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The 25th

12/28/05 11:32 PM

Food Review

Back in November my mom called to ask me what I wanted for Christmas:

"I really want a cast iron skillet.”

"One of those god awful things that my mother use to have back in the 50’s? Those things are terrible! I hate how they feel and guck sticks to them and I was the one who always had to wash ours. Yuk!”

“Yup, one of those…”

 

Christmas_2005_093

 Merry Christmas to me!

Christmas morning with my parents is a tradition- if you can call it that. Traditions always feel kind of weird when they only involve three people (four once I got married). We open presents- Dad always gives Mom jewelry and Mom gives Dad shirts with pockets so he can keep all his nerdy stuff with him. Then mom makes a great brunch- it’s my holiday meal off. This Christmas, besides the cast iron skillet, I received many things to enhance my kitchen: a crème brulee set, the Martha Stewart Dessert Cookbook and a springform pan! The last time I tried to use my old springform pan- I ended up with strawberry cheesecake batter all over my dress, my stove, my floor, my sanity…you get the idea- my springform pan had a leak and therefore took a leak.

That night dinner was for my dad’s brother Rob and his family. Dad and Rob  are orginally from Pittsburg so they like the traditional meat and potatoes dinner. So I made a big hunk of meat:

Christmas_2005_095

Pleasing many people with the same roast can prove problematic.  Felix and Dad are quite paranoid that I will overcook it. First Dad will come into the kitchen (he also comes in to eat my raw ingredients when I’m not looking which is my personal pet peeve!):

“Don’t over cook that meat! That’s a good roast and it would be a shame to overcook it!”

Later, Felix wanders into the kitchen:

“Yum. This hunk of meat looks done. Don’t cook it anymore.”

“Felix, it hasn’t gone into the oven yet!”

And finally, Dad comes back into the kitchen:

“Kristen, is that delectable ten pound roast in the oven?”

“Yes?”

“It's already in the oven?! You’re gonna overcook it!”

“Dad, we’re eating in five minutes!”

“oh.”

So anyway, I take it out of the oven, and it’s rare, but my Aunt Deb and Cousin Jesse like their meat well done! It usually works that the meat is too rare for them and not rare enough for Felix and Dad. Alas…

Dinner actually turned out very well. We also had some parmesan green onion popovers, green beans, a blue cheese and candied walnut salad, and a citrus tart. All of these were from the December Bon Appetit. I swear I’ve cooked just about every recipe out of that issue.  Here are the popovers:

Christmas_2005_097

Atkins…take a hike.

 

 

 

 

 

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Comments

Sarah

I think I made just about the same meal for Christmas dinner. I made the 10 pound roast with both the porcini-bacon sauce and the horseradish cream sauce and I made the orange tart with the hazelnut crust. Instead of the popovers, I made the gratin that was paired with the pork a couple of pages later. I then included a Worth family favorite creamed spinach and some yeast rolls. It was great. The appetizer was from the Thanksgiving issue and was a crostini with a blue cheese, cranberry and walnut spread. Yum.

Posted by: Sarah | December 29, 2005 at 06:51 AM

Alicat

wooo - I want a skillet too! I've been watching far too much Paula Deen lately..oh, you know your not supposed to ever "wash" them right? You probably do, but I thought I'd better check just in case. :o)

Posted by: Alicat | December 29, 2005 at 07:30 AM

LINDATA

Believe it or not, Carl (and I know you'll know which Carl) is the one to consult about seasoning cast iron skillets. His are beautiful. My mother and father used to fight about how to do it and my pans show it. Cast iron pans are the best for searing steaks. Just a well seasoned pan, searing heat (really...heat it on high for long enough for a drop of water to dance briefly and disappear) then add the steak, no oil, just salt and pepper (even with no oil you need a good exhaust fan - this is why I can't do this). For mediaum rare, watch until moisture seeps to the top, turn, wait again for the moisture. For Felix, watch for the char, turn and char for the same amount on the other side. Rest, as always.

Enjoy the pan.

Posted by: LINDATA | December 29, 2005 at 06:37 PM

Tim

No two people like the same thing, so don't feel bad about not catering to everyone's personal preference. "The best compromise is the one where no one is happy." But I guess that that only applies to things like democracy. Oh well. "How would you like that cooked sir?" "Grilled!"

Posted by: Tim | December 30, 2005 at 06:34 PM

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