Holiday Catering

Here is a menu that I prepared for 29 people:

Tossed Antipasto Salad {roasted red pepper, Parmesan, pickled onion, pepperoncini, fresh herbs, black olives, mixed vinaigrette}

 

Italian Bread with Parsley Butter

Vegetable Lasagna

 Lemon-Herb Amish Chicken

Roasted Winter Root Vegetables
{carrots, red potatoes, turnips, parsnips}

Cherry Cordial Tartlets & Citrus Spice Cakes

Vinegar is a Girl's Best Friend

I made the appetizers for a friend's art show, and I am pleased to bring you the results.  Her art is very colorful and full of life, so I wanted to reflect that in the food with lots of color, and harmonious flavors.

Pickled Beets: Roast in foil pouch with salt and olive oil.  Peel when cool and cut into wedges.

 Pickled with red wine vinegar, red onion, ginger, bay leaf, and cinnamon

 Pickled carrot: peeled, sliced and pickled with apple cider vinegar, saffron, and cayenne pepper.

 Pickled cauliflower: with white wine vinegar, bay leaf, caraway, and mustard seed.

 Roasted red pepper crackers: with paprika, cumin and grains of paradise.

The finished platters: Roasted Red Pepper Crackers, Bean Queso Dip, Curried Pineapple Cheese Ball, Onion Raisin Chutney, Assorted Pickled Vegetables.

Tryptophan

So, I am a few days late, but still want to share a bit of my Thanksgiving meal.

This is probably the last full harvest of greens this year.  They were used for creamed greens with bacon.

Cranberry sauce: 2 bags of fresh cranberries, rinsed 

 1/2 can of frozen orange juice concentrate (it's what I had on hand, and obviously fresh would be better)

 and enough water in the pan to come to the top of the berries, but not covering them (if you were using fresh juice, you would almost cover the berries with just juice).

Nutmeg, green cardamom, cinnamon, grains of paradise, 1 1/2 cups sugar.  Let simmer until berries have burst open, refrigerate.

 The start of my pumpkin cake:

After removing the stem from one pie pumpkin, cut in half from top to bottom and roast with salt and olive oil or butter.  350 degrees F for about 45 minutes until the pumpkin is fork tender. Scoop out flesh and discard skin. 
This, used in place of canned pumpkin, delvers much more flavor in a dish. I got about 4 cups of mashed pumpkin, which was enough for 2- 2 layer cakes.

Cleaned and roasted pumpkin seeds with cumin, garam masala, and sea salt.  Toss with olive oil and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, tossing the seeds around every 10 minutes for even toasting. 

I am becoming more and more suspicious of garam masala as being a secret ingredient in Cincinnati chili.

 Pumpkin cake with cream cheese filling and cinnamon whipped cream.

 Among these things, we shared Goetta dressing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole (yes, with cream of mushroom soup and fried onions), mashed potatoes with turkey gravy, and the biggest 20 pound turkey I've ever seen.  We let it thaw in a brine of 2 cups salt and 1 Tbsp peppercorns in a cooler, which worked out great.

Just catching up

http://www.ediblecommunities.com/ohiovalley/blog.htm/2011/09/16/ice-cream-contest-winner-amanda-bowman/

This is an ice cream contest that I won this year. Of course it's a late summer recipe, but if you really want to try it now you could substitute canned tomatoes (I recommend San Marzano for their rich flavor.)  And of course I fully support the use of Snowville Creamery Cream, and Back Acres Farm eggs....

But we can't spend this wonderful time of fall squashes, garlic, and greens crying about the fresh heirloom tomatoes we had months ago. Onto hearty braising, roasting and stews,,,,