Flare Up: Menu Interruptus

Ugg. I really did way too much for one person in the last 7 days...like many others I bet. I was in turn rewarded with a horrific Fibro flare up this morning...just 12 hours after the last guest left. I knew it was coming yesterday because I was in Wonder Woman- super human mode. It's almost as though my body knows and prepares me by giving me an energy burst of unbelievable proportions before the inflammatory hormones starts cascading.

I am so very thankful to have made a huge dinner last night for my company. I made whole chicken, simmered in adobo, garlic, onions, diced tomatoes, and green chiles...then shredded it for tacos. I also made seasoned ground turkey, and rice and beans. My hubby finished the last of the ground turkey with some tortillas, and I put the rest of the leftovers in a soup, using the broth from the chicken. Viola...Mexican Chicken and Rice Soup.

I will not be posting a menu this week since I have no idea when the flare up will end. I may just be living off of the soup...until I take the ham bone out of the freezer for THAT soup. Enjoy your week, the feeling of relief that the holiday's are over, and get ready for 2010.

I plan on more recipes in the New Year, organizing for the book, and maybe, just maybe...putting my 38 year old butt... back in college.

Merry Christmas!

Good night Christmas. Whew! Where did it go?

Last night's dinner was beautiful, and my careful planning and timing really helped. I made a LOVELY cheesecake...perfect, not even a crack. I didn't end up with time to make graham crackers so I used a box of crushed Cherrybrook Kitchen's Vanilla Graham Cookies, mixed with butter for my my crust.

After dinner, with plenty of time for church service, my daughter and I headed off. I was surprised to find I still have some night blindness issues. We made it 2 blocks before we headed home...frustrated and disappointed. The kid can't yet drive a standard...we had no choice. All I could see were lights...no lanes, no vehicles. Scary.

Came home and remembered we lived 1 block from our local Christmas village neighborhood and it's Festival of Light's. The 3 of us took a slow, 2 hour, chilly walk through a large neighborhood, completely decked out in lights. Mule and horse drawn wagons and carriages clopped by us. One wagon was full of a church choir singing carols. It was perfect; simple, traditional, free, and a 3 minute walk from the blazing wood stove at home. Came home and had yet another slice of cheesecake while we watched Star Wars.

This morning the guy dropped the MIL at the airport and came home with giant, hot lattes. We exchanged our gifts with the kid. She was very happy with her white chocolate-candy cane bark, handmade peppermint patties, and inspirational calender. Hubby loved his peanut brittle and stainless steel thermos I bought months ago and had tucked away. He met an artist last week and had purchased 2 Grateful Dead inspired prints for me. I was touched and very surprised. The rest day flew by, mostly in pajamas, mostly in front of the TV watching A Christmas Story. Had a lazy brunch...everyone just ate what they wanted. I got inspired and made Peanut Butter Blossom cookies a few hours ago, and the kid got to take the warm cookies home with her.... along with her 1/2 gallon yogurt container of leftovers.

Now...it's just me and the quiet peace of an empty house. Another Christmas has passed. This year it was enough just to feel well enough to take part in it. The last 2 years have been dominated by the 'unknown illness' aka gluten intolerance. I feel so blessed and thankful to be given this gift of a life worth living. All I have to do is keep doing what I'm doing and I WILL continue to feel better. The last few months have shown me that. I'm excited to step into the New Year and see what it brings.

Peace and good will to all, and to all a goodnight.

Time lines and lists: how to make the most of your holiday dinner.

Realized today that I had to change my entire game plan I had written out for the holiday meal. I still had my map, as we call it in the catering biz, written out for a big Christmas Day dinner. Since the day and time of the dinner has changed, so has my map. Writing out your plan of attack illuminates missing ingredients, time issues, and what you can do ahead. I still have to make one more quick trip to the market for 3 missing items and I am going to bravely do so tomorrow so ALL last minute items will be picked up in one swoop.

This is my new Christmas Eve dinner map. Yep, it is allot of work. If you've never written one, you may be surprised how much energy and time you actually spend on ONE meal. And yes, they are written proof you have earned the next day off from dishes.

WEDNESDAY AM

LAST STORE TRIP: Pick up fresh produce and any other last minute items

Make graham crackers for cheesecake crust

CLEAN HOUSE AND FRONT ENTRANCE
Stock bathroom w/ tp, fresh hand soap, hand towels

WEDNESDAY PM

Make cheesecake and store in 'fridge

Make gingerbread and store wrapped tightly on counter

Roast and store unpeeled beets

Par boil and peel pearl onions, store

Trim green beans, store

Slice cheeses for cheese platter

CLEAN KITCHEN

THURSDAY (DINNER AT 5:00 PM)

AM Set table

Make cookies to bring to church

CLEAN KITCHEN

2:00 pm

Prep ham and put in 275 oven.

Peel, chop, and steam sweet potatoes: whip with butter and some brown sugar and place in casserole pan; set aside

Peel cold roasted beets. Mix up a sherry vinegar, ginger, orange dressing and toss beets to coat. Cover beets with plastic wrap, set aside.

DO DISHES/CLEAN KITCHEN

Take out garbage/compost

3:30pm
Turn on holiday music

Set up beverage station

Set out cheese platter

Turn on indoor and outdoor holiday lights


3:45 pm 
Ice beverage station
Guests arrive

4:00pm

Put sweet potato casserole in oven.

Make a rice flour roux

Place condiments on the table
Clean kitchen counter
Fill dish tub

4: 30 pm
Take ham out; keep warm loosely covered with foil.

Put rolls in oven

Steam green beans

Add milk to roux, and whisk to thicken. Add baby peas and the par cooked pearl onions and let heat up on medium low.

Take sweet potatoes and rolls out of the oven

Slice ham

Light candles

5:00 pm 
DINNER

Peanut Brittle IS gluten free.

Peanut Brittle is gluten free. Oh yeah. The only issue with it is I am wilfully using corn syrup and white sugar to make candy...sweet, sweet, dental challenging, peanut brittle. I cringe just writing the words, corn syrup, but since I only eat it once a year...I'll get over it. I haven't made too much candy other than some really yummy "bark" since I was a child hanging out with my Gram. She is THE fudge queen of central MA. She's not making it too much anymore seeing she is just about 90, but, she can still walk you through the process. You listen when Gram speaks of fudge. Trust me. I'll be making that within in the next day or two...this all about the peanuts.

I am making the candies as gifts. Their intended recipients may not see them until 2010...but it's happening. My baking shelf is overflowing with shredded coconut, bittersweet chocolate, confectioners sugar, peppermint extract, cocoa powder, condensed milk...a Wonkian insanity has overtaken me. I am plotting, planning, and grinning from ear to ear. I have only one Ompa Lompa though and he's a busy guy, so I was really happy to find how simple it was to make this classic treat. I say simple because I have no fear. What's the worst case scenario? A burnt pan, $3.00's worth of lost ingredients, and if you are not very careful...you could really burn yourself. *READ common sense candy making safety tips before you begin.

Use common sense, the right equipment, follow each step carefully. Candy making and baking are the only times I ever follow a recipe or write a recipe that looks like one. You can't 'wing' hot sugar cookery, or leave out leavening in baking. It's science, man, science.

EQUIPMENT

One medium sized sauce pan

A long metal spoon for stirring

A silicone spatula

A candy/fry thermometer

Your standard meat probe won't work here. They range in price from less than $4.00 to $40.00. So far, so good with the $4.00 model and I suspect the $40.00 model would also break if dropped like the $4.00 model...just saying.

A large cookie sheet

a wire cooling rack

INGREDIENTS

2 and 1/2 cups of salted peanuts

1 cup of white sugar

1 cup of light corn syrup

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, plus more for spreading on the cookie sheet

DIRECTIONS:

Butter a large cookie sheet and set aside.

In the medium sauce pan, combine the corn syrup and white sugar, then add peanuts.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring continually until a boil is reached.

CAREFULLY attach your thermometer to the pan, about halfway into the mixture. Be very careful to not let the thermometer tip touch the bottom or side of the pan. Keep a firm grip on the handle of the pan while you do this.

Continue to boil WITHOUT stirring, not even once, until between 290-295 degrees is reached...about 7-10 minutes. It should smell a little like peanut butter cookies baking. If you smell more than that or browning is occurring quickly, lower your heat a notch.

The mixture will start to turn golden brown as it nears it's mark. AS SOON AS it barely touches 290, turn the stove off. QUICKLY beat in the 1tbs butter and baking soda. The baking soda will cause the mixture to rise up and foam...this is good. You may also notice the mixture may want to become a homogenized mass...also good. It will now be closer to the color of the familiar classic too.

Pour the lava hot mixture onto the buttered cookie sheet. Using the silicone spatula, quickly spread out the shiny mix. Don't worry when it looses it's sheen while you're spreading. The beautiful shine will return as it cools.

Let cool until you can touch it, then use your spatula and clean hands to finish spreading out the brittle into a single even-ish layer.

Let it finish cooling in the pan, on a cooling rack, at least 30 -45 minutes (a very long 30-45 mins.) then break into desired serving size pieces.

This makes about 1 and 1/2 lbs of classic, naturally gluten free peanut brittle. It will keep for 2 weeks or more if kept dry in an airtight container. (Yeah, right...2 weeks!!)

Remember that it's just sugar and we used metal equipment and a glass thermometer...clean up of the hardened brittle consists of a short cold water soak!

*This is not a job for the kids to help with other than prep work, the celebratory snapping of real, homemade candy, and the fun of watching the brittle melt during clean up. They should be far away from the stove...sitting at the table perhaps, is best. You must explain this to them, and that there can be no quick peeks or 'run by's'. It's just too hot to risk a bump to the pan handle or stove.

We'll be heating this to 290-295 degrees...hot melted sugar sticks to your skin like the glue from a hot glue gun as it burns you. Healing from 3rd degree burns is not the way to spend the rest of the holiday season. You ARE in control of this. Fear not, just be aware and use common sense.

1. Every kitchen should have a fire extinguisher. If you don't...you should.

2. Be sure all of your equipment is bone dry.

3. Set everything up in advance so your equipment and ingredients are waiting for you, not the other way around.

4. Do not leave this alone for any reason. If you do...have another adult watch it or turn it off.

5. Do not dip a spoon in 'for a taste'. 2 reasons here...searing mouth burns and there is no stirring while the thermometer is in.

6. Do not use your hands for that initial spreading. The spatula is there for your safety. Please use it. Again, with the burns.

7. Life is too short to be afraid of making candy. It's a process, not perfection.

Like water for chicken soup...

Ever have one of those days where every word that comes out is wrong? If the words are right then it's the way you say it? It was insert foot in mouth, speak before thinking, and make people angry day here in the grateful house. I never like to cook if I'm mad. I think it's unkind to the people who have to eat it after, believing fully in intention and energetic transfer from me to the food.
Last night being part of the wrong sounding, wrong speaking day...an argument occurred. I could not express anything rationally so I was slightly banshee-ish.
All the time this is happening I'm attempting to finish making chicken soup for dinner, the dog's freaking out over javalinas in the driveway, I'm protein starved, and bitchy....exit dear husband...stage left. I get a bowl, a spoon, and the ladle and serve myself some soup. I forgo my silent gratitude blessing and eat. I spit it back out. Salty, bitter with the wrong herbs, and too much black pepper.

I got it...loud and clear. I was feeling stubborn, bitter, and was heated.

I cried and released some anger then apologized to my poor soup. I strained out the Mexican oregano, black pepper, and tarragon (NOT a nice soup combo), then dumped half the stock. I added water, dill, and some thyme and gently stirred with the warming intention of calmness, health, and peace in my home. The light broth tasted exactly like tears but soon the protein did it's job; I was fed, and calm.

The large bowl of leftover soup sits in the refrigerator. I'm not sure if I should eat it or bury it.

Eureka! Using leftovers.

While I was getting ready to make dinner last night, I realized that I had absolutely no intention of peeling potatoes for mashed potatoes. I still needed to use the potatoes, so I thought about rosemary roasting them but I had already put a sprig of rosemary in the chicken. Normally, this would be a good thing...but my dear heart only tolerates rosemary in small amounts, I had to choose.

I looked in the 'fridge for inspiration and saw the 1 1/2 cups of leftover onion soup from Monday night. A lazy spark went off and I got out the trusty mandolin. He sliced some scrubbed unpeeled russet potatoes, while I made a quick Swiss cheese sauce, using the onion soup for my liquid along with some milk. Pretty much instant, creamy Au Gratin Potatoes, that happen to take just about the same time to cook as our 4.6 lb chicken did. Happy dance...


This is what I did:

The oven was on and cooking a chicken at 350 degrees.

We scrubbed 4 large russet potatoes and sliced them very thin into a bowl of cold water.
I used the butter wrapper to very lightly butter a glass baking dish.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, I melted 3-4 TBS of butter. I then whisked in about 3-5 TBS of brown rice flour, making a roux.
I strained the onion soup and got just over a cup of liquid, which I whisked into the pan. It was pretty thick so I whisked in milk, about 1 1/2 cups, and cooked and whisked till it was smooth and bubbly.

I turned the heat off and added 1/2 cup of shredded Swiss cheese, black pepper, and the onions from the onion soup. I mixed well until it was combined easily into the sauce.
I drained the potatoes well then mixed them in the cheese-onion mix, then poured them into the baking pan.
I sprinkled the top with a bit more shredded Swiss and a touch of sharp cheddar.
I covered the pan in foil and baked along with the chicken for about 1 and 10 minutes, then removed the foil so the dish could brown for another 10-15.

I would have taken a picture but as soon as it was out of the oven...it was gone. YUM gone, with a browned cheesy top and bottom. The only slight negative was the pale brown color of the cooked potatoes from the tamari in the soup. My MIL, our house guest, was pretty sure I had let the potatoes 'go brown' when slicing, until I shared the onion soup secret. I will plan extra onion soup all Winter, from now on...just to make this again!

Flexibility

Thursday already?

I always like to stop and compare the menu I created with what we've cooked. This week I've only cooked dinner on Monday and Tuesday so far. Last night's trip to the shopping plaza with the In and Out Burger was a set up by my hubby, lol!

In and Out offers the only 'fast food' I've willingly eaten in 18 years. Fresh, never frozen burgers gladly wrapped in lettuce...when ordered "protein style", and served with fresh, real potato and potato only french fries. A nice mid- week treat indeed...also one of the many reasons to enjoy living in "the summer inferno" known as AZ. And we did get a great deal on some holiday lights after we ate.

Never took the turkey sausage out to thaw, so those will get recycled back into next weeks menu and tonight's bison Sheppard's pie...will be Friday's, since hubby has requested my quick baked beans and some fresh German Bratwurst, ready to be eaten as it was bought on sale in October, that "jumped out of the freezer and into his hands" this morning. If I add the leftover roasted veggies from Tuesday to the bratwurst or save them for the Shep pie tomorrow...it should all work out. The chicken will also stay in the freezer for next week, and Saturday has now become, Leftover Night.

If making leftovers is a GF survival tactic...then FLEXIBILITY... is surely another