Cooking marathon

The holidays are crazy and busy. This year we didn't end up going to Canada for Christmas, I had a lot of extra time on my hands and decieded to try some new and old reciepes. I volunteered to make Christmas dinner, and ended up cooking a whole lot in between. On my first post of my first blog is my Christmas cooking marathon.



Day One: Sunday
Chicken Breasts with Cherry Tomatoes, Zucchini and Olives

This dish is a favorite of mine, I first enjoyed it at a friends house and stole the reciepe. Andrew likes most of it except the tomatoes of course!

Signature Green Salad with apples and pecans.

My pies need work, mostly my crust. I didn't leave enough extra and when they baked the crust shrank quite a bit. I made two large pies, one sugar free for my dad and one regular for my grandpa. With the left over I made two little pies for Andrew and I. We call them banana cream pies but really they are just crust, bananas on the bottom and vanilla pudding

Day Two (Christmas eve):

It's tradition to have Cioppino(fish stew) on Christmas eve. I got up pretty early and started the stock in the slow cooker, and then transported it up to Sonoma for Christmas eve dinner with the fam. When the stock arrived my dad added the fish, halibut, clams, crab, etc. Our version is more of a San Francisco style Cioppino. We enjoyed it with sourdough bread, whole made speggeti (for the non fish eaters) and a green salad.

Day 3: Christmas Day





I attempted two kinds on cookies and only baked one. After I accidentally "zested" my finger instead of the lemon I had enough. The completed cookies are pictures below, they are Chocolate Coated Orange Cookies, one of my favorite combinations.

















Braised Beef with Mushrooms



I wanted to try this reciepe for Braised Beef and Mushrooms. It was really good and once it got in the slow cooker it was easy.








Finsihed Braised Beef, so yummy









































Side of Green Beans
and roasted red potatoes (roasted in the oven with rosemary olive oil and salt and pepper)

Reciepes:
I love Williams and Sonoma Reciepes, most of the recipes on this first post are. Hopefully I will expand soon.
Chicken Breasts with Cherry Tomatoes, Zucchini and Olives
(from Williams and Sonoma Cook Book)
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 Tbs. chopped shallot2 cups halved red and yellow cherry tomatoes
3 cup pitted, coarsely chopped black Mediterranean olives
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, each about 6 oz., pounded to an even thickness (Instead of pounding the chicken i like to half it to make it thinner, a little less work then pounding, it also makes more servings)
1/2 cup dry white wine or vermouth
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice or 1 3/4 cups orzo, cooked according to package directions ( I like to use saffron rice and cook it in chicken stock, it adds a lot of flavor to the rice I got that idea from Whit, thank you!.)

In a large nonstick fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add the shallot and cook, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, olives and rosemary and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are heated through but not collapsed, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a plate and set aside. Add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil to the pan. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Cook, turning once, until browned on both sides and firm when pressed in the centers, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and keep warm. Add the wine to the pan and bring to a boil. Return the vegetables to the pan and cook for 1 minute to reheat, stirring once or twice. Transfer to a warmed platter and top with the chicken breasts. Serve immediately with hot rice. Serves 4.

Andrew's favorite salad
Green letteuce, I like red leaf butter, whatever you have handy.
Peacas
Chopped up apple, pear or orange
Green onion
Rice vinegarette 1 part oil 1 part rice vinegar


Banana Cream Pie

Basic Pie Dough
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt8 Tbs.
(1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 4-inch cubes
3 Tbs. very cold water
Combine flour, sugar, salt and butter in a standing mixer, I don't have one so I used two knives and cut the butter into the mixture. When it looks like small peas, add the water until the dough pulls together. Roll out the dough to desired size leaving extra for possible shrinking in the oven.


Bake the pie crust at 375 till it is golden brown 10-15 min


Filling

I used cook and serve Vanilla pudding, follow the directions on the box
I lined the bottom of the pie crust with fresh banana slices

Once the filling was ready and the pie crust was cooled compltley (this will prevent soggy crust) poor the filling into the crust on top of the bananas. Refriderate till it sets

Cioppino Stock
I went to safeway and bought a pre-made Cioppino stock in a jar and jus added to it. That gave me a great base and cut out a lot of work. I was feeling a little lazy on day two of the cook a thon

What I added:
1 Yellow onion chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 can of tomatoes (drained)
Thyme
red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh rosemary

I heated some olive oil over med heat, added onion, saute, then add red pepper, thyme cook 2-3 min. Add the white wine and reduced it by half (about 10-12 min) Then the tomatoes without the juices, bay leaf and rosemary. I let that simmer for 15 min and then added it to the crock pot with my store bought sauce.

Chocolate-Coated Orange Cookies (Williams and Sonoma)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. grated orange zest (if you want a more intense orange flavor you could squeeze a little juice in the mix or add more orange zest)
1/4 tsp. salt12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat an oven to 350°F. In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cornstarch, orange zest and salt. Process briefly until well mixed. Add the butter and vanilla and pulse until the mixture resembles fine meal. Then process continuously until moist clumps form. Transfer the mixture to a large sheet of waxed paper and, using your hands, gather the clumps together into a flat disk. Top with a second sheet of waxed paper. Roll out the dough about 1/4 inch thick. Remove the top sheet of waxed paper. Using a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Transfer to ungreased baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 1/2 inch apart. Gather up the scraps, pat into a disk and roll out again. Cut out additional cookies. Bake until the cookies are just beginning to brown, about 15 minutes, switching the pans and rotating a half turn halfway through baking. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the cookies cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the racks to cool completely. Place the chocolate in the top pan of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl. Place over but not touching simmering water in the bottom pan. Heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper or aluminum foil. Dip the cooled cookies in the chocolate, covering them halfway. Arrange the cookies in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate, uncovered, until the chocolate sets. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Makes about 24 cookies.

* I don't have a double broiler, I just used a heat proof bowl and rested it over boiling water. It worked great.

Braised Beef with Mushrooms

3 cups beef stock

1 oz. dried moixernon or mousseron or chanterelle mushrooms

4 lb. beef chuck roast, sliced 2 inches thick Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup olive oil

2 yellow onions, sliced

1/4 inch thick

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup drained diced canned tomatoes

1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 sprigs each fresh thyme, rosemary and oregano, tied with string

In a saucepan over high heat, bring the stock to a boil and add the mushrooms. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Dredge the beef in 1 cup of the flour and shake off the excess. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Brown the beef, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a slow cooker. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and the remaining 1⁄4 cup flour to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine, tomatoes, chocolate and herbs and bring to a simmer. Slowly pour in the stock and mushrooms, leaving the grit behind. Simmer until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes, then add to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4 1⁄2 hours.