a new year's built for two

seeing as i'm so behind on these holiday posts, we'll just work our way back from most recent back to, well, thanksgiving. that puts us at new year's. welcome to go go zo. no rules.

so this comprises my meal with friend number 2 during our lovely new year's eve in. it's the best excuse to spend an outrageous amount on groceries and not have an ounce of guilt about it. not to mention the 6 bottles of bubbly we purchased in preparation...for the record, we did not drink them all. and even if we did, i'm not condoning binge drinking. HOWEVER, like i said, perfect excuse.

the menu!:

i think friend 2 dubbed this: scallop surprise. she's usually better with words...
aka scallops with blood orange and fennel salad

adapted from a different scallop project, this version uses blood oranges. there's nothing not to like and it's incredibly easy to make.

• olive oil
• 2-4 sea scallops (depending how hungry you are)
  
• 1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
• zest from 1 lemon
• 1 blood orange, zested, then segmented
• juice of 2 blood oranges
• 2 tablespoons champagne (in the spirit of the evening), you could also use white wine and/or chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon or 2 of chopped parsley
• salt and pepper
  

• slice the fennel and toss with a little bit of parsley and orange juice
• sear the scallops: first make sure they are dry by patting with a paper towel then season with salt and pepper. heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium high heat and when the oil is hot (don't jump ahead here!) add the scallops to the pan. brown on each side; this only takes a few minutes. remove from the pan and set aside
• add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, then the shallots. cook the shallots until soft
• deglaze the pan: add champagne, citrus juice and zest to the pan, and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom to release the scallop bits. allow this mixture to come to a boil and then reduce for a few minutes
• add the parsley to the pan, stir, and add the scallops for a minute to warm
• serve scallops on a bed of fennel and blood orange slices
• serves 2
  

sauteed shitake mushrooms

in the spirit of julia, DON'T CROWD THE MUSHROOMS! the key here is lots of butter, lots of salt and giving the shrooms room to do their thing.

• shitake mushrooms, sliced thinly
  
• butter
• salt
• champagne (or you could use sherry)

• heat a couple of tablespoons of butter in a large pan.
• add mushrooms (you might have to do in batches, with more butter for each batch). they should not overlap. important! once you place them into the pan, DO NOT TOUCH! let them hang out (brown) and then AND ONLY THEN, flip them and brown on other side.
• remove from heat, add a splash of your alcohol of choice and let the alcohol cook off.
• enjoy plain, or use as a garnish (soup, salad, you name it.)
  

lobster pasta

in the spirit of the night, we had to go lobster. you could also do this with crab, or even shrimp for a less expensive option. this pasta is delicious and cheesy.

• 1/2 lb linguine
• 1 lobster tail with shell (about 1/4 lb)
• a few shitake mushroom stems
  
• butter
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
  
• 2-3 cloves chopped garlic garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• cheese! we went with a goat gouda. let's say about a cup.
  
• parmesean cheese
• juice from 1 lemon
  

• sautee or boil lobster tail until almost cooked through.
• remove meat from shell and cut into bite-sized pieces.
  
• place lobster shell, shitake stems and some salt in small pot of water and simmer to reduce.
  
• in the meantime, cook pasta.
  
• heat some olive oil and butter in a large pan. add garlic and cook until softened. add cheese and stir. when stock reduces add some of it to the pan. add lobster meat and finish cooking. add parsley and lemon juice. stir again to combine.
  
• add pasta to sauce, add some parmesean cheese and stir.
  
• serves 2
  

chocolate pecan pie with bourbon

for some, the holiday season and pie are synonymous. i can't say that i'm a huge fan of either (holidays=winter, why have pie when you can have cake or ice cream?) but thanksgiving and pecan pie break these boundaries for me.

when a dear friend was in charge of the pecan pie for thanksgiving dinner, she openly accommodated the idea of a bourbon and chocolate tweak. i mean, seriously, BOURBON AND CHOCOLATE, what's not to like??!! seeing as we had maaaany other dishes to cook, we did not make our own pie crust. go ahead, get mad. but we did make the most important part (the bourbon and chocolate...catching on here?) we bought a gluten-free crust from whole foods. which really wasn't half bad.

don't be fooled, this pie would be good at any time of year.

chocolate pecan pie with bourbon

from food & wine

crust (if you feel you have the time for this)

• 1 1/4 cups flour-substance
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup ice water
  

filling (this is the good stuff)

• 2 cups (about 7 ounces) pecans
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons bourbon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

• make the crust: in a food processor, pulse the flour with the sugar and salt. add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. transfer to a bowl and stir in the ice water. knead the dough 2 or 3 times on a lightly floured surface and pat into a disk. wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 12-inch round. fit the dough into a 9-inch glass pie plate. trim the overhang to 1/2 inch, fold the edge under itself and crimp decoratively. refrigerate until firm.

• make the filling: preheat the oven to 375°. toast the pecans on a baking sheet for about 8 minutes, or until fragrant; coarsely chop.
  
• in a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, melted butter, bourbon and salt until blended. stir in the pecans and chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
• pour the filling into the pie shell. bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for about 55 minutes, or until the center of the pie is set.
  
• cool for at least 1 hour before serving. (or until you can't stand it any longer)

sweet potato biscuits

since she is a loyal follower, (if not my most loyal) visits to my mom result in her request for me to cook. which is exactly why i got so excited when i saw this recipe in bon appetit on the plane, on my way to visit. what's more, they even seemed like they would be the perfect accompaniment to solstice dinner. i admit that i was a little intimidated by the term biscuit. after all, i hear homemade biscuits and i think of someone's grandmother somewhere (preferably in a southern state) taking all day to roll out dough with lard. i decided to take a more rustic biscuit approach. i also skipped the ham component of this. but that goes without saying.


sweet potato biscuits (originally sweet potato biscuits with ham, mustard, and honey)
from bon appetit

• 1 3/4-pound red-skinned sweet potato (yam), peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (i used spelt)
• 1 tablespoon (packed) dark brown sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/3 cup chilled buttermilk *NOTE: begin my rustic approach...i didn't have buttermilk so i added some lemon juice to regular low fat milk and allowed to sit for a few minutes.

• cook sweet potato in medium saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. drain, cool, and mash.
• position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 425°F. butter bottom and sides of 9-inch cake pan with 1 1/2-inch-high sides.
• whisk flour and next 5 ingredients in large bowl. add cubed butter to flour mixture; toss to coat and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.
  
• whisk 3/4 cup mashed sweet potatoes and buttermilk in medium bowl. add to flour mixture; toss with fork.
  
• gather mixture in bowl, kneading until dough comes together. turn dough out onto floured work surface and pat into 1-inch-thick round. Using 1 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits, flouring cutter after each cut. gather scraps; pat into 1-inch-thick round. cut out additional biscuits (do not reuse scraps more than once). *NOTE: continue rustic approach...i didn't roll out or cut my biscuits, i just grabbed pieces of dough and gently shaped them and patted them down.
  
• arrange biscuits side by side in prepared cake pan. brush with melted butter. bake until puffed and golden on top and tester inserted into center biscuit comes out clean, about 22 minutes. cool 10 minutes in pan. turn biscuits out and gently pull them apart.
• makes about 24 biscuits
  

winter solstice celebration

to make a long story short, a number of years ago, my family gave up all winter holidays associated with any religion. granted, as jews by definition, the winter spirit of things has just never held as much meaning as for those who might celebrate a certain baby jesus...in any case, we had it. too much commercialization, commodification, all that jazz.

we decided it would be much more appropriate to actually celebrate the significance of the winter season with solstice. the goal was to not really have any rules. over the years, i've embraced it as my own and created a separate celebration with friends. this has come to mean a small gathering, well stocked with food and alcohol. i usually can't resist the urge to make latkes; this year was no exception. this year's signature drink (no rules; it changes year to year) was a sunshine spritzer. i switched from the usual yellow cake with yellow frosting to an upside-down pear cake. the result is always happy and full tummies. the perfect way to celebrate any holiday, if you ask me.

sunshine spritzer
1 shot whiskey
1/2 shot lemon juice
1/2 shot ginger simple syrup
pour over ice and finish with club soda.

ginger simple syrup: boil 1 part water and 1 part sugar until mixture slightly reduces. remove from heat, add large piece of peeled ginger and cover. allow to steep for at least 20 minutes.


my favorite latke recipe
from the ny times

if you've experienced a latke making session before, you know it's no small feat. unless you have a food processor. but for some reason, i find the need to grate everything by hand...it ends up being hours long in process for fried goodness that gets gobbled in a fraction of the time but is totally worth it.

a couple of notes about making the latkes in advance when you're pressed for time or don't want to be in the kitchen the entire time you have people over: i usually start several hours in advance, grate the potatoes and store them in cold water to avoid oxidation. before you make the latkes, rinse the potatoes with more cold water and drain, then squeeze out additional water. then as i start frying batches, i put them in the oven, layered with paper towels to keep them warm.

• 2 eggs
  
• 3 cups grated drained all-purpose potatoes
• ¼ cup grated onion
• 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 to 4 tablespoons matzo meal, or as needed (i use spelt flour)
  
• canola oil, for frying
• applesauce and sour cream for serving (optional).

• in a large mixing bowl, beat eggs lightly. add potatoes, onions, salt and pepper, and mix well. stir in 2 tablespoons matzo meal/flour and let sit about 30 seconds to absorb moisture. if necessary, add more to make a thick, wet batter that is neither watery nor dry.
• place a large skillet over medium heat, and add 2 tablespoons of oil. when oil is hot drop in heaping 1/8 cups (about 2 tablespoons) of batter, flattening them gently to make thick pancakes. when bottoms have browned, after 2-3 minutes, flip and brown on the other side. add oil as needed. drain on paper towels and sprinkle with additional salt to taste.
  
• serve hot with applesauce and sour cream, if desired.
• yield: 4 servings (about 24 small pancakes)

maple pear upside-down cake
from mark bittman

this cake is superbly delicious. the outside gets all browned and crispy while the inside is rich without being too sweet. almost coffee-cake-esque. and it looks so impressive!

• 11 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 to 4 pears, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk

• heat oven to 350 degrees. melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small pan over medium heat. add maple syrup and brown sugar and cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. bring to a boil and cook for another 2 minutes, remove from heat and set aside. when mixture has cooled a bit, pour into a 9-inch baking pan and arrange pear slices in an overlapping circle on top.
• with a handheld or standing mixer, beat remaining 8 tablespoons of butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. add vanilla and eggs, continuing to mix until smooth. add dry ingredients (i never do this separately but suppose you might want to consider it): flour, baking powder, and salt.
• add flour mixture to butter mixture in three batches, alternating with milk; do not over mix. (NOTE: although i did not over mix, i also did not alternate butter/flour/milk mixtures. too finicky. however, do not let the batter know you are afraid.)
• carefully spread batter over pears, using a spatula to make sure it is evenly distributed. bake until top of cake is golden brown and edges begin to pull away from sides of pan, about 45-50 minutes; a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. let cake cool for 5 minutes.
• run a knife around edge of pan, put a plate on top of the cake and carefully flip it so that the plate is on bottom and the pan is on top. serve warm or at room temperature.
• yield: 8-10 servings
  

Sound scary? Watch the video to ease the nerves.