Give Me Some Food

Ok, so this post is a little late...

but I've been busy...

Doing absolutely nothing...

Ok- so not nothing.  I just decided not to be chained to my blog this holiday season. Last year when I did that I was too tired to blog and ended up making mass errors in my typing- and then people left me nasty messages...

But I will give you the recap of the holidays:

December 23rd:

Felix and I packed up the Prius (here known as Santa's sleigh), and went down to the South Bay for Felix's birthday and those other minor holidays. Yay! He's finally 28. There is a month every year where it seems like I'm two years older than Felix, rather than one, and I am teased relentlessly. Since Felix is partial to steak, we went to Michael Mina's Steakhouse, Arcadia, in San Jose for his birthday dinner:

That's Felix's sister Diana - in for the holidays from Tufts' med school.  I can't wait for Diana to graduate so I can call her with all of my hypocondriatic medical questions.  Arcadia was ok- Felix asked for a cold center steak, and the first steak that came to the table was med rare. But the Arcadia staff was happy to fix it. Besides that, I found the staff at little casual for a Michael Mina restaurant- I wanted to be more pampered. Yet, there was one dish that I would make the trip solely down to San Jose for:

Their Rootbeer Float. Maybe all rootbeer floats are good- because how could you really mess one up? Yet, I remember having this dessert at Michael Mina in San Francisco and being very impressed. Sometimes the best desserts are the least complicated.

December 24th:

I cooked for 15 at Felix's house. That's Felix's mom, Grandma Alice, and Felix's cousin Mikey. We are taking family pictures that unfortunately broke up one of Felix's favorite board games: Settlers of Catan. Felix is always looking for people to play with (you need at least three players) so tell me if you are up for it.

The Menu for Christmas Eve:

Clam Dip with Crudites ( so easy and good- with electric mixer,  beat 12oz cream cheese, 3/4 c. sour cream, and 3 tbsp lemon juice until blended. Mix in 2 six oz can chopped clams and 1/2 c. chopped chives)
Brie and Sausage with Crackers
Shrimp, Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
Crab Cakes
Penne with Parmesan Cream and Proscuitto
Cheesecake with Pine Nuts and Pumpkin Apple Butter
Spiced Cranberry-Pear Tart:

December 25th:

Christmas brunch with my parents and Michael and Linda! It's so exciting to be invited to Michael and Linda's because Linda is one of the best chefs I know. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of her cooking. But up there is a picture of Micheal about to cut me some cranberry coffeecake:

Linda made that, as well as the rest of the brunch:

That frittata on the right is probably the best I've had- so I coaxed Linda to give me the recipe in her own words:

Toss together in a shallow baking pan, and Roast for 1 hour at 350º:

2 Green Bell Peppers, diced
2 Red Bell Peppers, diced
3 Medium “Boiling” Potatoes, sliced 1/8” and quartered
3 Shallots, sliced thin
3 Garlic Cloves, minced or sliced thin
1 Teaspoon Thyme
2 TBSP Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

You are looking for the vegetable mixture to begin to caramelize. Patience is a virtue but this can be done a day ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.

Beat lightly:

6 Eggs

Preheat, over medium heat, an oven-proof, preferably non-stick or well-seasoned, 9” to 12” pan. If the pan has a cover, you will be able to cook the frittata on the cooktop. Else, preheat the broiler also.

2 TBSP Olive Oil

Add vegetable mixture and warm for 1 or 2 minutes before adding lightly beaten eggs. Continue cooking until bottom of frittata has become opaque and only top is runny, maybe 5-8 minutes, season again with salt and pepper (optionally, sprinkle with grated cheese) Cover, or place under broiler to finish cooking, perhaps 4-6 minutes. The actual cooking time depends on what your “medium” is in terms of potatoes and heat, how big your pan is, etc. but the big difference between an omelet and a frittata is that the frittata is thicker and cooks more slowly. It’s done when the eggs are no longer runny.

This recipe is also wonderful without the eggs as a starch and vegetable side dish for chops or roasts. When I do it for that purpose, I cut things larger, use 4 or 5 medium potatoes, 8-10 garlic cloves whole, and 8-10 shallots cut in half.

Thank you Linda for the yummy brunch!

December 26th:

umm-yeah. We had pizza at my parent's house. Mom and I had great plans for this huge meal with a roast and yorkshire pudding- but her remodeled kitchen wasn't ready yet and it turned into a pizza night with my uncle and cousins from the East Bay.

December 27th:

Pack up the car and go to Tahoe. Ok, yes, this is the same as the first picture- but minus the presents and plus all of our laundry which we were going to do at my parent's cabin, and the fact that we borrowed Felix's parent's Lexus SUV, the car looked pretty much the same in the back. Why did we bring our laundry? We have no laundry 'in unit' so we mooch off of other people's laundry 'in unit'. Laundry 'in unit' is, in my opinion, the best invention of mankind.

December 28th- January 1st:

I cooked. And read. And rested. and got ready for the New Year.

Happy New Year!

xoxox
Kristen