Don't Forget the Latkes!

Lemony Snicket's "The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming," is a favorite holiday story of ours.  I think we enjoy it mostly because the central character is edible.  After we read the story this past weekend, I remembered that the latke remains a delicious holiday dinner option.  We serve ours with applesauce, light yogurt (my lighter alternative to sour cream) and sausages, but you can choose any accompaniments you'd like.

2 courgettes

6-8 medium potatoes (we used new potatoes, but you can use yukon golds or any ones...but I'm not sure how they'd turn out with red potatoes)

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 c flour

1/4 of an onion

sea salt and course black pepper to taste

2-3 Tbsp canola oil

Peel and grate the courgettes and potatoes.  (This is always a challenge for me.  I always seem to come very close to grating some of my hand into the mixture.  Be careful!)  When you are done, squeeze any extra water out of the grated veggies and put them into a large bowl.  (I use a smaller bowl on the counter to catch my veggie water so I am not making multiple trips to the sink).  Grate the quartered onion into veggies (don't squeeze out any liquid from these...you want that tasty onion juice in the mixture).

Add the rest of the ingredients to the large bowl and mix to combine.  Put a couple of paper towels onto a dinner plate and have it waiting by the stove.

Heat some canola oil over high heat in a large frying pan.  When the oil is hot, spoon the veggies into pancake-sized blobs into the pan.  Wait for a few minutes, then flip when brown.  You may have to manage the heat of the stove to make sure the latkes don't burn.  When the latkes are done, place them onto the paper towels to drain.  Serve while hot!

Traditional latkes are cooked in a lot more oil, but I like to have these less-fattening ones.  I also like putting in some zucchini so that the kids get some veggies!  Feel free to experiment.  I've seen people use grated carrots before, too.

Courgette Omelette - A Quick Lunch During The Holiday Season

For some, weekends leading up to the holidays consist of shopping and gift-wrapping.  Others spend hours playing Super Mario Bros. on the Wii.  You can guess what Major Obvious and Sweet Pea were up to last Saturday.  Little Man and I are less committed to the Mario and Luigi Cause, so we took a break to make a quick lunch.  Little Man picked out a lovely courgette (zucchini) at Tesco that we were determined to use.

Courgette Omelette

3 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 courgette, peeled and grated
1/4 onion, minced
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

chopped chives, optional

pinch sea salt

few grinds of freshly grated black pepper

In a small nonstick pan over medium-high heat, warm oil.  While waiting for oil to heat up, take handfuls of grated courgette and squeeze over the sink to wring out any excess water.  Put grated courgette in pan with minced onions.  Sautee for several minutes, until vegetables seem tender.

If you haven't already, crack the eggs into a bowl.  Beat with a fork and add salt and pepper.  Add egg mixture to pan when veggies are ready.  Stir a little and add grated cheese.  Let omelette set.

At this point, you can fold the omelette in half, but I never bother with such silliness.  I just grab the eggs out of the pan with a spatula and put them on plates.  Garnish with chopped chives, if desired.  Serve with toast.

Serves 2 (if paired with toast and salad).

A Little Addictive Cookie - Just In Time For The Holidays

Major Obvious came home from work one day bearing this package.  Now, normally I do not condone packaged cookies in the house.  (I will bend for cookies that are "home-baked" in the grocery store).  I just can't help but feel that the cookie manufacturers of the world are shoving trans fats into the little treats at every turn.  (How else can the biscuits stay "fresh" for a year on the shelf?)  The worst of it is, I never seem to see the term "hydrogenated" anywhere on UK packaging, so I can't help but wonder whether these cookies are filled with trans fats anyway or if, perhaps, this country is more health conscious than the United States.

But these little Nice biscuits are very, very hard to resist.  Whenever I eat one, I automatically pop another and then another in my mouth.  Then, I run out of the kitchen so I don't eat the whole box in one sitting.  They are crunchy with tiny little coconut pieces in the cookie, and then a fluffy vanilla cream filling provides a great additional treat.  They're awesome.  They're probably going to make me gain an additional 3 pounds on top of the traditional holiday weight, but oh well.  'Tis the season!

A Thanksgiving in England

Celebrating Thanksgiving in the UK is actually really fun.  It's totally low pressure in that the average person in the village has no idea what's going on.  The local butcher vaguely realizes that I ordered a 12 pound turkey for some American holiday, but since there is only one other order for a turkey that week, he doesn't think much about it.  All supermarkets are open on The Big Day, so if I've forgotten something, I can quickly run to the store and grab it.

This year, my family and I did something very strange, indeed.  We stayed by ourselves.  I may have served Thanksgiving dinner in my pajamas, I'm not sure.  My kids were dressed in clothes, as they went to school just like it was any normal day.  Major Obvious had the day off and was also dressed since he took the kids to school.  After that one task, he promptly came home, kicked off his shoes, and headed straight for the couch.  He was consumed with the Play Station Portable (PSP) for most of the day.

So while it was odd getting a turkey ready without the Dallas Cowboys or the Detroit Lions gutting it out in the background, I may prefer this low-key experience.  I enjoy getting together with friends and family over the holidays, but it was such a treat to have 2 whole days to ourselves.  No work, no birthday parties, no swim lessons.  Just 12 pounds of juicy, delicious goodness, and some fantastic sides. And NFL football or NHL hockey at midnight.

Pumpkin Chocolate Cake

This is the time of year when everyone starts cooking and baking with pumpkin in order to celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving and the general fun of autumn.  I was so excited to find this recipe when I was looking for a dessert to make and bring to a dinner party.  Because the rest of the menu was Middle Eastern, I had reservations about making it and thought about baking sesame cookies instead.  When I consulted Major Obvious, he firmly stated, "Your choices are sesame cookies vs. Pumpkin Chocolate Cake by Jacques Torres?  That is a no-brainer.  Who cares if it doesn't match the rest of the meal?"  So, I made the cake and we brought it over.  When our friends heard the story, they excitedly asked, "Did you really make it?  And that's what we're having for dessert?"  When we sat down to eat it, they exclaimed, "That was a good call!  Pumpkin and chocolate is such a fantastic combination."  Amen. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Cake

from Jacques Torres' "A Year of Chocolate"

1/2 cup (1 stick)
plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup canned pumpkin purée

1-1/4 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 ounces (1/2 cup) chopped 60% bittersweet chocolate

1/2 cup dried cranberries, optional

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, optional

1 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder, optional

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour a 6-inch bundt pan. Set aside.

Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed to just soften. Add the brown sugar and beat for about 4 minutes, or until very light and creamy. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the pumpkin and beat to blend.

Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt and, with the motor off, sift the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. Turn the speed to low and beat to incorporate the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. When well-blended, remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate, cranberries, and nuts.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and invert onto a wire rack. Remove the pan and allow the cake to cool at room temperature.

The cake will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

Chocolate Celebration Cake

Last week, my brother (Pan Pan) and his wife (Miss Amy) visited from San Francisco.  Pan and I are very similar...we both enjoy cooking, talk in movie quotes, and laugh really loudly.  Interestingly enough, Miss Amy is very much like my husband, Major Obvious.  They both look forward to dessert, get along wonderfully with children, and love dogs.

When we are lucky enough to have someone come and visit us on their birthday, I love to bake them a cake for his or her special day.  For this reason (and the aforementioned penchant for sweets), I made Chocolate Celebration Cake for Miss Amy.  This recipe makes a very large molded concoction that can easily stand up to any frosting you slather on it, cream cheese, buttercream, or just a huge dollop of freshly whipped cream.  We ate this bad boy with Madagascar vanilla ice cream and enjoyed many subsequent evenings of leftovers with fresh raspberries while watching X Factor or How I Met Your Mother.

Chocolate Celebration Cake

Largely from “Cooking with Mr. Latte” by Amanda Hesser

1 1/2 cups sugar


5 ounces  bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate


¼  pound unsalted butter (1 stick), plus more for greasing the pan


2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda


1 teaspoon baking powder


1 teaspoon salt


1 cup milk


1 teaspoon cider vinegar


2 eggs


1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ - 1 Tablespoon instant espresso

cocoa powder for dusting the pan

Directions


1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put the sugar, unsweetened chocolate, butter, and 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir occasionally until all of the ingredients are melted and blended.  Remove from the heat and stir in espresso.  Let cool slightly, 15 to 20 minutes. 



2. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and vinegar. Grease and cocoa powder a decorative cake pan, a bundt pan or a tube pan.

3. When the chocolate in the pan has cooled a bit, whisk in the milk mixture and eggs. In several additions and without overmixing, whisk in the dry ingredients. When the mixture is smooth, add the vanilla and whisk once or twice, to blend.  Put the batter into the pan and bake on the middle rack until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on a rack.

4. You can also use this batter to make chocolate cupcakes or a layer cake, just adjust the baking times.

Shepherd's Pie

largely influenced by Michael Chiarello's recipe


I love Michael Chiarello's idea of adding cinnamon to this traditional UK favorite.  While it might seem strange to follow the advice of a Napa Valley chef of Italian descent when preparing a British meal, bear in mind that great ideas often spring from odd places.  The warm spice gives such a special flavor to the dish.  I made this today because it's officially fall now.  The leaves are bright red outside, the air is chilly, and everyone is using their wood-burning fireplaces.






Filling:
1 T olive oil
1 lb minced beef, lamb or turkey (450 g)
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 carrots, chopped
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1 T fresh thyme leaves
1/2 t ground cinnamon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


Crust:
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (1 kg East Anglian Charlotte potatoes)
2 T butter
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1-2 scallions, chopped
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar (medium or mature)
splash of chicken broth, water or milk


Preheat oven to 400F (200C).


If you have a 5-quart ovenproof Dutch oven, this is the time to use it!  You can make the dish on the stovetop and finish it off in the oven.  If you don't have one, don't worry.  Use a regular Dutch oven and keep a 9x13 pan ready.


Saute for a few minutes, then add carrots, celery and meat.  Add thyme and cinnamon, saute for about 8-10 minutes, until the meat is cooked through.  Add salt and pepper.  Take Dutch oven off the heat.


Peel the potatoes, cut them into large pieces and place them into a pot of cold, salted water.  Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until they are tender (about 10 minutes).  The potatoes are ready when a knife easily goes through them. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot.  Cover the pot with a clean tea towel to absorb the steam.  Leave the potatoes alone for 5 minutes during this time.  Then, add the butter and mash the potatoes.  Use a splash of chicken broth, milk or water if you need a little help bringing the mashed potatoes together.


If you have an oven-proof Dutch oven, just spoon the potatoes on top of the meat mixture.  If not, transfer the meat mixture into the 9x13 pan.  Spread the mashed potatoes evenly all over the meat mixture.  Sprinkle the scallions on top of the potatoes.  Bake for 30 minutes, then turn off the oven.  
Sprinkle cheese on top and leave in the warm oven for 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and gooey.  If you like a golden brown crust, put the dish under the broiler for a couple of minutes.


Serves 6.