December 22, 2008
About 5 years ago, our oldest granddaughter - in her toddler wisdom - decided that my husband and I should be Papa Steve and Papa Jan. Her parents had a moment of concern that I’d take offense. Such a masculine spin on the exquisite role of grand-parenting. On the contrary, I reassured them! Anna had transformed Steve and me into a category, which was alright by me, considering my husband’s fine character.
During the hazelnut harvest in late October Papa Steve and I took the family on a picnic to a nearby farm where our friends, Margy and Dave, had just finished gathering the year’s crop. After our simple lunch of cold-cuts, store-bought potato salad, fruit and cookies, we explored the orchard with its cool, leafy-green canopy over head. Anna and her little sister Lily marveled at the dusty beams of sun bursting through the trees; how it seemed to be making golden puddles of light on the ground. We inspected the tough-shelled nuts, cracked them open to see the treasures within, and speculated on how many a squirrel would need to get through the winter.
Next stop was the barn where Dave kept his rock tumbler. I explained to the girls that Dave was polishing some of the special rocks I had collected on the coast last winter. What kind of rocks, they wondered. So I showed them the treasured "blue-black" agates and unique bits of jasper. They said they had never seen such beautiful stones.
"Would you like to choose one to keep?"
"Oh yes" they exclaimed. After much agonizing, pondering, selecting, re-selecting, and finalizing of their choices, we shut the door on the rock room. As we left the barn, each girl clinging to one of my cherished blue-blacks, Anna reached for her mother’s hand. "Oh Mama, do you think we could EVER be bored with Papa Jan and Papa Steve?"
A picnic, a walk through an orchard, and a free rock. Talk about cheap dates. In our attempts to build The Best Christmas Ever, we should never forget that - just how easy it is to charm a child.
So in a year when scaling back seems to be imperative, take comfort in the fact that simple can most definitely be better. Which brings us to THIS night; Christmas Eve. It’s always a special night, if only in our mind's eye where it has taken on a Norman Rockwell sort of warmth and tradition. But realistically speaking, when that time actually rolls around, most of us are approaching total meltdown. Which makes it all too easy to say, Oh well, NEXT year will be better.
My response, however, is a resounding IT'S NOT TOO LATE. There's still time. Time to charm a child or two by letting them come into your kitchen to help with your last-minute preparations, for starters. Case in point: here’s a simple open-faced sandwich of sorts that is easy and fast to assemble, even with a youngster by your side being "helpful." And it comes with my guarantee to warm heart and soul of each and every guest you bring to your Christmas Eve table. Because it's such a snap to prepare, you'll still have plenty of hours left in the evening for festivities.
I've also included my favorite Make-Ahead Christmas Brunch Strata that can be assembled the night before, then popped in the oven on Christmas morning.
And if you have the time to assemble a collection of really (really!) fresh fish consider throwing together a pot of my fabulous Cioppino. There are as many renditions of this classic San Francisco fish stew specialty as there are folks who’ve left their hearts there, but this one is one of the tastiest I’ve ever encountered. What makes it especially great during the holidays is the fact that the tomato base can be prepared days ahead (so you may want to back-burner it for next week’s New Years Eve festivities). Then, just before you’re ready to serve, you can heat it up and begin adding the fish and shellfish in the appropriate order so that everything turns out tender and cooked to perfection. Just make sure the ingredients are fresh! fresh! fresh! So know your fish guy. This one’s a keeper!
Bon Appetit and Merry Christmas,
Jan
Cioppino
There are as many renditions of this classic San Francisco fish stew specialty as there are folks who’ve left their hearts there. Good friends Pam and Dan Bottom shared this versiona couple of months ago and I was blown away by its simplicity and flavor. What makes it especially great during the holidays is the fact that the tomato base can be prepared days ahead. Then, just before you’re ready to serve, you can heat it up and begin adding the fish and shellfish in the appropriate order so that everything turns out tender and cooked to perfection. Just make sure the ingredients are fresh! fresh! fresh! So know your fish guy.
If you think you’ve seen the recipe before, you probably have. I included it in a story last year on Potluck recipes, but figured that many of you might have missed it if you weren’t in a potluck frame of mind. This one’s a keeper!.
3/4 pound red snapper
3/4 pound halibut
1/2 pound scallops
2 tablespoons oil
2 cups chopped onion
4 fresh cloves garlic, minced
16 ounces salsa (any salsa will do, but I prefer Pace’s "medium" picante sauce)
5 cans( 14-1/2 oz each) diced tomatoes (see note below)
1-1/2 cups dry white wine, such as Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, or an Oregon Chardonnay
2 teaspoons each, dried (or 1 tablespoon each fresh): basil, thyme, marjoram, and oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 pound steamer clams (optional, but very tasty)
2 cups shrimp meat
Salt and additional pepper to taste
Cut the snapper and halibut into 1/2- to 1-inch chunks; set aside in refrigerator until needed.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot and saute the onions and garlic over medium-high heat until the onions are tender. Stir in the salsa, tomatoes, wine, herbs, black pepper, and parsley and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened enough to have enough substance to coat a spoon. The stew base may be refrigerated at this point for several days (or even frozen for up to 4 or 5 months).
When ready to assemble the Cioppino. bring the tomato mixture to a boil, then add the fish chunks and simmer until just barely cooked through. Add the scallops and clams and cook just until the clams open (discard any clams that don’t open). Add the shrimp and remove the pot from the burner; the shrimp will heat through nicely and not become tough. Add salt and additional fresh ground black pepper to taste.
Makes about 8 generous servings of 2-1/4 cups each (or 10 to 12 potluck servings)
do 1-1/2 recipe for a group...for 4 servings.
NOTE ON DICED TOMATOES: I use 1 can of diced tomatoes with jalapeno, and 4 cans of regular diced tomatoes. That little bit of jalapeno adds just enough zip. However, if you think you’ll be serving some very sensitive palates, just use 5 cans of regular diced tomatoes.
Adapted from: The New American Diet, by Sonja L. Connor, and William E. Connor.
WINE PICK: Go with a great Oregon Pinot Noir.
Focaccia Bread Special with Onions and Olive oil
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced to measure about 2 cups of onions
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 (14-1/2 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, chopped
Salt and white pepper to taste
1-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 (8- or 9-inch) round of focaccia bread (these are marketed in a brown 'n serve form, and are distributed nationally in most supermarkets.)
Saute the onions and garlic in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil just until the onions are softened, about 2 minutes. Add the stewed tomatoes and simmer until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
Place the loaf of focaccia bread on a lightly greased 9-inch round cake pan. Brush the surface with the remaining oil (you don't have to use the entire 2 tablespoons), and broil briefly just to crisp the top.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread half of the onion mixture on top of the toasted loaf, making sure it gets down into all of the holes on the surface. Sprinkle on half of the Cheddar and Parmesan. Top with remaining onion mixture, then sprinkle with remaining Cheddar and Parmesan.
Bake the loaf in a 425 degree oven about 20 or 25 minutes, until top is beautifully browned and bubbly. Remove from the oven and let the loaf rest for about 5 minutes before removing from pan and cutting into serving-sized wedges. A delicious meal on its own with a big green salad. For more substance, it can be served alongside a plainly grilled chicken breast or chop. Yields 4 to 6 entree servings.
ADAPTATIONS ABOUND: To the onion mixture, add any number of chopped vegetables as they come into season, such as sweet bell peppers, Walla Walla Sweet onions, and celery. Other delicious toppings include pepperoni, cooked sausage, sliced olives, and mushrooms. Exercise your imagination!
Easy Cheese and Vegetable Strata
Assemble this the night before, then pop into the oven about 45 minutes before breakfast. If you have some Emmons ham (a Corvallis-area meat market), that would make a delicious addition)
Half a 1-1/2 pound loaf of unsliced bread, crust removed (any style of bread will do, it's your choice, but the lighter the bread, the fluffier the strata; Albertsons or Safeway brands of French bread work nicely, and you can't go wrong with Big River breads or Alpine breads, even though the strata will be a little heartier in texture)
1 pound grated Cheddar cheese
8 slices bacon, diced (or 3/4 pound bulk sausage; or a combination of the two)
1/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped red, green or yellow sweet bell pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
6 large eggs, beaten (or the equivalent of a low-cholesterol egg substitute mixture)
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Dice the bread and mix with cheese in large bowl; set aside. Saute the bacon or sausage until browned, crumbling the sausage thoroughly if used. Strain off all but 2 tablespoons of the grease. Add the mushrooms, celery, bell peppers, and onions and continue to saute until the vegetables are softened; remove from heat. Whisk together the eggs, milk and seasonings. Add the egg mixture and vegetable mixture to the bread cubes and mix well. Pour the mixture into a 9- by 13-inch greased baking dish. Refrigerate at least half an hour or up to 24 hours. Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden and puffy. Delicious served with fresh fruit on the side.
My Special Chocolate Truffle Sauce
This has been a favorite specialty of mine for many years, and I can always count on requests for it every December, so here it is again. NOBODY suspects just how easy and fast it comes together. So in no time flat, I have a decadently rich and chocolately Christmas gift which I jazz up by presenting in lovely jars, with a simple-yet-colorful homemade label. The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. And skip the homemade labels, if you want to
You can get the kids involved on many levels: there’s a lot of stirring to be done and kids are great little stirrers; they can help measure the chocolate and other ingredients; and of course, they can create the labels to stick on the jars.
1 pound semisweet chocolate, cut into very small (1/4-inch) chunks
1-1/3 cups heavy cream
5 tablespoons butter, softened and cut in chunks
Place the chocolate chunks into a large heat-proof bowl. Now place the bowl over a saucepan filled with hot (not boiling) water. Let the chocolate mixture begin to slowly melt while you proceed with the recipe.
In a small heavy saucepan, bring the cream to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and immediately pour it over the chunks of chocolate, stirring constantly until the chocolate has melted. Keep the bowl positioned over the hot water because this will help keep the temperature at the melting point. Once the chocolate is smooth and creamy, stir in the butter and continue stirring until the mixture is well blended and smooth. Pour the sauce into clean jars and let cool completely before screwing on the lids. Refrigerate the sauce. It will become firm, but just tell the lucky recipient to scoop out the sauce as needed and either warm in a pan on the stove, or at low power in the microwave. Of course, most folks end up just eating it directly from the jar. Makes about 2-1/2 cups sauce (recipe can easily be doubled or tripled).
