CELEBRATION DINNER PART 2: SISTERS AND DESSERT!

Friday, December 16, 2005

This is my sister. She is holding a piece of the apple pie she made when she came to visit. Doesn't she look happy? I am trying to convince her that cooking is a delightful hobby for us to share. Of course, she lives in the dorm at the moment, so she doesn't have much of a need to cook. But she will one day. Or so I keep telling her.

Really, I think, there are very few things in life quite like having a sister. I was 9 when Elizabeth was born, and I already had two brothers. And I liked them okay, but, well, they were. . .you know. . .boys. When my mom told us she was having a baby I just knew it would be a girl. I knew because I prayed every single night before I went to sleep that it would be. I have some pretty hilarious diary entries which reveal these facts (apparently I've been writing most of my life).

Of course by the time she was about 3, I was convinced that the joke was on me. By the time I was into wearing make-up and jewelry, she was into smearing my makeup all over her arms and legs and scattering the earrings for my newly pierced ears from one end of the house to the other. By the time I was into watching movies with boys in my parents' living room, she was into spying on us. Or opening the front door to some unsuspecting boy only to slam it in his face. Or parading around in little to no clothing. We shared a bedroom my last three years of high school, and by the time I left for the dorm, I was pretty sure we would never have anything in common.

But growing up has mysterious effects on sibling relationships. As each year goes by, I think we are more and more alike in some ways and different in some really complementary ones too. We like a lot of the same foods, for instance, and I am trying really hard to persuade her that we both also love to cook it. Whenever she comes to visit, we spend a lot of time in the kitchen. This last time, I put her in charge of the apple pie. And, she did a fantastic job. See how tasty it looks?

Apple pie should probably go on the comfort food list for me. I like it warm, without ice cream, and with lots of cinnamon and brown sugar.

After trying many recipes, this one has turned out to be my favorite. The topping is made from crushed gingersnaps, which gives it a nice crunch. My favorite touch, though, is that you pour hot maple syrup all over the pie before serving it. Yum. One of the keys to the recipe is to slice the apples really thinly (Elizabeth and I had to work on her knife skills a little bit before she got the hang of it. I forget how much practice it takes to learn how to use a knife!) so that they turn very, very soft in the cooking process. The result is a pie that melts in your mouth with syrupy sweetness and buttery cookie crunch.

This holiday season, I hope you find yourself in the kitchen with someone you love. If it happens to be your sister, count yourself among the doubly blessed. I know I will.

This recipe is adapted from Heart and Soul by the Junior League of Memphis.

Maple Apple Pie

1/4 cup gingersnap cookies

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup pecans

1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1 stick melted butter

1 T. flour

1/8 t. salt

6 medium Granny Smith apples

1 pie shell

1/4 cup maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The cookies and pecans need to be finely crushed; you can do this in the food processor or with a plastic bag and a heavy-bottomed pan, although the second option makes a bigger mess. Mix the crumbs and nuts with the sugars, the melted butter, cinnamon, flour, and salt. Set aside. Slice the apples very thinly (you can peel them if you are averse to peel in your pie; I'm not, so I skip that step.) Line the unbaked pie shell with a thick layer of about half the apple slices. Top with half of the cookie mixture. Lay the remaining apples on top, and finish with the rest of the cookie topping. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the crust and topping are golden brown. Remove from the oven to cool. Heat the maple syrup until it boils. Pour over pie just before serving. No ice cream needed!

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CELEBRATION DINNER #1: SPICE-RUBBED STEAK WITH ROASTED POBLANO TOPPING

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Every Christmas season when David and I decide it's time to break out the decorations, I plan a festive meal to end our day (or days) of decking the house and tree. This one has been a popular celebration dinner for us: it has been known to appear on an anniversary or Valentine's table. We don't eat steak very often, so when we do, I like to make it special.

This recipe developed from one I found in Paula Lambert's The Cheese Lover's Cookbook. Hers is for a whole beef tenderloin, so I've had to do some tinkering with the proportions to get it to come out right for just the two of us. The cut of meat you use depends on your taste and your pocketbook. Filets would of course be best, but they cut into my grocery budget pretty severely. The butcher at our local grocer cuts these little pieces called finger steaks; they are the best steak for the money that I've found here, and the portion is just right for us. The recipe is flexible, though; you can substitute whatever cut tastes good to you, you just might have to adjust the cooking time.

The sauce for these steaks is made from roasted poblano peppers, roasted garlic, and mascarpone cheese. The cheese base gives the sauce the perfect melting consistency; you place a dollop on top of the warm steak, and by the time you get the fork to your mouth, it's melted into a wonderfully smooth texture. I love the spice medley of the dish also; the chile powder, seasoning salt, and cumin has become a regular combination in much of my cooking.

I served the steak with my favorite sweet potatoes and a simple salad of arugula, shaved Parmesan, lemon juice, and olive oil. The potatoes can cook while you prepare the steaks and sauce, and the salad comes together while the steak is cooking. Not complicated, but it tastes like you spent all day in the kitchen! Here's the recipe for the steak and sauce:

Spice-Rubbed Steak with Roasted Poblano Topping

4 individual steaks, about 6 ounces each

Chile powder

Cumin

Seasoning salt

Olive oil

1 poblano pepper

4 cloves garlic

4 ounces mascarpone cheese

1/2 t. seasoning salt

1 t. cumin

1 t. chile powder

Juice of half a lemon

Preheat the broiler. In a shallow glass baking dish, coat the steaks with olive oil, rubbing it into the meat with your fingers. Season each side of the steaks liberally with cumin, chile powder, and seasoning salt. The exterior should be coated with the spices. Place in the refrigerator to soak up the spices. Meanwhile, roast the poblano under the broiler, turning with tongs until it's blackened and bubbly on all sides. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to cool and steam. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees. When the oven has sufficiently cooled, place the garlic cloves, skin-on, in a small foil packet. Drizzle with olive oil and Kosher salt. Roast for about 20 minutes. When cool, squeeze the garlic from its skin into a small bowl and mash with the back of a spoon. Add the mascarpone, 1/2 t. seasoning salt, 1 t. cumin, 1 t. chile powder, and lemon juice. Peel and chop the poblano; add half of it to the sauce. Stir to combine. Add the steaks to the 350-degree oven, cooking  until done to your liking, turning halfway through. The cooking time will completely depend on the size of your steaks and on your preference about doneness; mine took about 8 minutes per side. To serve, spoon a dollop of the mascarpone sauce on top of each steak.

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SIMPLE SALAD FOR THE BUSY SEASON

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

One semester of my life as a PhD student has officially come to a close, and I could not be happier. Well, I guess if it was my last semester as a PhD student and graduation was in my near future I could, possibly, feel happier. But this semester's end brings with it the Christmas season, which I dearly love, and the promise of visits with family and friends I have not seen in a while, whom I have missed.

And, of course now I have time to go into my cooking-baking-holiday frenzy with full gusto! No papers to distract me, no students to correspond with, no grading to do. Blissful, undistracted cooking. Here's what I have planned: tonight, my friends from Missouri, Casey and Christy are coming over for a kind of farewell holiday dinner (we will be going our separate ways for the holiday break), and so before they head all the way up to Missouri and Illinois, where their family lives, I am cooking them a southern feast. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato pie. The weekend's food festivities include more people I love: my girlfriends from college, Patty and Lydia, are headed down for a visit. We do have going-out plans, of course, but for their arrival on Friday, I promised to cook a meal, which you will have to wait until Monday to discover!

Before heading to Mississippi, my kitchen will be full and busy and happy, just the way I like it. My favorite part about cooking during this season is that most of the food I cook I'm making to give away or feed to someone I love. I hope to share many of those recipes with you in the coming days.

Today's recipe comes from Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge's scandalous but delicious cookbook Intercourses, a rice salad that would be the perfect side dish to take to a dinner party, or main course to serve for a light lunch. It is better the second day, so I like to make enough to have on hand for a quick leftovers lunch. It is very flexible too; you can serve it warm, cold, or at room temperature. I liked it best at room temp.

I hope you all are enjoying this holiday season--I'd love to know what you are cooking!

Mediterranean Rice Salad

1 cup basmati rice

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 1/2 T. olive oil

1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup fresh arugula leaves, roughly chopped

1/2 cup green onion, chopped

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Bring the rice and chicken broth to a boil; reduce the heat and cook, covered until the rice is tender, about 15-20 minutes. All of the liquid should be absorbed. Dump the rice into a bowl. Add the olives, arugula, green onions, pine nuts, and cheese, and toss to combine. Drizzle with the olive oil and lemon, and toss some more. Season with salt and cracked black pepper. Makes enough for 6-8 side-sized servings.

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BLT Pizza

Monday, December 12, 2005

Well, faithful readers, the end of the semester is nigh for me--my last essay is due tomorrow afternoon. Until then, I shall have to turn all of my attention on my studies, but I leave you with this quick recipe for BLT pizza. It is an old favorite from my old waitressing post in Jackson, the Brick-Oven Cafe, and the red and green I thought appropriate for the season. Plus, I can hardly imagine better study food than pizza. Here's the recipe:

BLT Pizza

Prepared pizza crust dough or shell

8 slices bacon, cooked

Ranch salad dressing

4 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 cup of chopped green onions

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Romaine lettuce, arugula, or other greens

Preheat oven to 475. Once crust has been properly prepared, drizzle the surface with Ranch dressing, spreading to coat. You will want a thin layer over the whole crust, so the amount depends on how large your pizza is. Crumble bacon and sprinkle evenly across pizza. Follow with the chopped tomatoes and green onions. Sprinkle cheeses on top last; bake until the crust is golden and the cheese melted, about 10 minutes. To serve, top each slice with shredded lettuce or arugula and drizzle with a tiny bit of dressing.

Updated menu and archives tomorrow, I promise!

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