Archives for December 2012

Christmas Eve

December 24, 2012 by Erica

Merry Christmas (Eve)!

It would be lovely if I had some sort of Christmas-y recipe for you today. But instead I have this Foulser family Christmas photo for you, circa 1992. That is TWENTY years ago! My sister Caitlin and I (years before Alban came along!) in San Francisco in our little matching Madeleine outfits. Look at her little cheeks and smile! Pretty much the cutest thing ever.

So yes, I’ve been too busy hanging out with my family to have a recipe today. Yesterday was one Sunday I did not spend in the kitchen.

I got into Boston late Friday night, and stayed up til 2:00 talking with my sisters. Yayyy sisters. It is so good to finally be in the same state as them again, even for a few days!

On Saturday Caitlin’s husband Ben arrived, and we had an action-packed Foulser family day (starting out with all 4 of us jammed in the back of Mom’s Subaru):

Ben and Alban look slightly green. That is not real life. That is my iPhone.

We did a beer tasting at Night Shift Brewery (and bought lots of beer – how I have missed Boston beer!):

Sampled chocolates at Taza (and bought lots of chocolate!!):

Drank tea at the Friendly Toast, one of my faaaavorite Cambridge spots:

Got weird at the MIT museum:

And ate delicious, non-vegan fare at Amelia’s Trattoria in Cambridge.

(Those are Alban and Caitlin’s gnocchi! Yum!)

Then I went over to my good friend Martha’s apartment and drank wine and ate Whole Foods cookies with her.

We don’t like to eat or anything.

Today Caitlin and I went on a quick run and did abs and push-ups, which I never make myself do on my own. There is talk of a full day family push-up contest tomorrow… however many push-ups you can accomplish over the course of the day! I was already docked some points though for asking if I can do girl push-ups (since I was immediately sore after completing my 3 sets of 10 girl push-ups this morning). Apparently the answer is no. Anyone have suggestions for what my strategy should be? Sets of 10? 2 push-ups every 15 minutes? I think I might be more competitive in the wall-sit competition that is apparently also happening. I just realized that this is starting to sound like we are doing feats of strength for Festivus. Whoever pins Dad wins!

Anyway, other than exercising competitively today, we did a bunch of eating, of course. My grandma arrived from New York and we went over to my aunt and uncle’s for dinner, where my cousin (hi Katie!) cooked us a deliiiiicious meal. I didn’t manage to get a picture of all of it, but the salads were pretty beautiful.

Then we had about 12 different kinds of homemade cookies plus strudel! It was amazing.

Tomorrow is going to be a full day of cooking, I think, at least when I’m not doing push-ups. Poached pears for dessert (along with more cookies!), and I think we’re also going to make as many recipes from the new Smitten Kitchen cookbook as humanly possible. We got it for my mom for her birthday in November, and it is even better than I expected, if that’s possible. I’m so looking forward to trying a few things out!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday with family and friends! Merry Christmas!

Extra Creamy Hummus

December 21, 2012 by Erica

And now for something not at all Christmas-themed. Because it’s yummy and I couldn’t resist sharing.

I’ve discovered the secret to creamy homemade hummus. Only 3.4 million people got there before me.

Have you made hummus before? It sounds easy to do – add all ingredients and process until smooth – and it was one of the things I was most excited to make when I bought a food processor a few months ago. Then I tried to make it myself and… ugh. It was just nothing like the creamy-textured stuff I love to buy. It was dense. I was bummed.

So I made my usual assumption for things that taste delicious when someone else makes them and terrible when I do: the stuff from the store/restaurant/wherever probably has oil/butter/other bad stuff by the POUND, and that’s what makes it taste so good. (This is usually a fair assumption… Sometimes I think that when something at a restaurant tastes good, I should refuse to eat any more. It’s probably too unhealthy! Life is just so unfair.) Well naturally I just continued buying hummus from the store. Sigh. The homemade stuff really was horrible.

But I didn’t want to give up on one of my favorite foods, and something other people seem to love making at home! It turns out, all it took to set me straight was Googling “creamy hummus,” which I did the other day. Should have done that before. 3.41 million results. I looked through about 3 of them and quickly learned the secret…

It’s the order, stupid. You can’t just “add all ingredients and process until smooth” (although I love nothing more than to discover a recipe with those instructions). But in the case of hummus, you have to emulsify the tahini with some liquid to lighten it up. Then you can add the rest of the ingredients, and it will stay light! Otherwise, the whole thing is heavy and weighed-down, just like plain tahini can be. And luckily this adds about 3 seconds to the time it takes to make this recipe, and no extra oil. Oh happy day!

You can change up the amounts of spices in this recipe, or roast the garlic for a milder flavor. Once you’ve added in the emulsifying step, it’s really hard to go wrong!

Serving with adorable mini peppers is highly recommended. So is eating while you take pictures.

Extra Creamy Hummus

Hands-on time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

Discover the secret to light and creamy homemade hummus. No chickpea-peeling required.

Author: Erica

Yields: about 4 cups

Ingredients

1/2 cup tahini
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup water
2-3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (I used 3 and it was quite garlicky, just the way I like it)
3 cups cooked chickpeas (2 14-oz cans, rinsed and drained)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Add tahini, lemon juice and water to a food processor (or blender if you're brave!). Process on high speed until it becomes very light-colored and fluffy, which shouldn't take long.
Add the garlic and process again until incorporated. Add the chickpeas and olive oil, about 1/3 at a time, processing to incorporate them completely before adding more. Once all of the chickpeas and olive oil are added, process for a few minutes longer, stopping to scrape the sides down occasionally, until it becomes as creamy as you'd like. If it seems too thick, add a bit more water (or olive oil for a richer hummus).
When it's reached your desired consistency, stop the food processor and sprinkle in the paprika, cumin, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Process to blend them in. Taste and add more salt and pepper if you'd like, processing after each addition.
Serve with crunchy vegetables, pita bread or tortilla chips, or use as a spread on sandwiches!

Notes

Adapted from Fresh Tart.

Spiced Red Wine Poached Pears

December 20, 2012 by Erica

OK, if chocolate and hazelnut isn’t your thing, (then I don’t understand you BUT) I’ve still got you covered for Christmas dessert. You can totally invite me over if you’re going to serve these. (You should have a little talk with your taste buds about the chocolate hazelnut thing, though.)

This is the perfect dessert to end a rich holiday meal, when you know there will be cookies and other sweets on the table, too. Spiced red wine poached pears are positively healthy compared with what you could be serving (ahem hazelnut cake), yet elegant and interesting enough to satisfy any dessert-lover. And for those who like rich desserts (this girl!), a healthy dollop of mascarpone cheese is recommended.

Can you tell from these pictures how beautiful these pears are? They are poached (fancy word for simmered!) in red wine, then further soaked in the poaching liquid, which is finally reduced down to a syrupy glaze to pour over the pears. The color is just gorgeous. You know I have a thing for colorful Christmastime foods! And served with the creamy mascarpone, they are just heaven.

This is definitely an adult-table-only dish. Sorry kids! You wouldn’t like it anyway… way too grown-up for you :)

(Am I the only one that liked the taste of wine as a kid? I specifically remember dipping my finger in my dad’s white wine when I couldn’t have been older than 6. My mom told me to stop because wine made kids “sick.” Hah!)

Plan a day or so ahead for these pears so you can give them time to soak overnight and take on the beautiful color and flavor of the spiced wine. That means leaving some extra room in the fridge for them during your Christmas food prep… and oh yeah, leaving some extra room at the table for me!

Spiced Red Wine Poached Pears

Adapted from The Boston Globe

Ingredients:

4 cups cold water
juice of 1 lemon
4-6 firm but ripe pears with stems intact (I used Bosc, but Bartlett will work, too)
1 bottle light red wine (mine cost $6.99 and was perfect for the job)
1/2 cup sugar
juice of 1 orange
1 2-inch strip orange rind
1 star anise
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
3/4 cup mascarpone for serving (or whipped cream, if you prefer)

Instructions:

Juice the lemon into a large bowl with the water. Carefully peel the pears, keeping the stems intact and taking care not to dent them. Cut a small slice from the base of each pear so that it can sit upright. Place each one into the lemon juice mixture as you finish peeling and cutting it. This will miraculously keep them from browning!

In a pot large enough to hold all the pears, combine all other ingredients besides the mascarpone (wine through cinnamon stick). Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.

Add the pears and simmer for 25 minutes, turning every 5 minutes or so to ensure even color. They should be tender when pierced with a skewer. (They may need 5 to 10 minutes longer if they were not ripe.)

Remove from heat and allow pears to cool completely in the poaching liquid.

Once completely cool, transfer the pears in their liquid to the fridge for at least several hours and as long as 3 days. (I recommend at least overnight to develop a deeper color.) You can keep the whole pot in the fridge, or transfer to a different container to save space. If your pot/container is deep enough, keep the pears standing upright. If not, that’s fine, just turn them over occasionally to let them soak evenly. The sides where they lie down will be a little flat and less colored, but no one will mind.

Before serving, strain about 1/3 of the poaching liquid into a saucepan. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Remove lid, reduce heat to medium and let the mixture bubble steadily until it reduces to a syrupy glaze, about 15-20 minutes.

To serve, place each pear on a dessert plate or in a shallow bowl and drizzle with the syrup. Add mascarpone on the side.

Enjoy!

Time:

4 hours to 3 days (includes refrigeration time)

Mushroom & Mascarpone Crostini

December 19, 2012 by Erica

I’m slightly obsessed with crostini. Is that normal?

I think so. Anyway, I assume that everyone you celebrate the holidays with will be obsessed with crostini, too, so you might as well serve them these.

Little toasts hot out of the oven, smeared with mascarpone, and topped with a savory mushroom mix. They might not be as festive-looking as those other Christmas crostini, but they can hold their own in the flavor department. The mascarpone gets a little melty and mixes with the juice dripping off the mushrooms… oh man, they are so good.

If you make these for friends or family, prepare to have zero leftovers. You may want to make a few extra. For Santa, maybe? He might be sick of cookies by the time he gets to your house, and prefer some hot melty mascarpone and mushrooms. I know I would. (But then I’ll have the cookies too, please.)

Mushroom & Mascarpone Crostini

Adapted from Small Bites by Jennifer Joyce

Makes about 24 crostini

Ingredients:

1 baguette, sliced (about 24 slices)

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup mascarpone cheese

1 lb baby bella mushrooms, diced (stems included)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp sherry vinegar

small handful parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread baguette slices out on a baking sheet and lightly brush one side with olive oil. Toast at 400 for 6 minutes. (You may be tempted to toast them longer, but resist, or they will become too crunchy!)

Over medium heat, saute the garlic with a drizzle of olive oil until fragrant, about a minute. Add the diced mushrooms and sherry vinegar, and saute until mushrooms are soft. Stir in the chopped parsley and add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

Spread a thin layer of mascarpone on each toast and top with a spoonful of the mushroom mixture. Serve hot!

Time:

20 minutes

Christmas Couscous

December 18, 2012 by Erica

Second installment in this week’s series of “maybe you don’t have your Christmas dinner planned yet” posts: Christmas couscous.

How pretty and festive is this?!

This couscous is all my mom’s doing. She has served it as a Christmas side dish a few times now, and it’s my faaaaavorite. It’s all about the colors.

Beets and onion are cooked in with Israeli couscous, turning everything bright pinkish red. Pretty colors + only one pot = win.

Not only does this dish look festive, but Israeli couscous is kind of appropriate to Christmas if you think about it… right? Bethlehem couscous?

(I just made that up right now. Let’s forget it and focus on the pretty food.)

This also makes a delicious non-holiday meal as pictured – served with sweet potato and sauteed spinach. Now that’s my favorite. And good thing. Because did I mention that Nate is away all week? Guess what I’m eating for lunch every day.

Miiiiine… all mine.

Christmas Couscous

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced (yellow or red will work)
1 pound beets (about 2 medium-sized or 3 baby beets), peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup Israeli couscous
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 tsp kosher salt + more to taste
pepper to taste

Instructions:

Add the olive oil to a small-ish pot over medium heat. Saute the garlic and onion until soft but not brown. Add the beets and saute for about 3 minutes. (This ensures that they’ll be done at the same time as the couscous.)

Stir in the couscous, water and salt. Simmer for 8-10 minutes, until the couscous is fluffy and the beets are tender. Add pepper and additional salt to taste.

Serve hot!

Time:

20-25 minutes

Archives for December 2012

Connect