Holly Wreath Fruit Dessert
I saw a picture of this on Facebook, I think, and since Sally's daughter Holly was coming for Christmas, I figured it would be a great lite dessert item for Christmas Day dinner. IMHO it turned out beautiful. The original used slices of apple skin to make a red bow for the wreath, but Sally suggested the stars of carambola instead.
10-12 Kiwis
1Starfruit
1 container of Pomegranate Seeds
I found this really fast and simple way to peel and slice kiwis. Trim off the ends, slide a thin bodied spoon under the skin, and turn the fruit. Shazam!
To make the holly leaves, I cut the kiwis about 1/4" thick, and halved each slice. Then it was just a matter of laying out the leaves and overlapping the inside ends to give the wreath its depth. Scatter groups of pomegranate seeds, and slice a starfruit to give it finishing touches.
I got a huge hand of ginger (not just a finger, a whole hand!) from my Produce Co-Op supplier, with the promise that I'd make Ginger Beer from it. Here you go, Steve!
This Ginger Beer, although fermented, does not contain any significant amount of alcohol; rather, the fermentation produces carbonation...
3-4 oz Ginger Root 1-1/2 cups or more peeled and shredded (I used our Saladmastertm machine)
3/4 cup (packed) Brown Sugar, or to taste
2 quarts boiling Water (I used our hot pot rather than a stove pot)
Juice of 2 Limes
1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast (champagne yeast if you have a brewing supply store nearby) otherwise ordinary Fleishman's works just fine.
Put the ginger and sugar in a large bowl, along with the lime juice. Pour the boiling water over the mixture and stir strongly to dissolve the sugar. Allow the liquid to cool to about 65F, in the fridge or an ice bath. Filter through a wire mesh strainer and cheesecloth to get rid of the chunks. Stir in the yeast until it hydrates and goes into the solution.
Bottle in a 2 liter clean soda bottle (or lidded bottles like I used) filtering again through coffee filters or paper towels to get rid of the scum and other particulates Set in the pantry for 2 days. Release the cap(s) at least once a day to prevent fermentation explosion messes. At the end of two days place the bottle(s) in the refrigerator to kill the fermentation. There will still be a thin layer of sediment in the bottom of the bottle(s), pour carefully to avoid getting this in your glass. Add sugar as desired when serving.
The taste is similar to, but not the same as commercial Ginger Beer or Ginger Ale. Those products have all sorts of additives, sweeteners, etc. and are often made with "ginger flavoring" rather than actual ginger. You may not care for homemade Ginger Beer, but it's a project worth doing. If you already brew beers or make wine or mead, you'll have all the fancy equipment to make a high-tech batch.
Ginger-Carrot Soup
This one I borrowed from the website of The Naked Chef -- Jamie Oliver!
1-1/2 lbs Carrots, shredded (large teeth on a box grater works well)
1 White Onion, diced
3" thumb of Ginger, minced
4 cups Vegetable broth or Water
1/2 cup Orange Juice
1/2 tsp fresh grated Nutmeg
Pinch Kosher Salt
Pinch White Pepper
Saute the onion and ginger in a splash of EVOO for a couple minutes until they start to soften. Add the OJ, broth and carrots. Simmer for about 30 minutes until the carrots are tender. Puree with a stick blender or by transferring to a food processor/blender. Return to pot and add nutmeg, salt and pepper. Simmer another 20 minutes to really marry the flavors.
Christmas Pudding Taste Test
At Thanksgiving, you saw the steps that the ladies followed to make this traditional English Christmas dinner dessert. Richer and denser and more moist that a conventional fruitcake, it also tastes a lot better too! Rich, unctuous, not quite cloyingly sweet. A lot fruity, a little nutty. As I've said before, this is what "fruitcake" wants to be when it grows up!!
Seafood & Eggplant Casserole
Sally announced her conversion to semi-Vegetarian (she will eat fish, shrimp milk in her coffee/tea) beginning January 1st. I've been looking for a whole new collection of vegetarian dishes. This is one I found, inspired by 3 smallish eggplants just sitting there on the counter...
5 cups Eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 lb Shrimp, peeled
1/2 cup each -- Celery, Onion, Bell Pepper diced - The Cajun Trinity
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 tsp cracked Black Pepper
1/2 tsp each Sage and Rosemary
1 tsp Cajun Spice Blend of your choice
5 slices White Bread
1 Egg, beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 cup Panko
2 Tbsp melted Butter
Put eggplant in a pot, cover with water; bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Remove eggplant to a colander to drain, reserving the cooking liquid.
Soak the bread in the cooking liquid and drain in a colander. Press excess water out of the bread and reserve.
In a skillet saute the Trinity and the garlic until soft. Add the chopped shrimp and seasonings. Then add the egg, half the Parmesan and reserved bread. Stir to combine.
Place the mixture in a 9x9 baking dish. Combine butter, panko and remaining Parmesan, and sprinkle across the top of the dish. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes to 1 hour, uncovered.
Broccoli-Cauliflower Casserole
This, as you'll see, is not only tasty, but colorful as well. Have fun -- use purple or orange cauliflower when you can find it -- not that boring white stuff!
2 cups each Small Broccoli florets and Small Cauliflower florets
1 cup Quinoa
1/2 cup diced Onion
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
2 Eggs
1 cup shredded Cheddar, divided
1/2 cup melted Butter
1/2-3/4 cup Panko
Cook the quinoa -- 1 cup grain to 2 cups water. A rice cooker is perfect for this. Drain and cool the quinoa, and spread about 1/2" deep in the bottom of an 8x12 baking dish.
Par-cook the broccoli and cauliflower separately, to maintain the colors. Cover with water and boil just 2-3 minutes; drain and cool. Layer the veggies atop the quinoa.
Beat the eggs. Add the mayo, onion, and half the cheese (I used white cheddar). Pour this mixture over the veggies.
Then pour the melted butter over everything and scatter the remaining cheese on top.
Last, top with the panko. Bake @ 350F for 35-45 minutes until browned and bubbly.
Makes a great side dish or vegetarian main course.
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