Christmas Roast Beast and other random shots

So, how were the holidays at your place?
Our hope is that you were delighted by the company of your most cherished friends and family, satiated by platters of scrumptious food, and made all bright and cheery by a few glasses of great wine.

We certainly were!  Nope, I cannot tell a lie. Christmas dinner at our house this year was a positively delicious affair:

• Baby winter greens with maple cinnamon walnuts, cranberry goat cheese, fresh raspberries, and  lemon-raspberry vinaigrette.
  
• Thyme and garlic rubbed standing rib roast
• Porcini & bacon sauce
  
• Parmesan mashed potatoes
• Spinach gratin
• Roasted romanesco with rosemary garlic butter
• Hot buttered rum cheesecakes with rum caramel sauce

We started off by ordering a standing rib roast of beast from our local butcher...  Bunzel's Meat Market bequeathed us with ten delicious pounds of USDA prime first-cut beef.  We couldn't really argue with that, now, could we?

 Preparation of the roast beast began a couple of days ahead. We slashed the roast and slathered it liberally with a mixture of garlic (lots!), fresh thyme (3 T chopped), olive oil (2-3 T), and salt (2 T).

 We also threw together ten adorable hot buttered rum cheesecakes (and their accompanying rum caramel sauce -- which we should mention is positively To. Die. For.  I think that I could live on it!). 

Awesome, huh?


Yeah, well. It turns out we're not the best when it comes to taking pictures of our actual holiday feasts.  We get all excited about the preparations, snapping pictures every other minute... but once the festivities begin, we lose all sense of direction when it comes to recording the final product.  


We did manage to get a shot of the salad, which we served while the roast was resting in the kitchen... but everything else seems to have gotten lost in the "ooohs" and "aahhhs" and the mumblings of satisfaction as we consumed the roast beast and its swoon-worthy accompaniments.

I'm particularly sad that we didn't get a shot of that bacon porcini gravy and the uber cheesy spinach gratin... soooo good.

*sigh*  Maybe next year.



©BURP! Where Food Happens

Peef & Lo's Favorite Corned Beef

It's hard to believe that we're celebrating our 10th St. Patrick's Day together this year. But, as you can imagine, that means we've had plenty of time to try our hand at quite a number of corned beef recipes. This one is now our tried and true favorite.

We love the slightly sweet braising liquid, and we heartily approve of what the dill, peppercorns, and clove add to the flavor of the beef. The flavor is not overpowering, but the savory smell is enough to drive you crazy during the last hour or two of cooking.

This brisket is delicious right out of the pot, but we often continue the braise for a bit in the oven, just to crisp things up a bit (try 45-60 minutes at 300ºF, with a bit of additional beer in the bottom of the pan).

Today, we'll be serving the brisket as part of our St. Patrick's Day feast:

Peef & Lo's Corned beef
Cabbage & Leek gratin
Roasted garlic mashed potatoes
Baby carrots
Guinness soda bread

And for dessert:
Irish whiskey cake
Baileys Irish cream custard (from Kopp's)



©BURP! Where Food Happens

Menu: Christmas Day Dinner

A bit late, perhaps. But, here's the low-down on our Christmas Day feasting.

• Arugula salad with raspberry vinaigrette, beets, and phyllo-wrapped goat cheese slices
• Prime rib roast
• Porcini & bacon sauce
• Horseradish cream sauce
  
• Sauteed green beans
• Yukon gold potato gratin (inspired by the version made at the Fog City Diner - San Francisco)
• Wine: JC Cellars, The Imposter (2005), California

And... possibly the best part... the lovely Frozen Grand Marnier Torte with Dark Chocolate Crust and Spiced Cranberries which we paired with a bottle of Bogle Petit Syrah Port (v2005), California (incidentally, the grapes for this pressing were harvested on Lo's birthday)





©BURP! Where Food Happens

Thanksgiving Day Menu

We've decided to keep Thanksgiving fairly simple this year. But, that won't stop us from doing some of our favorites -- like Lo's spinach gratin. If you're curious, here's a sneak peek at our menu (which, if you know Lo, is never REALLY set in stone). We'll be back with pictures, if we can manage that amid all the merriment.

Maple brined turkey
bacon, apple, and caramelized onion stuffing... er, dressing
roasted winter squash halves
spinach gratin
brussels sprouts & pearl onions in horseradish cream
mashed potatoes with garlic & buttermilk
Paul's dad's "famous" cranberry relish (this is the recipe with the whole oranges, if I'm not mistaken)

There will also be pumpkin praline pie, supplied by Peef's mom.
And Kris & Kris will make the event more merry by bringing the wine!

What?! Not adventurous enough for you?
Well... just stay tuned. Maybe our Christmas menu will whet your whistle!

Grill Fest 2007

And now, what you've all been waiting for ... a glimpse of Grill Fest 2007. Grill Fest is one of our favorite summer traditions. Each Labor Day weekend (or thereabouts) we get together with friends and create an incredible season meal.

This year's grill fest was a veritable local feast (with a few obvious exceptions... can you say shrimp? and coconut?).

What was on the menu?

1. "Damn hot" peppers
2. Lime & garlic marinated shrimp with horseradish cilantro dip
3. Goat cheese stuffed tomatoes
4. Rustic grilled garlic toasts
5. "Tormented" eggplant (eggplant stuffed with sundried tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos, and other goodies)
6. Grilled corn on the cob with herbed compound butter
7. coconut-lime sours

Aren't you just drooling already?

I'll be back with pictures in just a bit!

July CSA Dinner

So, Saturday night we celebrated the BEAUTY and bliss of fresh produce.
How so? you might ask.
By having a CSA dinner with our friends S & N, of course.

This tradition began two springs ago when we took a first big step toward "locavorishness" by subscribing to our local CSA. Rather than tackling an entire box of veggies on our own (which leaves us room in the fridge for gardening and farmers' marketing and such), we decided to split our share with Steph & Nate.

When Steph suggested that we consider hosting celebratory meals with our bounty, we all thought it was a brilliant plan. After all, what could be better than feasting on farm-fresh produce (some of which is literally HOURS from its harvest) with good friends? We couldn't think of much. And so, the CSA dinner was born.

Our first dinner this CSA season consisted of a great salad, fantastic fresh mozzarella skewers with rosemary, beet raita with pita chips, and a fantastic rhubarb crisp for dessert.

Saturday's feast was a bit less "on" insofar as sticking to our CSA box, but it was still pretty decent:

• Grilled catfish tacos
• Guacamole
• Pineapple salsa
• Chipotle coleslaw (for the fish tacos) -- made with crisp red cabbage
• Chile-lime marinated yellow squash
• Grilled corn on the cob
• Cuban Sidecars (for refreshment)
• Dessert: Bayless' chocolate pecan pie bars

OK -- so the corn idea might have been a bit premature. And pineapple and avocadoes are pretty far from being "local" fare. But, really, everything was pretty fresh. And really quite fabulous. Despite the (somewhat oppressive heat), we sat outside in the yard, basking in the evening breeze and just enjoying our time together.

And isn't that what it's all about anyhow?

©BURP! Where Food Happens