for auld lang syne

it’s been a busy few weeks of gastronomy in my household: a time of indulgence, of experimentation, of research and development, and of fabulous gluttony.  now, don’t get me wrong, i can’t possibly condone gluttony as such; obesity is a true problem in this country and this world in which i live, and i’m a true believer of treats in moderation.  but still…  there’s something about the december holidays that turn me back into the 9 year-old girl who wants to eat the chocolate coins from my stocking for breakfast, my cadbury’s selection box for lunch, and mince pies and christmas pudding for dinner.  surely those are four separate food groups, right?  done.

now, though not religious as such, i am all about getting together with friends and family (or, even better, those marvelous people who blur the line) and raising a cup of kindness as we cheers to good times shared over a meal cooked from love.  this year we roasted the traditional meats for christmas, offering up a turkey and a big fat ham to the baby jesus.  we cooked deliciously crisp latkes for my newly-jewish 3 yr old for hanukkah, and explored the cuisines of jerusalem with my supermensch of a matey.  and if anyone has any kickass african recipes they want to share, then i frankly might just start celebrating kwanzaa too.  the december holidays also incorporate my birthday: no rest for the weary digestive system.  this year i tried geoduck for the first time, like the good pacific northwestern girl i am.  it was finely chopped and served with potato gnocchi and matsutake mushrooms.  it was tender and earthy and insanely delicious, but there was a part of me ever so slightly disappointed to not be served a big old penis on a plate.  (don’t know geoduck?  look it up.  it’ll make you blush.)

speaking of blushing, my steamy love-affair with mushrooms is long-documented.  it is the notebook to my ryan gosling, the dear john letter to my channing tatum, the message in a bottle to my kevin costner.  (had i actually read any nicholas sparks novels, these analogies might just make sense?  as it is, it’s truly anyone’s guess.)  regardless, bad chick-lit aside, i have a bit of a culinary boner for the funghi.  epicurious do a wild mushroom and leek stuffing that i invite to almost every holiday dinner.  it shows up on time, it wears only the most stylish of reindeer jumpers, it tells charming anecdotes, and it never outstays its welcome.  in short, there’s a reason i invite it back to my table year after year.  oh, yes; it’s also completely do-ahead and utterly delicious.  boom.

leek and wild mushroom stuffing (adapted from epicurious.com)

1 1/2 cups hot water

1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms

2 sticks butter (yup, that’s a lot of butter)

2 pounds fresh mushrooms (i use a blend of cremini, chanterelle and oyster)

3 leeks, chopped (white and pale green parts only)

6 garlic cloves, chopped

1 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 baguette, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1 large egg, beaten

combine hot water and dried porcini in small bowl. let stand until mushrooms soften, about 30 minutes.  meanwhile, slice fresh mushrooms and enjoy 6 yr old’s dance party to shakira in the background.  

transfer softened porcini to work surface and chop finely. reserve soaking liquid.

melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat.  add fresh mushrooms and sauté 10 minutes.  add leeks and garlic and sauté 5 minutes.  add wine, thyme, and porcini mushrooms.  cook until almost all wine evaporates, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

mix bread into mushroom mixture.  season with salt and pepper; mix in egg.  butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish and transfer stuffing.  add enough reserved mushroom soaking liquid to moisten.

if not baking straight away (this recipe is begging to be made ahead), refrigerate until ready to cook.

preheat oven to 350°F.  bake uncovered until heated through, about 40 minutes.

i was clearly far too busy gorging on mushroomy goodness to take any pics of the finished product, but trust me when i say it’s a thing of beauty.  and it also goes bloody brilliantly in a leftover sandwich the next day with turkey, gravy, and cranberry sauce.  oh baby. 

so let’s say a toast to the wonderfulness of the past month, and here’s to more cookbooks, more recipes, more successes (and more disasters), more experimentation, more fabulous cooking partners, more fun in the kitchen, and maybe even just a touch more indulgence in 2013.  let’s raise a cup of kindness yet for auld lang syne.

"Hey, Girl" Pasta

i am somewhat of a fan of trying things from scratch.  a scratching ho, if you will.  i think it’s something of a challenge to my past self.  young jo always had a glint in her eye and something to prove, and that was okay.  “you wanna try this???  come on, let’s go!” 

look at that, my brother is 3 years older than me, and i am kicking his pasty white bum.  (well, kind of.  let’s, for the purpose of this bloggy post, pretend that i am.)

moving on!  to homemade pasta…  i have a bit of an unadulterated love affair with carbs.  bread?  yes, please.  spuds?  okay, one more.  pasta?  oh, baby…  pasta might just be the one standing outside my bedroom window wearing a trenchcoat, holding a boombox over its noodle, and blaring out peter gabriel’s “in your eyes.”  

now, deciding to make homemade pasta is not a crazy decision.  it’s not terribly hard, it’s actually kind of fun, and it pays dividends that will make your taste buds sing.  however, deciding to make homemade pasta with only a 6 yr-old and a 3 yr-old to help you is a different story.  it might have aged me 10 years, but by god we did it.  now let’s all take some deep breaths and pour another glass of wine…

unsure of what to do with your homemade (and criminally self-aging) noodles?  so many options…  i decided to do some simple meatballs and a quick sauté of garlic, tomatoes and beet greens.  now, i have long championed the much-maligned veg that is the beet, but what about the poor greens?!  they are forgotten faster than a bad revenge movie starring liam neeson.  sadly tossed in the compost faster than they are in the sauté pan, the beet green might be the most overlooked veg in the modern world; the ryan gosling of the People Magazine Sexiest Man Alive awards.

year after year goes by and still poor ryan is overlooked, passed over in favour of other vegetables with manlier chins or longer stalks.  “hey, girl.  how about you go throw those beet greens in a sauté pan and you and i go snuggle by the fire?”  oh, ryan.  don’t mind if i do.

stephanie izard’s basic pasta dough (adapted from, well, let's be honest, stephanie izard)

2 cups all purpose flour

5 egg yolks

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

reserve ¼ cup of flour, put the remaining portion on a clean, flat workspace.  using your hands, make a well in the centre, then add the egg yolks, ¼ cup cold water, and the olive oil into the well.  using first a fork, then your hands, work the dough until it is firm and smooth, about 5-7 minutes.  wrap the dough in cling film and place it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to rest.

divide the dough into four pieces.  set your pasta machine at setting-1 and roll the dough out four times.  try not to shout at kids when it gets buggered up and you have to start over again.  switch to setting-2 and roll it out two more times.  scroll through the settings until you reach your desired thickness (usually 7 for me.  anything less is doughy, anything more falls apart). 

cut to desired length/shape.

basic meatballs:

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground pork

½ cup breadcrumbs (i use panko) mixed with ½ cup milk

1 tsp dried oregano

salt & pepper to taste

mix lightly and form to 1” meatballs.  bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

olive oil

3 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

beet greens from 6 beets, washed and chopped

fresh parmesan

lightly sauté greens, tomatoes and garlic in olive oil.  add meatballs to pan, then toss with delicious, ryan-gosling-approved pasta.  sprinkle with fresh parmesan.  

hey, girl, you want another glass of wine with that?