Category Archives: Epicurean

Quote

Random Musings…

10 Saturday Nov 2018

Posted by in Christmas, Cookies, Epicurean, Friday Night, Holidays, Italian, Very Best Baking

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Here I sit, in the kitchen, awaiting the arrival of my sister-in-law and niece, watching My Cousin Vinnie which is the perfect elixir as I do need to laugh. Prior to putting fingers to keyboard, I spent a good 3 hours cleaning out my 20-year-old email account as I’m switching ISPs.  A blast from the past, I tripped across a few tidbits worth sharing:

Zingerman'sZingerman’s: With the holiday’s coming up, we all need that trusty, go-to-source for food stuff; one of mine is Zingerman’s. A ‘community of businesses,’ Zingerman’s is a family of small, food-related companies located in the Ann Arbor, MI area.  Zingermans.com is ‘The Online Shop for Food Lovers’ featuring hearth baked breads, handmade cheeses, varietal coffee, estate bottled olive oils and customized presents. For me, the best part of visiting Zingermans.com are the cartoon pigs strategically placed throughout the site (I’m sure it’s some sort of ‘thing’).  At the bottom of each page is a flying pig with a quippy ‘Great food just flew to…’ and the city and state of the most recent shipment listed.  Absolutely brilliant, fun marketing.

Old Fashioned Pumpkin Cookies:  We don’t have kids, but that doesn’t mean I’ve escaped the ‘yeah, I need cookies for tomorrow’ plea.  Years ago, that very lament came my way at a time when I had limited supplies — sugar, a can of pumpkin, butter, and eggs. Muttering about the lack of ingredients, I googled pumpkin and found a recipe for Old Fashioned Pumpkin Cookies which are now a mainstay that I trot out throughout the fall and winter seasons (giving very little credit to Libby’s, of course).  Even if you’re unsure about a pumpkin cookie, you must try these; they are delicious and easy to make — what could be better?!?

Back to the emails.  A digital heavyweight is being lifted off my shoulders and it feels great.  Within the next month, my junk email will be virtually non-existent (until my new address gets sold). As I skim through the various mailboxes I created to see what I might want to keep, I’m finding all kinds of sites I may/may not want to revisit; in particular:

Very Best Baking: Apparently a Nestle website, it’s where I found the Pumpkin Cookie recipe.  Back in the day it was a ‘go to’ and extremely engaging site (of course the constant giveaways and contests didn’t hurt).  I’m not sure if Nestle owned the site then, but it was a fun, informative site you should consider checking out.  I’ll give a deeper report (more in depth than, ‘hey this used to be a cool site’) after I check it out.

TV Food Network:  Another site to revisit.  I love the station (OK, 1/2 the station, some programs drive me nuts; others, like the Baking Championship series I can’t get enough of).  I don’t visit the site frequently, I tend to default to my trusty cookbooks, however when I do need a recipe or am looking for something a bit different, that’s where I go.  If you haven’t visited, you should.

Avocados: A parting tip.  My husband loves his avocados (I could do without them), but they are a weird purchase — they either aren’t ripe or they are borderline ready to rot.  After a few shopping mishaps, I discovered what to do:  buy them by ripeness — a brown-skin soft sucker to be consumed immediately, light brown/green ‘cado to be eaten within the coming few days and the shiny, hard green avocados to be used a good week out.  Such a simple trick that brings satisfaction to those who eat them on a regular basis.

Before I part, I just have to squeal — OMG, Meg Ryan and John Mellencamp are engaged…what?!?

With that, enjoy the weekend. I’m wishing you happy trails and bon appetite — Now I need to go bake.

 

Quote

12 Favorite New England Comfort Food Recipes – New England Today

08 Thursday Nov 2018

Posted by in Connecticut, Epicurean, Maine, Massachusetts, New England, New Hampshire, Recipes, Uncategorized, Vermont

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Fall foliage tree pictureTis the season for comfort food and I thought it would be apropos to share food from my neck of the woods.  Funny thing is, however, I only recognized three of the recipes — American Chop Suey, #ick; Yankee Pot Roast, #willdo; and Blueberry Crisp, #Yummy.  Obviously, with blueberry crisp on the list, I’m operating under the assumption that this is not a seasonal list.  So, if you’re looking for a really satisfying and comforting meal, check these out.

via 12 Favorite New England Comfort Food Recipes – New England Today

* Full disclosure, I’m really just testing the ‘press this’ functionality…move along if you’re not interested.

Acorns & Acorn Squash…

05 Monday Nov 2018

Posted by in Epicurean, Holidays, Recipes, Travel, Vegetables

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

Here in the Rivera household, we’re all aflutter for Thanksgiving.  I’m not sure if it’s the time away, Tony’s cooking over an open fire, or spending the week in the Massachusetts’ countryside. While we don’t have a standard menu, my brother and his family usually come with the entire dinner in tow and its epicurean creativity is less than stimulating.  So, for the ‘traditional fare’ we’ll nibble on their reheated canned goods; however, we’ll also make a few more adventurous sides of our own which I curated from one of my more trusty cookbooks, Gatherings & Celebrations by Burt Wolf. Wolf picture

Recipient of the first James Beard Award ever given for Best Television Food Journalism, Wolf has made television programs and written, edited and published books among his many successful pursuits. He’s produced segments for CNN, ABC, The Discovery Channel, and for Public Broadcasting in the United States. And that, Public Broadcasting, is where Gatherings & Celebrations comes in.  First published in 1996, the book is a ‘companion to Burt’s first prime-time documentary television series’ and features 20 ‘occasions for celebrations’ throughout the world.

The recipes I’m using, and which we’re hoping will turn into must haves are Stuffed Acorn Squash with Apple, Onion, & Spinach from ’Thanksgiving in Colonial Williamsburg’ and Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon & Pepper featured in the ‘Formal Dinner in the Loire Valley’ sections of the book.   I’m including the recipes below with full credit going to the folks at Colonial Williamsburg and to, I believe, the Chateau du Nozet and the family of Baron Patrick de Ladoucette, and, of course, Burt Wolf himself for securing and publishing them.

Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Pepper (Chateau du Nozet; again, I believe):

1 lb small brussels sprouts, out leaves and bases trimmed

1.5 teaspoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons water

Pinch of sugar

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • Cut the sprouts in half, through their base and keeping leaves intact. Boil until tender, not mushy, in a pot of water (obviously, boiling water) with approximately 1 teaspoon of salt, approximately 5 minutes.
  • When ready to serve, heat the sprouts in a medium pan with the butter, lemon juice, water, sugar, remaining salt and pepper. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes, turning gently until the sprouts are lightly glazed and heated through.  Serve immediately.

Stuffed Acorn Squash with Apple, Onion, & Spinach (Colonial Williamsburg):

2 cups pearl or small boiling onions.

2 acorn squash

1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt

1/3 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ cup apple cider

½ cup water

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 golden delicious apple, peeled and diced

1 ½ pounds spinach, stems trimmed, washed and drained.

Preheat oven to 350

  • Peel onions; bring medium pot of water to boil, trim the ends of the onions, make a small X in the root end and boil for 5 minutes to loosen the skins and partially cook them; drain and set aside. When cool, press the onions out of their skins.
  • Quarter the acorn squash, scrape the seeds out. Season the flesh of the squash with ½ teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper, and the coriander.  Pour the cider and water into a roasting pan.  Place squash, cut side down, in the pan and scatter the onions around the squash.  Dot with 1 ½ tablespoons of the butter.  Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.  Remove foil and continue to bake, basting with the juices for 30 to 40 minutes, until the onions and squash are tender.
  • When ready to service, heat the remaining butter in a skillet and saute the diced apple until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the pan juices from the squash, the spinach leaves and remining salt and pepper.  Cover over medium-high heat for 3 – 4 minutes, until the spinach is wilted and tender.
  • Arrange the squash on a platter and spoon equal portions of the spinach mixture into each section of the squash, top with the roasted onions and serve.

Christkindlmarkt

03 Saturday Nov 2018

Posted by in Christmas, Connecticut, Epicurean, Festivals, Holidays, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Travel, Washington DC, Weekend

≈ Leave a comment

nutcrackerWe made it!  In my book, it truly is the most wonderful time of the year.  As I was updating my ‘What to Do’ list, I decided to expand my roster of German Christmas Markets.  Last year, Tony and I visited the Lake Mohawk market in Sparta, NJ and prior to that, we strolled the streets of downtown historic Bethlehem, PA.  And, while there’s a proper market somewhere in Bethlehem (noted below), with a proper admission fee, we only made our through downtown and its smattering of outdoor stalls.

In searching for the ultimate list of German Markets in the Nor’east, I relied heavily on two sites:  Germanfoods.org and GermangirlinAmerica.com; both worth checking out.  They, along with some serious google searching, enabled me to create this fantastic, non-exhaustive list of Christkindlmarkts in the Nor’east:

November 9 – 11

Canandaigua Christkindl Market, Canandaigua, NY – Set in Western New York’s Finger Lakes region, this festival features traditional German food and “Gideon’s Grog” along with local food and wine. Held outside the Granger Homestead and Carriage Museum, each year a Christkindl Angel reigns over the event. For the little ones, there’s an Elf School where kids can create holiday ornaments, make their own reindeer food, and fashion a paper lantern to use in the town’s Lantern Parade.

November 10     

Bavarian Club Edelweiss Westchester Christkindlmarkt, Valhalla, NY – Featuring more than 20 vendors the Club’s Christkindlmarkt offers up fabulous German foods, imported candies, handmade crafts and wonderfully delicious German cookies, breads, and stolen. And, of course, a visit from St Nikolaus and live music rounds out the festivities.

November 16, 2018

Deutscher Club, Clark NJ – Known to be an “Oasis for German-Americans in New Jersey” this appears to be a quasi-exclusive club.  Periodically, throughout the year, the Club plays hosts to a variety of events which are open to the public, their Christkindlmarkt being one such event.  While I don’t know much about the market itself, knowing Germans and knowing people from New Jersey, I’m placing my bets and saying this is probably one of the more authentic and festive markets in the region.

November 16 – December 23 (weekends)

Christkindlmarkt, Bethlehem, PA – Located in the heart of the Lehigh Valley, Bethlehem is a dynamic city filled with world-class events and festivals, a rich history, and some of the best Christmas celebrations in the world.  Bethlehem’s Christkindlmarket features live holiday music, great food, children’s rides and St. Nicholas.  The market begins on Friday, November 16th and runs weekends until December 23rd.

November 22 – December 24

Christmas Village Philadelphia and Christmas Village Baltimore – Running daily from Thanksgiving through Christmas, with a preview weekend on November 17th and 18th, Christmas Village in Philadelphia and Baltimore brings the charm of an authentic German Christmas market to each city.  Fashioned after a traditional German Christmas Market, there are more than 80 wooden booths with vendors selling European foods, sweets, drinks, arts and crafts and a ‘rich variety of holiday gifts.’ In Baltimore, the market commences on Saturday, November 24th and, in Philadelphia, on Sunday November 25th by the Nuremberg Christkind.  Coming across the pond for these two stops only, the Nuremberg Christkind recites a traditional prologue to open each Market.

November 23 – December 23

Downtown DC Holiday Market – Depending on which site you read, this may, or may not be fashioned after a German Christmas Market.  Germanfoods.org will be on hand with hard-to-find, authentic German Christmas confectioneries, baking ingredients, gift baskets, hand-made pretzels, stollen, glueh-cider and more. Located on the F Street sidewalk in front of the Smithsonian American Art Museum & National Portrait Gallery between 7th & 9th Streets, NW, the Market is open from Noon – 8 pm and features approximately 200 regional artisans, crafters and boutique businesses.

December 1

Weihnachts Markt, Potomac, MD – Celebrating its 50th year, the Friends of the German International School’s, the nation’s largest German School, annual Christmas bazaar offers homemade authentic Christmas cookies and cakes, German and Swiss style sausages and meat products, handmade Christmas decorations, original wood carvings from the Erzgebirge region of Saxony, Christmas Carols sung by the German International School Choir, and a host of activities for the little ones.

December 1 & 2

The Lake Mohawk Weihnachtsmarkt, Sparta, NJ – Ranked “One of the Top Ten Things to Do in December in the State” – Lake Mohawk’s magical German Christmas Market beckons all with beautifully crafted and unique gifts from vendors near and afar. The authentic wooden huts attract approximately 20,000 visitors to the area each year the Market is now recognized as the largest Annual Christmas Market in the State.  “Tantalizing smells dance among the vendors set along the picturesque lakefront, as traditional items from sizzling German sausages, sumptuous soups, goulash and sauerbraten to hand warming hot chocolate, apple struedel, linzer tarts, and gingerbread men and warmed mulled spice wine (gluhwein) are prepared among the festive chorus’ of local school choirs and entertainers.”

December 13 – 15  

Mifflinburg Christkindl Market, Mifflinburg, PA – What started, back in 1987, as one man’s dream (and his wife), has grown into a market that claims to be the oldest, outdoor Christmas market in the US. It’s also lauded as being more authentic than most German Christmas markets. The Market features more than 100 vendors and the local air is filled, for the weekend, with the aroma of Bratwurst, Apfelstrudel, Hungarian goulash, and Glühwein (hot mulled wine).

Possible, yet to be determined markets, held in the last week of November/early December:

Some Markets, supposedly long-standing traditions, have yet to announce their 2018 dates.  Below are some of the more popular Markets that may/may not be happening this year:

Christkindlmarkt at Zion Church, Baltimore, MD – Feast on authentic German foods, stock your pockets with imported holiday goodies including Stollen, Lebkuchen, Advent calendars and Glühwein, and buy your loved one’s unique crafts including handmade snowflakes, Santas and elves, floral arrangements, along with real Erzgebirge figurines, smokers and steins. Note, their website is woefully out of date, but they do post frequent updates to their Facebook page.

Hartford Saengerbund in Newington, CT holds its traditional Christkindlmarkt showcasing handmade crafts and works of art by the finest artisans, the heart-warming sounds and sights of live Christmas music and pageantry, delicious German food specialties.

Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten, Asbury Park, NJ – Not sure if this is a weekly or weekend only thing.  Last year, the Christkindmarkt began the last weekend of November.  Festhalle & Biergarten is ‘an authentic biergarten experience’ welcoming guests and inviting them to ‘join in the centuries-old European tradition – communal tables where friends and soon-to-be-new-friends mingle in a lively, friendly atmosphere energized by a regular schedule of live & local music.’  It sounds fun and I had it on last year’s ‘Things To Do’ list.  Check it out if you’re in the area. And, if the market isn’t in the cards, check out the ‘Women Who Whiskey’ event on November 15th…that might just be more up my alley.

As I continue planning and plotting and giddily look upon the holiday season, I wish you and your loved one’s happy trails and bon appetite…

Random Musings for a Friday Night…Rabbit Edition

26 Friday Oct 2018

Posted by in Epicurean, Friday Night, Holidays, Massachusetts, Recipes, Travel, Uncategorized, Weekend

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

I need to be better in marking down the meals I create and recipes I’m riffing off of (I’m sure there’s an app for that, any suggestions?).  I go through phases where I’ll create a meal completely out of my culinary comfort zone.  These meals are cobbled together from the numerous cookbooks gracing my shelves, focus on a particular region of the world, and often call for about $100 worth of ingredients that I most likely will never use again — turmeric powder for a Mexican meal; fenugreek seeds for my Mediterranean meal.  Past highlight include a random rabbit recipe and a wonderfully flavorful Italian soup.  The reality is I wanted to make both this weekend but, for the life of me, I can’t find the recipes.  Other random thoughts for this Friday evening:

woodland cabin

Woodland Cabin, Warren, MA

Thanksgiving with Marley & Co: Last year Tony and I realized, on Nov 1st, that we had no plans for Thanksgiving.  With some fancy, yet furious, finger work (OK, Airbnb has eliminated that last minute booking panic), I found and secured a cabin in Warren, MA for the holiday and am tickled that we’ll be returning this year (I think we’ll be doing this for as long as Mary Jane will have us).  Woodland Cabin is a fabulous get-away in the southwest region of Worcester County, MA that serves up freshly laid  eggs from the on-site hens each morning; has three wonderful goats, Marley being the most playful, that will go on walks with you; and offers up approximately 80 acres of hiking trails for one’s enjoyment.  Tony is salivating at the prospect of cooking our meals over the open fire — they have a fireplace that’s large enough for me to walk into. We’ll blog throughout the weekend providing blow-by-blow run downs on Tony’s open-fire cooking.

Seasonal Things to Do:  I have two master “Things to Do” lists that I update annually with current year dates (another app I need). The lists — one for summer and another for the holiday season.  I need to update the Christmas list which will, of course, commence with the Cabin.  I’m feeling giving this year and will share some of my favorite must do’s throughout the season.

German Christmas Markets:  Speaking of a favorite thing to do…the market at Lake Mohawk in Sparta, NJ is worth the drive.  To be fair, last year was the first year I attended and I’ve only seen one other advert, just this year, for another local market.  But, one of my bucket list items is to do the whole, proper German/European Christmas Market thing. Until then, I’ll be satisfied with the Northeast’s markets.

Boozy Burbs: This is fun.  Thanks to my good friend Nancy, I’m now hip to Boozy Burbs, Greater Bergen County’s ‘not-so-secret ingredient’ to discovering all things culinary in the area, including Rockland, Hudson, Essex and Passaic county bordering towns. Check it out, it’s well curated and will answer most of your ‘where am I going; what am I eating this weekend?’ questions.

Restaurant Week:  Featuring Hudson Valley – Sometimes they’re in the spring, sometimes the fall.  In NYC, I believe, it’s in the dead of winter. But Hudson Valley’s Restaurant Week kicks off on Sunday.  I like these weeks, wherever they may fall, as they give you the opportunity to experience a new restaurant or revisit a perennial favorite at a rate tolerable for most pocketbooks.  Featuring both lunch and dinner meus, restaurants can be booked in advance on OpenTable (another great site that answers the ‘what’s going on?’ question). 

Chicken Stock Ice Cubes: And, for a Fun Tip, when making chicken stock, freeze cubes of the stock.  This will enable you to grab as many as you might need for smaller batch cooking — i.e. replacing water when making rice, using broth vs. water to steam vegetables, or to enhance the flavor of a canned soup.  Whatever your desire having cubes to work with is an easily wonderful way to pretend you’re an epicurean maven.

This weekend’s adventures may or may not entail a rabbit, if it’s to be Peter, we’ll definitely make note as to where the recipes are housed and will let you know all about our culinary adventures. Until then, happy trails and bon appetite …