New Year's Eve Menu

APPETIZERS

• Antipasto platter
• cheese, salami, olives
• Funghi tagliati e fettine sottili, con mozzarella fusa e timo
• sliced mushrooms with melted mozzarella and thyme

SEAFOOD
Taittinger Brut Champagne

• Oysters rocafella
• Naked Cowboy, Kusshi, and Delaware raw oysters with champagne foam and mignonette
• Sea scallops crudo 
• with shaved fennel and extra virgin olive oil
• Baked clams
• parsley, oregano, shallot, parmesan and bread crumbs

PASTA
Michel-Schlumberger 2011 La Nue Chardonnay 

• Casonsei from Val Camonica
• Homemade pasta stuffed with a sausage, potato, and chard filling

MEAT
Canetto 2006 Reserve Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

• Tagliati di manzo con radicchio
• Thinly sliced beef with wilted radicchio and gorgonzola
• Edible rocks 

DESSERT
Loxton 2009 Late Harvest Zinfandel

• Salted caramel tart with chocolate ganache

(Early) Christmas Eve Menu

Stanislaw Christmas Eve has been moved to the 22nd this year! My sister-in-law and her family weren't going to be with us on the 24th so we're celebrating a few days early all together. 

Given the non-traditional timing of the celebration, we decided this year to go with a non-traditional (for us) menu. A Mexican inspired feast featuring recipes from Mod Mex: Cooking Vibrant Fiesta Flavors at Home by chef Scott Linquist, a couple Rick Bayless recipes, and a few home-brewed ideas. 

We started prepping Thursday and had a major cooking session last night. We're heading out with bags and food in tow in a couple of hours to finish, assemble, and enjoy. Recipes to follow after the holiday!

Wild Mushroom Sopes

Chorizo, Potato, and Goat Cheese Sopes

Rice with Roasted Poblano, Spinach, and Fresh Cheese

Romaine and Radish Salad with Tomatillo-Lime Dressing

Cascabel Chile-Marinated Carne Asada Tacos

Pumpkin Black Bean Tacos

Chipotle Marinated Chicken Tacos

Avocado Asparagus Tartine

A couple of weeks ago I made this amazing avocado asparagus tartine from 101cookbooks. I adore this website and have found every recipe I've tried to be delicious. This tartine was no exception. I had never before considered combining asparagus and avocado. I made just two little tartines (halved the recipe) for Jason and I to enjoy one evening as an amuse bouche while we cooked dinner one evening and look forward to serving this again. Bookclub perhaps?

4 toasted slices of whole grain bread or french baguette
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound thin asparagus stalks, trimmed to be the length of the bread
1 garlic clove thinly sliced (optional)
1/2 teaspoon carraway seeds
1 avocado pitted and smashed with a splash of lemon juice
a couple of handfuls of arugula tossed in olive oil
toasted pepitas

• Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat
• Add asparagus and a pinch of salt and cook for about 30 second
• Add the garlic and carraway seeds and cook for another 30 seconds or so and remove from the heat
• Spread each slice of bread generously with the mashed avocado
• Top with a bit of arugula, several asparagus spears and a few pepitas

* I made mine without the arugula and it was still delicious!

Spring Rolls

This recipe was adapted from Martin Yan's vietnamese rice-paper rolls recipe. The rolls turned out really well and the dipping sauce is one of the best parts.


- 2 ounces bean thread noodles
- shredded carrots
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
- pinch of ground black pepper
- 12 7 inch rice paper rounds
- Tofu, cut into strips
- Bell pepper, cut into strips
- soft tops of 12 red leaf lettuce leaves
- 3 green onions, trimmed and cut into thin 2 inch strips
- 12 cilantro sprigs

1) Bring saucepan of water to a boil, add bean thread noodles and turn off the heat. Let soak until softened, about 15 minutes (check package for precise directions on how to cook your noodles)


2) Gently toss the tofu, fish sauce, sesame oil, chopped cilantro and pepper in a bowl until the tofu is evenly coated. set aside.

3) To make the rolls:  Immerse rice paper round in warm water just until it begins to soften, about 10 seconds, then lay it on the work surface. Let stand until it pecomes pliable, about 1 minute. place a couple of tofu strips, in the center of the rice paper. Place lettuce leave on top. place bell pepper strips and carrot over the lettuce and top with a small mound of noodles, 3 to 4 strips of green onions and a cilantro sprig. Fold the right and left sides of the wrapper over the filling, then starting at the bottom, roll the wrapped and filling into a neat, compact roll. repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

Makes 12 rolls

peanut dipping sauce
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder

combine all ingredients in a bowl, stirring until incorporated. makes one cup.

Abundance of Appetizers

I was adamant this year that I wanted to go out to dinner for my birthday and not to stay home and cook. I've never been one to go out to eat too frequently, and with the grad school budget that frequency has become even smaller. However, this seemed like a good excuse to go out and let someone else cook for us!

However, it's nearly impossible to keep us out of the kitchen for an entire Saturday so we decided to put together a few appetizers and a signature drink to share with our guests before heading out. We poured through a few cookbooks and in a shocking turn of events got a little carried away, but everything was delicious!

Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Goat Cheese Stuffed Asparagus

Ceci Bruschetta

Pepperonata

Cucumber Tartine

Sparkling Wine with Watermelon, Ginger and Lime Agua Fresca

Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Goat Cheese Stuffed Asparagus

Ok, the name is a mouthful, but this appetizer is destined to be a hit! An original Jason creation, it was met with great excitement. I recreated the dish and while still good I would recommend that you have the person at your deli counter slice the prosciutto as thin as possible! Also, you want to use the largest asparagus you can find. This appetizer was labor intensive but well worth it.

GRILLED PROSCIUTTO WRAPPED GOAT CHEESE STUFFED ASPARAGUS

8 Asparagus spears, as large as you can find
2 oz goat cheese (approx, we bought a 4 oz log and used less than half)
8 thin slices prosciutto (or go ahead and buy a little more for snacking...)

- Break the tough ends off of the asparagus

- Steam the asparagus until tender and beautifully green, removing and shocking in an ice bath

- Once the asparagus has cooled, slice each spear lengthwise into two halves (this is where things get labor intensive)

- With a paring knife, hollow out the center of the asparagus spear

- Using a small spreading knife, spread goat cheese into the hollowed out halves of the asparagus

- Put the two halves back together and wrap in a slice of prosciutto

- Continue with the rest of the asparagus in the same manner

- Put the asparagus on the grill and cook for a couple of minutes on each side

Ceci Bruschetta

CECI BRUSCHETTA

1 cup ceci (chickpeas or garbanzo beans)
4 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp basil leaves, chiffonade
1 clove garlic confit
salt and pepper
1 baguette sliced and toasted

- In a bowl mix together all of the ingredients except the bread, adjusting to taste with salt and pepper, and let sit

- On the grill, lightly toast the sliced bread

- Lightly mash some of the chickpeas with a fork and serve with the sliced bread

Peperonata

We served this with grilled baguette slices and slices of mozzarella. Delicious. The recipe came from a book called Farm to Table that Jason and I have been enjoying from the library.

PEPERONATA

1/3 cup Extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic confit, minced
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
4 Large sweet peppers (we used 2 red, 1 orange and 1 yellow) thinly sliced
2 cups red onion
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
2 Tbsp capers
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves chopped
salt and pepper

- In a large skillet, heat 3 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and saute about 1 minute

- Add the peppers, onions and thyme, reduce heat to medium and saute until peppers are soft

- Add capers and remaining oil and saute for about a minute. Transfer pepper mixture to a bowl

- Turn off heat, add vinegar to the skillet and reduce by half (the residual heat from the pan should be enough to make this happen, if not, turn heat on low for a minute or two)

- Pour the vinegar over the pepper mixture and add the oregano. Season with salt and pepper.

- Serve over a piece of crusty bread with a slice of mozzarella

Cucumber Tartine

There are few appetizers I enjoy more than little cucumber tea sandwiches. The rest of the appetizers we served definitely had more of a mediterranean feel, but I couldn't resist making this dish!

CUCMBER TARTINES

Several slices whole wheat bread, preferably something with seeds and grains, crusts removed, each slice cut into 2-4 squares
1 cucumber, peeled
4 oz. cream cheese
lemon juice
1 Tbsp parsely (approx)
1 Tbsp dill (approx)
salt and pepper
lemon juice

- Cut the cucumber in half and then halve each piece lengthwise

- Cut one half of the cucumber into very think semi circles. Place in a colander in the sink, sprinkle with salt and let drain

- Dice the other half of the cucumber and add to the cream cheese

- Add the parsley, dill, some salt and pepper and a dash of lemon juice to the cream cheese and mix together, adjusting seasoning as needed

- Just before serving, spread the cream cheese mixture onto the bread

- Arrange the cucmber slices on top of the pieces like fish scales and serve

Baked Camembert with Onion Chutney

My other Superbowl snack was a new use for my second batch of onion chutney.

BAKED CAMEMBERT WITH ONION CHUTNEY

1 round of Camembert Cheese
Several heaping Tbsp of onion chutney
crackers or bread for serving

Preheat oven to 350

On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, lay out the camembert and top with as much onion chutney as you would like.

Alternately, using small ramekins, cut the camembert into quarters and put each quarter into a ramekin and top with chutney.  I found this option to be the best alternative.

Bake until the cheese has started oozing. 

Let cool just a little and enjoy with crackers or bread!

Roasted Garlic Hummus

I wanted to bring dip and veggies to a Superbowl party yesterday.  I was tired of my go to Bobby Flay White bean, chipotle and roasted red pepper dip, and thought plain hummus might be too boring, so I decided to go with a roasted hummus garlic!  It was really good, but with all of the delicious roast beef sandwiches, homemade hot wings and french onion dip, people weren't too into getting all of their veggies!

ROASTED GARLIC HUMMUS

3/4 head garlic
1- 25oz can garbanzo beans
2 Tbsp tahini
4 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Olive oil (to texture)
Chopped carrots, celery, cucumbers and red bell peppers for dipping.

Preheat the oven to 350

Cut the top of the head of garlic and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Wrap in tin foil and bake for about 50 minutes.

In a food processor add your beans, tahini, lemon and a few healthy dashes of salt and pepper.  Once the garlicd has cooled enough to handle, squeeze the roasted garlic into the food processor as well.

Begin processing, slowly adding olive oil as you go to get the hummus to the consistency you like.

Stop frequently to taste and reseason as needed.

Serve with assorted veggies.

Onion Chutney

I have been eyeing this recipe for onion chutney that I found on Closet Cooking.  Yesterday I had a bag of onions and was going to our friends K & A's house for dinner so I decided to try it out!

It was a success!  We bought some cow's milk cheese and just scooped the chutney over cheese on a cracker.  The cheese we bought was disappointingly boring but the chutney livened it up.  I've never made a chutney before and am still not 100% sure what actually makes a chutney.  My husband thinks it is the combo of sweet and spicy.  Any opinions?  Either way this dish is destined to become a new go-to for book clubs and parties. 

ONION CHUTNEY

6 cups onions sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp mustard seeds
4 dried chilis crushed (I just crushed them by hand)
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Heat the oil in a pan. 

Add the cumin mustard seeds and chilis and heat until they start to sputter (you will hear it!)

Add the onions and sautee until they turn golden brown.  I cooked them for quite awhile on about medium heat, probably about 30 minutes.

Add the chili powder, salt, sugar and lemon juice and cook until all the sugar dissolves and everything has blended together.

Store in a jar.

You can try my recipe for baked camembert and onion chutney

Hummus

I have been enjoying making my own hummus this year, it is so easy, delicious and somehow more satisfying to eat (isn't everything homemade?).  I have a co-worker who loves hummus so I am eager to give her a taste of my latest batch!  And, with some baby carrots and radishes for dipping, it will be a much healtheir snack than the leftover halloween candy I've been eating.

HUMMUS

1 can garbanzo beans rinsed and drained
2 tbsp tahini
2 cloves garlic sliced in half
1 lemon
olive oil
good salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Add the beans, tahini and garlic to a food processor.  Squeeze the juice of 1/2 of the lemon into the food processor.  Add a dash of salt and freshly ground pepper.  While blending add the olive oil in a slow stream until the hummus looks to be the consistency you like.  Taste and add more salt, pepper and lemon juice as needed and blend again to mix all the ingredients.

I really like a nice, plain simple hummus but of course there are a million variations.  Let me know if you have a favorite!