Peeps

Peeps.  One of the most gawd-awful products ever created.

I seriously don't understand the appeal.  To eat, anyway...  they are fun to play with.

This year, we have a PeepTree Centerpiece.  They're glued onto styrofoam with meringue.  I even used meringue powder.  I didn't want to waste perfectly edible eggs on this.

Since they're practically indestructible, we should have this around for years...

Happy Easter.

by Tim Dineen

A Cross-Cultural St Paddy's Day

Ah...  St Paddy's Day...  A truly Irish-American holiday.  And my grandfather's birthday!  He was born March 17, 1896.  Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

The Irish never celebrated St Paddy's Day as we do here - and they most certainly didn't eat Corned Beef and Cabbage!  They still don't.  You'll now find it in tourist restaurants, but it has never been an Irish staple.  Corned beef has been produced in Ireland for hundreds of years - but it wasn't for the Irish.  it was all owned and exported by the British.  The cattle industry actually played a huge role in the potato famine.  The best land was owned by the English and used for grazing.  The people were forced onto marginal lands where not much would or could grow.  The potato became the sole crop and food - and when it failed...  well... we know the history...

Big parades and celebrations for St Patrick are a relatively new thing in Ireland, as well.  So many people would come to Ireland expecting a huge celebration that they finally gave in and started having one.

And that brings us back to Corned Beef and Cabbage.

The closest Irish dish would be bacon and cabbage - not the same bacon we have with our eggs in the morning - but in America, corned beef was a lot less expensive.  It was more than likely introduced by Jewish butchers, since the Irish and the Jews shared a lot of ghettos in those early years.  We have a long history of not being very nice to immigrants.

But fast-forward many years and the concept of Corned Beef and Cabbage on St Patrick's Day is firmly entrenched in our culture.  It's everywhere.

Except our house.

Victor really doesn't like cooked cabbage.  I've made it and he's eaten it, but it really was more back in those early days of the relationship when people will just do anything for the other.  Closing in on 18 years later, we're a little more open and direct.

So what does one do on St Patrick's Day?!?  Make Reuben's and Corned Beef Specials!

Victor won't touch a  Reuben, either.  Sauerkraut?!?  He'd rather put pins in his eyes.  And a Corned Beef Special is lost on me.  Cole slaw on a corned beef sandwich sandwich?!?  Meh.

So we ended up with vastly different sandwiches that were both comprised of the same four main ingredients: rye bread, Russian dressing, cabbage, and corned beef.  To his I added the aforementioned cole slaw.  Raw cabbage is not an issue.  For mine, I added swiss cheese and sauerkraut - and then grilled it to a crusty-crunchy golden-brown.

The Corned Beef Special has its roots in Philadelphia.  It's an east coast  thing.  The reuben, on the other hand, probably traces its roots to the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha.  A defunct deli in New York also claimed ownership, but my father was from Omaha.  I'm going with the family connection.

Dinner was fun.  Both of us were in gastronomic heaven with our favorites.

A great - if slightly non-traditional - St Paddy's Day, indeed!

 

 

by Tim Dineen

新年好 - Gung Hay Fat Choy - Happy New Year

 

It is the Year of the Dragon.  An auspicious year, indeed, for those of us born in the year of the Dragon.  The Dragon is the only mythical animal in the Chinese zodiac.  People born in the Year of the Dragon are healthy, energetic, excitable, short-tempered, and stubborn. They are also honest, sensitive, brave, and they inspire confidence and trust in others. They are the most eccentric of any in the eastern zodiac. They never borrow money, are very straight forwarded and tend to be soft hearted which sometimes gives others an advantage over them.

Stubborn?!?  Eccentric?!?  MOI?!?

39 years ago I was in Hong Kong celebrating the Year of the Ox.  It was February, 1973.  You want to experience Chinese New Year?!?  Go to China!  I've seen many a Chinese New Year in San Francisco, but they pale in comparison.  It was one of the most fun 2 weeks I have ever had.  I think.  We stayed at The Excelsior Hotel, I had a set of gabardine Navy Blues handmade for me, perfectly fitting my 155 pound 19-year old body, we traveled by train and local bus to the Red China border just to say we were there.  I bought a dozen of Mao's Little Red Books and the best harmonica I have ever played.  And ate and drank and took copious amounts of illicit substances.

What a fabulous time.

Right now, this very minute, my brother and niece are in Viet Nam, celebrating Tết Nguyên Đán - the Vietnamese Lunar New Year.  Katie is studying in Viet Nam for a while and Mike went over with her for a couple of weeks to travel the country.  I hate them both.

But 39 years after that Hong Kong New Year, here I sit after cooking up a pretty good Chinese dinner to mark the occasion.  I've said many time before that Chinese cooking has never been a strong point for me.  I grew up with Chinese restaurants on every other corner.  Even bad restaurants were good.  Why cook when I could pick up the phone and have fabulous and ridiculously inexpensive Chinese Food Delivered?

But fabulous (and ridiculously inexpensive) Chinese restaurants are in short supply in our present neighborhood.

Victor had mentioned earlier that he wouldn't mind having fish for dinner so I thought a simple steamed fish would be good.  We had Shu Mai in the freezer.  All I needed was a noodle dish.

I found a recipe for a fried noodle pancake.  I didn't have all of the ingredients listed, but I liked the concept.  I decided to see if I could wing it.

The one thing I did have were actual Chinese noodles.  Far too many times I've tried to use spaghetti in place of Asian noodles.  They don't work.  These worked!

It did not easily slip out of the pan so I could easily flip it over.  Oh well.  It tasted good.

Crispy Noodle Pancake

  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp cold water
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tablespoon oriental sesame oil
  • 1 16 oz can bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
  • 8 ounces Asian noodles
  • 4 tbsp neutral oil, divided
  • 2 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 leek, sliced
  • 1 carrot, cut into matchstick-sized strips
  • 1 stalk celery, sliced thin
  • 8 oz ground pork
  • 4 oz bottled Szechuan sauce

Mix cornstarch,m water, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil.  Set aside.

Cook noodles according to package instructions.  Drain, rinse in cold water, and set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in large skillet.  Add pork and cook until no longer pink.  Add leeks, carrots, garlic, ginger, and celery and cook a few minutes.  Add noodles and bean sprouts and heat through.  Add soy sauce mixture and Sezchuan sauce and heat through.

Cool.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a heavy skillet.  Add noodle mixture and cook, pressing down on noodles to compress, until bottom is browned - about 5 minutes.  Flip out of pan, browned side up, add 2 tbsp oil to pan, and slide back into pan,  Continue cooking another 5 minutes.

Slide onto platter, cut, and serve.

For the fish, I marinated cod fillets in rice wine for about 5 minutes and then layered it in a steamer basket.  Meanwhile, I sauteed carrot matchsticks, julienne ginger, leeks, and black sesame seeds.  When it was all barely-wilted, I added Sambal Oelek - chili paste.  I steamed the fish and the thawed Shu Mai for about 6 minutes.

It may not have quite equaled one of those legendary meals in Hong Kong (and there were some legendary meals in Hong Kong!) but it served its purpose well - and there's enough for a good lunch tomorrow!

by Tim Dineen

Christmas Stollen

I love walking into the house and finding Victor in the kitchen.  It always means we're in for a gastronomic treat.  I tend to get most of the credit for cooking, but Victor is a fantastic cook.  It's not unlike when Ruth and I worked together.  Being the showman, I tended to get a lot of the credit for things, but it was Ruth who consistently came up with the brilliant ideas.

And it happens at home, too.  Victor and I are very different cooks, but we're fortunate that we like to do different things.  We have different "patience levels"  and generally complement one another's styles.

Walking into the kitchen, I was greeted with a very slowly-rising Christmas Stollen!  I love stollen but hadn't made my favorite Stollen recipe from our friend Luigi this year.  That recipe makes about 8 loaves.  Victor found another recipe online and decided to give a single loaf a try.

I had a container of fruitcake fruit - I hadn't made my fruitcakes or Christmas Pudding, either - so he used that along with some raisins.

It came out fantastic!

The recipe calls for a marzipan center.  We did have almond paste in the cabinet - for the amaretti I didn't make - but he decided to go without.

It was perfect, nonetheless.

The original recipe comes from the Dorchester Hotel in London...   Victor's heading off to London in a couple of weeks and will be staying in Mayfair not far from the Dorchester...  (I'm not jealous.  Really. I'm. Not. Jealous.)  But I digress...  Perhaps he can pop in and see if they have any available at High Tea...  Or something.

(DEEP breath... Not  jealous. Not jealous. Not jealous...)

Christmas Stollen

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 2/3 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon salt
  • 1/3 cup butter, softened
  • 2 1/2 cups bread flour
  • 1/3 cup currants
  • 1/3 cup sultana raisins
  • 1/3 cup red candied cherries, quartered
  • 2/3 cup diced candied citron
  • 6 ounces marzipan
  • 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the egg, white sugar, salt, butter, and 2 cups bread flour; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has begun to pull together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead in the currants, raisins, dried cherries, and citrus peel. Continue kneading until smooth, about 8 minutes.

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the marzipan into a rope and place it in the center of the dough. Fold the dough over to cover it; pinch the seams together to seal. Place the loaf, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), and bake for a further 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow loaf to cool on a wire rack. Dust the cooled loaf with confectioners' sugar, and sprinkle with the cinnamon.

It's a very dense dough and doesn't rise the same way as a traditional yeast bread does, so don't panic if it's not looking exactly how you think it should.

It should still come out just fine.

We had two power outages while this was in the oven and it still came out perfect!

 

 

 

by Tim Dineen

Aunt Dolores' Rum Balls

One of my favorite Christmas memories are Aunt Dolores' Rum Balls.  Auntie made them every year and every year we would be allowed "one" and then we would sneak a whole bunch more.  Well - maybe one or two more.  The Rum Balls were really good - but so was all of the other stuff.  Lots of candies and cookies we only saw at Christmas.  It was fun going over to their high-rise apartment.  Running up and down the stairs, dropping noisy bottles down the trash chute, pushing every button in the elevators.

We were darling children.  Really, we were.

But back to the Rum Balls...

The recipe is extremely easy to make and it doesn't take much time to dip them, either.  And they are so worth the time!

Aunt Dolores made hers with Vanilla Wafers and always rolled them in powdered sugar.  They were little snowballs with a kick.  My mom gave me her recipe and one year I decided to chocolate dip them. They were fabulous!  Rum Ball Truffles!  I've been chocolate dipping them ever since.

For the past few years, I've also been making them with chocolate cookies instead of the traditional vanilla wafer.  I've also made them with ginger snaps and graham crackers.  I've also used Bacardi rum (Auntie always used Bacardi) and I've made them with Meyers Rum (really good) and with Jack Daniels (also really good!)  This year, I used Bacardi because we already had it in the house.

Aunt Dolores' Rum Balls

  • 1 cup ground vanilla wafers
  • 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
  • 1 cup chopped nuts – pecans or walnuts
  • 2 tbsp cocoa
  • 1 1/2 tbsp white corn syrup
  • 1/4 cup rum or bourbon

Mix all ingredients. Mix syrup with bourbon.  Mix with fork. Roll into ball – then roll in powdered sugar. Store in tight container. Put wax paper in between layers.

by Tim Dineen

Chocolate Peppermint Biscotti

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti

 

We've been baking Christmas cookies forever.

At one point we were literally making thousands of them and buying flour and sugar in multiple 25-pound bags.

We probably still make more than the average family, but we have cut waaaaaaay back.  Time, money, and old age are all catching up.

But what we lose in quantity, we definitely gain in quality.  The cookies are better than ever.

We have the family favorites that we definitely have to make every year and we've had a niece and nephew come down and assist for the past few years.  But while we always make the traditional cookies, we usually make a couple of different cookies each year, just because.  Last year we went on a bit of a German binge and made Springerle cookies and Pfeffernüsse cookies - both excellent.  This year, we're back in Italy with Chocolate Biscotti.

Victor reworked his Uncle Rudy's biscotti recipe for these.  Actually, we have reworked that recipe a dozen times for a dozen different variations.  The original is for a traditional anise cookie - that is still the family favorite - but the macadamia nut orange, the almond, and now chocolate are always big hits.

This variation is outstanding!  And easy to make.

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti

  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cube butter (4 oz)
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Sift together dry ingredients.  Cream sugar and butter, add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla.  Stir in flour and cocoa.  Stir in nuts and chocolate.

Divide dough in half.  Shape into logs.  Place on greased cookie sheets and bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes.

Cool completely.  Slice into 1/4 to 1/2″ slices and toast on both sides in 350° oven.

These really did come out awesome!  And they're simple to do.

There are more cookies on the horizon and a special Danish pastry I want to make for Christmas morning.  I'm going to be experimenting with it this weekend...

50 years ago - and yes, that is a long time ago - I worked in a neighborhood donut shop/bakery/coffee shop and we made a Danish pastry called a Butterhorn.  I have not seen this particular Danish for years and even doing a Google search hasn't resulted in the Danish I remember.  I have a Danish Pastry recipe from Fantasia Bakery in San Francisco that I have made before and a butter streusel recipe so Saturday after work I shall be making pastry.  It's an hours-long process of rolling, folding, and chilling.

But they're gonna be good!  I just know it!

 

 

by Tim Dineen

Turkey Soup

Once upon a time Thanksgiving meant 4 days off.  And I usually took Wednesday off to cook, so it was a 5-day holiday. Friday after Thanksgiving was our Christmas Decorating Day.   None of this shopping at 3 ayem junk.  A good nights sleep, and then we decorated until we dropped.

Then we moved east and I changed professions.  That luxurious 5 days off is a thing of the past.

But while the days off may have changed, the decorating hasn't.  We still get up early and start hauling out the bins.  That's "bins" as in plural.  Many.  A lot.

Merging Christmas Decorations was fun.  17 years of buying even more has been even more fun.

And making Turkey Soup on Decoration Day is the final part of the tradition.

I do not understand people who throw away the turkey carcass!  Turkey soup is the whole reason for roasting a turkey in the first place!  It is the best part of the feast.

Thanksgiving evening, I break out the stock pot and into it goes the carcass, a couple of onions - skin and all - plus celery, garlic cloves, and carrots - also unpeeled.  The skins and peels add flavor and color to the stock.  I usually add a bit of gravy to the pot, as well.  I make a lot of gravy.

I let it simmer overnight - it's a big pot and not about to boil dry - and the following afternoon I strain it all and have the base for several batches of soup.  I portion it up and freeze some and the rest is for the leftover soup.

Leftover Soup.  I call it that but could just as easily call it clean out the refrigerator soup.  Same concept.  Everything goes into the pot.

Today's batch included the leftover risotto from the appetizers, stuffing, spinach, and turkey, plus leeks, carrots, celery, white beans, red-skinned potatoes, mushrooms, peas, green beans, and a bit of salt and pepper.

Clean out the 'fridge, indeed.

We're slowing down a bit with the decorating.  The number of bins has continued to grow and it's taking us two days now to get everything done, but the soup just continues to get better with age.  Of course, it doesn't take any effort.

And speaking of decorating...

About 5 years ago we finally went out and got an artificial tree.  I know...  I know...  We thought the same thing.  No Way!  Travesty!  What we finally figured out, though, is the tree really is all about the ornaments.  Virtually every ornament on our tree comes with a story...  We have handmade ornaments, ornaments bought on our travels, family ornaments, beautiful gifts from friends, and the first two ornaments we exchanged on our first Christmas - that always go on the tree first.

Some of the ornaments really are priceless to us and we just wanted to take as good care as we could with them.  It works for us.

And I don't miss cleaning up the needles...

 

 

 

by Tim Dineen

Pumpkin Meatballs

  • About 30 mini-meatballs
  • 1 jar Pumpkin Butter
  • 1/2 bottle good-quality Steak Sauce**

Heat meatballs in oven. Heat Pumpkin Butter and Steak Sauce in saucepan. When everything is hot, mix and serve!

You can also use a crock pot, or heat everything together in a saucepan, skillet, or chafing dish. The goal is to make it hot. However you wish to do it is fine.

** If you don’t have steak sauce, use about a third of a bottle of good-quality BBQ sauce!

by Tim Dineen

Thanksgiving and Anniversaries

I suppose it was inevitable that the two of us would meet around the biggest food-related holiday of the year.  While it was baseball that got us first talking, my KitchenAid Mixer and Victor's Calphalon pretty much cemented the deal.  It's not like either of us are really mercenary or anything, but, hell... merging our kitchens was not a bad thing...

And we've been having fun and eating well, ever since.

Today is 17 years since we first met.  17 years of holidays, food, family gatherings, and fun in the kitchen.  We added to the Calphalon collection over the years - we now have all we'll ever need and will never have to buy another pot or pan - and the KitchenAid is still going strong.  Buy quality.  Buy once.  You save in the long run.

We're hosting Thanksgiving Dinner tomorrow for a mere 13.  The smallest gathering we've done, I think.  Naturally, we're going to have enough food for twice that amount.  We can't help it.  We seriously tried to limit hors d'oeuvres, desserts... It didn't work.   Every time we turned around, we were adding something to the list.

But it's okay.  We'll deal with it.

I started making the pie crusts a few days ago.  I just wrapped them up and stuck them in the 'fridge.

I know there are reasonably good frozen crusts out there, but I just can't do it.  These are just too easy to make.  And homemade is better.  Always.

One thing I had to get used to when we merged kitches was the rolling pin.  Victor really liked the long fat-broom-handle-type, while I had always used the more traditional pin with handles.  He was right.  That rolling pin is so easy to use, and I have perfect control over anything I roll.  I can also control the weight and pressure when rolling something out.

Love it!

And when you make your own crusts, they really fit in the pie plate!

Of course, sometimes you may want to make something a bit different - and not use a pie plate...

A Pear Crostatta fit the bill.  With the desserts all done, and hors d'oeuvres all organized, tomorrow will just be cooking the turkey and the rest of the main meal.

Easy money.

Our menu for tomorrow is:

Butternut Squash Risotto Arancini
Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce
Hot-Smoked Peppered Salmon
Baked Brie en Croute
Tomato Jam Bruschetta

Spinach Salad with Pumpkin Dressing
Roast Turkey with Giblet Gravy
Nona's Stuffing
Sourdough Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Marie's Sweet Potatoes
Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potatoes
Honey-Glazed Carrots with Dill
Corn Pudding
Cranberry Orange Sauce
Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce
Homemade Pumpkin Rolls

Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Cranberry Apple Walnut Pie
New York Cheesecake
Pear Crostatta

This was Victor after I had finished the pies.  That mess was mild.  I've done much better.  Or worse, depending upon your point of view.

And, of course, we have our family traditions covered...  The jellied Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce has to be on the table for Victor's father.  Served in the cut glass dish that my mother always served it in.  We never-ever had homemade cranberry sauce growing up.  But we also never-ever had frozen pies.  Mom made the pies - from scratch.  I'm just following tradition...

So the table is set, glasses sparkling, lots and lots of food in the house, and more cooking in the morning.

This has been the best anniversary, yet!

by Tim Dineen

New Year Breakfast

You just know it's going to be a great year when the first meal of the year fills the kitchen with billowing clouds of smoke.  I think my first task of the new year should probably be clean the oven.

New Year Breakfast - and billowing clouds of smoke - are traditions at our house.  Not necessarily at the same time, but traditions, nonetheless.  Breakfast is one of my most favorite meals  and billowing clouds of smoke just seem to be a natural with me.

The billowing smoke is almost always a result of a dirty oven.  [That's my story and I'm sticking to it!]  It only takes a small spill, and a well-used oven is often rife with small spills. At least, ours is.  Well... are.  Both of them.

At least the Fire Department wasn't involved, this time.

Breakfast this morning was very basic.  Bacon, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, toast, cinnamon rolls, sparkling cranberry, and the last of our Christmas coffee.  The perfect way to usher in 2011.  It would have been better if the camera battery had been charged, but 30 seconds on the charger gave me enough juice to shoot a couple of pics and breakfast was still served hot.

2011.

It doesn't seem possible.  Then again, 2000 didn't seem possible.  Turning 50 didn't seem possible.  And they happened a long time ago.

The years do pass quicker as we age.  The theory is that the brain processes new and novel things differently so - as youngsters doing something for the first time - it seems like it took forever.  Older and wiser, the brain processes the same thing quicker - like putting it in cache.  It doesn't need to reprocess the whole thing - been there, done that.  Time flies.

And 2010 did fly by.

  • Last year started with bacon-wrapping cheese-stuffed dates.  They were so good.
  • We revisited Debbie's Chicken in February.  I hadn't made it in forever.  It's a really simple and really flavorful dish.
  • And in March I made my first loaf of no-knead bread.  I've been making it ever since.
  • April Peeps at Easter.  Peeps.  Gag.  But they made a fun presentation.  It's going to be fun figuring out what to do with them this year.
  • Green Rice from Atlantic Spice arrived in May.  Bamboo gives it the green color - and tea-like flavor.
  • June saw the arrival of Gates Kansas City BBQ Sauce from our friend, Luigi.  It is currently my favorite bottled sauce.
  • And then we got a deep-fat fryer!  The July Birthday Boy had made an off-hand comment about cooking equipment.  It's not for every-day use - and fried Snickers bars are vastly overrated - but it's fun!
  • And Pasta Monday Began!  Bless that August issue of La Cucina Italiana magazine!  This has been one of the best culinary adventures, ever!
  • September saw us stuffing tomatoes from the garden.  We had a great crop this year.
  • And then in October we got married.  The honeymoon included seafood night at Dana's on Cape Cod.
  • November was my first real attempt at candy-making in years.  It actually came out.
  • December brought us another over-the-top Christmas Eve with Joanna and Tom.  Food, family, and fun.  Who could ask for anything more?

So here's to another fun-and-calorie-filled year.

Create a few memories for yourself and your family.  Make something new and different; explore a new flavor or cuisine.

Experiment and don't worry about screwing up.  The very worst thing that can happen is you throw it all out and call for pizza.

by Tim Dineen

Karabij

Barbara Romaine

It’s from a Lebanese cookbook entitled Food for the Vegetarian, by Aida Karaoglan, and it’s called karabij.  A Jordanian friend once told me that another name for these is karabij Halab, which translates to “whips of Aleppo.”  Sounds kinky, doesn’t it?  I’m afraid I have no idea what whips have to do with anything here, though.  What these really are is semolina nut biscuits.  Here we go (I usually halve this recipe, by the way; otherwise, you end up with an awful lotta biscuits . . . but if you’re planning for a crowd, well . . . ):

  • 6 cups semolina
  • 1 pound butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • enough milk to form a hard dough (very precise, no?)

Sift the semolina with the baking soda.  Work the butter into the semolina with your fingers until it is well mixed.  Gradually add the milk to form a stiff dough.  Shape the dough into small balls the size of walnuts.  Hollow them and fill them with the nut filling (see below).  Close and seal.  Place them on a large baking tray and bake in a 325-degree oven until golden.  [Here the instructions say to serve with a special cream called “natef,” on the side, but this “natef” (which I think actually DOES mean something kinky, in other contexts–yeesh, what IS it with this recipe, anyway??) involves an ingredient called halawa wood . . . er . . .say what?  I suspect that halawa wood, if it’s available anywhere outside of Lebanon, might be found in some obscure Arab food market in New York or Montreal, but nowhere else.  So I’ve never attempted to make natef–instead I just use Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream, which does beautifully as a substitute, thank you very much.]

Nut filling:

  • 1 cup pine nuts, coarsely ground
  • 1 cut walnuts, coarsely ground
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon rose water

Mix the above ingredients to use as the filling for the karabij.

Enjoy!

by Tim Dineen

Christmas Eve 2010

'Tis the Season!

We've been here about 18 hours and have been eating for most of them!  If I can't be home in San Francisco with all my family, North Jersey and Victor's family is not a bad second.

Tradition here is Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes - Festa dei Sette Pesci.   The Feast of the Seven Fishes originated in Southern Italy and goes back to the medieval Catholic tradition of abstinence.

It's certainly not about abstinence here.  More like abundance.

Our brother-in-law, Tom, is the Christmas Eve chef, preparing shrimp, crab, mussels, and whatever is looking the best at the fish monger.

And then he creates his magic.

We started with a crab dip, and I made our friend Luigi's Christmas Eve Killer Shrimp.  Killer is an understatement.  It rocks!

::insert fuzzy picture here when I get home::

And then there was Linguini with Clams

And breaded and fried tilapia, cod with almonds, mussels with a sweet or spicy marinara...

What am I missing?!?

It was all just too good.  With salad and lots of crusty bread to sop up the various sauces...

After way too much food, the tradition continues with neighbors Ben and Barbara and their kids coming over.  Barbara brings her homemade Finikia - a Greek cookie of sorts, and we start on desserts...

Because it's all about the desserts!

And then it's up until the wee hours of the morning.....

by Tim Dineen