over and over; only to have to clean the rooms again today when the workmen leave for the last time. But, before they are gone, they will also put new glides on my very old kitchen drawers. That is almost worth more to me than the new windows. With one of the windows removed from our bedroom, I had a beautiful view of the garden below. I took photos from an angle I had never photographed from before. The blue cabbage are truly stunning. Right now I'm feeling like that may be the only thing we will be eating from my garden. The days have been strangely cool, and altho' I have hundreds, yes hundreds, of tomatoes dangling from my 25 heirloom tomato plants, they are hanging there green and don't seem to be in any hurry to ripen. And, in addition to that, I have been trimming leaves with blight daily. If I'm not eating fresh garden tomatoes soon, it won't be pretty. You won't want to read what I will be writing. So, with workmen in my kitchen again today, my range will be inaccessible. I do have plans for baking this weekend... if I'm not busy painting windows.
I'll be the first to admit that I went a little overboard with purple cabbage this year. I have 29 purple cabbage planted in my vegetable garden. That 29 does not include cabbages that are planted in pots. I do eat cabbage, but the real reason I plant them is for the leaf and the amazing purpley-blue color. I'd have to say that next to the eggplant's leaf, cabbage is my favorite. As you can see, if it were not for the cabbage, my garden would just be an uninspiring green. I welcome cabbage recipes. If you have a favorite, please let me know! I think I'm going to need any and all I can get my hands on...
I was recently "back home" visiting my father in Amana, Iowa. Originally a communal society from the mid-1800's to 1932, things have changed there, drastically. It's not the same as when I was growing up... but nothing stays the same, does it? I went out with my camera one morning to shoot photos of places that still seemed like the Amana I remember. Many of the original homes were either made from sandstone or handmade bricks. Grapes were grown by many to produce wine. Rhubarb and dandelion wines were also made in the Amanas. I remember picking dandelions when I was young, earning 50 cents for each bushel basketful I picked for the wineries (I had a strong entrepreneurial sense at an early age. I showed great promise, but it somehow disappeared as I grew older). This is a side entrance to the old West Amana store. Each of the seven villages had its own general store and church. The seven villages are Amana, East Amana, Middle Amana, High Amana, West Amana, South Amana and Homestead. Isn't that a great foundation on the weathered wood building in the background? There is still beauty to be found.
We happened to be in the Marais on Gay Pride Day June 2006. We usually stay on the Left Bank when visiting Paris, but had just returned for one night after a week in Provence and decided to stay near the Gare de Lyon. That way, we would be able to walk to our hotel from the train station, eliminating a costly taxi ride. I expected a quiet night, having dinner near our hotel and turning in early since we were catching our flight back home the next morning. What was I thinking?? We were in Paris, andwhen you are in Paris, and when it's your last night in Paris, YOU DO NOT TURN IN EARLY! We arrived at our hotel, threw down our luggage, and we were out of there. |
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