Christmas Tree in the Girls’ Room

Well I have actually been thinking about this post for quite some time.  Thinking about what an exciting year is ahead for us.  Not only are Jason and I looking forward to having a new baby in the house, but the girls are excited too.  I can hardly wait to see how a new baby sister will change them.  Taylor will also go to Kindergarten this year.  And it’s always exciting to see the girls grow and change and mature.  They are more inquisitive and more mature everyday and it is an honor to stay home and witness it every day. 

I wanted to write about our hopes and dreams for the coming year.  Saying goodbye to alot of stressful and difficult times that we went through last year.  A fresh start.

This morning I got up and went outside to beat the crowds to the market to grab a few things and discovered two bullet holes in the window to the girls’ room.  Thank God no one was hurt.  The girls’ managed to sleep right through it.  But I can not tell you how upsetting it is to find glass fragments and debris from a gun shot on the foot of the bed that you 4 year old daughter sleeps in.  I think I did a really good job not loosing it completely.  Stress is the enemy of a high risk pregnancy. 

But wait… Why would I even inspect for a bullet hole?  Sadly, this isn’t the first bullet hole through a window that we have experienced.  And yes, we live in an area where it is not unusual to have guns fired during a holiday celebration.  But two holes in the window, a few inches apart.  No bullet holes in any stucco or facia (ever, in 5 1/2 years of living here).  And a bullet hole in July through another window.  Oh yeah, and a psycho, estranged, stalker of a soon to be ex-step father makes me think it is more than a celebration gone bad.   Look closely at the picture and you can see the holes in the window and the bullet fragments on the dresser top.

Bullet Holes

So my morning was spent with another Sherriff and more reports and then cleaning, cleaning, cleaning the girls’ room.  Trying to get all the glass out of the carpet and bedding and toys and surfaces.  Another Sherriff you ask?  Yes, sadly bullet holes are only one of the things that Senior Psycho does to torture and intimidate us.  But this is not suppose to be the focus of this blog. 

So Happy New Year?  Boy, I hope so.  And I hope your New Year started off better than mine. 

~Blondie

I have been contemplating our Christmas Menu this year and traditionally my family prepares a carbon copy of our Thanksgiving Menu.  This year I bravely decided to break with tradition and go my own way.  I say bravely as it has probably been about 100 years or so since someone has deviated from this tradition, but when Jason and I had our first child (sweet Chandler) we took over the holiday entertaining and well this year we have a very small gathering.  So I decided to deviate from tradition and I feel fairly confident that I will not be tarred and feathered (gossiped and shunned, maybe).  So I am sure at some point before the New Year a turkey will be gracing our table, but it will be more as an excuse for this pregnant mama to have a large supply of leftovers to transform into yummy, versitle and inexpensive meals for her family, than a holiday centerpiece (with 50 sides).

So this year for Christmas I am thinking of the following menu…  None of which I have prepared before *rut ro* so I thought I would do a little last minute (very last minute)  tasting session and post the recipes and results here in the days leading up to Christmas.

 The menu I am working on goes something like this (click on highlighted item for a link to the recipes)…

Cocktail:  Sparkling Cosmos

Soup:  Cauliflower Soup garnished with Roasted Red Peppers and Bacon Lardoons 

Starter:  Crab and Scallion Stuffed Shrimp

Main:  Crown Roast of Pork  Maple-Mustard Crusted Pork Loin 

Side:  Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Side:  French Green Beans with Garlic

Dessert:  Creme Brulee

The menu is based on items that can be prepared ahead (soup, shrimp stuffing, creme brulee, brining the pork) and things that can share the oven (it may be the smallest oven ever made.  Seriously, I think the no bake oven that I had as a child was bigger than this one).  I was going to prepare a crown roast of pork (they are soooo sexy) but after much research I have decided not to go that route.  Mostly because I kept reading that to make the perfectly shaped crown, you really need 14-20 bones, on a generous roast, each bone would feed one guest.  Well, we are only entertaining two additional adult guests this year.  So I thought 14-20 servings for 4 adults and 2 kids was overkill.  Plus I didn’t order it ahead of time and I have never frenched before (haha, okay I have “frenched” before, but that’s not what I meant).  This will have to be a self imposed daring challenge for another time.  Perhaps Easter?  The Bebe will be here and we celebrate 4 out of 5 of our birthdays in the spring (Bebe, Mommy, Daddy and Taylor).

So the plan is …  Christmas Eve

1. Brine the pork 
2. Prepare the custard for the creme brulee
3. Prepare  the crab and scallion stuffing for the shrimp
4. Prepare  the breadcrumbs for the shrimp
5. Make the cauliflower soup
6. Roast and dice  the red peppers

Then on Christmas Night, roughly 1 hour before dinner …

1. Roast the pork and the potatoes for roughly an hour
2. Warm the soup (while pork is roasting) 
3. Blanch the green beans (while pork is roasting)
4. Stuff the shrimp but reserve the bread topping until time to bake
5. Prepare the cocktails (this should be #1 right??)

15 Minutes before Dinner (ha ha)

1. Remove the pork and fingerlings to rest
2. Start a pot of coffee (for dessert)
3. Top the shrimp with the breading and bake for 12-14 minutes
4. Serve the soup while the shrimp bakes
5. Saute the green beans  in slivered garlic and almonds

For the Starter…

1. Clear the soup course
2. Serve the starter course

And Finally…

1. Carved the pork
2. Plate the potatoes
3. Plate the green beans

After Dinner…

1. Brulee the tops of the custard
2. Serve with coffee

I think that will work out.  Lucky for me I have little elves that are very capable in the kitchen.

So I have a question… Do you have your big holiday dinner on Christmas Night or Christmas Eve?  And what are you serving?

Happy Ho Ho’s

~Blondie

Pah zo leigh - Pozole people, do you know it?  Have you had it?  Did you/Do you like it?  Tell me…  ‘Coz I for one love it. 

It’s all dark and mysterious, it’s spicy, it’s meaty, it’s brothy, it’s good.  Jason, he’s not a fan.  I think it’s too, um… fussy for him?  No, stewy.  He’s no stew boy (what?).  But it could also be the fussy that keeps stew boys (and girls) away.  You know with all the garnishes and toppings, you really have to be friends with your food to get your eat on.  I personally find it suits my picky-eater style, yes that’s right, I am a world class picky-eater.  But I’m in a program now so it’s all good. 

For me pozole and all it’s lovely toppings is akin to chili,  if you got it and topped it yourself.  Except I don’t like chili, well chile verde yes and white chicken chili.  But chili, like American red chili with beef and kidney beans… no thank you.  I mean aside from the fact that I don’t eat beef and I don’t care for tomato sauces there is the issue of kidney beans.  I mean really?  That is the nastiest freakin bean in the world, it should go away and die some lonely painful death. Now I don’t generally get all hostile and aggressive towards food but there are a few.  Veal.  Well, not veal itself.  But what’s up with the sick bastards that eat baby-cow-raised-in-a-box-so-it’s-fork-freakin-tender?  I’m just sayin. 

And I think I’ll look into if my picky-eater program has an affiliate food-aggression program.

In the mean time, here’s my recipe for tender, delicious pork pozole.  It becomes tender with that fall apart quality because you simmer a cheap cut of pork for three hours.  So please don’t use baby-cow-raised-in-a-box-so-it’s-fork-freakin-tender …  Enjoy.

Blondie’s Pork Pozole

• 2 1/2 pounds of pork, in 1″ cubes (pork shoulder or country pork ribs or rib tips) and the bones
• 1 large brown onion, diced
• 10 cloves of garlic, minced
• Large can of hominy
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Cumin
• 4 whole dried Ancho Chiles
• 6 cups homemade chicken stock
• Water

For garnish you will need

• Cabbage, shredded
• Radish, sliced
• Cilantro
• Onion, diced
• Limes

Heat a little oil in a large heavy pot and add the cubed pork.  Seasoned with salt & pepper and brown on all sides, you may have to do this in batches.  When browned on all sides, remove pork from the pan with a slotted spoon, set aside in a bowl or platter (juices will accumulate). 

Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook in the pork fat that should have rendered out, sautee until translucent.  Remove and add to the deep dish with the browned pork.  Make sure there is sufficient oil in the pan, adding if necessary and put the dried ancho chiles in the hot fat.  Cook them for about 4-5 minutes on each side to blister and develop the flavors.  Remove into a separate bowl and cover with hot water, submerging with another bowl if necessary, until soft and tender about 15 minutes. 

In the mean time, add the pork, onions and garlic back into the pan, along with any drippings, add the hominy and the chicken stock and as much water as needed to cover.  Bring to a simmer.

When the chiles are soft, remove the stems and seeds,  dice or puree the chile.  Add both the chiles and the broth to the pozole.   

Simmer over medium heat for about 3 hours, adding more water if necessary to maintain the level of liquids, until the pork is fall apart tender.  Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and cumin.

Serve with a platter of garnishes and a ice cold corona or a real margarita.

Note: To all the chili aficionados - I realize that red chili as should be made the Texas way, does not have a tomato sauce - it’s the chiles that make it red.  And that the presence of beans is debatable and is never a nasty freakin kidney bean.  But good proper chili is not so easy to find.  It’s an art and if you make it, your an artist.  And if you’ve ate it, you are indeed lucky.  But I think most chili served in the States closely resembles the gruel that you would find at Wendy’s (not that I have ever had it).

Another Note: I realize that the sweet little innocent calves are not actually raised in boxes. Blonde and stupid are not the same things.

And now, in case you wanted to know: Pozole is a traditional Pre-Columbian soup that perhaps came from Jalisco, Mexico (lots of references to Jalisco on the web). It is a soup or stew with a combination of hominy (corn) and pork and chiles in a broth, served with various accompaniments, to be dressed by the lucky individual who is eating this spicy, delicious soup.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! err, I mean Seis de Mayo!
**Warning: This post is all over the place**

Like any good SoCal girl, I am unequivocally addicted to good, authentic Mexican food (Taco Bell does not qualify as good Mex).  And that often means I am dining solo at a hole in the wall, no air conditioning, non-English speaking, shanty of a “restaurant”.  I use the term “restaurant” loosely as I have discovered that sometimes, the best food comes from the trunk of a car.  I eat in places Jason is afraid to even go into - shady places - of questionable safety, in undesirable parts of the valley.   Home of Tasty.  Elusive.  Authentic.  Fresh.  Mexican food.

And this post is about good Mexican food and drinks and celebration so for those who don’t know, here is the 411 on Cinco de Mayo and after we can meet for a drink… 

Update: this is a really long post - we will talk food next time.

Cinco de Mayo (5th of May) is often thought of as the Mexican Independence Day, but it is not (Mexican Independence Day is on Sept 16).  Cinco de Mayo is actually a celebration of a great battle resulting in the unlikely defeat of the French Army in the Battle of Puebla in 1862 (thank you Wiki).  And is a commercial celebration or a celebration concentrated (with some exception) in commercialized areas (ie; the US,  the border towns in Mexico and other tourist towns South of the Border) and of course in Puebla.  Not so much in non-commercial areas (ie; everywhere else in Mexico, everywhere in the US that is not near the border and the rest of the World).  Class dismissed.  Now lets go have a drink.

We will celebrate with Margaritas, slow cooked pork pozole, Mexican street corn, fried tortilla chips, guacamole and salsa.  Ole!  Let’s start with the good stuff first, coz your gonna need one of these while you make everything else…

Blondie’s Real Margaritas and Tequila 101

• 2 1/2 ounces Tequila Blanco (aka silver or white tequila)
• 2 1/2 ounces Orange Liqueur (Triple Sec or Cointreau)
• 2 1/2 ounces Fresh Citrus (Lime or Lemon)
• 1 wedge of Orange
• Organic Blue Agave sweetner, to taste
• Ice
• Salt - optional

Place tequila, triple sec, citrus juice and Blue Agave sweetner in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.  Shake, shake, shake baby!  Strain into a martini glass, squeeze a bit of orange and float that wedge right in there.  Salute!

I typically like my margaritas straight up (no ice) and with no salt on the rim - you know ”diet” margaritas *wink* coz there is alot less bloating going on!  But these are equally good on the rocks with or without salt.

Now go get a margarita and meet me back here for Tequila 101 (I’ll wait)

A word about tequila… I only drink silver tequila and I only drink margaritas (no shots for me thank you) and when I drink gold tequila (even reposado or anejo) I get a headache!  After much research, yes all those margaritas are research Mom, I have come to realize a few things about tequila.  These realizations will be forever be referred to as Tequila 101.

The first first (yes I wrote that twice, no it’s not coz of the margaritas).  The first first is that if you buy cheap tequila you will most likely be rewarded with… a cheap headache.  Now you don’t have to buy a super-premium tequila (though you really can’t go wrong with Patron Silver or AsomBroso) just a good quality tequila (like Sauza Blanco or Jose Cuervo Especial).  But please, I beg of you, do not use crap tequila here or dare I say -  mezcal. 

The second first; speaking of mezcal… it is not tequila people.  And if there is a worm in your tequila… it is not tequila either.  And you don’t want to drink that.  Put it down and step away from the bottle.  Unless your in college, then by all means…

The third first; well this is where I reveal the different types of tequila and how there aged (note taking not required).

Did you know that when tequila is first distilled it is silver or blanco?  Then it is placed in oak barrels (much like wine) and aged.  That’s were the color comes from.   So depending on how complex you like your tequila, an aged tequila may be the way to go.  Okay?  Okay.  

Some tequila is “rested” but not “aged” (silver or blanco tequila),  some is aged for a few months to no more than a year (reposado) some is aged 1 -3 years (anejo) and some longer (super anejo), some tequila is a mix of a reposado and blanco/silver to produce a light carmel or gold colored tequila (oro).  All different in flavor and dare I say bouquet?

*the sound of wine snobs everywhere falling over*

To complicate things even more   Also contributing to the bouquet (ha ha) is the fact that the oak barrels do not have to be new.  Sometimes the casks had a previous life over at the Jack Daniel’s plant, okay maybe not Jack’s place specifically, but some barrels have previously held other alcohol, some barrels have been charred (for a smoky background) and some anejo and super anejo barrels were previously reposado barrels.  All these things contribute to the overall complexity of your tequila.  And while you may want a smoky quality or a certain complexity in your sipping tequila, Blondie don’t want that in her margarita (third person, nice).  I want a clean tequila taste with a hit of sour citrus, some sweet from the orange liqueur and if I am feeling particularlly scrawny (um, that hasn’t happened in a long time), a little salt on the rim.

A footnote on the second first… it’s not a worm, it’s a larval form of a moth.  Why would you swallow that?  I mean unless your in college.  And not smart enough to know better.

Now, I can not drink wine either - especially the red oaky ones.  Do you see where I am going with this?  I think it’s a tannin thingy from the barrels - but clearly I need to conduct more research. 

To recap: Good tequila = no nasty headaches.  For me,  good tequila means silver tequila.

A footnote to the recap (coz I can): This is only one of 10 million margarita recipes that I make here in my little slice of paradise, so another version is likely to be posted soon (my Mom must be so proud). 

Do you have one of these? You need one of these. Go get one of these. Today. Like right now!

Adios!

Blondie

Okay, I am having technical difficulties in posting pictures for some reason.  So until I sort it out let me just say “Feliz Cinco de Mayo”.

Hopefully we will be posting pictures tonight of yummy Mexican food, including fresh tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole,  authentic margaritas (no mix baby), pork posole, the girls making tamales and more… basically a page from my Latina Cantina diet, which by the way is not really working out for me.

And from Tutu’s birthday feast (Monday).

A smarter Chica would know how to remedy mi problemita - but this Chica has to delve into the Codex files and figure out what the heck is going on!

Posting soon…

Adios Amigos!