Modest Bounty » Holidays http://www.modestbounty.com a blog about food & garden Mon, 17 Oct 2011 02:04:23 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Thanksgiving Menu http://www.modestbounty.com/2010/11/25/thanksgiving-menu/ http://www.modestbounty.com/2010/11/25/thanksgiving-menu/#comments Fri, 26 Nov 2010 00:39:53 +0000 admin http://www.modestbounty.com/?p=459 This year’s line-up, at my house. I prepped a little each day, over 3 days, so that I could enjoy my family and friends on the big day. Boned (I keep wanting to say de-boned) my first turkey — and subsequently added a boning knife to my Christmas wishlist, would have made the process quicker, easier. However the three birds actually came together quite well and held it’s form throughout roasting/carving.

]]> http://www.modestbounty.com/2010/11/25/thanksgiving-menu/feed/ 0 My Holiday Cooking Strategy http://www.modestbounty.com/2009/12/13/my-holiday-cooking-strategy/ http://www.modestbounty.com/2009/12/13/my-holiday-cooking-strategy/#comments Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:26:35 +0000 Cate http://www.modestbounty.com/?p=256 Christmas Eve Dinner
We always have fish on Christmas Eve and I typically order Royal Reds from Joe Patti’s, but I’d like to add more variety this year, and I’ve settled on Cioppino. As the girls have gotten older our Christmas Eve generally begins with an early, simple fish dinner, followed by Mass, and then usually a movie either at the local theater or at home and along the lines of White Christmas. Then we scatter for any last minute gift prep and then a good night’s sleep.

Christmas Morning
Hot coffee or chocolate with butter croissants from Renee’s Bakery here in Indianapolis. I’ve also ordered them from Williams-Sonoma and have purchased them from Trader Joe’s as well.

Christmas Dinner
Beef tenderloin roasted with onions, mushrooms and sherry, potatoes gratin, salad, and some type of citrus tart. My all-time favorite citrus is a satsuma, a cross between a mandarin orange and a lime. But they’re not in season, so I’ll have to substitute something else. If it’s not too cold, a walk around the neighborhood to walk off the day and an early bedtime. After all, I’m usually exhausted from pulling off another Christmas.

Desserts (for the important dates)
Croquembouche (have made this, but not for the girls, will execute for my family Christmas)
Tiramisu (for my husband’s family Christmas)
Citrus Tart (our own Christmas Dinner)
Souffle (New Years)

Cookies (the short, essential list)
Pecan Tassies (can not make enough of these)
Chocolate-dipped Almond Cookies (ditto, thanks to Martha Stewart’s Christmas, 1989)
Sugar Cookies (even at 18 and 20, the girls still like to decorate some basic shapes)
Bourbon Balls (these are delicious and strong — I usually give them away with caution)
Torrone (Grandmom Malfi introduced me to these and I loved them)
Rugelach (with plum jam and walnuts…..can not eat just one)

Recipes to follow! YEMCVWXRJ5VF

]]> http://www.modestbounty.com/2009/12/13/my-holiday-cooking-strategy/feed/ 0 Holiday Supplies http://www.modestbounty.com/2009/12/04/holiday-supplies/ http://www.modestbounty.com/2009/12/04/holiday-supplies/#comments Sat, 05 Dec 2009 03:49:47 +0000 Cate http://www.modestbounty.com/?p=234 Before my readership mistakes Modest Bounty for an Italian food blog, I’d like to set the record straight. I’m not Italian by birth or heritage, my husband is. I certainly enjoy cooking Italian cuisine and spent time with his grandmother learning the family recipes, however I am half Irish and half French by birth and my father, Pierre, instilled in me a curiosity about my heritage as he spent his last years tracing his family history through French Canada, la Prairie. So, as I turn my attention toward Christmas, you’ll see a change in the “menu” of posts.

Every year around the holidays I make a booze run to stock up on the stuff we don’t ordinarily keep in the cabinet, but for this time of year. For some reason the holidays prompt me to try new things and this year is no exception. The following is a list I started just before Thanksgiving.

  • Château d’Yquem — inspired by Julia Child’s biography of her years in France, for Christmas or New Years Day with souffle, of course
  • St. James Xtra Old Rum — inspired by Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast
  • Dartigalongue XO 10 Armagnac — a family favorite
  • Apple Brandy — inspired by a recent article about the dwindling apple orchards in Napa, featured in NYTimes, Germain-Robin?
  • Bourbon — needs no explanation, a winter favorite, but will try a new label (drank Knob Creek last year) am open to suggestions
  • Dumante Verdanoche Pistachio Liqueur — my husband loves pistachios and I think I’ll put this under the tree for him

On a cold winter’s night, any of the above would make a fine, slow sip.

I’m looking forward to developing a wine list as well and will attempt that in my next post, although I’m not terribly knowledgeable. We generally have fish on Christmas Eve and then something special for Christmas Dinner. Menus to come for our holiday meals as well as our annual baking spree!

]]> http://www.modestbounty.com/2009/12/04/holiday-supplies/feed/ 0 An Italian Thanksgiving http://www.modestbounty.com/2009/10/19/an-italian-thanksgiving/ http://www.modestbounty.com/2009/10/19/an-italian-thanksgiving/#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:59:25 +0000 Cate http://www.modestbounty.com/?p=142 This year we are celebrating Thanksgiving with my husband’s side of the family and they do not celebrate a traditional American Thanksgiving. The story goes that my father-in-law could not, or should I say, would not eat fowl of any kind because he used to watch his mother kill chickens in the backyard and it scarred him for life. Needless to say, my first Thanksgiving with his family was culture shock, but a delicious culture shock, I must say. Neither of them are with us but we carry on their tradition, nonetheless.

The matriarch of the feast was Grandmom Malfi (chicken-killer) and she was the stereotypical Italian grandmother, speaking in broken English, always cooking and always expecting everyone to EAT! All the daughters-in-law were initiated into “the family” by spending a day with grandmom learning how to make all the family recipes. We will channel Grandmom this Thanksgiving and prepare the weekend prior to the big day to cook in volume. The menu is as follows:

  • Meatballs — browned in olive oil and then finished in the sauce
  • Sauce — homemade
  • Ravioli’s — ricotta filled
  • Papardelle — extra wide, the way my father-in-law liked it
  • Salad — my brother-in-law Joe is making my new favorite version of our Italian classic
  • Antipasta — some items will be staring back at you
  • Italian Rolls — still need to source a reasonable facsimile here in the midwest
  • Cannoli — I make these and they are a family favorite
  • Tiramisu — ditto
  • Pizzelles — this has become my daughter’s specialty, thanks Uncle Frank

Not bad — if you have to give up a turkey, trust me, this is not a bad way to go. Since we typically feed around 20 people, making the pasta, meatballs and ravioli in volume in advance is helpful, particularly the ravioli, which we make and then freeze. Then the most we have to execute on the big day is boil water, assemble the antipasta and toss a salad. Again, not a bad gig. Recipes to follow.

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