Festive Table Scape

A good friend of mine, Cori Sue Morris, writes a really awesome blog, Bitches Who Brunch. She recently mentioned that she had 10 lobster tails being sent to her, and would I be interested in cohosting a lobster dinner party with her and our other friend, Lindsey Becker, who has recently started cooking school! I of course said yes and started thinking about recipes, etc. One of my favorite parts of having a dinner party is setting a fun, festive table. Mine are always very basic but I think it is nice to spruce it up with colored napkins and other small items on the table. This is a particularly easy and inexpensive one to recreate, as it requires very little- a white or grey tablecloth (I borrowed another one of my friend Kendall's...again), burgundy or red napkins, an assortment of silver napkin rings (or silver ribbon!), a few silver ornaments (you could spraypaint pinecones, holly leaves or glass ball ornaments if you wanted to DIY), 2 pillar candles and some hurricanes, and some white roses for the centerpiece. I wish I could have gone totally above and beyond, but most of us (myself included) are on budgets so I improvised with what I wanted to spend. Usually when I buy entertaining gear, my go to stops are Homegoods (far away so only if I'm feeling ambitious), World Market, and Crate and Barrel. C&B has cloth napkins for $3.95 each which I think are a great deal since you can throw them in the washing machine and dryer. Everything I used in this table scape is from there, save for the hurricanes which are from World Market. At both places (WM especially) you can get nice looking silverware, glassware, and plates etc. on the cheap which I love. I think that food looks best on plain white plates, but depending on the season I'll add in some color.

Today when I went to C&B, I had no idea what I wanted to do with the table. All I had was 6 napkin rings (I needed 8) and the tablecloth. I wanted to match the napkin rings, but they were out of the ones I had previously bought so I bought 2 each of the other silver ones that were there and decided to mix and match which I think is cute and slightly less predictable than using the same one for each person. I also got some silver ribbon in case I decided to use that instead, which I think is awesome in place of a napkin ring and sometimes even cuter. When I am setting a table, I like to start with either the tablecloth or placemats, then pick the napkins, followed by candles and centerpiece, followed by the "accessories." It is kind of like putting an outfit together, and you want to get things that coordinate with each other as well as other items in your entertaining "wardrobe." Some of the items are not necessary, but my mother always sets a beautiful table which includes more than all of those so I like to try to recreate as much as possible (my tables will never be as nice as hers but I continue to try!).

Today, I had no idea what color napkins to get and originally grabbed red. After thinking my table would be a little too Christmasey, I went with a burgundy color I thought would be really pretty against silver and grey but still festive. I then picked out some grey candles (white would have been fine but the grey are awesome), and realized all of the silver ornaments were on sale. I grabbed a bunch of the less than $2 ones (12 or so) to spread around the table. If you were feeling generous, you could put a few at each guest's place as a take away. You can also use them on your tree after dinner, or put them in a glass bowl on your front hall table for a festive decoration.

In terms of centerpieces, I always prefer to do a simple one on my own. You can buy a bunch of flowers at the grocery store and arrange them yourself which is about $80 less than buying a pre made arrangement. I decided to stick with the white/silver/grey/burgundy theme and do an arrangement of white roses. While I was checking out, it dawned on me that adding some fresh cranberries to the flowers would tie everything together nicely so I grabbed a bag of those and figured I'd fit them in somewhere, either on the table (which I opted against since I am on a borrowed tablecloth and do not want to stain) or with the flowers. Short arrangements are preferable so that your guests can all see each other, so I used a short vase and cut the flowers down a little more than half way and removed the leaves for a cleaner look. I put the flower food in the water and added some cranberries. I ended up adding more at the end, about 1/2 the bag total. I am pretty pleased with myself and it was incredibly easy to do, you just have to fuss with and keep cutting/rearranging the flowers until they look right.

Once I had the flowers, candles, plates, and napkins on the table (I don't put glassware because guests are always drinking already), I spread out the ornaments. I was worried it was going to take me about 5 hours of arranging and rearranging to make it look like I hadn't arranged them at all, but for whatever reason it worked out perfectly on my first try. I wanted them to be sort of grouped but also random. Anyway I like how they look and am going to leave them be. Last stop is silverware, most of which I got on there save for a few place settings (which I will need for dinner tonight). Again, this is very basic but so much nicer than seeing a wood table with white paper napkins and nothing else. Now off to make some Christmas Candy!

Roasted Chicken from Bistro de l'Hotel

I recently went to a great French restaurant with my family and a group of people. The menu was set because the local experts we were with had wanted to make sure that we got to eat "the best chicken ever." Granted, they were very nice Bresse chickens (all white with blue legs/feet and delicious) which we don't have access to in Washington (that I know of). I swapped in an organic whole chicken from Whole Foods which was totally fine and tasted about the same. Usually when I roast a chicken, I stuff it with either lemons or onions/garlic and bake it with a few pads of butter on the skin at 350 for an hour and a half. The method that the restaurant used was totally different- they used a mixture of olive oil and clarified butter (which burns at a higher temp than regular butter) and cooked the chickens at a temp of 475 for a total of 45 minutes (nothing inside the chicken). The result is a really juicy chicken with crispy, perfectly browned skin that comes out surrounded in the best chicken juice ever. We also had roasted asparagus and mashed potatoes with our chicken where were the perfect accompaniment (both recipes for those are on my blog under the lambchops recipe). One whole chicken serves 4 very well but can definitely be stretched to serve 6, or you can make 2 chickens and have leftovers.

For the Clarified Butter:

-Bring 2 sticks of unsalted butter to a boil in a small pan. Use a sieve to scrape the white foam off the top of the butter as it boils. Once you have gotten most of it off, strain the rest through the sieve or a pice of cheesecloth. Put aside. All you are doing is removing the white milk proteins that will burn if you cook the butter at a high temp and we don't want that.

For the Chicken:

Ingredients:

-2/3 c clarified butter

-1/3 c olive oil

-1 whole chicken

-2 tbs fresh pepper

-2-3 tbs salt

Directions:

-Set oven to 475 degrees.

-Mix the clarified butter with the olive oil and let cool until it turns into gel.

-Rinse and dry the chicken (sometimes it comes with liver/kidneys/neck inside the cavity. If it does, make sure you remove these and throw them away or save for stock). It is important to dry the chicken thoroughly, if there is water on the skin then the chicken skin will steam instead of brown nicely.

-Spread about 2/3 of the butter/oil mixture on the chicken (I used the rest of it in the mashed potatoes in place of regular butter which was great, or you can save it in the fridge for another chicken). Make sure you get the butter/oil on both sides of the chicken.

-Sprinkle half of the salt and pepper on one side of the chicken, and half on the other side of the chicken.

-Place the chicken in a roasting pan (brownie pan will work just fine) upside down and roast for 20 minutes, upside down. 

-After 20 minutes, turn the chicken break side up and continue to roast for 25 more minutes or until a food thermometer reads 165 degrees for internal meat temp.

-Cut off the legs and breast meat, let sit in the chicken juices while everyone serves themselves. 

Vanilla Bean Creme Anglaise

Now that the kids in my family are all old enough, we usually each make something for Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house. My task last year was dessert, and everyone liked it so much that they asked me to make the same thing again. Part of the dessert involves a vanilla bean creme anglaise, which, if you have not had it, is absolutely to die for. I just dunked a strawberry in it and was in heaven. It goes with everything. It is incredible with chocolate cake, fresh fruit, apple tarts, pumpkin pie, and everything in between. It is a little bit like a much tastier and slightly thicker melted vanilla ice cream. If your task is dessert this year, or if you have a dessert coming up that you need to serve (even if it is store bought pumpkin pie) your homemade creme anglaise will take it to the next level and everyone will be licking their plates. It is super easy and only takes about 15 minutes to make, from start to finish. You can serve it warm, cold, or at room temp.

Ingredients:

-1 cup whole milk (you can also use cream- I used 2/3 c 1% milk and 1/3 c heavy whipping cream)

-1 vanilla bean, cut in half and seeds scraped out into the milk (use 1 tsp of vanilla extract in a pinch)

-4 egg yolks (reserve the whites for meringues later or an egg white omelette)

-1/3 c granulated sugar

Directions:

-Scald the milk with the vanilla bean and seeds in it (this means bring to a boil for about 25 seconds and then shut the heat off. A skin will form on the milk which will be strained out later). Turn off stove and leave there while you do the eggs/sugar

-In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar

-Pour about 1/3 c of the milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. (This is a process called "tempering," which ensures that the yolks will not scramble)

-Pour the egg/milk mixture into the pot of milk and whisk. Cook at medium heat for about 5 minutes until the creme anglaise is the consistency that you would like.

-Pour the mixture through a strainer into a bowl and set aside to cool.

(I accidentally made mine a little thicker than I wanted so I added about 1/4 c heavy cream and thinned it out a little. It still tastes amazing and now there is more. You can also use milk or half and half to thin it out after you are finished).

The creme anglaise will keep for 3 days refrigerated so feel free to make it in advance like I did.

Hoisin Chicken with Cucumber Salad

A few years ago when I worked in an office, I used to spend a small chunk of the afternoon looking for delicious things to make for dinner. I came across several great recipes, which I would print out and put in the folder section of the recipe binder my mother made for us. The other night, when I asked my friend Kara what she wanted for dinner, her immediate response was "something healthy" (clearly my love of butter has not gone unnoticed over here). I couldn't think of anything healthy and delicious that I hadn't made recently, so I searched through all of the printouts I had in my binder and found this gem. I was nervous that it wouldn't be very satisfying or tasty, at 385 calories a serving, but I could not have been more wrong. This is easily one of the best meals I have ever made and it will definitely go in the repertoire. We went one step further than the recipe and made a green salad with cilantro to serve with the chicken, and it was an amazing addition. The chicken is kind of sweet and spicy, and the cucumber salad is cool and delicious. The whole meal tastes fresh, asian, light, and really flavorful. I ate it again the next day for lunch and was not disappointed then, either. The whole meal takes about 30 minutes to make, from start to finish, so it's totally feasible for a weeknight. The marinade is best made in a food processor, but would be fine if you just chopped everything finely. It makes quite a bit, so I froze some of the marinade and chicken thighs (separately) for another time. Hope you enjoy this dinner as much as I did!

For the Chicken

Ingredients:

-1 package of skin-on chicken pieces (I used thighs and legs. Thighs are really flavorful and very inexpensive. Breasts are fins but make sure you get the skin-on kind because the marinade is a little kicky and you don't want it on the bare chicken).

-3/4 cup hoisin sauce (I got it at safeway in the Asian section)

-3 scallions, chopped

-5 cloves of garlic

-1 2-inch piece of ginger, sliced

-1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and halved (remove 1/2-3/4 of the seeds to tone down spiciness)

-zest and juice of 2 limes

-2 tbs rice vinegar

-1 tsp each salt and pepper

Directions:

-Put everything except for the chicken in to a food processor and blend until smooth. If you dont' have a food processor, mince the ingredients and mix everything together.

-Pour over chicken and marinate for at least 30 minutes.

-Grill or broil until chicken is at an internal temp of 165 degrees.

Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

-1 cucumber, peeled and sliced thinly (I used the side of the cheese grater that has the long thin slicer but a knife is fine)

-1/2 red onion, peeled and sliced thinly lengthwise

-1/2 cup rice vinegar

-2 tbs sugar

-1.5 tsp salt

-1/4 cup ice cubes

Directions:

-Bring the vinegar, salt and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and add the ice

-Toss with the cucumber slices and onions. The vinegar mixture will wilt the cucumbers and onion slices which will turn into marinated, delicious goodness. Store in fridge until ready to serve.

For the Green Salad (Optional):

Put in a salad bowl: 1/2 head of romaine lettuce (washed and chopped), 1/3 cup chopped cilantro. Toss together with about 1/4 cup of the dressing from the cucumbers (there will be plenty).

To Serve: Put green salad on the plate (if you are serving with it), top with a scoop of the cucumber mixture, place a piece of chicken on top of everything. Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh, chopped cilantro or a lime wedge.

Fresh Fruit Tart on Puff Pastry with Berry Glaze

This is one of my absolute, all time, favorite desserts. The homemade pastry cream is probably the most delicious thing I have ever put in my mouth, and the puff pastry is light and airy, and the fruit on top is just perfect with the cream. My mother used to make this for VERY special occasions when we were little (read: things we were not invited to) and if we were lucky enough, we got a small piece after it had been served. I am not surprised, because it takes a good bit of effort, but I literally dream about this dessert.  It can be made with any type of fruit that you like and can find fresh in the store. The assembly takes a little bit of time, but it is all fairly simple. The pastry cream is the most difficult part of the tart, needing constant whisking and babysitting (about 40 min total...not too bad). It is simple enough, but not cooking or cooling it for long enough is a fatal mistake as it will be too thin. Once you have your spoon in the mixture, however, you can sort of tell the kind of consistency you are working with and need to get to so it makes sense. The pastry cream needs to cool and set overnight, or all day long, so you want to make this in advance. It can be made up to a few days in advance and stored. I accidentally made my tart very patriotic looking which was perfect for election season, but I have also used kiwis and other colors of fruit. IMO berries are the best and the easiest to work with because you can sort of just sprinkle them on. In a pinch, if you don't want to make homemade pastry cream (I don't blame you but it IS worth it), you can make homemade whipped cream (see recipe on here) and use that instead. The pastry cream is better though. Trust me it is GOOD. This tart will serve up to 20 people depending on how big you cut the slices, or you can put the leftovers in the fridge and eat it for breakfast all day long.

Homemade Pastry Cream

Ingredients:

-2 cups of milk (first choice whole, second choice 2%)

-1/2 cup of sugar

-4 tbs flour

-2 egg yolks

-1 tbs butter

-1 tbs vanilla

Directions:

-Scald the milk in a saucepan. This means heat it to the point where it just boils for a second and forms a skin on top.

-While the milk is heating up, whisk the sugar and flour together in a metal or glass bowl, or the top of a double boiler. Put a pot of water that the bowl can sit on top of on the stove to simmer.

-When the milk is scalded, remove and throw away the skin and pour the milk into the four/sugar, whisking constantly. Place the bowl over the simmering pot of water and cook (constantly stirring) for about 15 mins until the mixture lightly coats the back of a spoon.

-Add the egg yolks while whisking- if you stop whisking then the yolks will scramble and you will have lumps in your cream. These can be strained out at the end but it is less annoying if you just whisk like crazy. 

-Cook that mixture for about another 15 minutes, or until the mixture heavily coats the back of a spoon (pic below is a few minutes before it is done). Remove from the heat.

-Add butter and vanilla and mix well. 

-To chill the pastry cream- place a piece of saran wrap over it, touching the pastry cream so it doesn't form a skin on top. Put in fridge for at least 8 hours. 

Puff Pastry: 

You could make this but I don't know why you would spend countless hours when there is a perfectly fine version at your grocery store. It is a monumental pain in the ass to work with the homemade so don't make your life any more difficult than it needs to be. Pepperidge Farm has a good one, and the one I used recently was some fancy version from Whole Foods that tasted exactly like all of the others. Long story short, find it at the grocery store.

Instructions:

-Defrost one sheet of puff pastry ( NOT phyllo dough) according to the instructions on the package. I usually let it sit on the counter until it is pliable without breaking. Or you can defrost it in the fridge the day before.

-Depending on what size tart you want to make, sprinkle flour on your counter and roll out the puff pastry to the size of a cookie sheet. You can also just leave it the size it comes in.

-With a fork, poke holes all throughout the pastry. This will prevent it from rising to the extent that it should, but we want a fairly flat puff pastry so you need to give it some airholes or you will have what looks like a liferaft.

-Bake according to the instructions on the package and set aside.

Fruit Tart Assembly:

-Spread the cooled pastry cream on top of the cooled puff pastry.

-Arrange your fruit selection on top.

-Use a brush to gently coat with or drizzle the glaze on top of the fruit tart (pic below is pre-glaze, main pic is post-glaze).

Glaze:

-Put 3 tbs of raspberry or strawberry jam in a small pan. Add 2 tbs of water and bring to a boil. Cool.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Anyone that knows me well will tell you that squash is NOT my favorite food. I have about 2 bites of it at Thanksgiving and that's it. I rarely cook with it, but one of my girlfriends brought over a couple of butternut squashes during the hurricane recently (there was nothing else to do but cook and eat). We decided to make roasted butternut squash soup since I am now the proud owner of a food processor, and it was shockingly delicious. I ate an entire bowl and have had it for lunch every day since! It is really nice as a whole meal or as a starter. My friend Kara got all fancy and served the soup with a dollop of sour cream (love) on top, and then sprinkled on craisins, scallions and sunflower seeds. It looks really pretty and was really tasty! It just so happened that I had made chicken stock the day before, so we used homemade in the recipe which I think made a lot of difference. Store bought is fine, but if you have the time like we did then it is worth it to make and use homemade. That recipe another time. If you don't have a cuisinart, the squash gets really soft so you could just use a potato masher or a blender to puree it. It is definitely smoother after a trip through the food processor but also makes a pretty big mess. Fyi.

Ingredients:
-1 butternut squash
-1 carrot, grated
-1 onion, chopped
-5 cups of chicken stock
-1 cup of apple cider
-1 tbs freshly grated nutmeg
-1 tbs curry powder
-salt and pepper to taste
-olive oil
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-sour cream, sunflower seeds, craisins, scallions for serving

Directions:
-Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast, skin side up, for 1 hour at 350 degrees. When the squash is soft, remove the skin and cut it into cubes.
-Saute the chopped onion and carrot in about 2 tbs of olive oil until the onion is translucent.
-Add the squash, chicken broth, apple cider, nutmeg and curry powder. Bring to a boil. Simmer for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft enough to mash or blend in a food processor.
-In 3 batches, blend the soup in a food processor or blender until it is smooth. Put back into the pot and season with salt and pepper to taste.
-Stir in the heavy cream and serve with a dollop of sour cream and the above condiments.