Category Archives: Holiday Menu

Feast of the Seven Fishes

21 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by in Celebrations, Christmas, Ethnic Foods, Food Trivia, Holiday Gatherings, Holiday Menu, Italian foods, Main Dish, Party Time, Seafood, Side Dishes, Special Dinners, Special Events, Things To Do, Traditional Food, What's For Dinner?

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , ,


OK. We have posted about Hanukkah and a while back about Kwanza and several other culturally diverse holidays. And it seems that this year, I have been hearing a lot about the Italian Christmas Eve celebration of the Feast of the Seven Fishes. As it turns out, there is quite a bit written about the feast, usually held on Christmas Eve. “The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian Christmas celebration. Today, it is a feast that typically consists of seven different seafood dishes. However, some Italian-American families have been known to celebrate with nine, eleven or thirteen different seafood dishes. This celebration commemorates the wait, the Vigilia di Natale, for the midnight birth of the baby Jesus. It is unclear when the term “Feast of the Seven Fishes” was popularized.” (Wikipedia) And according to Mario Batali on Epicurious.com, “”It’s what Italians do when they say they’re fasting.” More precisely, the Feast is a meal served in Italian households on La Vigilia (Christmas Eve). In many parts of Italy, the night is traditionally a partial fast, during which no meat should be served. But in true Italian style, this proscription has morphed into something very unfastlike indeed: course after course of luxurious seafood dishes, often as many as 7, 10, or even 13. “No one’s quite sure of the significance of the number,” says Batali. “Some families do seven for the sacraments. Some do ten for the stations of the cross. And some even do 13 for the 12 apostles plus Jesus.” (You can read more at of this article, and get some recipes, at Batali Seven Fishes.)
Cod-with-Tomato-Cream-SauceAnd here is just one of many dishes that you can easily prepare for the feast. I may try it this year. It is called Cod with Tomato Cream Sauce and comes from Eating Well.
And finally, if you would like a little more information and maybe some recipes, look at the Seven Fishes Blog. Enjoy the recipes and the feast!

Appetizers For The Season …… And Beyond!

07 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by in Appetizers, Captain's Shack, Food, Food Prep, Holiday Menu, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Special Events, What's For Dinner?

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,


Change In Blog ElementsWe have a friend on FB that asked folks to post a favorite recipe for an appetizer for all to share. So many recipes …… So little time.

Here is a link to our online recipe file and more particularly Our Appetizer File. There are many recipes for appetizers here. Enjoy and hope you find one you like. Have a great Holiday Season!

Thanksgiving Dinner Prep

21 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by in Anniversary, Captain's Shack, Cooking Styles, Dried Corn, Holiday Menu, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Prep Work, Special Dinners, Thanksgiving, What's For Dinner?

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,


Yes, one must prepare for this dinner. This year we will have 10 over for dinner. Maggie, Tessa and Madison Hyland, their mother Deanna, Chris (goes with Madison), Mac, Marnie, Sophia, Robin and me. Let’s see ….. That’s 10! We started today, this morning, with the prep. Here are some photos. Enjoy and don’t forget to Left-Click to see these full screen.

No, we are not making this. But wouldn’t it be delightful to place as a center piece?

Robin making her cranberry relish. Check out those ingredients.

Brioche cubes for stuffing.

Dried corn soaking. Remember – One must taste, and taste and taste and adjust and taste and taste and taste …….

Making vegetable stock to fortify the gravy. Yup! Those are oranges and limes in this stock. Great citrus overtones.

The turkey is thawing and the stuffing has all dried ingredients mixed in. Sweet potatoes are prepped. Tomorrow will be Bedlam, but exciting and fun. Maybe a small helping of 10 year old Laphroaig will help. Probably. Cheers!

Thanksgiving morning started at 7:00am. Here’s what’s cookin’!

Orange and Onion Green Bean Casserole, Apple and Herb Stuffing, Sweet Potatoes

The turkey is stuffed and ready for browning. 19 pounder should be just fine. I need a larger oven, though.

Great Easter Dinner

09 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by in Celebrations, Ethnic Foods, Holiday Gatherings, Holiday Menu, Party Time, Passover Foods, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

≈ 1 Comment


I can’t say that everyone had a fantastic Easter dinner, but we certainly did! It was great having Mac and Marnie, Sophia, Chris and Madison, Margaret and Robin. Family and friends always make for a great day. And Robin talked to her close friend, Nancy Bonney Chrissman in Florida and a nursing friend , Geisla, in Germany. Who can ask for more? The photo to the left is of our table center piece. I did not get the beautiful flowers Margaret brought, though.

Easter Menu
Roasted Gremolata of Boneless Leg of Lamb
Roasted Rosemary and Herbed Potatoes
Haroset Salad
Asparagus Mousse
Minted Carrots
Challah
Marnie’s Cake

Our table before “the gang” arrived.

Challah bread

Gremolata Roasted Lamb

Asparagus Mousse

Marnie’s Cake

So there you are. And I repeat. Who could ask for anything more? Thank-You one and all for making this day so very special. Cheers!

Roast Chicken and Green Beans

08 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in Beans, Celebrations, Ethnic Foods, Holiday Menu, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Dinners, Special Events, What's For Dinner?

≈ Leave a comment


This has really been an ethnically diverse weekend menu. Especially since Passover and Easter happened to be on the same weekend. It all started Friday with the Gefilte Fish meal. Although I don’t think gefilte fish with Bearnaise is Kosher. (See Good Friday Meal earlier on this blog.) But it has been fun. And it is particular rewarding and pleasing when one of our very special Jewish friends here in Boise reads this blog and then calls to get the recipe for the gefilte fish. It will be fun to see how he made out with the dinner and the recipe. In the meantime, here is what we had for dinner tonight. The above photo is an Asparagus Mousse that Robin is making for dinner tomorrow. We had a sample tonight and it is so awesome. Rich and smooth and the succulent flavor of asparagus. 

Gremolata Popovers

Roasted Chicken
roasted root vegetables, rosemary, lemon

Plated dinner
Oven Roasted Chicken
Haroset Salad
apple, roasted walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, Manischewitz wine
Green Beans
Gremolata Popover

Oh what fun. Not only preparing these delights, but eating them and trying to understand what all this means. I may have to talk to Joe to get the significance of all of this. Cheers and tomorrow is the big meal. That will be fun, too!

Boneless Gremolata Leg of Lamb for Easter

07 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by in Classics, Cooking Styles, Easter Dinner, Holiday Menu, Lamb, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

≈ Leave a comment


Easter is tomorrow. We are having 7 people in for dinner. A lamb dinner. The menu will be

Boneless Gremolata Leg of Lamb
Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
Minted Carrots
Asparagus Mousse
Fresh Baked Challah
1977 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill Cabernet Sauvignon
1988 Dolcetto D’Alba Cascina Bordino

The top photo is of prepping the lamb. The Gremolata is on the lamb along with the spinach. This photo is of the lamb rolled, tied and in the pan for roasting. I am letting it sit for 24 hours to absorb all of the wonderful gremolata flavors. The recipe is below. Cheers!

Basic Boneless Gremolata Roasted Leg of Lamb



Total: 1 hr 25 mins
Makes: 6 servings
Adapted From: Chow (dot) com

Note: Gremolata, a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest, offers heat and fresh herb and citrus flavors to assertive leg of lamb. The best part of this recipe is that putting it all together for a dinner party or weeknight meal is a snap. Serve the lamb with a carrot mash or roasted potatoes.

Ingredients:
2 Lemons
Juice of ½ Lemon
5 Garlic cloves, minced
1 med Shallot diced
1½ T Rosemary, fresh and chopped
⅓ c finely chopped fresh Italian Parsley
2 T Olive Oil, plus more for coating the meat
Kosher salt
2 c baby Spinach
Freshly ground Black Pepper
1 (4-5 pound) boneless Leg of Lamb, netting removed
Butcher’s twine

Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

2. Finely grate the zest from the lemons. (If you’re using a vegetable peeler, finely chop the peeled zest.) Place the lemon zest, garlic, parsley, shallot, rosemary and measured oil in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. Stir until an evenly combined paste forms; set aside.

3. Unroll the lamb, lay it flat on a cutting board, and remove any large pieces of gristle, sinew, or fat. Season the top surface of the lamb generously with salt and pepper, then, using your hands, spread the lemon-garlic-parsley paste over the seasoned meat. Place 1 layer of spinach over the lemon-garlic-parsley mixture. Roll the lamb back up and tie it in several places, about 1 to 2 inches apart, with butcher’s twine. Rub some olive oil, salt, and pepper all over the outside of the lamb and place it in a shallow baking dish.

4. Roast in the oven until the internal temperature reads 135°F to 140°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour. Transfer the lamb to a cutting board and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the twine, carve, and serve.

Two Recipes for the Holiday Season

05 Monday Dec 2011

Posted by in Appetizers, Dessert, Holiday Menu, Recipe By: Robin Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Recipes, Relish, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

≈ 1 Comment


Here are two – now three, I added another – recipes that I think you will like. And just in time for the holiday season. The first one is Banana Cream Pie that is awesome. Rich banana flavor in a light and smooth banana cream custard.

The second one is a Spinach Bacon Onion Dip. Full of bacon. Great combination of the onion/spinach and bacon. Topped off with a lightly browned cheese. This will go fast! Enjoy!

And for turkey or chicken? Try this Robin’s Cranberry Orange Relish. It is a good alternative to the stand-by canned cranberry jelly. Tart, yet sweet.

Trial Run Easter Dinner 2010

28 Sunday Mar 2010

Posted by in Celebrations, Classic Sauces, Food, Holiday Menu, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Recipes, Things To Do

≈ 1 Comment


Easter is still a week away, but when you change your “traditional” dinner from lamb to say ….. well, ham, you have to make a trial run. And too, you have to have some idea of how you are going to prepare it. We decided not to go again, the “traditional” way of pineapple. Instead, we are going to use Elderberry Sauce for the coating and blending with it, clove. And about 2 pints or so of water in the pan to collect those drippings. Save those drippings. And bake with the ham some Sweet Potato or Yam. The photo here is after 1 hour at 375 degrees F. Time to re-bast with the elderberry. Don’t be afraid to let it drip into the water, which is now full of ham juice. Don’t let
this liquid dry up. It’ll make an awesome reduced sauce. After about 2 hours at 375 degrees F, the ham should be done. Remove it from the oven and let cool for about 20 minutes. Bast one more time while still hot. Let the elderberry sauce drip into the pan. Chill the pan drippings and skim off the fat. Make a roux and remove from the pan and set aside. Pour the drippings into the pan. Reduce by about 1/2. Add the roux and thicken. Plate the meal with sauteed asparagus and the potato. You can either slice the potatoes or gently “mash” them, leaving some chunks. Place some of the Ham Elderberry Reduction on the potatoes and ham. Serve with a 2008 Tualatin Estate Frizzante Muscat or a good Asti. Cheers!

Irish Soda Bread – Baked

18 Thursday Mar 2010

Posted by in Bread, Celebrations, Food, Holiday Menu, Photos By: Bob Young

≈ 1 Comment


St Patrick’s Day was awesome! Thanks to Leanne and Tom Felzien for opening their home for a great meal! And thanks to Gail an Bob for the “tour” of Scotland and the Whisky tasting. We took some Irish Soda Bread – recipe is on the previous post. I altered it somewhat: Instead of 4 c of All-Purpose Flour, I used 3 cups and then 1/2 cup of Whole Wheat flour and 1/2 cup of Oat Flour. 19 of us devoured almost 2 loaves. It must have been good! Here are the photos. Cheers.

Getting ready to go into the oven.

Out of the oven and cooling.

Christmas Day, Boise 2009

26 Saturday Dec 2009

Posted by in Bread, Celebrations, Dessert, Food, Holiday Menu, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do, Wine and Food

≈ 1 Comment


“The Day” has come and essentially gone. Long day. Awesome time. Good dinner. What else can I say. Oh yes, Thank-You to all who made this day so great: Robin, Marnie, Mac, Chris, Mattie and Buddy and Gus. Here are your photos (don’t miss the photos of the food!)!