Posted by moon_lemming on 2004-12-27 09:22:42
Post Subject: holiday cooking success stories?
I ended up making an elaborate dinner Christmas Eve for the three of us. Cream of Portobello Mushroom Soup, Nutty Brussels Sprouts, Mashed Potatoes & Parsnips with Garlic, Breaded Cod with Tomatoes, and for dessert, Chocolate (Croissant) Bread Pudding. (Most of those recipes came from foodtv.com; the bread pudding one came from Gale Gand's Short and Sweet.) The only things that came out perfectly were the soup (with a puff pastry top, so damn good) and the brussels sprouts. The croissants in the bread pudding weren't stale enough, the mashed potatoes/parsnips were okay, but I missed a few chunks of parsnip (made for a weird texture), and we've discovered we don't like cod (the sauce was good, though).
I cooked for a good five hours at least. It wasn't worth it food-wise, but it was worth it experience-wise, since I've never done any cooking that involved that much planning and work.
Non-dinner speaking, my holiday baking went really well. I pared it down to the basics since I didn't have much time and only made enough for us to eat that week and for gifts. The sugared pecans were excellent and everyone loved the peppermint bark.
Posted by artgeek on 2006-10-05 18:37:59
Post Subject:
I'm among those who repurpose leftovers, but hopefully not in the gag-stella way. ;)
For example, tonight my husband repurposed the leftover chicken from one meal and the leftover burrito fillings from another to make us both a plate of nachos. Leftovers from two different meals make up a brand new third meal.
Talking about scraps as opposed to leftovers, I always have two large ziploc bags in the freezer: one of the cut ends and peelings from carrots, onions, celery, etc for stock and one of bread bits and bobs (eg, the last piece in the loaf, a lonely hot dog bun) for stuffing.
A lot of my meals come about from a desire to use up leftover food; in my house, that's where bread pudding comes from.And where rice pudding comes from too! Store-bought rice pudding and bread pudding always cracks me up for that reason.
Also, I'd never tried putting cheese rind in my soup stock. What kind of soup stock does this work best with or does it not matter?
Posted by anthrogirl on 2006-10-05 15:22:45
Post Subject:
The parmesan rinds are fantastic in soup. I've done it. A lot of my meals come about from a desire to use up leftover food; in my house, that's where bread pudding comes from.
Posted by Tomico Revilak on 2005-05-03 14:42:34
Post Subject:
Banana / chocolate crepes are the best. I should try the wafles that way. On the same lines you could make a banana chocolate bread pudding. Maybe you could try a banana cheese cake.
Posted by sun bear on 2004-04-26 11:36:39
Post Subject:
creme brulee with fresh berries
chocolate bread pudding made with croissants
chocolate puff pastry shell with strawberry ice cream and a chocolate glaze
Ghirardelli's brownie sundae with mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Posted by becca_13 on 2004-06-24 11:06:40
Post Subject:
i have using a lot of jesser's recipes (http://www.jesser.org/cookbook/index.php)
the last few nights i made the savory chicken packets (i add garlic, cheddar cheese, and use chipotle mayo), as well as the ham and swiss bread pudding (YUM!). check out our fellow glitterati's site for some crowd pleasers!
Posted by picapica on 2004-11-11 16:37:39
Post Subject:
I've hosted Thanksgiving a few times and I've done everything from the tradtional meal to veggie centered ethnic meals. Part of the deal with my immediate family is that they hate turkey + my dear husband is a vegetarian. This is the first year I've invited everyone (I mean everyone) over for a big open house. Usually we have around 10 but this year it will be closer to 30. We're doing an open house with the following:
Turkey and Ham (for sandwiches)
whole grain rolls from a local bakery
cranberry sauce (this is a big deal with our family)
a relish tray with calamata olives, pickled beets and okra, marinated cucumbers
spanikopita
sweet potato salad
cheese platter
wassail/beer/wine
Since I'm doing the main food everyone else is bringing dessert. Although if I have time I might do this toffee bread pudding that I just got a recipe for. I'm looking forward to having all of my cousins, aunts and uncles and even the inlaws in. We haven't gathered this many together for Thanksgiving for some time. But I have to say I'm a little nervous. I've had this many over before, but it's usually for some big bash, not something is more formal/family oriented. Thanksgiving can be difficult because everyone has their own traditions and nostogic attachments/expectations for food. Or at least my food-centric family can be this way. Wish me luck!
Posted by Tomico Revilak on 2005-05-03 12:05:39
Post Subject:
About that amerreto - chocolate sauce, I think you could make a great bread pudding with it, add it to cheese cake, pour onto crepes with strawberries or bananas and whipped cream , make a milkshake, add to coffee or maybe it could be added to plain milk.
As far as the black been paste goes, is that the same as or similar to miso? Add a table spoon to a cup of water, add some tofu and green onions and you could have a good soup once it cooked for a short while.
