Breaking Out of My Hermit Shell for a Night

Those who know me in real life won't be surprised by the confession I'm about to make: I'm somewhat of a hermit. I like my family and I like my friends, and occasionally I even like my coworkers. But put me in a room full of strangers and acquaintences, and I'm completely ill at ease. It's not a situation I like to put myself in. But sometimes there are invitations you can't refuse.

Take Carol, a coworker of mine, and a friend. We've known each other for years, though it's only been since 6 months since we began seeing each other in person with any regularity (previously she lived in New Zealand). We go to lunch every week -- at least, we try to. She's a food enthusiast, like me. So when she said she was throwing a dinner party for a handful of people, I couldn't say no.

There were only 7 of us, so the "room full of strangers" claustrophobia didn't set in, even though I didn't know anyone well (or at all) other than Carol and her husband, David. And the best part of dinner parties is getting to take pictures of all the wonderful food, without having to do the work of making it (and worse, cleaning up afterward).

It wasn't the best timing for a barbecue (they'd just gotten a new Webber grill) -- it ended up getting extremely cold during the day and started snowing. I wasn't even sure I should go, as the roads were sure to be a mess. But I had made a pumpkin pound cake that I didn't want to eat all by myself, and I do actually try to make an effort at not being such a hermit all the time. So I went, and other than one terrible spot on the freeway, it wasn't too bad. A fun time was had by all, and though I didn't get home till well after midnight, I was glad I had gone.

Now for the pictorial, and a recipe for the pumpkin pound cake at the end...

We begin, appropriately, with the appetizers. Here is a bowl of chicken wings, marinated in Malaysian spices (which had a hint of sweetness to them), then deep fried. They were delicious; possibly my favorite of all the food served!



Here we have some fantastic salami from Whole Foods, a duck spread that has a French name that I've forgotten, and freshly sliced French bread.



Next, I helped Carol wrestle this special, extra-long pasta into a pot of boiling water. Its black color comes from -- squid ink!



Here we've got some on-the-vine tomatoes, roasted with a couple of cloves of garlic, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.



The tomatoes, along with their sauce, were stirred into the pasta, along with sliced scallions, pine nuts, apple-flavored olive oil, and a dash of salt and pepper. It was light and delicious.



Here we have a huge salad (though you can't really tell that from the photograph) of mixed greens, candied walnuts, cucumber, shaved parmesan, and thinly sliced apple and pear. It was served with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette.



The lamb roast on the grill:



And off:



Unfortunately, the problem with serving meat at home is that people tend to like it cooked with some variation of rare or well done, and neither the twain shall meet. I like my lamb (and beef) cooked medium rare, as did 3 others. The other 3 liked their meat practically burnt ("cook it as much as you can cook it, and you're just about there" is how one described it). It's very difficult to prepare meat that caters to everyone's preferences without either letting some portion go cold (those of us who like it on the rare side), or making people watch others eat (those who need their meat cooked longer). Sadly, those who like meat on the rare side tend to get screwed, because while we can usually still suffer through over-done meat, those who like their meat well done absolutely cannot eat meat that has even the slightest amount of pink (at least, that was the case last night). So last night, the meat was cooked too well. There were a few slices with some hint of pink, but that was as rare as it got.

David, who prefers his meat medium rare as well, was muttering to himself as he sliced: "God! Ugh.... how can people eat their meat this way.... and this probably isn't even done enough for them! Ugh!" The meat was tender, though, so in that way it was still good. Flavor wise it was less than ideal, due to it being overdone, though since the lamb was fresh, it didn't have that gamey flavor that I don't like.



Along with the pasta and salad, the lamb was served with some beautifully roasted potatoes:



Putting it all together, it made for a very eye-catching plate:



As I mentioned, I brought a pumpkin pound cake laced with chocolate chips, which Carol served after dinner along with a cheese plate, an assortment of crackers, and slices of apple.



The cheese included an Irish cheddar, some kind of bleu that was wonderful with an apple slice, a caramel-flavored gouda, and one that looks like Brie but that I don't think was Brie (though I can't actually remember what it was):



The crackers included two types of New Zealand cracker, and one that was laced with dried fruit and nuts. My favorite was the one in the middle, which had a great taste and crunch. Naturally it was the one that Carol had actually physically brought back from New Zealand, which means I won't be able to find it here. Sigh.



My favorite thing about this pumpkin pound cake, which probably would have been more suitable in October or November, is that it actually sort of resembles a pumpkin. It's not an extremely sweet cake, and the pumpkin and spices are fairly subtle.



I laced it with chocolate chips, which you can see better here:



And a slice:



Pumpkin Pound Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups pumpkin puree (or mashed fresh roasted pumpkin)
• 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the buttermilk glaze:

• ½ cup buttermilk
• ½ cup sugar
• 4 Tbsp. (½ stick) unsalted butter, cubed
• 2 tbsp pure pumpkin puree
• 1 ½ tsp. cornstarch or flour
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 10-inch non-stick Bundt pan with cooking oil.
   In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk well.
2. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the milk and vanilla.
3. In stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and two sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Scrape down, add the pumpkin, and mix until the batter is combined. The batter will look grainy at this point; that's okay.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the flour mixture. Beat until just combined. Add half of the milk mixture and beat on low speed until well blended. Add the remaining flour, followed by the remaining milk, using the same method. Beat on low until the batter is thick and smooth.
6. Scrape half the batter into the prepared pan. Scatter the chocolate chips as evenly as you can over the batter, then spoon the rest of the batter into the pan. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes (in my oven it took 70 minutes), or until the cake springs back when pressed lightly and a toothpick inserted in one of the cracks comes out clean.
7. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. If needed, run a thin knife around the edge to loosen the cake. Carefully invert it onto the rack.
8. Meanwhile, make the glaze. In a medium saucepan, combine the buttermilk, sugar, butter, pumpkin puree, cornstarch, and baking soda. Place it over medium heat, and bring it just to a gentle boil. Remove it from the heat, stir well, and set it aside to cool to room temperature. Once cool, add the vanilla and stir well.
9. Set the wire rack over a rimmed sheet pan or long piece of foil. Spoon the glaze, which may have lumpy bits of cornstarch in it, through a cheesecloth-lined strainer over the warm cake if you want the glaze to soak into the cake. If you want the glaze to sit atop the cake, don't use it until the cake has been cooled significantly. Cool completely before serving.

A Post-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving, I went to have hot pot with my cousin. The rest of our family is in Los Angeles, and without them, it wouldn't have felt like a real Thanksgiving anyway. We considered doing the turkey and fixings and the whole bit, but with just two of us, it just didn't seem worth the bother. Plus having turkey or poultry of any kind just hadn't particularly appeal to me for some time.

Then came post-Thanksgiving, with everyone posting pictures from their Thanksgiving feasts. Everyone's food looked so good. On top of that, I finished a writing project I'd been working on, the reward for which was being able to crack open The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, which had arrived a couple weeks before. I was just flipping through it when I came across a recipe for buttermilk mashed potatoes. I thought about the 15-lb bag of russet potatoes I had sitting in my kitchen. I thought about how good a piece of roasted chicken would taste with mashed potatoes. Uh oh. I was hooked.

The next day, I went to the store and bought a cooked rotisserie chicken (that's right -- I wanted instant gratification), canned pumpkin, and some salad fixings. Then I went home and made myself a truly satisfying post-Thanksgiving meal, including chicken, buttermilk mashed potatoes, garlic Brussels sprouts, salad, and even pumpkin pie.



The chicken was a little cold by the time everything else was ready, but that was okay. It wasn't the star. It provided some lovely contrast and texture (nothing replaces meat when it comes to making my mouth and stomach satisfied), but it was all the components working together that made the meal great. I of course did not have room for pumpkin pie after everything else, but it was still cooling anyway.

Speaking of the pie, I was pretty happy with the way it came out. On Thanksgiving day my cousin had given me a generous slice of pumpkin pie that her "dessert slave" had made, and it was probably the best pumpkin pie I've ever had. It had a candied ginger and walnut topping on it, and was made with fresh roasted pumpkin. Maybe one day I'll have the energy/will to roast my own pumpkin then make a pie out of it, but that day was not yesterday. Until my cousin can track down the recipe for that one, I found a similar one online that I adapted to my own preferences (less sugar, and hazelnuts instead of walnuts -- I'm just not a big fan of walnuts).



The mashed potatoes were excellent, even though I used russet potatoes rather than the yellow potatoes Judy Rodgers suggests (as much as I love yellow and red potatoes, well, I had 15-lbs of russets!). She also claims that the buttermilk in them helps them keep really well, so since I love mashed potatoes, I went ahead and doubled her recipe.



The Brussels sprouts were a revelation. I'm fairly new to Brussels sprouts, and I've given several recipes a try, but this very simple method using olive oil, garlic, and salt was by far my favorite. They were so good I could have eaten them as a meal all on their own. Well, on any day but post-Thanksgiving day. Granted I'm not very experienced with buying Brussels sprouts, but I had never actually seen them on the stalk before. When I saw a beautiful stalk of them for only $2.50 each, I nabbed one. The sprouts were much fresher/cleaner than the ones I've purchased before off the stalk.



As for the salad, I used red-leaf lettuce and after making the potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and pie, I was too beat (and eager to start eating) to add anything else, though normally I would have included diced tomato (or halved cherry tomatoes), thinly sliced radishes, etc. I did, however, make the delicious yet simple balsamic vinaigrette that my cousin introduced me to awhile ago.

Perhaps best of all was getting to eat the leftovers of everything. I even busted out some of my stored bacon grease to make a cream gravy for the potatoes. Dipping bites of rotisserie chicken in mashed potatoes and gravy = heaven.



And now, onto the recipes! There are quite a few of them, but hopefully it won't be hard to find the one you're interested in.

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes paraphrased from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs potatoes (preferably yellow, but russets will work fine), peeled and chopped into 1 1/2" chunks
• 2-3 tbsp milk, heavy cream, or half and half, heated
• 2-3 tbsp buttermilk, room temperature
• 3 tbsp butter, just melted so it's still warm
• parsley or chives, to garnish (optional)
• salt
• water

Method

1. Place potato chunks in a pot, then cover with cold water by about an inch. Add salt -- about 1 tsp per quart -- and mix, until you can just taste it in the water.
2. Heat until boiling, then simmer for 8-15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
3. Drain water. Put the potato chunks in a large bowl and mash. Add the heated milk/cream, mash. Add the buttermilk, mash. Finish with the melted butter. Whip/mash well.
4. Salt the mashed potatoes to taste.
5. Garnish with parsley or chives, if desired.

Judy Rodgers says it's good to have the cream and butter heated so that their addition doesn't cool down the potatoes too much. Buttermilk can't really be heated or it will separate. (I put it in the microwave for about 10 seconds, to at least take the chill off.) It seems so obvious now, but I can't tell you how many years I've been making mashed potatoes and just adding cold milk and cold butter, then wondering why it was impossible to keep mashed potatoes hot.

Cream Gravy from Homesick Texan

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp pan drippings, bacon grease or vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• salt to taste

Method

1. Combine fat with flour in a hot skillet, continuously stirring, cook on medium for a couple of minutes until a dark roux is formed.
2. Add milk slowly to skillet, and mix with roux using either a whisk or wooden spoon (be sure and press out any lumps).
3. Turn heat to low and continue stirring until mixture is thickened, a couple more minutes.
4. Add pepper and salt to taste.
5. If gravy is too thick for your taste, you can thin it by adding either more milk or water a tablespoon at a time.

Garlic Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

• 8-10oz Brussels sprouts, washed, stemmed, trimmed, and halved
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste

Method

1. Heat oil on medium-low heat in a saucepan large enough to hold the Brussels sprouts in one layer. (I used my wok.)
2. When oil is hot, carefully add the Brussels sprouts -- the water droplets clinging to them from their wash will probably make the oil sizzle and crackle, possibly violently.
3. Stir fry a bit, then turn each sprout onto its flat side.
4. Cover the pan, turn the heat down a little lower, then cook until the sprouts are tender and their flat sides are nicely browned (about 10-12 minutes).
5. Add the garlic and stir fry for about 30 seconds.
6. Add salt to taste, stir fry a few seconds more, then serve.

My notes: You don't want to use heat that's too high because they'll brown too quickly without having enough time to get cooked by the steam. Also, I find that salt greatly enhances Brussels sprouts. It won't save them if they're cooked beyond hope, but salting them a bit more generously than you might salt other foods is highly recommended by me!

Pumpkin Pie with Hazelnut and Ginger Streusel

Ingredients:

• 1 pie shell, frozen or homemade

For the Pie Filling

• 3 eggs
• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

For the Streusel

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 tbsp cold butter
• 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
• 1/3 cup finely chopped candied or crystallized ginger

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, cream, sugar, salt, and all the spices.
3. Pour the mixture into a prepared pie shell.
4. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes.
5. To make the streusel, in a small bowl combine the flour and brown sugar. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter until crumbly. Mix in the hazelnuts and ginger.
6. Remove the pie from the oven, and gently sprinkle the streusel over the filling.
7. Bake for an additional 20-30 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Here's the pie, pre-streusel topping.

A messy, but delicious slice of pie.

My notes: This pie is plenty sweet, even though I cut the sugar in the filling from 3/4 cup to 1/3 cup, and the streusel topping from 1/2 cup to 1/3 cup (from the original recipe). I can't imagine how cloyingly sweet it would have been if I hadn't made those adjustments. When I make this again, whether for this recipe or the one my cousin finds, I'll probably toast the hazelnuts ahead of time and skin them as well. I already cut down on the liquid some since I cut down the sugar, but if I made this again I would probably cut it down even further.

Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 small shallot, sliced or diced (about 1 tbsp)
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Soak shallot in a small bowl with the vinegars for 10-15 minutes.
2. Add the olive oil and mix well, then toss with salad.

My notes: I usually use 2 tbsp of olive oil, but that's because I like my dressing a little more acidic. My cousin prefers using 3 tbsp of oil for a milder taste.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

It's October, it's cold in Seattle, and I'm looking forward to ice cream.

Wait. What?

It's one of those odd seasonal things. I absolutely love pumpkin ice cream -- if it's made well, of course -- and yet that flavor typically doesn't come out until the fall, when the weather is, at best, brisk. Pumpkin lattes, sure, makes sense. Pumpkin ice cream, not so much.

But what can I do, it's one of those things that I just love to eat. I've found over the years that pumpkin enhances just about every dessert. Its flavor is subtle but unmistakable. When real pumpkin is used -- and not some kind of imitation flavoring -- it blends with the other ingredients in a way that creates a lot of depth without being overpowering.

My first experience with pumpkin ice cream was about 6 years ago. At the behest of a friend, I'd gone to one of those places where you work with a group of other people to cook meals that you then freeze and take home, which lasts however many days or weeks. At the end of the session they gave us each a pint of Olympic Mountain pumpkin ice cream with our meals, and I was extremely skeptical. First, they were giving them away, so how good could it be? Plus, pumpkin ice cream? The idea seemed very strange to me at the time.

I was hooked from the first spoonful. How had I gone without this all these years? How could I have never known the most wonderful ice cream of all? I wasn't the only one who had that reaction -- my friend said it was so good she polished off her pint in one sitting (being a hoarder, I allowed myself to eat only a bit at a time, so that it would last).

The problem was, Olympic Mountain, a gourmet ice cream, could not be bought at the local grocery store. The only way to get their ice cream was by going to restaurants that served it, or by random happenstance as had happened to me. And they didn't have a Web site! It took me some time and determination, but I finally found a phone number for them. I called and convinced them to let me buy a gallon of their pumpkin ice cream. They were located a couple of hours from me, but I told them that I would meet their delivery truck at one of the restaurants it was delivering to -- and I did. I did this twice, so enamored was I of their pumpkin ice cream (which I could not find anywhere else).

Little did I know there was a little gem called Theno's Dairy right down Redmond-Woodinville Road, that serves fresh and natural gourmet ice cream. The other day I set off for home after work, and I had seen that the freeways were horrendous. I turned on my GPS, told it to avoid highways, and followed its instructions. About 5 miles later, surrounded by farmland (or at least it looked it to me), I saw a low-tech sign announcing that pumpkin ice cream was now available. Intrigued, I turned into the parking lot. The place was a bit dilapidated, but the ice cream looked good and there were other patrons that trickled in and out at a steady stream. After some consideration I grabbed one of their pre-packed half gallons of pumpkin ice cream -- it was only $6.99 so was worth the risk even if it turned out to be imitation flavored dreck.



The only problem with Theno's is that it's closer to my work place than my home, and given that it's ice cream, distance matters. It was a bit melted when I finally got home, but not terribly so. I carved out a couple of scoops, and tasted it.

!!!!

Here was an ice cream that rivaled Olympic Mountain's pumpkin, and it was so much more attainable! The ice cream had a richness of flavor that I found unusual, and appealing.

Thank you, Theno's. Now I don't have to be the weird girl who stalks ice cream delivery trucks to restaurants.

Coq au Vin, Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies

I love French cuisine, and Coq au Vin (pronounced CŌKE oh-VANH) is one of my favorite dishes (though "coq" refers to a rooster, it's commonly prepared with hen). It's a combination of tender chicken and a rich, flavorful sauce that French cuisine is known for. It's easy to prepare, though moderately time consuming. If you have a couple of hours to spare though, it's totally worth it. And it makes your house smell divine!

The original recipe is adapted from MarthaStewart.com.

Here all the ingredients have been set up, ready for cooking! I sort of forgot that the garlic was supposed to be sliced and made a little more work for myself by mincing, but the end result was just as good.

Check out the awesome purple chicken after marinating overnight in the wine.

Fresh out of the oven and de-fatted (that should be a word).

Close up shot, mmmm. My plating skills still leave something to be desired, so that's not shown.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs
• 4 chicken legs
• 2 cups full-bodied red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 8 ounces slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, if needed
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 10 white pearl onions, peeled (or frozen)
• 1/2 pound small cremini mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons Cognac
• 1 chicken liver, coarsely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 fresh thyme sprigs (or 1 tsp dried thyme)

Method

The night before:

1. Place chicken in a large bowl, and add wine. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.

2-3 hours before serving:

1. Remove chicken from wine, and pat dry; reserve wine. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-low heat until crisp, about 20 minutes. Transfer bacon to a plate, leaving drippings in pot. (You should have about 3 tablespoons; you may need to add oil.)
3. Raise heat to medium-high. Working in batches, cook chicken, flipping once, until golden, 4 to 5 minutes per side. If you find that it's browning very quickly, lower the heat -- you don't want it to burn. Transfer chicken to a plate.
4. Preheat oven to 325°F. (You can do this earlier, but I usually do it after browning the chicken.)
5. Add onion to pot and cook 4 to 5 minutes.
6. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes.
7. Add pearl onions and mushrooms and cook until brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
8. Stir in flour and tomato paste, and cook 2 minutes. At this point, the mixture will be well blended but dry.
9. Add Cognac, and cook, stirring, 1 minute. The mixture will still be on the dry side.
10. Return bacon and chicken to pot. Pour in reserved wine, and add chicken liver and herbs. Bring to a simmer.
11. Cover the pot and place it in the oven until chicken has cooked through and vegetables are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
12. Discard herbs, and skim fat from surface. Serve hot.

When I made this before, I lamented that there wasn't enough of the delicious sauce. So when I made it this time, I doubled the sauce ingredients (wine, flour, tomato paste, Cognac). Also, the bacon drippings have always been enough to cook the chicken and the rest; I've never had to add the extra oil. Alternatively, if using bacon drippings is too rich/decadent for you, you could drain it after the bacon's cooked and use olive oil for the rest of the steps.

Really wonderful served with vegetables (especially potatoes, as you can liberally spoon the sauce over them), rice, and/or pasta. And of course, crusty bread is a must.

For dessert, I made Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies, first introduced by LJer dictumsibylla. The recipe is here. Since I love the flavor of pumpkin I could use even more of it. Maybe next time I'll double the pumpkin portion.

Pictures: