Author: marga (Page 38 of 107)

Christmas Eve Dinner – 2017

January 3, 2019 / marga / 0 Comments

As I prepared to plan my Christmas Eve dinner for 2018, I realized that I had never actually posted my menu from 2017. I often go back and look at past menus to see what I should repeat – and what I should omit. I did post some of the recipes, however.

I do still have the copy of the menu, though my recollection of how each course was may be somewhat faulty. This was a 12-course dinner because my youngest daughter was 12 at the time, and she requested that number of courses. My oldest daughter was vegetarian at the time (she’s now vegan), so I made sure that the menu had vegetarian options for her.

First Course: Pomegranate Mint Lassi and Spiced Chickpeas

I served this course in the living room while I got the rest of the dinner ready. It went over very well.

Second Course: Caprese Salad Spoons Amuse Bouche

I had gotten some amuse bouche spoons and, of course, I had to use them. I decided on a simple Caprese salad amuse bouche because my oldest daughter was heavily into Caprese at the time. I couldn’t find any fresh basil at the time (this year it’s all over the place), so I used pesto instead. I also used burrata instead of fresh mozarella, which was a mistake as burrata has too mild a flavor to stand up to the pesto and the super-expensive, thick Balsamic vinegar I also used. Still, this was a good amuse bouche and worked well in the spoons.

Third Course: Linguiça and Local Beer/Root Beer

This was my “ode to San Leandro” course. I live in San Leandro, a relatively small city right south of Oakland. For years, San Leandro was the unofficial sausage capital of California – we had several sausage manufacturers in town. Chief among those sausages was linguiça, a Portuguese smoked-cured pork sausage. Indeed, San Leandro was settled by Portuguese immigrants, and they took their linguiça very seriously (read about San Leandro’s sausage king, if you’re interested in true crime stories).

In recent years, San Leandro has been moving away from sausages and closer to beer – we now have several small breweries in town. So I figured a dish of local linguiça and beer would be a nice way of highlighting my adopted town. Plus, this was an easy dish to make (just cook the
linguiça on the stove or oven) and serve.

Fourth Course: Pear & Goat Cheese Salad with Caramelized Walnuts

It’s funny, I’d completely forgotten I had made this last year – and yet when it came time to make a salad for my 2018 Xmas Eve dinner, this is what I came up with once again!

Fifth Course: Mushroom Soup

I’ve been making Anthony Burdain’s recipe for mushroom soup for many years now and I often serve it for Christmas’ Eve. It’s just absolutely delicious. For the last few years, I’ve been making it with vegetable broth rather than chicken broth to cater to my non-chicken eating family members. It’s just as good.

Sixth Course: Moroccan Chicken Bastilla and Vegan Bastilla

Bastilla is another of my old “tried and true” dishes and a family favorite. My kids really wanted me to make it last year, but as my oldest daughter was then a vegetarian, she requested a vegetarian version. She absolutely loved the recipe I found for her.

Seventh Course: Lemon Sorbet Palate Cleanser

I don’t remember if I made it or I bought it. Still, I always like to serve a sorbet as a palate cleanser before the main course.

Eight Course: Mushroom Marsala Gnocchi

This was my favorite dish of the night.

Ninth Course: Beef Roast with Madeira Sauce, Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans

I didn’t leave any record of what recipe I used for the beef, but I’d used this one with great success before, so I probably used it again. Alas, I don’t know what Madeira Sauce recipe I used.

Tenth Course: Cheese Plate

I seem to remember that whatever cheeses I served were good.

Eleventh Course: Sticky Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Great dessert!

Twelfth Course: Hot Chocolate or Tea with Shortbread Cookies

Store bought and served in the living room.

Marga’s Holiday Recipes

Christmas Eve 2018 Menu

December 29, 2018 / marga / 0 Comments

Christmas Eve dinner is the ONE big dinner I cook every year – and which I swear, after cooking it, that I’ll never do again. It’s usually a multi-course affair that takes me days to cook – and then goes so quickly (even though it may take hours to consume it). This year I sort of paired it down to 8 courses – one of which we ended up not eating -, but I made vegan versions of several courses because my oldest daughter is now a vegan. She, of course, would have preferred that I only made vegan food, but she’s out of luck on that one.

Dinner was too hectic for me to photograph any of the dishes, so you (or I, when I re-read this) will have to use your imagination. Still, I’m recording this for future reference – together with my notes.

1st Course: Hors d’oeuvres

Crostini with deviled egg salad*
Crostini with tomato spread and basil (vegan)
Slices of salami, soppressata and coppa.
olives
baguette slices
olive oil and flavored balsamic vinegars (lemon, coconut and peach) to dip in.

I had also prepared mejool dates stuffed with bacon and goat cheese, but I stupidly left them on the table and the dog ate them! They were good but not great enough to prepare another batch.

I served this first course at the coffee table and the rest of the courses at the main table, but I had a second plate of crostini with egg salad on the dining table for people to nibble while they waited for other courses.

2nd course: Mixed Green Salad with Gorgonzola Vinaigrette

This is my standard salad. I’ve been making it for 14 years and I just love it. Still, I had originally meant to make a pear salad, but I changed my mind when I realized that the apples I’d bought for the cheese course were horrible and decided to substitute them with the pears. I had all the ingredients for this salad saved for the green onions (which I just omitted), so I went with it. As usual, it was delicious.

I served my daughter a vegan version which just omitted the gorgonzola cheese, but she didn’t like it. Apparently the cheese is key for this salad.

3rd course: Chestnut soup + Vegan Chestnut soup

I’ve been wanting to make chestnut soup for a while, but finding chestnuts hadn’t been easy. This year I found them at Safeway, of all places. I thought the soup had a bit too much nutmeg, but my guests disagreed. In any case, both soups were very good.

I made these soups three days in advance, as was recommended by several reviewers of chestnut soups.

4th course: Fish Lolo + Tofu Lolo + Rice

I wanted to serve a fish course this year and after deciding that I couldn’t time my first preference, catfish a la Meuniere, well enough to make it work in this dinner, I went with this recipe for fish in coconut milk that I had cooked and loved when I explored Fijian cuisine. I made a tofu version for my vegan daughter.

This time it didn’t work as well as the first time. Perhaps the problem was the fish, I used sole instead of swai, which had a far more intense fish flavor. In any case, it was OK but not great.

5th course: Apple & Calvados sorbet

I like to serve a palate cleanser before the main dish – particularly important when serving fish as the appetizer -, and sorbets are my usual choice. This time I decided to make an apple and calvados sorbet as something different. I thought it was pretty good, though it was a bit too alcoholic for my children.

6th course: Beef Wellington + Mushroom Wellington + Smashed Red Potatoes + Vegan Smashed Red Potatoes + Braised Leeks

I’ve made the beef wellington before and this time it came out great as well, though I put a bit too much pate. My daughter said the mushroom wellington was very good as well. I used much less spinach that the recipe called for, as she doesn’t like spinach.

To make the smashed red potatoes I simply used vegan butter and almond milk instead of butter and sour cream. I also added chives to the mashed potatoes to make it more christmasy (the red was provided by the peels).

I made the braised leeks in advanced and reheated them. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a good call. The leeks had been melt-in-your-mouth soft and delicious when I first made them, but they toughened up and didn’t taste as good later. Live and learn.

7th course: Cheese course (omitted)

This is the course I didn’t serve. All of us were pretty full after the main dish and nobody seemed to have space for the cheese course. I had gotten a few cheeses, crackers and sliced baguette, as well as jams, honey and honey mustard and the pear slices I spoke of earlier (preserved by dipping them in 2 cups of water with 1/4 cup of honey for a few minutes before drying and putting in a ziploc bag). I had also made caramelized walnuts (which I ate all by myself later). Well, all of this stuff keeps for a while.

8th course: Chocolate Tart + Vegan Chocolate Tart

This is a very rich tart and not everyone partook of it. Still, those who did enjoyed it. I’ve been slowly making my way through it since. I found a great Belgian chocolate (54%) that worked great – the key to this tart is to use high quality chocolate. My daughter enjoyed her vegan tart as well.

9th course: Peppermint Ice Cream in Candy bowls

I had thought I’d serve the ice cream with the tarts, but we ended up serving it later to the people who still had room in their stomachs (not me). The peppermint ice cream was store bought, but I made the very cool peppermint candy bowls. When making them, I found that using the back of a water glass worked better than a regular rameskin, as those were too large.

In all, it was a good meal but not as exciting or memorable as previous ones. I don’t know, I just wasn’t feeling it this year.

*I had originally meant to make deviled eggs, but I couldn’t manage to peel the eggs. So I chopped the surviving egg whites and added them to a basic deviled eggs recipe to which I’d added a teaspoon of honey pecan mustard and smoked paprika. This was still not doing it for my husband, he felt something was missing, and I realized it was probably an acid, so I added the juice of a lemon, some more mustard and more paprika. I spread the mixture on crostini. That seemed to do the trick and everyone seemed to like it.

Marga’s Holiday Recipes

Meal Kit Reviews: Home Chef’s Parisian Bistro Bone-In Chicken with dauphinoise potatoes and Vichy carrots

December 22, 2018 / marga / 0 Comments

Rating: 9/10

The key to making this dish of chicken with dauphinoise potatoes and Vichy carrots is to not overcook the chicken. Seriously. The plate I served first was great. The chicken skin was incredibly crispy (it’s nice to finally learn the secret of making crispy chicken!), the chicken itself was moist (I tend to prefer dark meat exactly because breasts are often too dry) and the sauce was just delicious. I only really got to eat my daughter’s leftovers, but I couldn’t help moaning while eating them.

I reserved the second serving for my husband, who was walking the dog while my very hungry daughter ate. I left the chicken breast in the oven (turned off and with the door open), where it dried up and I was reminded of why I hate white meat. My husband, who likes chicken breast, wasn’t impressed either. Once I ate his leftovers, I understood why. So, if you make this kit, make sure to not overcook the chicken and not leave it in the oven to remain warm.

I also really enjoyed the dauphinoise potatoes – and there were enough for the three of us plus leftovers -, but they didn’t keep well. The next day they lacked in flavor. But hey, you are not going to eat them the next day.

Finally, everyone enjoyed the carrots (I didn’t try them as I don’t like carrots).

All in all, this was a much better meal than you would expect. However, it was also more laborious than the other two I got that week, and it took far longer to prepare.

Now, for the secret of having super-crispy oven-baked chicken: first preheat oven to 400F. Then saute the chicken breasts on olive oil over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes per side. Then place on a baking sheet and put in an oven for 24-28 minutes.

I got my first week of Home Chef at a discount, so I paid only about $8 for this meal. Regular price would be $20 – which is a better deal than other home meal kits.

Chicken Demi-Glace Sauce

2 tsp chicken-demi glace
1/3 cup water
1/2 large shallot, minced

On a saute pan, simmer ingredients together until the sauce thickens, 2-3 minutes. Serve.

Meal Kit Reviews: Home Chef’s Jerk Steak Tacos with caramelized pineapple slaw

December 21, 2018 / marga / 0 Comments

Rating: 5/10

Of all the Home Chef’s meals I got on my first week, this kit for jerk steak tacos with caramelized pineapple slaw was my least favorite. The biggest issue was that it wasn’t very filling. With no starches to speak of (3 small flour tortillas don’t count for much), 5 ounces of beef won’t take you very far.

I also wasn’t thrilled with the flavor of the jerk sauce. Don’t get wrong, it wasn’t bad – but it wasn’t anything spectacular either.

On the plus side, I did enjoy the pineapple slaw as part of the tacos. By itself, it wasn’t very good, but in the tacos it added crunch and sweetness to the meat and worked very well. The quality of the meat was good and the meal was very quickly put together. It just needed something more.

I paid $8 for this meal as part of a first week deal. Regular price is $20.

Meal Kit Review: Gobble’s Blackened Chicken with Marble Potatoes & Broccolini

December 21, 2018 / marga / 0 Comments

Rating 5/10

This meal kit was completely forgetable. I cooked it. I ate it – and despite the fact that it’s only been a couple of weeks, I can’t remember it at all. I do remember given the leftover broccolini to the dog (I don’t like broccoli or its derivatives) and she gladly ate it (she eats anything that is not dog food). But the chicken? The potatoes? No idea. The sauce looks good, though, and I feel I had a positive impression of it.

Meal Kit Review: Gobble’s Curried Beef Bowl with Basmati Rice & Mini Samosas

December 20, 2018 / marga / 0 Comments

Rating: 8/10

With the rush of the holidays, I’m running very behind on my meal kit reviews – but I haven’t stopped getting them. My second week of Gobble, however, was a mistake. I somehow had neglected to skip it for the first week of December so I got stuck with 3 kits that I didn’t choose. Given that Gobble costs $79 for a 3-kit box, that was a costly mistake. Fortunately, I had a $15 credit because of the mistake they made in my previous box, so it made getting this box more “palatable”.

I was also lucky that the three meals Gobble chose for me werethings that I would have ordered myself – and they were all quite good.

My favorite thing about Gobble is how quick and easy it is to prepare its meals. They send as many pre-sliced and pre-cooked elements as they can without compromising quality, and this kit for Curried Beef Bowl with Basmati Rice & Mini Samosas was no exception. The tiny samosas came pre-cooked, so all I had to do was heat them up. They were very good and not too spicy. We often get fresh samosas from one of our local Indian food stores, so I don’t say this lightly.

The main meal was simple to put together. The rice came pre-cooked, and all I had to do was heat it in the microwave. Gobble sends a very tasty precooked rice, which tastes even better than the one I make. The meat was quickly sauteed on a pan, to which I added the curry powder, the pre-roasted carrots and peas, a pre-mixed garlic/ginger/scallion confit and chicken broth.

The results were great! It was a very tasty meal and both my husband and I enjoyed it. At $21, it was equivalent in price to the cost, before tax and tip, of take out – though, of course, we didn’t get leftovers as we do when we order out. Alas, the whole meal was ready much quicker than it would take to get a restaurant meal delivered.

Meal Kit Review: Plated’s Chorizo-Spiced Cod with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, White Beans, and Toasted Sourdough

December 20, 2018 / marga / 0 Comments

Despite this post’s title, this is not really a review of Plated‘s Chorizo-Spiced Cod with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, White Beans, and Toasted Sourdough. And it’s not a review because I totally messed up the cod by mistakenly using balsamic vinegar instead of olive oil (those bottles can look so much alike!). Needless to say, my results were inedible (even the dog wasn’t thrilled to have them).

But I was disappointed by this kit even before I ruined it. When I read its title I assumed that there would be actual chorizo in the dish – I love chorizo and I was excited to try the combination of chorizo and fish. Alas, there wasn’t any. Instead there was a small package of some chorizo spice mix to rub on the fish. It might have been good, but it wasn’t what I wanted.

So this was a lesson to not just look at the title of the meal kits, but go further and look at the ingredients to not feel duped.

Fortunately, I only paid $8 for this kit by using a $40-off Black Friday promotion.

Meal Kit Review: Home Chef’s Texas-Style Steak on Toast with smashed red potatoes and red onion gravy + recipes

December 20, 2018 / marga / 0 Comments

Ratings: 8/10

Last week, it was my time to sample Home Chef meals, and all in all, they did pretty well. This kit for Texas-Style Steak on Toast with smashed red potatoes and red onion gravy not only produced a very tasty meal, but it taught me recipes/techniques that I didn’t know and would use in the future.

First of all, who would have guessed that white bread brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with a tiny bit of salt before baking in the oven would be so tasty? Of course, I’ve made crostini plenty of times, but the white bread seems to incorporate the flavor of the oil and remain soft inside in a way that crostini doesn’t.

The steak itself was better than I would have thought, and I enjoyed the onion sauce very much. Once again, demi-glace showed its power.

I usually make mashed potatoes with large russet potatoes that I peel before boiling. I really enjoyed the convenience of making it out of small red potatoes that I only needed to half before cooking. It was a much faster approach (plus I hate peeling!) and the resulting mashed potatoes were very good. The peel actually included some festive color to them. I’m considering using this recipe to make mashed potatoes for my Christmas Eve dinner, but I’m not sure they’ll keep as well as my regular mashed potatoes.

The meal was simple to cook and the portion was adequate – in particular because mashed potatoes are filling.

I got my first week of Home Chef at a discount, so I paid only about $10 for this meal. Regular price would be $20 – which is a better deal than other home meal kits.

Smashed Red Potatoes

serves 2

12 oz small red potatoes
2 oz sour cream
1 oz butter
salt & pepper to taste
2 green onions, sliced

Wash potatoes and then cut in half. Place potatoes in a cooking pot and cover with about 1″ of water. Add salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Mashed them with a potato masher, then add sour cream, butter and salt to taste and mix well. Serve, garnished with the sliced green onions.

I got my first week of Home Chef at a discount, so I paid only about $8 for this meal. Regular price would be $20 – which is a better deal than other home meal kits.

Red Onion Sauce

serves 2

2 tsp olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp smoked paprila
2 oz red wine
2 tsp beef demi-glace

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute, stirring occasionally, until it starts to caramelize, 6-8 minutes. Add paprika and red wine and continue cooking until the red wine has almost evaporated, 2-3 minutes. Mix together the demi-glace and 1/4 cup of water and add to the pan. Lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until it thickens, 2-3 minute. Serve over steak.

Meal Kit Review: Gobble’s Albacore Tuna with Pearl Couscous, Chermoula Vinaigrette

December 8, 2018 / marga / 0 Comments

Rating: 7.5/10

I will admit that my review of this meal kit for Albacore Tuna with Pearl Couscous, Chermoula Vinaigrette is, of necessity, incomplete. I made the tuna but didn’t make the couscous. I was tired that night, we weren’t that hungry and I figured I’d make the couscous for my vegan daughter later. Alas, I never did, and I ended up using up the peppers in a different recipe.

The tuna itself was very good. The recipe required that it be sprinkled with tuna and paprika and then marinated and cooked in the pre-made chermoula vinaigrette. The vinaigrette reminded me of chimichurri and it was delicious.

I did have some issues with cooking the tuna, however. First, the recipe required broiling. I have one of those ovens with a broiler underneath, and I haven’t cleaned it in a while, so I wasn’t up for using it. I had to look up an alternative way to cook the tuna. More problematically is that the two tuna steaks that came in my kit were very different in thickness – one was twice as thick as the other. That meant that I couldn’t cook them at the same time as otherwise one would be very overcooked (and as it turned out, it was).

Still, both my husband and I enjoyed the tuna and I’ll be looking to re-create this dish with my own ingredients at a future time.

Meal Kit Review: Gobble’s Seared Flat Iron Steak with Baby Carrots & Harissa Green Lentils

December 7, 2018 / marga / 0 Comments

Rating: 8/10

Gobble distinguishes itself from other meal kit companies by offering meal kits that can be put together in just 15 minutes. They do this by including some pre-prepared ingredients and having simpler meals than their competitors.

This meal kit for Seared Flat Iron Steak with Baby Carrots & Harissa Green Lentils consisted of just four ingredients: beef, carrots, pre-cooked lentils and their version of harissa sauce. The beef was supposed to be flat iron steaks. Instead, I got a bunch of beef slices labeled flatiron. The quality of the meat was quite good and the beef was very tasty, however. The small, multi-color carrots were very cute but ultimately they just tasted like carrots. The lentils just needed to be warmed up in the microwave and then mixed with the harissa sauce. They were very good. The meal was a bit unbalanced, however. There were plenty of lentils and carrots but not enough beef – perhaps this was because I was sent the wrong package.

Preparation seemed a little over complicated. The beef had to be seared on both sides, then the carrots had to be added to the pan and the beef transferred on top of them, then the whole pan had to be put in the oven for 2-3 minutes, then the beef removed and the carrots cooked for some more time on the stove top with some water. But having to use the oven meant pre-heating it, which to me added needless time and made it a waste of gas. Now, this probably would have been a simpler process if I had two steaks rather than a bunch of slices – which cooled down quickly while I was finishing the carrots.

Still, the whole process was fairly quick – though probably longer than 15 minutes, but I’m a slow cook.

I sent Gobble’s customer service a picture of the meat and they apologized and gave me a $15 credit, which I got to use as I forgot to cancel/suspend the service for the following weeks.

All in all, I was very pleased with this meal, in particular the quality of the beef.

Author: marga (Page 38 of 107)

Christmas Eve Dinner – 2017

Christmas Eve 2018 Menu