Progressive

Last weekend was our neighborhood's 21st annual progressive dinner.  21 years!  Progressive dinners are such a great idea.  If you're not familiar with the concept, here's how it works.  An invitation goes out to the group,  and if people rsvp yes, they must also choose their role:  cooking (either a main dish, salad/bread, an appetizer or a dessert) or hosting (in which case you offer your house and serve the wine for your dinner.)  Two brave families each year are convinced volunteer  to host either the cocktails or the dessert portion of the night.  The organizers then meet to parcel out the roles.   Three women in the 'hood, Sarah, Jane and Bridget, have run this thing for 20 years and it is a well oiled machine.  They have a master spreadsheet which shows who has done what role over the many years, which is factored into the assignments.  If you made a main dish last year, this year you'll probably get appetizers, etc.   After this pow-wow they drop off a sheet giving you your assignment and instructions for the evening (below).  It's a giant puzzle which they've elegantly coordinated for twenty years. 

On the appointed night, we all convene at the cocktails house, where there are a million appetizers and an open bar.  We all grab our name tag, which includes a picture of your house!  After 90 minutes, we all leave and report to our designated dinner locale.  After two hours, we all then re-convene as a group at the final stop, where there are a million desserts, coffee, and the bar, which  the bartender has packed up and moved from the first venue to the last.

It's a blast. There are many generations represented and year after year, in the dog days of February, 60 or so people show up.    The price tag for the whole shebang is $25 - which basically covers the bar.    It's a lovely tradition and we feel so lucky to be a part of it!




This year I offered to cook and was assigned a main dish.  I made Ina's Jambalaya. (from Foolproof)

Heat 2 TBSP oil in a dutch oven and sautee 1-1/2 lb kielbasa or andouille sausage over medium heat until browned.  Remove and place in a large bowl.

Add 7-8 chicken thighs to same pot and cook about five minutes per side, until browned.

Remove chicken and place in bowl with sausage.

Add 2 Tbsp butter

1 large chopped onion

2 cups diced celery

and 2 red peppers, cored and diced, to pot.

Sautee about 10 minutes, until onions are translucent.

Add

 28 oz can tomatoes, drained and diced

3 cloves minced garlic, 

 1 diced jalapeno

2 teaspoons diced fresh oregano
1 teaspoon diced fresh thyme

 1 1/2 tsp of salt and 

2 TBSP tomato paste 

and cook another 2 minutes.  

Add 1 cup white wine and scrape off the brown bits at bottom of pan.

Add 5 cups chicken stock and bring to a rolling boil. 

Stir in 3 cups extra long grain rice and add the sausage, chicken,  and 3 bay leaves.  

Return to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. 

Add 1 pound medium shrimp and cover for another 5 minutes. 

Add ¼ cup of the scallions, ¼ cup of the parsley, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice  and stir well. 

Cover the pot, remove it from the heat and allow the jambalaya steam, for 10- 15 minutes, before serving.Garnish with the remaining ¼ cup scallions and ½ cup parsley, and a dash of Tabasco.

It's even better leftover.  

Barefoot Contessa's Jambalaya

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 pound sausage, such as kielbasa or Andouille, sliced(we used turkey kielbasa)
• 7-8 chicken thighs (we used boneless skinless)
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cups celery, diced
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and diced
• 1 28 oz can whole peeled plum tomatoes, drained & medium diced (I forgot to drain them)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced OR ½ teaspoon cayenne
• 2 teaspoons diced fresh oregano
• 1 teaspoon diced fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp cayenne (optional for us)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 5 cups chicken stock,
• 3 cups extra long grain rice
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6-8 dashes Tabasco (optional)
• ½ cup chopped scallions green and white parts
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 pound medium shrimp, deveined (20-24 count)

1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or black iron pot over medium heat, add the kielbasa and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned. Remove the kielbasa to a bowl, and set aside. Add the chicken thighs to the same pot and cook 5 minutes per side, until lightly browned. Remove to the bowl with the kielbasa, and set aside.
2. Add the butter, onion, celery and peppers to the same pot and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the tomato, garlic, jalapeno or cayenne, oregano, thyme, 1 1/2 tsp of salt and tomato paste and cook another 2 minutes.  Add the white wine and scrape off the brown bits at bottom of pan. ( you can stop here and continue 40 minutes b/f serving. 
3. Add the stock and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in the rice, and add the sausage, chicken, bay leaves.  Return to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add the shrimp and cover for another 5 minutes. Add ¼ cup of the scallions, ¼ cup of the parsley, the lemon juice and the shrimp, and stir well. Cover the pot, remove it from the heat and allow the jambalaya steam, for 10- 15 minutes, before serving.Garnish with the remaining ¼ cup scallions and ½ cup parsley, and a dash of Tabasco, if desired.

desserts and diversions

To save my sanity, I've decided I'm going to spend less time on Facebook and the news and more time on food.  Specifically, on dessert.

Last weekend we hosted a dinner party that's become an annual ritual.  Long long ago Doug and a couple buddies took a long long bike trip which culminated in a fantastic lakehouse weekend. That fall, we hosted a dinner to say thank you and to reminisce, and we have done so every year since. 

I blogged about it two year's ago, for 4.0.  This year we had to move it to January because the fall was impossible to schedule.  6.0 was the usual barn burner.  This crowd has STAMINA - we finally got up from the table and my friend Mark said, do you know what time it is?  me: I have no idea.  Him: It's 1:15am!  now THAT is the sign of a good dinner party!

Anyway, I served Chicken Marbella, cous cous with pine nuts and zesty green beans,

before

YUM

But what I want to talk about is the DESSERT. 

For the first time, I made and served Tiramisu.  Homigod.  I'm in love with tiramisu.  It's like delicious air:  not too sweet, coffee/boozy flavors, creamy and light.

I learned how to make it this summer, in Italy, during a cooking lesson at the villa in Cortona.  I love that sentence.

Italy.  I just went down that rabbit hole. Is there a better place to be? To travel? To eat?  To drink? 

I agree, there is not. 

Anyway, back to tirarmisu.  Carmela, pictured above, was our villa's chef and included in our stay was a cooking lesson, in which we made fabulous homemade pasta, and tiramisu.

 I honestly didn't think I'd like tiramisu, because it has that custard/cream element, to which I have a deep and wide aversion.  But, dear reader, can I tell you just how wrong I was?  I am deeply, madly in love with tiramisu and I think you should be, too.  It's gorgeous, it's delicious and, although a touch time consuming, it's really not that complicated.  And it is SO GOOD.

Here's how it goes:

I made a big batch - you could easily halve this and prepare it in a square dish.  I went big and put in a 9x13, since we had a group of 11 and I was desperate for leftovers.

Ingredients:
1cup espresso or strongly brewed coffee
1/2 cup marsala wine or whiskey.  I went with whiskey 'cause that's what Carmela did
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large eggs, divided
1/2 cup sugar, divided
16 ounces mascarpone cheese
36 (14 ounces) Savoiardi Italian ladyfingers
cocoa powder

Combine coffee, 4 Tbsp whiskey, the vanilla and 2 Tbsp sugar in a large bowl or pyrex

Prepare Filling:

Vigorously whisk 6 egg yolks, 4 Tbsp whiskey and 6 Tbsp sugar in a bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmer water until tripled in volume, 8-10 minutes.  Use a handheld mixer at medium speed and don't stop beating until removed from heat

 Remove from heat and beat in mascarpone cheese until just combined. Let cool.

 In a chilled bowl, whip the 6 egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.  Then fold the beaten egg whites into the cooled mascarpone mixture.  (Note, you can substitute 1-1/2 cups whipped heavy cream for beaten egg whites - it'll be a heavier, creamier tiramisu.)

THE MAGIC

dip one side of each ladyfinger very quickly into the coffee mixture, flip it, then place it in the serving pan in an even layer.  Don't let it sit in the coffee - it'll get mushy and disintegrate!

 When you've completely covered the dish's bottom, add half the mascarpone filling over it, 

 then dust with cocoa powder. 

Then repeat the entire situation one more time. 
One more layer of ladyfingers, one more layer of filling.

It's like God's lasagna.

 VOILA

Served with coffee and either Baileys, Kahlua or Sambuca?
HEAVEN.  Trust me.

Perhaps if I'd have had less sambuca I'd have remembered to take group photo!

Salute - eat some tiramisu.  It'll make you happy.

ROASTED

I have a confession to make:   until yesterday I had never made a pot roast. Or any roast.   I love them; my mom made post roast almost weekly as a kid and the smell and taste are so yummy and familiar.  And roasts are super hygge-esque.   But, despite cooking 4-5 times/week most of my adult life, I have avoided big hunks of red meat.   They intimidate me!  There are so many different cuts! They're scary looking!  What do you do with them?

SO - I decided yesterday was the day.  I used Pioneer Woman's recipe.  (I love Ree.  I kinda wish I WAS Ree.)  Her recipe called for a 3-5 lb chuck roast.  So I went to the Jewel, to the scary hunk-of-meat section, and they had no chuck roasts.  Panic!  THIS, my friends, this is why I always run away, screaming, from the hunk-of-meat section.  I feel like this happens every time.  But I stayed brave!!  I pulled out my phone and starting googling the difference between a chuck roast a bottom round roast and other classes of roast, and one site said a bottom round roast was fine and I went with it.  And it was.  In fact, it was killer.  And the meal was ridiculously, embarrassingly easy.

 Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pot Roast

 Heat up a few Tbsp olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven

Salt & pepper your roast generously

Cut 2-3 onions in half

Brown the onions in the hot oil, about a minute per side, then remove from the pot.

 So the same with 5-6 whole carrots. If you don't have any, and cannot bear to go back to the store, use a package of baby carrots.  Dry them so the oil doesn't maim you, then dump them and brown them in the hot oil for about a minute, then remove them, too.

 Add your hunk-o-meat and sear, about a minute per side, then, you guessed it, remove it from the pot, too.

 Pour in a cup of beef broth or red wine, whisk over high heat for a minute or two to deglaze the pot.

 Add the meat back in, then enough beef broth to cover the meat halfway (about 2 cups for this roast), then add the vegetables and  a few sprigs each of fresh thyme and rosemary.

 And that. is. it.  

Cover and put in a pre-heated 275 oven and cook for 3-4 hours, roughly an hour per pound.  

You'll know it's done when the meat falls apart with a fork. 

Your house will smell absolutely incredible all day.

Your dog will bark for dinner every five seconds, driven crazy by the scent. 

We had band practice at our house last night and our drummer, Max, commented on the incredible smell when he came in.    A little while later, during a break, I went up to the kitchen and found Max leaning over the pot, fork in hand, frozen, as he realized he was busted.  I wish I had a picture - it was priceless.  Pot roast will do that to you!

And now I know how to make a dang pot roast. What was the fuss all about?  

It was phenomenal. 

Next week:  training generation II to cook.  It's happening.

Hygge

Hygge, have you heard of it?  I have my lovely neighbor Maura Farrell to thank for this revelation.    Hygge  made it to the front of the Sunday NYT Business section on Christmas day.   But Maura is a trailbblazer:  she posted this Popsugar article in November:

 

11 Ways to Embrace the "Hygge" Lifestyle and Find More Joy   

Have you ever had a wonderful night sitting by the fire with a glass of cocoa, enjoying the company of your loved ones, and just thought, "This is the life"? Well, that, my friend, is hygge. Have you woken up on a chilly morning, lit a candle, wrapped yourself in a blanket, and read a book? Hygge again. Escaped a stormy night by sitting around the dinner table discussing current events with friends? That's hygge, baby. 

Hygge, pronounced "HOO-gah," is a Scandinavian way of life that celebrates coziness, shared meals, and companionable interactions with loved ones. Emphasizing warmth, kinship, and an appreciation for the little things, hygge is a perspective on life that started in Denmark and has contributed to the nation's consistently high happiness ratings. Now, in times of stress and unrest, more Americans are turning to hygge as a way to find happiness from within.

Many see hygge as an excellent form of self-care, especially during seasons when weather-related depression runs high. By embracing the indoors, welcoming others into your home, and taking plenty of time to treat yourself to little luxuries, hygge is the ideal way to combat seasonal affective disorder.

Hygge!  It's the greatest concept ever.  I have spent most of my adult life fighting and complaining about winter.   It's such a revelation to me:  instead of fighting the winter, embrace it.  Instead of feeling like you should go out, light a fire and stay in: you'll be happier.  I returned to work today after ten days off.  There was holiday madness, yes, but mostly the Holt family firmly embraced Hygge.  And it was awesome. 

We did a lot of this:

in front of this:

and a lot of this.

don't judge.  it's really hard.

Hubble was an early adopter of Hygge.

In keeping with all things Hygge, I also led my sons on a hilarious wild goose chase in search of body butter.  They were looking for a gift idea and I told them I'd love some body butter.  But not too smelly.  Something earthy or herbal, not too perfumey.  And not too expensive.  Easy, right?  OMG a hilarious text exchange from TJ Maxx ensued.  They got me an awesome dri-fit shirt.

I read these three books:

I saw these movies

It wasn't all grins and giggles - life and its messiness did still go on - but on the whole it was pretty heavenly.  

So what does one COOK while embracing Hygge???   First up?  Chili.  

 Brown 2 lbs ground beef with one large chopped onion.

 Drain fat.  Add 4 Tbsp chili seasoning.  I make my own:

 Add it to the browned meat along with:

2 cups tomato sauce

one 12 oz jar salsa

1 or 2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes

 Let it simmer for hours.  Then serve it up to a bunch of hungry boys.

I told them I was going to blog about Hygge.  

You can imagine the perplexed looks.

HYGGE.  Embrace it.  Happy 2017!