Merry Christmas!

We woke this morning to a lovely snowfall and as I write this at about 5:00 pm, it's still snowing.  We're supposed to get 6-12 inches by Monday evening, which I'm afraid will delay the delivery of our Murphy bed.  Oh, well.

I haven't posted very much about cooking this week.  Mostly we've been cycling through some stand-bys like spaghetti and beef stew.  This morning we had my family's traditional Christmas morning breakfast:

Fried oysters
Bacon
Scrambled eggs
Biscuits

Walter's plate at the point I thought about a picture

 After breakfast we took a walk through the town and around our house.



Walter beside our lamppost

Me in front of The Last Straw in downtown BR



The lake at Broyhill Park - frozen over!

My bottle tree - Save your blue bottles!





My new red-winged blackbird sculpture out in the snow!



Martha's simple and beautiful gate decoration

Our friend Martha had to spend last night in the hospital because she was having trouble breathing as a result of a tumor pressing against her wind pipe. She's home now and resting and will start chemo on Monday.  Walter's sister was admitted to the hospital this morning due to severe cramps in her legs and nausea.  We're waiting to hear from them.  Our friend Dan is in Houston for the next four to six weeks undergoing another round of chemo.  Please keep these friends and family in your prayers.

On a cheerier note, my son Cort proposed to his girlfriend Emily last night, the anniversay of their first date, seven - yes, seven - years ago!  She said YES, so we're very excited and so happy.

For our Christmas Dinner, we fixed:

Best Ever Beef Tenderloin (Walter pulled the grill into the garage and managed to keep it hot enough)

Green Bean and Artichoke Casserole (from the Commercial Appeal)

Sweet Potato Souffle

Yeast Rolls

Cheesecake (rolls and cheesecake from Stick Boy Bread)

We took a meal over to Albert and Martha and Martha's sister, Becky, who is here from Wilmington to help Martha.  Feel better soon, Martha!

I hope that your Christmas Day 2010 has been festive and full of family and love. 

Szechuan Green Beans

Szechuan Green Beans

Ingredients

6 garlic cloves, peeled

2 quarter-sized slices ginger

2 scallions, cut into 2” lengths

1 T vegetable oil

1 t crushed red pepper

1 T soy sauce

1 T rice wine vinegar

1 lb green beans, trimmed

Instructions

Process garlic, ginger, and scallions in a food processor until finely chopped.  Remove to a 14/11” dish.  Add oil and pepper flakes.  Cook in microwave, uncovered, at 100% for 1 minute.

Remove from microwave and stir in remaining ingredients, tossing gently to coat green beans.  Cook, uncovered, at 100% for 10-15 minutes, stirring 4-5 times. 

Serve hot or cold.

Week of October 24-30

Let's see, what did we do last weekend?  Friday night we went to see Wicked at the Orpheum, which was very enjoyable.  Walter and I were lucky enough to see it on Broadway and this production was almost as good.  We had a nice dinner at Felicia Suzanne's.  I had a goat cheese and carmelized onion tart to start and it was outstanding.  Saturday Walter worked, as usual, and I had my needlepoint group, then we went to Huey's for dinner.  Great fries.  Sunday night I cooked:

Chicken Marsala
Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli
Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon, Garlic, and Basil

All of these recipes are from Cooks Illustrated.  I will say, don't attempt this menu unless you're pretty good at doing several things at once.  I was mighty challenged, but it all came out ok and almost at the same time!  The pilaf and the peas were especially good to know about as I am always looking for good side dishes.

Monday 10-25-10

Chicken and Parsnip Soup

From Cooking Light, this soup was very easy and tasty.  I cooked some extra chicken when I was doing the Chicken Marsala yesterday, so I had that part done.  I intended to make some biscuits to go with this, but Walter informed me at the last minute that he wouldn't be home for dinner and then I was running late for my lit class, so I just did the soup.  My friend Pam and I spent almost all day on a gardening project, so I was pretty tired when I got home.  This soup was perfect.


Tuesday 10-26-10

My former neighbor Nancy invited Dotsie and Wanda and me to lunch today at her new digs at Trezevant Manor.  How nice is that place!  Nancy and Gordon have an apartment in the new building and it is first class.  They're very happy and very busy there.  We had a great lunch and a great visit with each other.  Thanks again, Nancy!  I took her these chocolate chip cookies which Walter later proclaimed as the best cookies ever (of course he says that about every cookie I make...) I had my Search class tonight so didn't really feel like cooking. Thankfully, Monday night's Lore of Literature class was the last one for this semester so I won't have double class nights for the rest of the year.  My wonderful neighbor Troy made a huge batch of spaghetti gravy earlier this month and brought some frozen to me.  I snatched that sauce out of the freezer and had spaghetti for dinner!  Thanks, Troy!

Wednesday 10-27-10

Get ready.  I made Pork Ragu Al Maialino and it was fantastic.  Notice that I'm big on one-dish menus.  They're not always balanced, but I don't worry about Walter, he eats pretty good all day long.  And I get lots of vegetables at lunch, so nights are kinda whatever.

Thursday 10-28-10

It's Thursday morning as I write this and we're leaving today for North Carolina.  We're driving to Asheville to spend the night, then to Charlotte on Friday where we're going to shop for a Murphy bed to put in Walter's upstairs office.  Then on to Blowing Rock for the weekend, can't wait.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon, Garlic, and Basil

Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon, Garlic, and Basil

Serves 6. 

Have a bowl of ice water ready to "shock" the drained peas and prevent further softening and shriveling.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon table salt 

4 cups sugar snap peas (about 1 pound), stems snipped off and strings removed if needed

2 tablespoons olive oil 

 Lemon zest from 1 medium lemon, sliced very fine

1 tablespoon lemon juice 

1 medium clove garlic , minced

6 - 8 fresh basil leaves , chopped fine

1/2 teaspoon table salt 

 Ground black pepper 

Instructions

1.   Bring 6 cups water to brisk boil in 3- or 4-quart saucepan. Add salt and peas and cook until crisp-tender, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes depending on size of peas.

2.   Drain peas, shock in ice water, drain again, and pat dry. (Peas can be set aside for up to 1 hour.)

3.   Heat oil over medium heat in medium sauté pan. Add zest and garlic; sauté until garlic is soft but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add peas, lemon juice, and basil; toss to combine. Cook until just heated through, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste; serve immediately.

Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli

RICE PILAF WITH VERMICELLI

Serves 4 as a side dish.

If you like, olive oil can be substituted for the butter depending on what you are serving with the pilaf. Soaking the rice overnight in water results in more tender, separate grains. If you’d like to try it, add enough water to cover the rice by 1 inch after  the rinsing process in step 1, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it stand at room temperature 8 to 24 hours; reduce the amount of water to cook the rice to 2 cups. For the most evenly cooked rice, use a wide-bottomed saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. If you are using soaked rice for this variation, use 3 cups of water.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups basmati rice or long-grain rice

3 1/4 cups water

1 1/2 teaspoons table salt

Ground black pepper

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 small onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)

4 ounces vermicelli, broken into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup)

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

Pinch allspice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place rice in medium bowl and add enough water to cover by 2 inches; using hands, gently swish grains to release excess starch. Carefully pour off water, leaving rice in bowl. Repeat four to five times, until water runs almost clear. Using a colander or fine mesh strainer, drain water from rice; place colander over howl and set aside.

2.  Bring 3 ¼  cups water to boil covered, in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add salt and season with pepper; cover to keep hot. Meanwhile, heat 1 ½  tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium heat until foam begins to subside; add vermicelli and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 3 minutes. Remove to small bowl and set aside. Add remaining 1/2 tablespoons butter to pan and beat until foam begins to subside; add onion and sauté until softened but not browned, about  4 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, coriander, and allspice to sautéed onion; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds longer. Add vermicelli and rice and stir to coat grains with butter; cook until edges of rice grains begin to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir hot seasoned water into rice; return to boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until all liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Off heat, remove lid, and place kitchen towel folded in half over saucepan; replace lid. Let stand 10 minutes; fluff rice with fork and serve.