Walk in the Glow of Each Other's Majestic Presence

Mostly for my own notes, here is the menu for our Christmas Brunch:

yogurt/granola parfait
smoked fish platter with dill cream sauce
French toast with strawberry sauce
baked eggs with mushrooms & spinach
Benton's Tennessee Country Smoked Ham & red-eye mayo
omelet slices
sliced cheddar cheese
English muffins
tater tots with sriracha aioli
Brussels sprouts salad w/ cranberries & almonds
cinnamon rolls
honey-fig muffins
chocolate pudding with whipped cream
jams & nutella
syrup (maple, smoked & spicy maple, blueberry)
butter

coffee
tea
smoothies
citrus mocktails
mimosas

This fed nineteen of us heartily, with only a few leftovers. We've got lots of ham left and we think we've figured out how to slice it now!

I'm closing up tabs and wanted to note that after Thanksgiving I made the best stock of my life, using this recipe. I used it to make the soup that's also on that page, using noodles instead of rice or barley, at Alice's request. The mushrooms and marjoram gave it a very different flavor than usual and it was a very hearty, wintery soup. I've used another quart of the stock for celeriac soup--that was pretty good, but not so much that I'd use the recipe again, so I'm not linking to it--and I've got three left that I'll hope to use in the coming weeks. Suggestions for good-with-turkey-stock soup are welcome.

Also worth noting--this year I was struck by the tips from Kitchen Surfing. I brined the turkey for the first time and have to say I didn't think that part was worth the hassle. It was not more moist than usual and a couple of people complained about the salt-level. I wasn't able to find lard on short notice (it occurred to me later that Savenor's was probably the answer) but Dave's Fresh Pasta carries jars of duck fat (you're welcome). Because the turkey cooked so much faster than expected (a 27 lb. turkey was done in 3 hours, 30 minutes at 400, 90 at 350--should have been 60, and then 250 for another hour) I didn't use up all the herbed duck fat. So suggestions for things-to-cook-in-herbed-duck-fat are also welcome--I know about hash browns.

One of my tricks, when searching the net for recipes, is to preface my search with the word "ultimate". It seems to limit the search to manageable levels and tilt it towards actually useful links.

Last week was my mother's 88th birthday and we had agreed that I would make brownies, one of the very few chocolate desserts I enjoy. (For those who weren't aware, I don't much like chocolate, but there are a few exceptions.) I'm pretty sure I haven't made brownies from scratch since I lived at Fenway House, so more than twenty years ago. Searching brought me to this recipe.

These are phenomenal brownies. As the description promises, they are " tall like a cakey-brownie, but dense like a fudgy-brownie." I made them with pecans for extra yum. And I even bought myself a new brownie pan for the occasion, so now I have to make them again!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've cooked something new, or at least since I've recorded it.

Tonight we had friends over for dinner and tried:

( #10 - Duck Ragù )

( #11 Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries )

I've fallen behind, but the tabs are still open, so let me first say that for Valentine's Day I made...( #8 Pan-Seared Pork Belly )

I am reminded to post about that, because tonight I cooked something else I'd never made before: sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes. I noticed them at the market and thought it was time for something new, so I bought a couple of pounds of them and made...( #9 Lemon Chicken with Jerusalem Artichokes )

It's the start of a new year, so I'm starting my count again. With the two new recipes I made for Christmas dinner, I hit fifty for 2010. I didn't have a specific goal last year, so I'm pleased with a nice round number and excited to keep challenging myself to try new things.

( Greek Couscous with Chicken & Feta )

I find I get very interesting results by using "ultimate" in my recipe search terms. Tonight I decided to try this recipe, which had an intriguing secret ingredient. The sauce was wonderful! Rich and complex and delicious. Served with mashed potatoes and roasted garlic cabbage it made a very good, hearty meal. I'd be very interested to serve it to someone who doesn't like pickles and see what they'd make of it (fortunately the pork is quite good even without the sauce).

Fine Cooking had a lot of appealing recipes in their Thanksgiving issue, so I chose several of them. They require registration, so if you don't want to do that, but would really like any particular recipe, let me know and I'll get it to you.



( #43 Roasted Turkey Breast Porchetta Style )

( #44 Stuffed Turkey Thighs )

( Bread Stuffing with Fresh Herbs )



( #45 Jewel-Roasted Vegetables )

( Cranberry-Orange Relish with Ginger )



( #46 Pear-Cranberry Crisp )

( #47 Brown-Butter Pumpkin Layer Cake )

I also made mashed potatoes and Mom made gravy, Trish got rolls and made the sausage stuffing, and Anne made her Famous Cloved Yams (which this year was Roasted Pumpkin with Cranberries and Sage Brown Butter). And that was our Thanksgiving feast!

Before I get into Thanksgiving Dinner, I want to clear away some tabs.

( Yogurt-Marinated Roast Chicken )

( Chicken Posole )