First Post of 2009

It's only taken me 9 days. Not much to rant about, I guess. Plus I missed all the photo ops from New Year's Day (far too busy being party hostess), so there sadly is only one food porn pic to post.




This is one of my favorite desserts for the late fall/winter. If you like things with fig filling with the crispy little seeds, this Fig Tart with Pistachio Crust is for you. There's so much open space on the top of this tart it just begs to be decorated. Perfect size for a big old powdered-sugar snowflake around Christmas, or if you make it for Thanksgiving, the classic hand-silhouette turkey.

We managed to pull off the surprise visit by brother Bryan. My sister-in-law Ann was in on the weeks-long idea, too. So when he casually walked into the Moosewood Suite, having hidden his truck and himself from arriving family, there were some shocked/happy faces. He was on his phone, talking to mom as though he was calling from North Carolina--and then stood right in front of her until she looked up and noticed him. A 12-hour drive makes visits from two brothers an infrequent thing, so he took full advantage of his 5 days in Michigan to do a lot of visiting and shopping. Since there won't be any proof on HIS blog about it, I stand as witness to the fact that yes, he was in fact here ;).

Out of all the brunch dishes we feasted on that day, I think the standout dish for me was the evil potato dish brought by my other sister-in-law Kimm. I truly regret not taking a pic of them as we took them out of the oven. Evil in its simplicity and goodness. Creamy bubbliness surrounding rustic skin-left-on slices of potato, golden brown crustiness around the edges of the deep ceramic dish...*sigh*

Tim seared the hell out of a gigantic beef tenderloin with nothing more than salt, pepper, a smidge of oil, and blackened cast iron to rosy, rare buttery perfection. And successfully avoided setting off the smoke detectors, too. He smoked a big filet of salmon. I served individually baked eggs with a buttered crumb topping. And for sweet stuff, I had a Cranberry Crumble Coffee Cake, something I take to bake sales, but never have around for ourselves to eat. And I made my Orange Taser Rolls.

A couple hours later, after more visiting, sipping Veuve Cliqot, red wine, juices, and opening Christmas presents, we noshed on cookies, chocolate fruitcake and coffee. The boys just wanted more smoked salmon, and that pretty much was laid to waste.

There weren't huge amounts of leftovers from all this. Possibly the result of having a 12- and 14-year old at family parties these days. What leftovers we did have provided the basis for some kitchen challenges. How, for example, to use up a nearly full tub of dill dip, a partial container of sour cream, store-bought sliced wheat bread, and the annoying, space-hogging remnants of a jar of mayo? Poach a pot full of chicken breasts, shred the meat, and make a crumb-topped creamy chicken casserole.

What to do with the little bits and pieces of crumbled stollen that are too small for the toaster ('stollen shrapnel'), and about a cup of leftover 2% milk (which we don't drink)? Make stollen bread pudding out of it. I really wasn't happy with my stollen this year. I figured it was done, only to find it doughy and underdone in the centers of the loaves. And it was crumbly. Could it be I put TOO much fruit in it? Just maybe, possibly.

What the heck does one do with a nearly full tub of garlic-artichoke salsa, to which you've added leftover diced tomatoes from something else, and one and a half tubs of Southwestern flavor ranch dip? Make meatless bean enchiladas on top of a bed of salsa-flavored rice. Use your big, black roasting pan so the rice gets brown and crusty on the bottom. Top with cheese and green onions. Enjoy for days...