Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Thanksgiving treats we never had the time to make...



"How was your Thanksgiving?" or "Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?" is the friendly question everyone asks this week - YES...we had a pretty good time, but aside from eating a delicious meal there is really not that much to report... or am I missing something? I think this might be a cultural thing. Of course it's nice to spend time with the family and have a delicious meal together but I am not sure what other details of our Thanksgiving gathering I should give away when being asked about it. Maybe something like:"The color of the turkey was absolutely striking" or "I was really thankful that my appetizers worked out" or something like that... but like I said, I might be overlooking something here so please let me know what it is..

And my appetizers? I had BIG plans. And asked for the help of some lovely, creative, wonderful friends. I actually asked everyone who I spoke to a few days before Thanksgiving what appetizer I should make - I settled with homemade Sushi rolls, that seemed easy and the kids would also eat some.

Below are the 3 recipes that I did NOT make - I still regret it! And that is why I want to share them with you today... sounds sooo delicious!!! And I am sure they can also be used any other time of the year, or next Thanksgiving, or Christmas...

This one come from Erin in LA:
Port Glazed Walnuts with Stilton

2 1/2 cup walnut halves (9 ounces)
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c ruby port
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 bay leaf
One-1 pound wedge of Stilton Cheese
Parchment paper

Preheat oven to 350 Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and
toast them for approx. 8 minutes until they are lightly brown.

Meanwhile in a large, heavy sauce pan, combine the sugar, ruby port,
pepper, bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cook the liquid over moderate
heat until the sauce is slightly thickened. 3-4 minutes, discard the
bay leaf

Add the walnuts to the sauce pan, stirring to evenly coat. Using a
slotted spoon, drain the nuts very well (save the liquid). Line a
baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the walnuts in a single
layer. Bake for 12 minutes stirring once, or until the nuts are
mostly dry, let them cool and separate any nuts that sick together.

Meanwhile simmer the syrup over low heat until it is thick enough to
coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 3 minutes.

Set the Stilton on a serving platter and place the walnuts in a
separate bowl, Drizzle the port syrup over the cheese and serve with
the nuts.

(you can make 1 day ahead just reheat syrup store nuts in air tight
container)

*also great with bread or crackers......


Another super easy good hors d'oeuvre

Prosciutto and dates

Cut dates in half and remove seed, stuff with a piece of gruyere
cheese and wrap in prosciutto stick a toothpick in to hold together
broil until cheese melts, serve....

amazing!!!!!

and now from Jennifer....famous for her deserts - this is a recipe she had send me a while ago:

Persimmon Pudding (from "Chez Panisse Desserts" by
Lindsay Remolif Shere)

for 1 8-inch or 9-inch pudding:

about 1 1.2 lbs very ripe and soft hachiya persimmons
3/4 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. whipping cream
1 tbsp honey
1 1/4 c. pastry flour
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 c. walnuts
6 tbsp unsalted butter

Make sure your persimmons are at the "water balloon" stage, when the pulp is
translucent and jellylike.
Scrape the persimmon pulp off the peel and puree.
Combine the persimmon pulp, sugar, eggs, milk, cream,
and honey. Mix dry ingredients in another bowl, then
add wet to dry.
Lightly toast the walnuts in a 350 oven for 5-6
minutes. Let cool. Melt butter and let cool while you
coarsely chop the walnuts and butter a spring form pan
and line the bottom with baking parchment. (You can
also butter a regular 9x13 pan.) Stir the walnuts and
butter into the batter.
Bake in a 350 oven until a toothpick comes out clean --
allow 1.5 to 2 hours.

If using a spring form pan, remove the pudding from the
pan as soon as it comes out of the oven. Turn it onto a
regular kitchen plate, then again onto a nice dessert
plate so that the glossy brown top is facing up.
If using a 9x13 pan, presentation will be less
impressive -- just cut and serve like brownies.

Serve warm with whipped cream


So, please let me know....:"How was your Thanksgiving?" or "What what recipe did you not get around to use?"





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Sunday, November 19, 2006

RACCOON - 2 C's for: Clever and Cute...2 O's: for Obessive and Obnoxious



below is a little raccoon story my friend Kirsten wanted to get your advice on.. it's pretty funny - enjoy!

"Does your pet food disappear mysteriously in the night? Is their water bowl muddied? Footprints all over the place? Then you too suffer from the midnight raiders - RACCOONS!

We have been fighting the raccoon battle for a long time now and they have almost beaten us. At first the blighters used to sneak in through the cat flap and get to our dry cat food supply. So we put the dry cat food in a cupboard. They came through the cat flap, opened the door and got the food. So we put a chair against the cupboard. They moved it.

We then decided to lock the stinkers out - so we just put a cross bolt across the back of the cat flap. And guess what? They still managed to get in by bouncing the cat flap door off the bolt and catching it on the upswing (I had images of one raccoon being on flap duty - "alright Rocky mate, your turn to hold the flap tonight"!)

So then we get a fancy lock on our catflap where you have to push a very fiddly lock across to open it...... and STILL they got in!!

Having had enough of it by now my husband got a piece of board and and basically boarded up the cat flap - poor cats just have to stay in or out.

The raccoons have beaten us and on top of that - it wouldn't surprise me at all to find them with a drill gun unscrewing the board and making their own merry way in to raid our pantry for our grand old thanksgiving feast.

Anyone got any ideas how to discourage our night visitors?"


This is Kirsten's desperate call for help and advice... I will forward her any good tips you might have for her.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

The new me: juggling family, work and everything else..



This September was a big turning point in my career as a mother - I now have both my children in elementary school!

All these years I spent at the playground, helping out at the preschool, going to the zoo, to the little farm in the park, the kindergym at the Y, waiting for my daughters while they were doing their gymnastics, squeezing in between the other Moms trying to get a good spot to observe them from behind a tiny window while they were taking their swimming classes, and many more hours spent at places that I didn't even know existed before we had children. These days are suddenly over - and now what?

Before having kids I was always wondering what I want to be when I grow up and never really found that answer - having kids put that question on ice - but now it's back. YES.. what do I want to be when I am not "only" a mom anymore...? I know I am not the only one out there with this question - I recently spoke to another mother in the schoolyard, who told me that she was going to a career counseling class especially designed for mothers called Mothers In Balance - what a great idea..!

In the meantime, I never really had the time to think about this question too long... - making sure I stay busy and won't get bored while my kids are at school, I started this blog, a part-time job and take classes at the adult school, I work out, I wash, I cook, (try to) clean up.. and all those other things I did before. My life is in chaos, my house is a mess, but I am having fun -
I think I found the answer on what I want to be when I am not "only" a mom anymore...:

A Mom with a lot of other things going on!

(..and this is why I did not make any entries in this blog for a while..)

Thursday, November 02, 2006

candy..Candy..CAndy..CANdy..CANDy..CANDY!



Halloween was lots of fun! Trick O' Treating in our neighborhood was more than successful for my candy loving kids, who carried home 2 huge bags filled with sticky sweets.

So what is the story behind all this? Is Halloween a conspiracy between dentists and candy makers? I rushed out to buy the last 4 bags of candy left on the shelf at Longs Drugstore so I would have enough for the kids coming to our house. And now.... aside from the candy my children scored Trick O' Treating, I also have most of that candy left.

My kids would constantly eat candy and so instead of battling over each piece I decided to go for the 3-day-rule, that a friend of mine suggested:

"Let them eat as much as they want for 3 days, and then give the rest away.."


My friend pointed out that this rule should overall be better for their teeth, eating a lot at once, is healthier than eating a bit over time. It almost worked for us. I ended up trading in the left over candy for a toy as well (they really were lucky this year!)

I found this article by Kristen Gerencher "Candy for Cash" that might be interesting in this context.

But what I am really curious about is:"What do you do with your kids halloween candy?"