PREP

Christmas Eve.  Slept 9 hours last night, got up at the very reasonable hour of 7:30, downed a giant cup of coffee, wrapped the last of the gifts, checked the piles, felt no panic, went to Crossfit for a fantastic WOD.   Quick trip to Trader Joe's, last trip to CVS, then HOME and no more leaving.

Pandora's traditional Christmas carols station is on, the kids are milling in and out.  Doug, unfortunately, had to go to work but will be home soon.  Life is so good.

The rest of the day is about food prep.

First up, tonight's dessert: peppermint ice cream pie.  Get yourself a graham cracker crust, heat up some yummy hot fudge sauce that JoEllen made for you, soften up some ice cream. Spread a layer of hot fudge on the crust, then some ice cream, then refreeze.  When you're ready to serve, heat up some more hot fudge for the top, and a little whipped cream if you're so inclined.

Next up:  tonight's meal:  Lebanese Food!  SO EXCITED.  I've already blogged about the how-tos, so here are just a few pictures to add to the general excitement we feel around here.

KIBBEE

LOUBE

 TABOULI

Next up: apps for Christmas dinner tomorrow at the Vaskos

 Roasted Shrimp Cocktail with homemade cocktail sauce  

Thaw the shrimp (2 lbs lg)

mix with 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt & pepper, roast for 10 min at 400

YUUUUUMMMMMM

Do not settle for store bought cocktail sauce.  It's easy and delish:  ketchup, chili sauce, lemon juice, horseradish, worcestershire, tabasco, salt & pepper.  

Second appetizer:  goat cheese stuffed dates wrapped in basil & prosciutto

Buy some pitted dates, stuff each with about 1/2 tsp goat cheese, wrap in a basil leaf then roll in half a piece of prosciutto.  Roast in a 350 oven for about 8 minutes, until the insides are heated.  You can broil for a minute at the end to get the prosciutto crispy and to make your kitchen smell divine.

Last but not least:  breakfast for Christmas morning!  

Breakfast Casserole:  Brown 1 lb of bacon or bulk sausage.  Drain well.   Mix in a bowl 8 eggs, 2 cups milk, dash of tabasco, dry mustard (1/2 tsp), couple dashes worcestershire sauce, 1-1/2 cups sharp cheddar & 6-8 pieces of bread, cubed and the sausage.

Throw in a 9x13 overnight.  Cook for an hour at 350, until the eggs are thoroughly set.

(if your daughter is lactose intolerant use Lactaid and only put cheese on 3/4 of it!)

We are ready to go!

Merry Christmas to you and yours.  Enjoy the holiday season, whatever you celebrate, and here's to wonderful times with family and friends around the table in 2015!!!

Thai Chicken

Life is crazed these days.  Here's a simple, delicious dish to put in rotation.  

Slow Cooker Thai Chicken

 Coarsely chop an onion

Slice a red pepper into strips

 The recipe doesn't call for carrots, but I like to add a few, sliced thick.  Sometimes I put green beans in, too, if I have some on hand.  Or broccoli.

Trim about four chicken breasts, then cut into 1/2 inch strips

 combine 1/2 cup chicken broth, 1/4 cup soy sauce,

 1 Tbsp cumin, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 tsp (or more) of crushed red pepper& some s&P

 mix that together then throw all of the above in the crock pot and mix well

 cover and cook on low all day (recipe says 5 hours but I'm always gone 8 hours and it's fabulous)

 After 5 or 8 or however many hours, and you've congratulated yourself profusely for the joy that is the smell of your house, do the following:

Remove 1 cup of liquid from the crock pot, mix in 2 Tbsp corn starch,

 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

 Add 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 1/4 cup fresh lime juice. 

 Mix well then dump back in crock pot and stir the whole yummy mess up. 

 Cook on high another 1/2 hour or so.

Meanwhile, chop up 1/2 cup peanuts, 1/2 cup cilantro and a few green onions

 Serve over rice, adding garnish to the plate.  

Enjoy!

4th annual

Three summers ago Doug and three good buddies decided it would be fun to bike from here to Steve and Christy's lake house in Culver, IN, 120 miles away, where we wives would be relaxing and waiting for our crazy studly menfolk.  And they did!  They had a great day and a great ride and when they pulled up, we had the margaritas ready to go and spent the rest of that spectacular weekend relaxing, swimming, boating, drinking and eating at that glorious house by the lake (capped by John Iglar singing EVERY VERSE of the Edmund Fitzgerald with Doug on guitar.)

That fall, Doug and I decided to have a dinner party with that same group to reminisce and watch the video that Todd had put together.  We had a lovely night around the table and reveled in that glow that, for me, only a great dinner party brings.  That "we're so blessed to have amazing friends and a warm house and life is so good" kind of glow.  So we did it again the next fall, and the next, and this past weekend was version 4.0.

I love throwing dinner parties.  I love bringing people into our home and cooking for them.   It takes a lot of planning and work but I enjoy it and for me the key to enjoying myself is this:  say yes to help and be ok with imperfection.    So if our house isn't perfect I decide it's fine. If our tree is up on December 5th but still undecorated? No biggie.  And when my lovely friends offer to bring something I say YES.  It's amazing how much easier it is to plan if I don't have to think about appetizers.  Or fancy cocktails.  Or whatever course you want to farm out.      

I set the table the night before:

Then on Saturday I got down to business. Because while I release a lot, I do care about the food.  A lot.

On the Menu:

Appetizers/drinks
Donna brought Barefoot Contessa's roasted shrimp cocktail (the only way to do it!!) and
Christy brought a gorgeous cheese platter and her bacon wrapped dates.
All were supremely delicious.
Catherine (and Larkin) brought a ridiculous amount of delicious wine and champagne.
Margie and Todd brought the fixings for cosmos & dark & stormies.  These were very, very popular. 



For dinner we served:

Ina's Arugula salad  with parmesan and lemon.
It's a simple and insanely delicious salad.

Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Skirt Steak - trimmed - about 1/2 lb/person.  I used almost 6lbs for 10 people.
(this sauce is also amazing on grilled chicken breasts - just pound them out, salt & pepper them and grill 4 min/side then smother in chimichurri.)

Melissa d'Arabian's Chimichurri - I doubled this recipe.

• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 cup fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp onion, finely chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 4 tsp white wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
• Red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 2/3 cup olive oil
  
  
  
  Place cilantro, parsley, onion, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Slowly pour in the olive oil and process until chimichurri is semi-smooth, about 4 seconds.
  
  

 

Cut the steaks into about 12 inch pieces, then throw them in large ziploc bag with some marinade (I used about 1/2 cup marinade for each ziploc bag) and marinade all day, flipping occasionally.  Bring to room temp at least an hour before grilling.


Grill the skirt steak about 4 minutes per side for medium rare, 5 for thicker pieces, then cover with foil and let rest 10 minutes.  Slice against the grain into about 2-inch pieces.  Arrange on a platter and spoon some chimichurri on top.  Put the rest of the chimmicurri in a bowl and pass on table.

Quinoa Pilaf

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled, finely chopped
1red bell pepper, seeded, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp pine nuts
2 cups quinoa, rinsed
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
salt & pepper

Heat oil, add onion, pepper, garlic and pine nuts.
Cook until union is soft, about 5 minutes.  Add quinoa and cook 1 minute.

Stir in broth, season with salt & pepper.  Heat to boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Cover, simmer until broth is absorbed, about 20 minutes.  Fluff with fork and add parsley.

Lemon Pepper Green Beans 

Blanch about a pound of green beans in boiling water.  Drain, then add the zest and juice of one lemon and tons of pepper and a little salt.  YUM.

Can't wait for 5.0!

 

oh - let's not forget dessert!!  

Mexican Chocolate Cake 
Despite getting slightly overcooked because of a disastrous olive oil accident at the Jewel, this cake was pretty darned good.  I'd definitely make it again.  Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

For cake

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For glaze

• 2 cups chopped pecans (71/2 ounces)
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 5 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Make cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bundt pan well and dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Melt butter (2 sticks) in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, then whisk in cocoa. Add water and whisk until smooth, then remove from heat. Whisk in separately sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla.

Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl, then sift again into cocoa mixture and whisk until just combined (don't worry if there are lumps).

Pour batter into cake pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer comes out with a few crumbs adhering, 45 to 55 minutes. (Leave oven on.)

Cool cake in pan on a rack 20 minutes, then loosen edges with a thin knife and invert onto a plate.

Make glaze:

Spread pecans in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) and bake until fragrant and a shade darker, 6 to 8 minutes. Cool pecans slightly in pan on a rack, about 5 minutes.

Melt butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over low heat, then stir in half-and-half and confectioners sugar. Add chocolate and cook, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in pecans and salt. Cool glaze until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Spoon glaze over top and sides of cake (cake will still be warm) and spread with a small offset spatula or knife to cover completely.

Cake (with glaze) can be made 2 days ahead and kept at room temperature in a cake keeper or covered with an inverted bowl.

Thanksgiving, Flatley style

It's Monday of Thanksgiving week and I still feel the excitement I felt when I was a kid.  It was always the most magical holiday.  The anticipation would build for weeks.  Months, even.  We had a family reunion with the Flatleys every August and from that date until mid November it was a slow build of anticipation and excitement. 

Thanksgiving, Flatley family style.

As I've mentioned before, my mom is one of 13, and those 13 produced 66 children.  You do the math: that's a pretty high average number of offspring, especially considering those 13 included a nun and a priest!!  So before my generation started getting married, and while my grammy was still alive, the immediate family and their offspring totaled 91.  91!  Each August my family hosted a big outdoor family reunion in Norwalk, to which the vast majority of cousins and aunts & uncles came and we spent the day eating, drinking, taking tractor rides, swimming in that odd bird bath/pool thing, just being together.

And then came Thanksgiving.  Mom grew up in Brookline and most of her sibs stayed in the immediate Boston area, so Thanksgiving was one of the two times a year we were guaranteed to hang with a ton of cousins.  Mom and Dad would pick us up Wednesday afternoon outside of St. Thomas school with the station wagon packed, luggage container on top and filled to bursting, and we'd road trip it up to Grammy's at 52 Kendall St.  As the only out-of-towners who came up to Boston year after year, we got to stay at Grammy's in the house that my mom grew up in.  It was such a special time.  The single bathroom. Those awesome photos of the 13 kids over the couch in the den.  That photo collage in the kitchen that said, "let me tell you about my grandchildren."   Grammy would cook a roast chicken and we'd sit in the kitchen and dad would make Grammy laugh.  I thought it was so cool we had to wash the dishes by hand.  Grammy would make us tea with milk and tons of sugar.  We'd walk down to the playground down the street.  (Let's not discuss the year Julie got lost walking home.)    We fought over who got to stay with Grammy in her room.

Then it was Thanksgiving.  We were invited year after year to Uncle Kevin & Aunt Cheri's house.  Kevin is the 12th Flatley sibling so he and Cheri's five were tiny and utterly adorable.  They still are - see?

Megan, Zib, Katie, Pam and Kevin Flatley

Anyway, here are Uncle Kevin and Aunt Cherie back in the day.  Couldn't you die?

Look at them!  The fabulousness!  Aunt Cherie is such a hottie!  And she is an incredible cook.  She'd calmly cook for about 20, always with a smile on her face and that adorable giggle at every inappropriate funny thing Uncle Kevin said.  We'd take our obligatory family photo,

 a Corey classic - apparently I was heading to flight school after dinner.


then we'd head over to the Pomers for dessert and some serious cousin time. 

12-1: Sorry Kristen!

The Pomers.  Aunt Peggy and Uncle Frank and their 12 kids, every one of them nicer  and more gorgeous than the other.  Their house was a constant, loving jumble of kids, food and cousins as far as the eye could see. With twelve kids everyone had a Pomer cousin to sync up with, sometimes two.  It was a BLAST. 

 Kathy Pomer, Mary Mac, Mary & Janet Pomer, Kara Mac? Uncle Jim and Aunt Peggy

 

  I love how everyone is always draped all over eachother, how evident the love-fest is.  

love the bow -me and Kathy Pomer

Uncle Brian rockin a serious 70s 'do.  Is that Frankie in the hat? 

My cousin Meg Pomer Koslowsky posted most of these pictures to our family's sharesite this week:

• Pam Flatley Keating Love this picture!

  
  
• Judy McIntyre Uncle B!

  
  
• Maureen Meyer I love Richard's expression. So cute.

  
  
• Ellie Corey Just pure awesomeness.

  
  
• Maureen Meyer I don't know how Aunt Peggy & Uncle Frank did it every year. They were terrific hosts. We ate Thanksgiving dinner at our own house and drove over to the Pomer's afterwards to say hi to everyone and it often coincided with Dad's birthday.

  
  
• Sheila Flatley Rubio We did the same Maureen Meyer. I was always so excited to head over to the Pomers.

  
  
• Julie Corey Us too. We ate with the Kevin and Cheri Flatleys. Aunt Cheri would cook for like 20. we always did our family Christmas picture there. then we headed to the Pomers for dessert, nuts, oranges, running around in the basement and pilfering from the giant pickle jar in the fridge down there, and then home movies from the previous Thanksgiving courtesy of dad Corey.

  
  

Movies.  That was Joe Corey's wheelhouse.  Each year he'd take a ton of movies at thanksgiving and the family reunion, then at some point at the Pomers we'd hang a white sheet and set up the old movie projector and it was showtime.  I never wanted those nights to end.

Food, drinks, laughter, family, gratitude. 

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!