Marga's Foodblog

Last evening we hosted a Hanukkah/Holiday party for our closest friends. I like to have parties to which I invite all my friends, but our house is too small to accommodate more than a small number of people - specially now that most of our friends have kids.

I wanted to make a very simple menu for the party, 'cause I didn't want to spend all my day in the kitchen as I'm prone to do. So I figured I'd cater it 'a la costco. But then I talked to someone who had thrown a party the week before and told me they'd spent the whole day putting appetizers in and out of the oven - and that didn't sound so appealing either. Finally, someone told me that brisket and donuts were traditional Hanukkah dishes, and suddenly my whole menu appeared before my eyes. I served

-pita bread (supermarket - 1 package eaten, mostly by the babies who loved it)
-artisan bread (costco, quite yummy)
-baby carrots (a kid favorite)

-creme herbed cheese
-roasted pepper dip (I loved it, but it wasn't as popular with others)
-hummus (from Costco, very good)
-ranch dressing

-latkes with sour cream and apple sauce

I used this recipe for latkes as a base, but I didn't want to bother washing and drying the potatoes, so I just mixed them with the egg and onion as I shredded them. That was really a mistake, because onions have a LOT of liquid. So I'd recommend drying them, even if you don't wash them, before mixing them in. It wasn't an unfixable mistake, however. I just added a bit of flour and squeezed out the liquid from the latkes as I put them in. I also added considerably more salt than the recipe asked for. They turned out very, very, very yummy. They were definitely a favorite with the kids, but also with the adults. They disappeared quickly. Fortunately my friend Arthur brought more (to make at my house) - so everyone got to have as many latkes as they wanted.

BTW, I didn't find making latkes to be as much of a pain as other people say. I was surprised at how easy it was to shred the potatoes - it took me just as long as it took Mike to peel them. I hate peeling potatoes myself, but Mike doesn't care so he always does it for me.

Anyway, I'm glad we had latkes for Hanukkah.

-Brisket, made from this recipe. I don't know how Jewish this particular recipe is, but it was amazingly delicious. The braising liquid, in particular, was out of this world. The meat turned out a little bit dry, I think I overcooked it, and next time I make it, I may try a different cut - but lord is the sauce yummy. And it's also VERY easy to make, and all you need is a cutting board, a plate and ONE wide pot. A 4 1/2 lb brisket was enough for everybody (of course, I'd warned them that this wasn't dinner, just hors d'ouvres) and now we have leftovers for lunch!!!!

-Vegetable eggrolls from Costco. They seem popular enough, the kids liked them too. Mike thought they were just OK, though he'd eaten more of them if there weren't other things to eat.

-Quiche from Costco. This proved the least popular thing, I'm not sure if because my guests don't like quiche, or the quiche wasn't that good. Anyway, I'm taking the other one (the package has two) to a potluck next week. And I may bring the already cut one (pre-sliced) to a cookie exchange today. Perhaps with all those cookies people will like something salty.

-Sushi from Costco. People thought it wasn't exciting but good.

And for dessert: doughnuts. I got 2 bakers dozens ($6 each at Safeway, not a bad deal), but we only went through 14 donuts or so.

The party itself was very nice, the kids had a lot of fun playing together, the babies behaved quite well, and the adults could chat comfortably. It was great!

Now it's time to prepare for Xmas Eve dinner next week, I hope to have the energy to do it.

I was looking for something different to make for my Thanksgiving 2006 dinner, and of course I had to consult my "All About Braising" cookbook. I love to braise and that cookbook is wonderful. So I came up with this recipe, which seemed perfect for Thanksgiving. It turned out quite good, with the big exception that my brain cells were obviously not functioning as I cooked the chicken upside down!!!! Not only that, but I didn't realize it until I was trying to carve the chicken and couldn't figure out why I was having such difficulty. Yes, I'm an idiot. The big problem with cooking it that way is that the bacon drippings only affected the skin on the back (which was delicious). Oh well, next time.

As the bread stuffing and the chicken cook separately you can also make without the other. The stuffing is very good in itself. Note that if you want to stuff the chicken, you must prepare the stuffing first.

I know it's late, but I'm finally blogging about my Thanksgiving 2006 meal. As you may recall I wanted to make something not too traditional as Lola and Ignatius were coming after they had already a traditional meal at their family's. But while the menu kind of worked out, the timing didn't. I was a bit early with the cooking - though not with the putting the kids to sleep - so by the time Lola and Iggy arrived we were pretty much all packed up. Oh well, they got to enjoy dessert.

Anyway, the menu went pretty much according to plan. I didn't serve the bread with any of the dips - it was just us and I was too busy cooking, so we went straight to the main dish:

Braised Whole Chicken with Bread Stuffing and Bacon. As I say in the recipe, it was quite good though I managed to cook the damn thing upside down. Kids liked it, we liked it.

Zuni's Mashed Potatoes. I didn't use buttermilk, just cream, and they were delicious - but they did turn cold too quickly. I'm making them again for Xmas and this time I think I'll use the buttermilk.

Chevy's Corn Tomalito. It was good, but it had too high a corn kenel to pudding ratio. Next time I'd use half as much, I might also use a bit more sugar. Note that there are two tomalito recipes going around, I used this one - the one that uses butter and is cooked in the oven.

Green Bean Casserole. I wanted to make this as it's such a traditional Thanksgiving dish and Mike said he liked it. Well, he didn't really like my version. Perhaps it was 'cause I used fresh green beans, steamed, instead of canned ones. In any case, I doubt I'll make it again.

Apple Pie. I use commercial crusts (which didn't prove that good this time) and I toss sliced peeled apples, cinnamon, sugar and a pinch of ground cloves.

Store bought pumpkin pie.

That was it, we enjoyed most of it and had a great time together - even if it took me all day to cook :)

aadfa

In Argentina, like in many Latin American countries, the big Christmas celebration happens on Christmas Eve. While I've lived in the US well over 20 years now, for me Christmas Eve will always be the time to be with friends and family and celebrate the wonder of life.

This year we were happy to have, in addition to our best friends Lola and Iggy - with whom we always spend Christmas eve - our friends Eddie and Arthur. They've become some of our best friends in San Leandro, and who knows, spending Christmas Eve with us may just become a tradition (if they don't move back to Texas first).

My menu was very similar to the one I served on Christmas 2004, the last Xmas we spent in the US. Last year we were traveling in Argentina and ate at hotel in the tiny town of Cachi. But the 2004 menu had been so good, that I didn't really want to change it. So I served:

A sliced baguette with olive oil, European butter, smoked salmon, hummus and roasted pepper sauce.

As you can expect, the smoked salmon quickly disappeared - but so did the bread. Camila couldn't get enough of spreading the butter on the bread. She ate the center of the bread, but left the crust behind. Mika loves dipping bread in olive oil, and was quite excited to be able to do it again. Unfortunately (for her), the olive oil was the generic kind, and not the orange olive oil we tasted while shopping a couple of weeks back.

Mixed Greens Salad with Gorgonzola Vinaigrette

This is a favorite of Mikes, and it's so good that I usually serve it when I need to make a salad. Even Lola who dislikes blue cheese - and Kathy who dislikes cheese in general - like it here. This time I used red currants instead of cranberries (I had them at hand) and Lola thought they were an improvement.

Les Halles Mushroom Soup

Once again this was a winner. Iggy, specially, raved about it. This time I added extra morels and some porcini so everyone could get their fill. I imagine I'll make this again next year.

Leek and Camembert Tart

Another winner from epicurious. This was everybody's favorite of the evening. I plan to make it again, but next time I won't try to make it into a circle, I don't think there is much to be gained by that. A recipe was enough for 8 people but I'm sure everyone would have liked seconds.

Prime Rib with Cabernet Jus

This time I used Costco Prime Rib, prime ($11 lb), and while it was good it wasn't nearly as good as the one I made last time ($16 lb) with meat from Galvan's Market. Live and learn. I think next year I'll make lamb or something different.

The cab jus was good but unnecessary.

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

Always a winner, and they reheat so easily. I did make too much, though (3 times the recipe). Next time I'll just double it :)

Green beans almondine

Also a popular choice. This recipe is very simple and produces quite a good result - and shocking the green beans gives them a beautiful bright green color.

Dessert was a chocolate cake that Eddie brought (very, very yummy) and Costco pumpkin pie, which was also quite good.

We had several bottles of wine, all very good, but the clear winner of the evening was the Bonny Doon Muscat, Vin de Glaciere. It was impossibly delicious, and I don't even like Muscat. If it wasn't Christmas day, I'd send Mike in search of another bottle.

In all, we had a great Christmas Eve dinner. The kids played wonderfully in the other room, and then even ate some meat (as they knew dessert was coming). The babies were calm and friendly, and the company could not have been better.

My Christmas list is full of food items, so it's no surprise that I got quite a few food gifts. These included:

-A 11-cup Cuisinart Food Processor. I've wanted one for a long, long time (a decade even), so I was quite happy to get it. Of course, I knew it was coming - I'd asked Mike to not get it given our financial situation, but he said he'd done all the research and was committed to buying it. Well, I can't really complain. As soon as I have the house clean and ready - and all the dishes done - I'm going to use it. Come to think of it, my friend Paz is having us over to her house for a cooking lesson at the end of the week. I may just make some stuffed kibbeh to bring anyway.

-Balsamic Vinegar. It was the 12-year-old kind and I can't believe just how wonderful it is. Beautiful, delicious, with the strongest imaginable flavor. I can only imagine what older and more expensive vinegar can taste like. But this, really, is good enough for me. Now I need to figure out how I will consume it, other than in drops directly from the bottle.

-Metal measuring cups and spoons. Last year, when I went to Argentina, I saw my aunts cups and measuring spoons and almost started crying. I could remember perfectly using them and having my grandma use them so many years in the past. Just by looking at them, I could think of my granny. So I wanted to have my own measuring cups and spoons that one day I could give to my children and to my grandchildren. So, of course, I wanted the quality stuff. I must have wanted it really hard, because I got three sets of them. One from my mother, another from Mike, and another from my friends Regina and Boris. I couldn't be happier, though clearly I can't keep them all. I'll probably return the one Mike got me and get something else at Sur la Table instead. So much to chose from :)

-Food storage containers. The Sharper Image version of Tupperware. My mother swears by them. I'm somewhat suspicious of the drawings on the cover (which have grapes going rancid after a week in the fridge in the "other" containers - which definitely does not happen to me), and I'm not sure if I need them, but I probably can put them to use. I should actually transfer the leftovers to them.

-Cookies and candies from our friends Aamani, Victoria and Carla and Astrid.

That's all I can remember now.