The Process

Just wanted to show off my shiny new toy. And the nice little apple latkes they produced. Next I will try them with the Julienne blade but this was just with two times through the slicer blade. I also want to achieve some really nice crispiness next time. This is always a problem of mine because I tend toward impatience and never toward lower heat and waiting. Sorry for my strange obsession with latkes as of late. I'm sure it will pass sooner or later.

Brunch: A Very Nice Thing

Last week, before returning to our homes for the holidays, my roommate and I decided to host a holiday brunch, a potluck in theory but really just an overambitious menu designed by me, as I like it. However, unlike most of my eager menus that come from too many hours drooling over my favorite food blogs, this brunch did serve the nice convenient purpose of using up some stragglers in my soon-to-be-abandoned fridge.

On another fun note, it turned out to be a veritable (if in the abstract sense) multicultural feast that began at noon and ended at 4 a.m. I regret I didn't get pictures of everything, so you'll have to use your imagination.

Our table featured:

• To Drink - Mimosas and Poinsettias (featuring Champagne, wishfully from France)
• Mexican Sweet Bread
• New Orleans Beignets and Coffee with Chicory
• Jewish Apple Latkes with crème fraîche
• City-American homemade "Egg McMuffins"
• Mountain-American Walnut and Pumpkin Pancakes
• BelgianWaffles
• Spanish (?) Clementines
• Scrambled Eggs with Gouda (cheese that's ostensibly Netherlandish, don't you know)
• and Plain Ole' Bacon

See! What a delight. Later in the night we snacked on leftovers, roasted Brussels Sprouts and Michael Boland's famous salsa while we watched -- yes this is true -- X-Men Origins: Wolverine, 17 Again, Black X-mas, and Shallow Hal late into the wee hours.  

Poinsettias

For a non-poisonous, yet delightfully "libatious" (alcoholic and delicious) drink, mix champagne and cranberry juice (of any variety). We used Hibiscus Cranberry juice from Trader Joe's. Be sure to pop the top of champagne jovially and audibly to begin your meal, and naturally serve the drinks in the ever so classy plastic flutes you have lying around since New Year's two years past.
 
Pancakes and Waffles

We just used quick and easy Bisquik with two notable exceptions. For waffles and pancakes I always add some vanilla extract. And for the Walnut Pumpkin Pancake variety, add in some walnuts, pumpkin puree (if you can find it, pumpkin pie filling if you can't) and cinnamon or nutmeg as well. 

 

Cafe du Monde Beignet Mix 

Super easy way to have almost instant fried delights. Just add water to the mix which can be purchased at Whole Foods, at least. Then roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick using a very liberal amount of flour and cut into small rectangles (maybe 1 1/2 by 2 inches) using a pizza cutter if you have one or a knife if not. Heat about 2 inches of oil into a small fry pan. Then plop in a few squares at a time when it's hot and turn once. They'll cook really quickly - a minute at most. The box suggests basting but we didn't even need to. Just take them out onto a paper towel when they have puffed a bit and are golden brown. Sprinkle on liberal amounts of powdered sugar and devour while hot and fresh.

 

Apple Latkes

A delicious recipe I will revisit SOON now that I can pop the apples right into the food processor

2 or 3 Granny Smith Apples
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (another Christmas bonus, my new handy lemon squeezer that omits straining!)
6 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
2 large eggs
Butter (about 1 Tbsp. per batch to make them crisp)
Trader Joe's crème fraîche for serving

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees and place a baking sheet inside.
2. Peel and core apples (a corer would be a nice new tool to have but for now I'm on my own) and then grate them, either on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor on the shredding blade with the apple chunks the long way for longer strands.
3. Transfer to a clean dishtowel or cheesecloth sling and wring out as much juice as you can into a small bowl. (I forgot this step, which obviously wasn't a disaster but might have helped them stick together better? Who knows).
4. Transfer grated apple to a medium bowl and toss with lemon juice and mixed flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder, coating the apples evenly. Whisk eggs and stir into apple mixture.
5. Heat a large cast-iron skillet to medium with one tablespoon butter. Once it has coated the pan, drop tablespoons full of apple batter in little piles, gently pressing them a bit flatter with a spatula. Fry until they are nicely brown underneath, about 3 to 5 minutes, then flip and continue to cook until they are browned and crisp. Drain briefly on paper towels and transfer to preheated oven to keep warm until serving up to an hour later
6. Add 1 Tbsp. of butter for each new batch in the pan, and repeat with remaining batter.
7. Serve with crème fraîche on top. Yum.

 Enjoy with friends

White Christmas

Hello everyone!

I've sorry to have abandoned you for so long. But now I'm back and I've got so many recipes and photos of my efforts to share.

For today though, it's Christmas and the very first White Christmas of my life as well as the first in Atlanta in over 100 years!! I woke to the dreary morning we have all become accustomed to in Georgia as our sorry excuse for winter. But just like a Christmas miracle, we began opening our presents in our sunroom as usual and suddenly the snow began to fall. And it got bigger and fluffier and started sticking...and now I only fear I won't make it to see True Grit because there's actually snow on the roads.

My white house and white car seem so at home. 

This playground was my first Christmas miracle. I was probably about 5 years old, and my grandparents had come to visit from Pennsylvania. On Christmas Eve my Grandma took me out for adventures all day long until it was dark, and I eagerly awaiting sleep so that Santa wouldn't pass by my house. When morning came, we sang "Silent Night" as we walked down the stairs, carefully preparing to deliver Baby Jesus to the manager as always. But the second I rounded the corner, I could see straight down the hall to the sunroom where in my backyard, Santa had magically delivered a fully assembled, perfect playground just for me.

That year Grandpa and my Dad were Santa. And what a magical thing it was.

 

 Now here's a recipe to keep you warm on these (finally) cold winter nights. It's simple and delicious. And perhaps I'll whip some up with my brand new food processor (Hallelujah!)

Carrot and Fennel Soup
 

2 medium fennel bulbs with fronds (Trader Joe's sells great big ones!)
1 lb carrots, quartered lengthwise
1 medium onion, quartered
 2 garlic cloves, halved
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground finely in a coffee grinder

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in lowest position.

2. Chop enough fennel fronds to measure 1 tablespoon and reserve. Discard stalks and remaining fronds. 

3. Slice bulbs 1/4 inch thick and toss with carrots, onion, garlic, 3 tablespoons oil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. 

4. Spread in a 4-sided sheet pan and roast, stirring occasionally, until browned and tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

5. Blend half of vegetables in a blender with broth until very smooth (or still with a little chunk in its step as I like it). 

6. Transfer to a medium saucepan. Repeat with remaining vegetables and water. Thin with extra water if you want it really soupy and simmer 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

7. Meanwhile, finely grind fennel seeds in grinder and stir into remaining 2 tablespoons oil.

8. Serve soup drizzled with fennel oil and sprinkled with reserved fronds.