Here is the Simply Recipes update for djuwettoo.fish@blogger.com
There are 5 new posts in "Simply Recipes" Merry Christmas 2011
It's Christmas eve as I write this. The presents are all wrapped and huddled under the tree. The tree is beautiful this year, a good 9 1/2 footer, a noble fir, all decked out in little white lights and sparkly ornaments. The bright orange and red leaves of the Japanese maples that filled the yard with color just a few weeks ago, when the above photo was taken, have all fallen, so more sun is coming through the windows than usual. There's still a little activity in the garden. The chard survived the recent frost and the parsley is having a party out there. The orange tree is festive with oranges, and we have plenty of pomegranates from this year's crop. Gorgeous fat beauties they are. Our menu is set for the big dinner, which for the first time in the history of our family, I am actually in charge of cooking. Dad said, "It's your turn" and I agreed. Wish me luck! It's the big joke in the family, the one with the cooking site who usually can only cook one thing at a time, and takes three times longer than normal to cook it because I'm so busy writing notes and taking pictures. Dad's job this year is to make and bring the pineapple upside down cake, our favorite dessert of them all, and one for which my dad needs absolutely no arm twisting to agree to make. Continue reading "Merry Christmas 2011" »
 Coconut Macaroons
Coconut macaroons tend to be rather chewy affairs. Super sweet. Super chewy. Like the inside of an Almond Joy bar. (My dad, by the way, loves Almond Joy, gets tons of it to give away at Halloween knowing that the rest of us won't touch them and he'll have more for himself.) Me? Not a big fan. That is, until our pastry chef neighbor Evie brought over her macaroons. Soft and smooth on the inside. Lightly sweet. No texture issues. Lovely. The secret ingredient? According to Evie, baby food applesauce. That's right, baby food. It's just the smoothest applesauce you can get, and it comes in conveniently small jars. You don't need that much. Continue reading "Coconut Macaroons" »
Honey Mulled Wine
Now this was a happy accident. I don't know how I ended up with some red wine in a cup with honey in it, but it happened, and I'm so glad it did. Once I discovered how lovely my red wine tasted with honey, I thought to make a mulled wine with it. Mulled wines are typically very spicy affairs, with cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, orange peel, etc. All well and good. The problem is that all of those spices together detract from the honey, and it's the honey taste that goes so well with the wine. So this is a simple mulled wine, with only cinnamon, a few peppercorns and a little lemon zest to liven things up, all enhancing the flavors of the wine and the honey, not competing with them. It's also pretty sweet, so feel free to play around with the amount of honey to suit your taste. Continue reading "Honey Mulled Wine" »
Celery, Blue Cheese and Hazelnut Salad
Here's a festive salad for the holidays, and one that I think would be especially good paired with prime rib or roast beef. Blue cheese and celery is a classic combination and is especially good with the additions of dates (or dried cranberries) for sweetness and maple-glazed toasted hazelnuts. Yes, it's a little fussy, but it's the holidays! And so worth it. The recipe comes via my friend Peg's glamorous friend Katie Sullivan (thank you Katie!). Continue reading "Celery, Blue Cheese and Hazelnut Salad" »
Beef Roast Braised in Zinfandel
Updated from the recipe archive. First posted 2006. Enjoy! "This isn't your everyday pot roast," my father declared as we sat down for dinner to enjoy the roast that he had been cooking all afternoon. No, indeed it isn't. The sauce includes an entire bottle of bold red Zinfandel wine. The vegetables in the sauce are cooked until every ounce of flavor is extracted from them, and then the sauce is pressed through a sieve and reduced even further. The beef, braised for hours is fork tender. Enjoy. Continue reading "Beef Roast Braised in Zinfandel" »
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