Sunday Six (late)

E

erininny

Well-known member
1. My brother was moving this weekend, so I made a giant batch of Boeuf Bourguignon on Saturday, chilled it, and took it up to him later that night, along with a baguette and some salad. (Incidentally, have you ever wondered where Madison Avenue ends at its northernmost point? He lives there.)

2. Came back down to our neighborhood after that and made Bábovka with dark-chocolate pieces. It tasted off, somehow, when I took it out of the oven, so I didn't take it on Sunday morning...when I went back up to help my brother move into his apartment. But this morning, after it had been sitting under a tea towel for a day or so, it tasted fine. Strange!

3. Jakub came back from one week in Prague and seems to have cleared out the airport's duty-free chocolate section, along with the lázeňské oplatky cookie section (the latter at my request). (The oplatky are thin wafer cookies with a layer of vanilla cream in the middle.)

4. Thanksgiving update: 12 people will attend. We have seating for 8. And so begins the outer-borough hunt for cheap seating...

5. Wine question: for Thanksgiving, white or red? Or both? (I think my parents serve both.)

6. Also... Is it just my imagination, or is there no mince pie filling to be found at the moment? Is that now just a Christmas thing?

Hope you all had a good weekend...

ErininNY

 
For extra seating...

...try the Home Decorator's Catalog. They have folding chairs that look like regular dining room chairs. They're really good quality and last for years (we've had some going on ten years now and they've had hard use and are as good as new).

But if you don't want to buy anything, can you ask a couple of guests to bring a couple of extra folding chairs? I'm sure most people would be happy to do so.

As for the wine, I'd do both. smileys/smile.gif

 
My Sunday One

It was fun enough to count for 6!

We went to a local "Celebrating Life Through Chocolate" fund-raising event. Unlimited chocolate and complimentary wine and cheese - what more can I say? I will say that yes, you can dip dark chocolate in a chocolate fountain. ;o)

And dry red wine is so good with chocolate - I don't think I've ever tried the combination before.

It was followed by a movie - "Big Night". We had never seen it before. Does anyone remember it (from 1996?), and if you saw it, did you like it? I thought it was so-so, but with champagane and popcorn being brought around, I didn't really mind...

I have a migraine today (red wine, cheese, and chocolate, what did I expect?) and all I've eaten today has been a scrambled egg and a piece of bread, but I'd do it again in a minute.

 
I love a nice spicey Gewurtztraminer with turkey. I see both reds and whites and even dry rose

being suggested for turkey this year.

 
Thanks, Amanda! Mmm, new time sink... smileys/smile.gif Lovely things on that site.

I do think I'm going to have to send some embarrassing email to the tune of...
"Dear friends,
Would you mind please bringing at least two of the following to Thanksgiving dinner if you have them: -chairs
-wine glasses
-plates"

I don't understand how we entertained all these people in the past, but I guess it was just stand-around-and-snack affairs...

 
Have you ever tried making your own mincemeat? This is an excellent recipe. I got it from

a House and Gardens or House beautiful several years ago.

* Exported for MasterCook 4 by Living Cookbook *

Meatless Mincemeat

Recipe By : Nick Malgieri
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time:
Categories : Dessert Fruit


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

2 lbs Granny Smith apples, peeled, halved,
-- cored and coarsely grated
2 lbs McIntosh apples, peeled, halved, cored
-- and coarsely grated
grated zest and strained juice of 2 medium oranges
grated zest and strained juice of 2 medium lemons
1 lb dark or golden raisins
3/4 lb currants
4 Tbs diced candied orange wet
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
2/3 cup dark rum or brandy
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger

1. In a large, heavy-bottomed pan (do not use aluminum), place all
ingredients and mix thoroughly. Bring the mixture to a simmer over low heat
and cook about 45 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture is reduced to a
thick, jamlike consistency. Cool.

2. Pack mincemeat in clean glass containers, press plastic wrap against
surface and refrigerate.

Cooking Tip: Mincemeat will keep for 1 month.

Recipe Author: Nick Malgieri


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 
REC: Mincemeat

Victorian mincemeat pies

Ingredients
For the mincemeat
450g/1lb sirloin steak, finely chopped

450g/1lb suet, grated

4 large apples, peeled, core removed, flesh chopped

1.35kg/3lb currants

½ small loaf day-old bread, grated

Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

Ground cinnamon, to taste

Ground cloves, to taste

Ground ginger, to taste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

450g/1lb sugar

2 lemons, zest and juice

3 large oranges, juice only

Candied peel, diced (optional)

250ml/9fl oz brandy

250ml/9fl oz ruby port

For the shortcrust pastry
225g/8oz flour, plus extra for dusting

115g/4oz butter or margarine, cut into cubes

Water, as necessary

4-6 tsp milk

1 tsp sugar

Preparation method
1.Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

2.For the mincemeat, mix all of the mincemeat ingredients together in a large bowl, using your hands, until well combined.

3.Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and heat over a very low heat for 3-5 hours, stirring occasionally, or until it has reduced to a thick, dark paste.

4.Meanwhile, for the shortcrust pastry, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter or margarine cubes, then rub them into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Technique: Rubbing in .Watch technique
0:46 mins5.Gradually add the water, a tablespoon at a time, stirring well until the mixture comes together as a stiff dough.

6.Turn out the pastry onto a lightly floured work surface and knead well until smooth and elastic.

Technique: Kneading bread .Watch technique
2:35 mins7.Roll out the pastry onto a lightly floured work surface to a 1cm/½in thickness. Using an upturned bowl, cut 8-10 discs from the pastry. Reserve the remaining pastry.

8.Place a coffee mug into the centre of each pastry disc and draw the sides of the pastry up against the mug, overlapping the edges, to form free-standing pastry cases.

9.Divide the mincemeat evenly among the pastry cases.

10.Roll out the remaining pastry onto a lightly floured work surface. Using the same mug as before, cut 8-10 discs from the pastry to create 'lids'.

11.Place one pastry 'lid' on top of each pie, tucking the edges into the pastry case. Pinch the pastry together well to prevent the filling from leaking out during baking. Using a sharp knife, cut a cross into the top of each pastry lid to allow the steam to escape.

Technique: Covering a pie with a pastry lid .Watch technique
2:11 mins12.In a bowl, mix together the milk and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Brush the top of each pie with this mixture.

13.Place the mince pies onto a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and golden-brown.

14.Remove the mince pies from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

 
My Sunday Six (even later)

1) Had to grocery shop on Saturday since I was stuck at work Thursday - my regular grocery shopping day. I just got the regular stuff but I have this feeling that food prices have risen since summer. Food cost me $230 for one week/two people - and I didn't even buy fish or meat this day.

2) Had beautiful weather and took the dogs for a 2 hour walk. It was wonderful. And what better hiking snack than a piece of dark chocolate?

3) My doc has asked me to lower my blood pressure, and since reducing the stress at work is not an option right now, I have to reduce my weight and start weight training. So I dug out my manual weights and did some 50 arm lifts and 50 sit ups just for the heck of it. Rewarded myself with another bit of dark chocolate.

4) Since I need to loose weight ( and I hate diet food) I have to find good and healthy food that i can eat in moderation. Moderation is the key, right? And since low carb is supposed to work, I'll throw in that for good measure. (But not high fat. I don't like fatty foods).
And since I'm in the anti-soy brigade (fermented soy products like tofu and tempeh might have an effect on the hormones) I need to find other protein sources. Made a nice tomato-lentil salad on Sunday, that will double as lunch during the week.

5) Since I'm by no means a diet nazi, we had take out pizza for dinner on Saturday. I ordered two small pizzas, but the pizza place got my order wrong so I got two large for the prize of two small. Interesting since I just decided to go low carb. Love the irony - and DH loved the pizza! smileys/wink.gif

6) Couldn't let the rest of the chocolate bar just sit there on a shelf in the cupboardso I had the rest of the bar for dessert on Sunday. Dark chocolate is probably low carb too...no? smileys/wink.gif

 
No, no, the glory of it is the accompanying hard sauce. smileys/smile.gif (But thank you for posting the recipe!)

 
Erin, I just saw jars of Robertson's mincemeat the other day at

our local Wegmans. So it's out there. If you really would like, I can send you some.

 
Thanks, Dawn--I think I'll wait 'til Christmas, and then make it from scratch.

I think we have at least three desserts lined up for Thanksgiving--four might be a shade too far... smileys/wink.gif

Wegmans, by the way--incredible. A friend of mine who teaches at RIT took me to the local one, and I behaved like someone who'd escaped from behind the Iron Curtain. Pretty nifty. smileys/smile.gif

Thanks anyway for the offer!

 
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