Heavy frost

It's a nice supplement to the weekly nor'easters we've been getting...



Sea Smoke

It was -15 when we got up yesterday.

When it's that cold, the ocean water (which is right around 35 degrees) evaporates rapidly.

It steams, actually.

It's called sea smoke.

My stepdad got these pictures.

The wind chill was -35.

Bitter and brutal, but beautiful. 

We wouldn't trade it for anything.

Event Planning: A Titanic Party

I love my job.

Each January, the company throws a “Year Beginning Dinner.”   Roughly a hundred people need to be wined, dined, and, with luck, entertained. 

Our theme this year was Titanic. 

Though the event was geared for a large group, the ideas and activities could easily be scaled down for a dinner party or even an older child’s birthday party. 

Invitations & correspondence:

For this event I used primarily Legal Tender, Elephant, and Fairfax Station fonts (all free), which have a formal, early-20^th-century look.  Graphics of the White Star Line logos are widely available on line.  PaperDirect sells a nice heavy paper with a tear-off bottom which is perfect for RSVPs. 

Venue & Decor: 

The dinner was held at Amalfi on the Water, a fantastic restaurant which is literally at the ocean’s edge, so minimal decoration was required.  Nancy and her staff transformed the space into a first-class dining room – tables for ten with white tablecloths, low floral centerpieces (from Dean’s) and tea lights.  Dave created a wonderful ice sculpture of the ship’s stern as it plunged beneath the waves (shown here somewhat late in the evening, but you get the idea.  That's Nancy in the background.  That woman never quits).

Except for the nor’easter that blew itself silly until 4 p.m. the day of the event, the weather conditions closely replicated those of the night of April 14, 1912.  Can I take credit for that?

Menu: 

We didn’t attempt to recreate the final dinner on the Titanic, just let Dave do his thing.  There were five courses, each a delight.  I ate to my Spanx-imposed limit and beyond.


Course #3:  Haddock Chowder


Guests: 

Lots of people dressed the part – I counted two tuxedos, one velvet smoking jacket, a number of first-class ladies, a boiler stoker and a deck hand, among others. 

Activities:

“Become” an actual Titanic passenger.  Will you (and your family or traveling companions) survive the disaster?:  I provided a selection of passenger and crew identities, including biographical information, on a 4x6 cards.  Guests chose a card when they arrived.  At another place in the restaurant we stationed a corresponding (alphabetical) list of passengers with details about whether they survived (and, if so, how the rest of their lives turned out), so guests could find out if they were one of the lucky ones.

Notes:

·     Biographical information on Titanic passengers is available on the internet.  Pay attention to copyrights.

·     The master data was compiled in Excel and mail-merged into a Word template for 4x6 perforated postcards.

·     The survivor list was copied from Excel into a table in Word for easier formatting, then printed on 11x17 paper.

·     It was helpful to have more postcards than guests.

“Titanic Trivia” Scavenger Hunt:  This consisted of a page of trivia questions which could be answered by careful survey of the informational posters we had placed around the restaurant.  The winner got an iPad.

Notes: 

·     Posters were created in Publisher and printed in full color on 11x17” paper. 

·     The fonts were large enough and posters spaced so that people could read without crowding.

·     Copyrights again….

Party favors: 

I steered clear of the overpriced Titanic-specific stuff.  There are affordable and surprisingly nice nautical tchotchkes at http://www.handcraftednauticaldecor.com/.  At each place setting we put either a spyglass in a wooden and brass-inlaid box, a brass anchor paperweight, or a brass pocket compass. 

Everything else:

We hired a DJ for background music during cocktail hour and dinner, then we finished the evening with some serious dancing.  There were the customary speeches and few nice door prizes.  Taxi service was available at the end of the evening for anyone who shouldn’t drive.  We also make our corporate rate available to employees who wish to spend the night at a local hotel.

All in all, it was a very nice evening.

Rustic Italian Bread

Himself and I purchased The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian when it first came out in the early 90s.  The spine is now broken and whole sections of the book fall out, chunks of pages between the recipes we have used most often.  

One of the places the book falls open is to the Italian Peasant Bread page, which forms the basis of this recipe but which I’ve changed enough to merit writing somewhere other than in the margins of that poor overused cookbook.  

Jeff Smith’s technique calls for three risings and makes two free-form loaves which rise the final time upside-down on a flour-coated dish towel.  Sometimes I make the dough into two hearty baguettes, brush with an egg wash and sprinkle with kosher salt.  Either way, the crust is chewy-crunchy and the interior is dense and tangily reminiscent of sourdough.

I get my white whole wheat flour, ascorbic acid, bread flour and dough improver from King Arthur Flour.  (They also sell a nifty little measuring spoon which is exactly 2 ¼ teaspoons, and a container that holds exactly a pound of yeast and fits perfectly in the freezer door…  can one every have too many gadgets?)

Thing One and two of his friends ate an entire loaf of this last night with their dinner.

Rustic Italian Bread

Two packets (4 ½ teaspoons) active dry yeast

2 ½ cups warm water

1 cup white whole wheat four

4-5 cups bread flour

1/8 teaspoon ascorbic acid

1 teaspoon salt

5 teaspoons dough improver

In a mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water.  Allow to stand for 5 minutes, until it's foamy.

With the paddle of the mixer, stir the white whole wheat flour and 3 cups of bread flour.  Beat for 10 minutes (the dough will pull away from the sides of the mixer).  Beat in salt, ascorbic acid and dough improver.

Switch to the dough hook and add remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, until dough is smooth, elastic and not too stiff.  (It's pretty dry this time of year, so each of  this weekend's batches took barely 4 cups of bread flour.)  Knead for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a greased bowl.  Flip the dough, cover, and allow to rise until double.  Punch down and allow to double a second time.  Punch down again and divide dough into two equal portions. 

For baguettes:  Form into baguettes and allow to rise in a baguette pan until double.  Brush with a wash of 1 beaten egg and 1 teaspoon water; sprinkle with kosher salt.  

For freeform loaves:  Form into roundish loaves and place upside-down on a heavily floured cotton towel.  Sprinkle loaves with additional flour and cover with another cotton towel.  Allow to rise until double.  Flip the loaves over again when you transfer them to the baking sheet so they’re right-side up again.

During the final rise, heat the oven to 450.  A pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven is a good idea.  

Bake the loaves for 20 (for baguettes) or 25 (for round loaves) minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.

Sauerkraut update

Remember the sauerkraut? 

Ideally, it should have been canned right around Christmas but that didn't happen.  Thank goodness that fermentation is a forgiving process. 

That big crock of cabbage and salt has now turned into this:

Seven quart jars and twenty pint jars of kraut. 

Ain't no scurvy in this household.  No sir.

Repurposing Leftovers: Pork, Cannellini, Tortellini and Escarole Soup

There we were, with three extra pork chops….  

…and the next day was Thursday, the day that I have to be out of the house by 6.35 a.m. to get Thing One to band rehearsal and we don’t get home from his fencing lesson until almost 7.30.  Thursday’s dinners usually involve Wednesday night prep and the slow cooker.

Pork, Cannellini, Tortellini and Escarole Soup

3 8-oz cooked pork sirloin chops (if chops are uncooked, season and sear them on each side)

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced

2 carrots, peeled & sliced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 large can chicken broth

½ teaspoon thyme

¼ teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)

2 bay leaves

1 16-oz bag frozen cheese tortellini

2 15-oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 head escarole, cleaned and chopped (a 10-oz box of frozen spinach works too)

Salt & pepper to taste

Fresh Parmesan for serving

                                                                                        

Chop the pork into  ½” cubes.  Place the pork, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, chicken broth, thyme, rosemary, red pepper and bay leaves in a slow cooker and cover.  (This part can be done the night before – refrigerate until the next morning.)

Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 8-10 (or 12 or 13) hours. 

Switch to high heat and stir in frozen tortellini and cannellini beans.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes.  Stir in escarole, cover, and cook 20-30 minutes more, until escarole is wilted and soup is heated through.  Correct seasonings and serve dusted with grated Parmesan.

8 servings

Beef Braciole

Himself and I had beef braciole on our first date back in 1926.  It was at Chuck and Ginny’s in Erie, Pennsylvania, one of those first generation Italian family institutions that has since closed.  I remember thinking that the guy wasn’t bad but the braciole was underwhelming. 

In the intervening years I have made braciole a few times, and it’s always been okay, but never that knock-your-socks-off marvel one would anticipate after hearing the dish described.  However, after last weekend’s attempt, I believe I’m coming closer.

Some Things that I Have Learned about Beef Braciole over the Last Century:

·     When you start with a decent cut of meat, do not cook it to death.  (No prolonged simmering in a tomato sauce or to dust it shall return.) 

·     More stuffing is good.

·     Raisins and mint = icky poo.

Herewith is the work in progress:

Beef Braciole

Sauce: 

1 small onion, diced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, to taste

Couple of tablespoons olive oil

1 jar commercial spaghetti sauce (tomato & basil flavor)

1 can petite diced tomatoes

½ cup red wine

Braciole:

Four top round steaks, about 6 ounces each, sliced thin, pounded thinner – between 1/8” and 1/4”

Salt & pepper

Pesto (a quarter of a cup, more or less)

1 cup bread crumbs

¼ cup grated Parmesan

1 tablespoon garlic

1 tablespoon parsley flakes (I’m sure fresh would be even better)

2 tablespoons finely chopped toasted pine nuts

1 egg, beaten

2-4 tablespoons olive oil (more if necessary)

Shredded mozzarella

Olive oil

Red wine

1 14-oz can mushrooms, drained (fresh would be better – exotic would be heaven)

1 14-oz can beef stock

For the sauce:

Saute onion, garlic and pepper flakes in olive oil over medium heat until translucent.  Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for at least half an hour, stirring occasionally.

For the braciole:

Sprinkle one surface of the steaks generously with salt & pepper and slather with a layer of pesto.  Leave 1-2” on one end free to create a good seal when you roll it up.  Throw any extra pesto in the sauce.

In a small bowl, mix bread crumbs, Parmesan, garlic, parsley, pine nuts, and egg.  Add just enough olive oil so that it barely holds together. 

                                  

Spread the bread crumb mixture on top of the pesto and press it into place, then sprinkle with a small handful of shredded mozzarella.  Roll the beef up and tie in three places.  Season the outside of the rolls generously with salt & pepper.

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Brown the braciole on all sides, then remove to a plate and tent loosely with foil.  Throw a stiff shot of red wine into the pan and scrape up the browned bits; let the wine reduce a little and then add the mushrooms  and beef stock.  Return the beef rolls to the pan, reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for ten minutes.  Turn rolls over, cover, and simmer another ten minutes. 

Remove braciole and tent with foil again.  Increase heat and reduce mushroom mixture by about a third, then add sauce to mushroom mixture. 

                                                      

Remove string and slice the braciole.  Serve with hot cooked spaghetti and lots of the sauce.  Grated parm on top, natch.

Calzones

The Spare had a couple of friends over this weekend and asked to have calzones for dinner.  Good choice – yummy and versatile and not too much fuss. 

The scheme is pretty simple:  a ricotta/mozzarella base plus a handful of pizza toppings, wrapped in dough and baked for half an hour.  Pizza sauce is served on the (out)side.  (If I were a good mother, I would make the sauce from scratch.  I’m not.  We like the Contadina brand.)

My recipe makes two big calzones (half of one is very generous for an adult or The Heir, who has the metabolism of a hummingbird) but to be safe, I doubled.  Turned out to be a good thing.

To keep the cheese from leaking out while it bakes, once I’ve rolled the dough into a circle and spread the filling on half of it, before I fold the top over and pinch everything closed, I turn the edges in about ½” all the way around, then moisten with water.  This makes a thicker edge but a better seal and the crust is pretty good eating so no one complains.

Last night the girls opted for pepperoni; the rest of us added Italian sausage, mushrooms, and pepperoncini.  Some day when the kids are tired of pepperoni I would like to try these with chicken, spinach and feta; or buffalo chicken, bleu cheese, sweet onions and red pepper. 

Calzones

Dough:

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 cups warm water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

3 rounded teaspoons pizza dough flavoring (from King Arthur Flour - optional)

1 beaten egg (for egg wash)

Filling:

1 cup ricotta cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella or Pizza Blend

¼ cup grated Parmesan

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 cup (more or less) optional ingredients (diced pepperoni, cooked & crumbled Italian sausage, chopped canned mushrooms, sliced pepperoncini, sliced red onion, diced green pepper, black olives… whatever blows your skirt up)

Pizza sauce, warmed

For the dough:  In a mixer bowl, dissolve yeast in water.  Add oil, sugar, salt, 1 cup flour and dough flavoring.  Beat with the flat paddle of the mixer for a couple of minutes, then switch to the dough hook and work in the rest of the flour.  Knead until smooth.  Turn dough out into lightly oiled bowl, flip, cover and let rise until almost doubled.

For the filling:  While dough is rising, combine all the filling ingredients in a large bowl and stir until thoroughly combined.

To assemble:  Punch down the dough and divide into two equal parts.  Roll each out into a thin 10-12” circle on a lightly floured surface.  (If dough is too springy, cover lightly and let rest for five or ten minutes.)  Spread ½ of each dough circle with ½ of the filling, pressing down to compact.  Fold the remaining dough over the filling and seal the edges.  Brush with beaten egg and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet (a half sheet pan comfortably fits both calzones).

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  Let stand for five minutes or so before cutting into wedges.  Serve hot with pizza sauce on the side.

Pat's Pork Chop Casserole

Early yesterday morning the indestructible parakeet finally clapped out for good and all.  I swear I did not think I would live to see this day.  

(Its name was Pat, after the ambigendrous Saturday Night Live character from the 80s – please tell me someone else remembers that.  Although I’m fairly sure that the bird was, in fact, female, it was some time before we had any degree of certainty about that; hence the name.)

And then about an hour later we got slammed with that nor’easter that wreaked havoc in the southeast earlier this week.  It was a terrific storm, the kind that drops a foot and a half of snow in a matter of hours, blows like hell, stops traffic, brings down electric lines and compels cynical teenage boys to dig forts and make snow angels.

Comfort food was called for, and nothing screams “comfort food” like some combination of pork chops, stuffing and cream of mushroom soup.  

Pat’s Pork Chop Casserole

For the pork chops:

4 bone-in pork loin chops, ½ - ¾” thick

1 tablespoon olive oil

For the stuffing layer:

2 tablespoons butter

1 stalk celery, sliced

1 yellow onion, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage

1 tablespoon parley flakes

1 1-lb loaf hearty white sandwich bread, lightly toasted and cubed

2 cups chicken stock (approximately)

For the mushroom topping:

2 tablespoons butter

2 yellow onions, sliced

1 13-oz can sliced mushrooms, drained

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 cans condensed cream-of-mushroom soup

½ cup vermouth or white wine

French fried onions

Chops:

Season pork chops liberally with salt and pepper.  Sear in oil over medium-high heat so they are golden-brown.  Remove to ungreased 13 x 9 baking dish.

Stuffing:

Melt butter in stock pot and sautee celery, diced onion and garlic until tender.  Season with thyme, sage, and parsely, plus salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in bread cubes and enough chicken stock to moisten.  It should hang together.  Spread on top of the pork chops.

Topping:

Melt butter in a skillet and sautee sliced onion, mushrooms, and garlic until tender.  Stir in cream of mushroom soup and vermouth and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Spread on top of the stuffing.

Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour or until pork is done.  Remove foil and sprinkle with French fried onions; return to oven for 15 minutes.  Serve.  

Repurposing Leftovers: Fettuccini with Double-Garlic Chicken Ragu

The temptation was strong to make complete pig out of myself and finish the last of the Mistral’s Chicken with Garlic we made last weekend.  I’m sure my co-workers are grateful that I resisted.

Instead, we got another entire meal – and more leftovers – out of two modest chicken thighs and half a drumstick by incorporating them (and the leftover garlic and pan juices) into a delicious thick sauce to serve over broad pasta.  It went together quickly, so it was perfect for a weeknight dinner – broiled garlic bread with Parmesan and a big green salad completed the meal.

I’ve attempted to give more-or-less measurements but this sort of exercise is a matter of general ideas rather than specifics….

Fettuccini with Double-Garlic Chicken Ragu

1 small yellow onion, chopped

6 good-sized garlic cloves, pressed

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 4-oz can mushrooms, drained and coarsely chopped

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)

1 14-oz can petite diced tomatoes

1 26-oz jar spaghetti sauce (any brand)

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 tablespoon parsley flakes

½ teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

1 cup cooked chicken, diced fine, plus 12 braised whole garlic cloves (mooshed up) and ¼ cup pan juices from Mistral’s Chicken with Garlic

½ - 1 cup liquid (I used about ½ cup chicken stock and ¼ cup red wine)

1 lb. dried fettuccini

Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat.  Sautee onion and crushed garlic until tender; add mushrooms, red pepper flakes, diced tomatoes, and spaghetti sauce.  Season with oregano, basil, parsley, and rosemary; stir in chicken, braised garlic and pan juices. 

Simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  If sauce is too thick to simmer without sticking, add additional liquid as necessary.  

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions, drain and keep warm.

Serve sauce over hot fettuccini, topped with freshly grated Parmesan.

Cranberry-Pecan Shortbread

While I was out playing Nurse Nancy this weekend, Himself and the boy made shortbread.  They started out with the King Arthur Flour recipe but naturally they changed it up a bit; in this household we are as fundamentally incapable of following a recipe as we are speaking in tongues. 

Here it is:

Cranberry-Pecan Shortbread

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon orange zest

¼ c (about a handful) chopped dried sweetened cranberries

¼ c (about a handful) chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 300.  Lightly grease an 8” square pan. 

With your mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, then beat in the flour.  The dough will be stiff.  Hail KitchenAid.

Press dough into prepared pan, smoothing the surface with your fingers.  Prick the dough all over with a fork.

Bake until the shortbread is a light golden brown across the top surface and slightly darker around the edges, 30-35 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately turn out onto a clean work surface.  Cut into 9 squares while it is still warm.  Transfer to a rack to cool.

A small update

It’s not that nothing has been going on here the last two weeks.  To the contrary. 

Comments:

1)      It takes a special person to be a caregiver.

2)      An acute illness allows everyone's underlying personalities to really shine through.  Sometimes this is a good thing.

3)      Comprehensive estate planning:  Do it.  Now.

That’s all. 

Crisis has passed, I think. 

Now to get back into the swing of housework, cooking, school, job, and the kids’ activities.  Thing One is competing at Sword in the Snow this weekend.  Thing Two has a skating lesson this morning.  The Snow Bowl is open and Toboggan Nationals are coming up.  

Onward.