Festivus Cocktails

Care for a drink?

So, we decided to be a little swank and host a few friends for cocktails this past weekend. Although our bar was the main focus of the evening, I did get the opportunity to try a few new things in the kitchen. Somethings turned out fantastic, others were so-so. I made a pretty kickass punch and Costco meatballs were a hit as usual. Unfortunately, my first attempt at gougeres left a little to be desired and Splenda-fied cupcakes were sucktacular.

Do you love my garland? And the reflection of my tree? I think there's food in the photo somewhere.

The menu:

• Roasted corn and bacon gougeres. These were good but not quite as airy and puffy as I expected. They tasted like fluffy quiche filling.
• Caramelized onion and blue cheese squares (recipe below). Looked horrendous, but were great if you like blue cheese.
  
• Crab dip (recipe below). Not surprising for an MD party, the bowl was practically licked clean.
  
• Pita chips with hummus and red pepper spread
• Barbecue meatballs
  
• Crudite with a lemony herb dip
• Cheese plate (smoked gouda, brie and an interesting cheddar-like stuff with sun dried tomatoes, crackers, apple, figs, salami and prosciutto)
• Linzer cookies . Total pain in the ass recipe. I do not recommend making these if you are a normal human being with a normal level of patience, but they were pretty.
  
• Creme de menthe brownies (recipe below)
• Strawberry cupcakes with Splenda. Yuck. I won't even bother you with a recipe.

Same food, only a closer, grainier picture. Yeah, I'm still playing with my camera . . .

Caramelized Onion and Blue Cheese Squares

(Top and bottom tiers)

adapted from epicurious.com

Ingredients:

• 1 ball of pre-made pizza dough, left out at room temp for an hour or so
  
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 large onions (about 2 pounds), halved, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) crumbled blue cheese (I used Roquefort)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out dough on floured surface to shape of baking sheet. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray, smooth dough out on to it. Bake until not quite brown, about 10 minutes.
  
• While dough is in oven, begin to caramelize onions*. Melt butter and oil in skillet over high heat. Add onions, cooking until soft and beginning to brown. Add rosemary, sugar and salt. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking onions until completely browned, about 20 more minutes.
  
• Top dough with onions and sprinkle blue cheese over top. Bake in oven until cheese is good and melty, about 10 minutes

*To save time, you can caramelize the onions the night before, then just top dough and toss in oven before guests arrive.

Decadent Crab Dip
You would think that as a Maryland native, I would already have a crab dip recipe ingrained in my skull. However, I've actually been a little intimidated to make anything crabby. Here in MD, you are judged on your crab dip and crab cake skillz and that is a lot of pressure. Finally, I got up the courage to ask my fabulous Uncle Bill for his popular recipe. Turns out that it's so easy there's barely a "recipe" per se.

Note: I was a little scared of the canned crab but it was actually pretty good. Feel free to try with fresh crab if you'd rather.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 packages cream cheese
• 1 pound lump crab meat (I used Phillips in the black can)
  
• 1-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Old Bay seasoning
• 2 handfuls of shredded cheddar

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350*.
  
• Melt butter in skilled over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook until translucent.
• Add cream cheese and stir until softened. Fold in crab.
  
• Add Worchestershire and Old Bay to taste. I probably used about a teaspoon of each.
  
• Toss in one handful of cheddar and combine.
  
• Transfer mixture to small baking dish. Top with remaining cheddar and sprinkle with Old Bay. Bake until bubbly. Serve with sliced baguette. Inhale.
  

*Ingredients can be heated and combined ahead of time, then baked right before guests arrive.


Creme de menthe brownies

Ingredients:

First layer:

• Brownie mix, prepared and baked according to directions.

Second layer:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons creme de menthe

Third layer:

• 6 oz (half a smallish bag) chocolate chips
  
• 6 tablespoons butter

First Layer: Bake brownies according to directions. Cool completely

Second Layer: Combine 1/2 c. butter, powdered sugar and creme de menthe. Beat well. Pour over the cake layer and chill until firm.

Third Layer: Melt together the chocolate chips and remaining butter. Pour over cooled second layer. Chill until the chocolate sets.

Cut into 1" squares (they're pretty rich).

Sugar and Spice

For the holidays, these pecans are everything nice. They're a great snack and make easy edible gifts.

Spiced Pecans
Adapted from The Washington Post, December 2002

Ingredients:

• 1/3 c. granulated sugar
• 1/4 c. packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 large egg white
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 pound (about 4 1/2 cups) pecan halves

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray.
  
• Combine sugars and spices in small bowl
• In a large bowl, beat egg white and salt with a fork until frothy. Toss in pecans until evenly coated.
• Add sugar mixture, toss pecans again until well coated.
  
• Spread evenly on baking sheet. Bake in oven 30-40 minutes, until crisp and dry, stirring occasionally. Cool and store.
  

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Moist, pumpkin-y, perfect. Sorry, no picture. I ate the last remaining cupcake without even thinking about snapping a pic.

From Domino Magazine. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp., plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 cup sugar
• 1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• ¾ cup orange juice

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line the muffin pans with liners or spray them with baking spray.
• Sift together the flour, spice, baking soda and salt.
• In mixer, combine the sugar, pumpkin and eggs, and mix until smooth. Add in the oil and the orange juice until the batter is smooth.
• Add the flour-spice mix to the pumpkin mixture and fold together until well incorporated, but do not overmix.
• Bake 20–25 minutes.
• Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
From the Cake Mix Doctor. Makes enough for 24 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

• 1 stick (1/4 c.) butter, room temperature
  
• 1 8 oz package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla
  
• 3.5 c. confectioners sugar

Directions:

• Whip together butter and cream cheese until very soft and fully mixed. Add vanilla.
  
• Slowly add confectioners sugar. Mix until smooth.
• Use pastry bag to pipe icing on cupcakes or spread with spatula.
  

Celebrating Marriage with Heavy Cream

Happy 2nd Anniversary to me and Chris! What did I give him this year? An extra 5 pounds by forcing him to inhale this menu:

• Cowgirl Creamery's Mt. Tam and water crackers (washed down with a bottle of Domaine Chandon's Riche) Mt. Tam is pretty much my favorite cheese. It's a lovely triple-cream that is a lot like brie but with a smoother flavor.

• Salad of baby greens, blue cheese, pears and pancetta crumbles with a port dressing. To make the dressing, I simmered a cup of port (the cheap cooking kind, not real port) with a diced shallot until it was reduced by half. Then I strained it, added a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh thyme. It was surprisingly sweet and mellow and went well with the blue cheese, which had a lot of kick.

• Duck au poivre (recipe below), potatoes gratin and roasted asparagus

• An unbelievable Samoa cheesecake (Culinary Concoctions by Peabody) Mine was not nearly as pretty as Peabody's, but it sure was good!

Duck Au Poivre
I had a hard time finding a recipe for exactly what I was looking for, so I combined the cooking instructions from this recipe (The Gilded Fork) with the sauce from this one (Epicurious). Just thinking of this sauce makes me drool. I will definitely be making it with steak sometime soon.

Ingredients:
4 duck breast halves
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns (I used Penzy's French style peppercorns)
1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/2 cup Cognac or other brandy
3/4 cup heavy cream

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Score the skin side of the duck almost through to the meat in a crisscross pattern. Mix the peppercorns and salt and rub on both sides of duck breast.

Heat heavy-bottom skillet over low heat. When skillet is hot, place breast skin side down. Brown the duck without turning. Discard any fat throughout the process. About 7 minutes.

Turn the duck over. Place skillet into preheated oven for 5 minutes, or until center is rare. Remove from oven. Let rest on a board for 5-7 minutes. For service, slice duck, skin side up on a 45-degree angle, into thin slices.

Pour off fat from skillet, then add shallots and half of butter (2 tablespoons) to skillet and cook over moderately low heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until shallots are well-browned all over, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add Cognac (use caution; it may ignite) and boil, stirring, until liquid is reduced to a glaze, 2 to 3 minutes. Add cream and any meat juices accumulated on platter and boil sauce, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, 3 to 5 minutes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter and cook over low heat, swirling skillet, until butter is incorporated(not the most appetizing picture of the duck, I know. You will just have to take my word for how awesome it was)