Fresh Tart

Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Hanukkah, and Merry Christmas!  Apparently an entire month has disappeared in a puff of puppy, bronchitis, travel, guests, 8th-grade basketball, and holiday decorating, shopping, and planning.

You can probably tell that I didn't host Thanksgiving dinner this year (given detailed posts in years previous, a snapshot overview here), but I did bake no-knead bread (crusty, delicious, beyond easy) and reprised the fantastic brussels with pancetta and dried cranberries that I tried for last year's feast.  The key to the deliciousness is the pulled-apart brussels, which result in a pile of tender leaves that cook quickly and lose any bitterness.  The result is so good, I've been asked to make it again for Christmas. Keep it in mind if you're itching for a new vegetable dish on your holiday table (it's pretty to boot).

I brought the bread and brussels out to Willmar for Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt Marge's lovely home.  We had such a beautiful meal - turkey, sage dressing with sausage, mashed potatoes/gravy, sweet potatoes with fresh cranberries, brussels (above), wild rice salad with pine nuts and orange dressing, and bread.  For dessert my cousin's wife Amanda made pana cotta with cinnamon apples, a delicious and light end to the feast.  Puppy Louis and I spent two nights in Willmar, in fact, hanging with the fam, eating leftovers in the form of Marge's killer panini sandwiches, and spending Friday night at the farm (aka my aunt Mary's lovely home - my aunts have beautiful homes, what can I say?) for another gorgeous meal, this time green salad with pears and mustard vinaigrette, pork chops with cherry sauce, polenta, and green beans, with warm apple cake for dessert.  Uff.  Da.  Clearly not a weekend of moderation, but that's Thanksgiving, and so it goes.

Right before Thanksgiving, John and I had a fabulous time in NYC, in town to celebrate our friend Bartley's birthday.  We hit several favorite food highlights - the Gotham salad at Bergdorf Goodman, mushroom barley soup at E.A.T., truffles from La Maison du Chocolat, H&H everything bagels on our way to the airport.  New tasties included hand-crafted drinks at the Surrey Hotel's chic new Bar Pleiades and a literal feast (crispy prawns, velvet chicken, orange beef, Peking duck, and totally craveable shrimp spring rolls) at Chinese hot spot Philippe.

Somewhere in there I got a nasty case of bronchitis which cut my cooking down to zero, other than scraping together a quick soup here and there.  I'm coming back on line, however, slowly but surely.  I made my first pot of New England clam chowder of the season a couple of nights ago, my goodness it tasted good.  I make the Cooks' Illustrated version which is brothier and lighter than the typical, and more delicious (I think), I recommend it highly.  I also bought a couple of hundred pounds (literally) of high quality beef from my stepmom's nephew Jay Taylor (thank you to my dad for driving it from Montana to Minnesota) and we've enjoyed tenderloin steaks already.  And oh, John and I are hosting an open house for his partners on the 20th, part of which I'm having catered, but part of which I'll prepare myself.  Stay tuned for menu ideas and recipes as I get my, um, stuff together.

And oh again!  I'm not one for much holiday baking, but I am toying with the idea of trying the Star Tribune's 2009 cookie contest winner, Almond Triangles (photo at left by Tom Wallace for the Star Tribune) which I've heard several raves about already.  They look decidedly un-moderate yet delicious and best of all, easy - yes!  Perhaps for the open house.  I'm also getting pressured by Nathan to bake cutout sugar cookies this year - most years he can take 'em or leave 'em (peanut butter kisses are his thankfully easy fave), but when he makes the request...I'm happy to step up.  The trick is finding the time to actually prepare them, hmmm, perhaps Sunday afternoon.  If we end up with anything interesting, I'll post some pics.

If you're looking for a great holiday gift idea, check out James Beard Award-winning, Minnesota Monthly food columnist/editor Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl's new book, Drink This: Wine Made Simple.  If you don't read her column, and Dear Dara blog, you should because not only is she smart and hilarious, she knows food and wine, big time.  She was on MPR last week with Rick Nelson (Star Tribune), hosted by Kerri Miller, respresenting an hour of laughs and info generated by three of the smartest, coolest people in Minnesota.  Good stuff.

For now, the tree is up, my shopping is more than half done, and I'm feeling unusually on top of things (BIG knock on wood).  Which is good, since Puppy Louis needs some extra TLC for a few days - he was neutered yesterday and is stuck wearing the cone of shame for the next week, poor little guy.  Hope your holiday plans are falling into place better than Louis'...  Good luck stealing some peace (and moderation!) amidst the cooking and baking and wrapping and partying and the general running around like crazy that happens to us all at this time of year.  Stay warm!

Holidays still going strong here at the Levy Hacienda...  Let's see, we've pretty much been celebrating since Sunday when my bro and sis David and Etta accidentally arrrived - flying from NYC to Billings, MT, through Minneapolis, they missed their connection and couldn't secure another flight until Wednesday morning.  Woo hoo!  Well, not for them, but for Stacey, John, Nathan, Sasha, and me, it was a sweet little present.  I had planned latkes for dinner Sunday night anyhow, and since latkes are a bit labor-intensive for just four people, it worked out quite perfectly to double our group (Stacey, Cooper, plus David and Etta) and have ourselves a little latke feast.  We garnished with sour cream, skipped the apple sauce, and enjoyed every greasy, crispy, salty, glorious bite.  Happy Hanukkah!

Monday we set out for some late shopping and stopped for a lovely meatball sandwich lunch at Broder's.  Monday night I made one of my very favorite soups - Gourmet Cookbook fish soup with croutes and rouille.  I don't think there's a better soup on the planet - brothy, spicy, bright, hearty-yet-light, it hits just about every possible note.  It's also simple and pretty.  Pretty perfect.

Tuesday night we feasted on glorious take-out from Taste of India.  Then Wednesday morning David and Etta were off for Billings, sniff, and I switched into Christmas Eve mode.  Stacey, Cooper, Bowen, and Mom joined John, Nathan, and me for a simple dinner and lots of presents.  I stuck to a loosely Greek theme, with grilled pita, eggplant spread, olive spread, and raw veggies for a pre-din snack.  For dinner I made a simple shrimp and orzo dish, recipe via Bon Apetit.  And for dessert, a warm lemon souffle, big hit.  Perhaps my all-time favorite dessert.

Christmas Day John and I made what has become our annual drive out to my aunt Mary and uncle Bruce's farm, about two hours west of the Twin Cities.  We enjoyed a gorgeous, snowy drive and arrived to find the usual merriment - Mary and Bruce, of course, plus their sons Craig and Michael, and Michael's wife Amanda.  Also my aunt Marge and Uncle Jim and their daughters Kim and Kelly.  Also wine and appetizers and a roaring fire and two pretty trees and all sorts of good smells and conversation.  Dinner 'round the giant table (top pic) was prime rib of beef, sour cream mashed potatoes, Harvard beets, and green beans sauteed with red pepper and pine nuts.  I contributed crusty no-knead bread.  And Marge contributed her perfect cheese cake, with strawberries, on plates lit by little candles (LOVE those candles!).  After dinner we opened gifts (I laughed until I ached at my cousin Kelly's gift from Craig - James Lilek's Gastronomalies book, beyond hilarious) and played team Trivial Pursuits and then John and I drove home.  (Honestly, John drove home and I dozed - I'm such a good travel companion....)

And then today, to keep the merriment going, John and I dug into one of my many beautiful presents, a tin of ca-vi-ar, oh yeah.  I flipped crepes, minced some onion, and boiled and sieved a few eggs.  John popped a bottle of champagne, pried open the tin, and we dug into a little slice of post-Christmas heaven.  Holy Roly Poly Moly.  I'm digesting as I write, then we're off to our third movie of the weekend (opened with Frost/Nixon yesterday, then wandered home to watch The Counterfeiters, then this afternoon we're out the door to see Milk).  A champagne-n-caviar-fueled movie marathon?  Um, yes.

Hope you're relaxing and enjoying your guests and presents and treats and the end of 2008 as well!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! I hope you had some fun cooking and/or eating, hanging with family and friends, feeling grateful for a good life.  We sure did our best on this end, on many (!) fronts, and had a great time.

We've actually been celebrating for days, ever since I started meal prep on Monday (despite the muscle I pulled in my back hoisting the 16-lb. turkey in its two gallons of brine into the garage fridge on Tuesday, damn, but after some quick icing seem to have squeaked by without serious pain.  Thank you turkey gods!)  John's parents John & Dot arrived from NYC late-afternoon Tuesday.  I made dinner here - steaks, wild mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, sauteed spinach - and we all hit the hay pretty early.

Wednesday Dot and I set the tables, John and his dad went wine shopping, Rudy Maxa and Ana Scofield stopped by for a drink, and the fam enjoyed a lovely Frenchy dinner at Cave Vin - frogs legs, escargot, pommes frites, calamari, chicken, (more) steak.  Delicious.

And then yesterday, of course, the big day.  My aunts Marge & Mary, their husbands Jim & Bruce, and my cousin Kim drove in from western Minnesota.  My cousin Craig flew in from DC.  And my mom, Bowen & Cooper, our friend Harry, and both Nathan and Sasha were here to celebrate as well.  Full house, full table(s), full plates, full tummies.  Here's the menu:

pickled vegetables, cheeses, nuts

herb-roasted turkey & gravy
simple savory stuffing (this year I added chestnuts, leeks, and mild Italian sausage)
do-ahead sour cream mashed potatoes
savory sweet potato casserole (Mary)
spiced cranberry mold (Mom)
brussels sprouts with pancetta and cranberries (a new recipe this year - absolutely delicious, it's a keeper)
black-eyed pea salad (I made this up, used diced pickled vegetables with a mustard vinaigrette; nice)
no-knead bread

pumpkin cheesecake and pecan pie (Marge)
brownies (Harry)

John and his dad chose fruity pinot noirs to drink with the meal - good choice.  Before dinner, since we ate on the early side (2 pm), John's dad made killer Bloody Mary's (both virgin and er, experienced) for the group.  Tasted mighty fine with pickled vegetables and salty nuts, yum.

After pie(s) and coffee, everyone rolled away from the table for the usual digestive activities - walk, (watch) football, dishes, take your pick.

Today we'll put the kitchen back together, snack on leftovers (I already had brussels for breakfast - delicious), see a movie.  Kitchen life returns to normal for at least a few weeks and I'm glad.  Sure I love to cook, but 90% of the time it's the simplest fare, the everyday healthy no-recipe dishes.  Which is what makes the holidays so fun - big cooking projects to plan and bury myself in, mwahahaha! But even I tire of all-cooking, all-the-time, and today, I am tired.

In a good way.

Are you?