http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dailytiffin/~3/oJavNnRxaqs/merry-christmas.html

http://feeds.101cookbooks.com/~r/101Cookbooks/~3/Ky0TKka7HaQ/red-posole-recipe.html

I'm sitting there with three tubes of kraft paper, a ball of twine, two dwindling rolls of tape, and a small mountain of presents to wrap. Fat, juicy raindrops are pelting the window panes. Wind is making the bones of the house creak, and I suspect it will be dark by 3:30 this afternoon. There is a pot of day-old red posole bubbling away over a low, low flame in the kitchen. Which, by the way, is the warmest place in the house right now. I'm eager to pick through the pot to procure more than my fair share of flowered kernels. Kernels I'll then hide under thin whisps of pan-fried tortillas, a pinch of toasted Mexican oregano, and a bit of crumbled feta. It will be just the right thing to have for lunch on a day like today.

I've had posole on my mind for weeks now. And this is just one of a series of posole-centric pots I've cooked up since my friend Gwen brought a huge pot of posole verde and all the fixings to a big family-syle dinner we had at Lori's house in Napa - you might remember Lori from the posts I've done about her cabin. Hi Lori, hi Lisa, hi Gwen :) The posole that night? It really hit the spot.

Gwen mentioned using the posole verde recipe on the Rancho Gordo site, but tomatillos are scarce right now, so for this pot I went the red route. I started with Deborah Madison's posole recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, which essentially gives you a base recipe for cooking posole/hominy. You then add her chile colorado style red sauce (to taste), which takes the posole into the red realm. I've adapted the recipe to combine the two components, and incorporated a few personal tweaks as well. You'll find posole is quite adaptable, so really, just season and make changes based on what tastes good to you.

It is worth mentioning, you'll end up with plenty of extra red sauce. Not a bad thing because it actually freezes well, as does drained pozole/hominy. So, while I don't normally think of pozole as an on-the-fly weeknight meal, if you have two of the components in the freezer, you can thaw them earlier in the day, and be ready to go, relatively quickly, later in the evening.

I'm just noticing that there aren't many popped kernels in the lead photo. There were plenty, but I must have spooned them all into my bowl! Merry Christmas & happy holidays everyone.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/elise/simplyrecipes/~3/oRoMXk3h32Q/

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_roast_a_goose/

Have you ever dreamt of cooking a Christmas goose, but were a bit intimidated by the prospect? When I wanted to learn how to roast a goose, without smoking up the kitchen, or overcooking the goose, I turned to the waterfowl master himself, guest author Hank Shaw of the James Beard nominated food blog Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook. Hank spent the day with my family, cooking, feasting and instructing. Enjoy! ~Elise

A great many people are deathly afraid of geese – and I am not talking about those nasty birds that chased us around at the park when we were children. Romance surrounds the roasting of geese, especially on Christmas, yet nearly everyone has a horror story about dry, livery meat surrounded by flabby skin and an ocean of liquid fat.

Can an overcooked goose become livery? You bet. Are they fatty? Oh yes. But remember that a goose is not a turkey, just as a duck is not a chicken. You don’t cook them the same way. And both ducks and geese are red meat birds – meaning the breasts of both need to be served medium-rare. That’s pink, or 140-150°F for those of you with thermometers.

Continue reading "How to Roast a Goose" »

http://justbento.com/bento-no-70-even-kale-can-become-christmas-bento

Bento contents:

• One pan braised kale with bacon and new potatoes, 1/4th the recipe, 430 cal
• Angel shaped cheese cutout (Gruyere), 30 cal

Total calories (approx): 460 (how calories are calculated)

Time needed: 5-10 minutes in the morning (from leftovers of dinner the night before: see recipe for timing of kale dish)

Type: Not Japanese, gluten-free, theme bento

This is a decidedly non-Japanese, non-traditional bento. When I was working on the recipe for the kale, bacon and potato recipe, it dawned on me that the color combination was quite Christmas-y. So, this is my Christmas bento contribution for this year; not as cute as many others in the bento blogosphere (check out some great examples in the Just Bento flickr group), but taking a lot less time I bet — working with leftovers from the night before, it came together in just about 5-10 minutes, with much of that time spent making the cutout and arranging the potatoes neatly.

I have just arranged the kale-bacon in the box with the potatoes arranged around the perimeter, in a triangular box to emphasize the Christmas tree reference, with an angel-shaped cheese cutout (using one of my seldom used Christmas cookie cutters) as an accent in the middle. I like to think that the cranberries and bacon in the dark green kale look like little ornaments…

The cheese fit surprisingly well with the kale-bacon-potato flavors. This is quite a healthy, vegetable-rich bento, besides looking festive. Kale for Christmas? Why not?

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all Just Bento readers!

(Don’t forget to get in your bids for Menu For Hope before Christmas day!)

http://justbento.com/handbook/recipe-collection-mains/one-pan-braised-kale-bacon-and-new-potatoes

I have been trying to incorporate more dark leafy green vegetables into our meals lately, not only for health reasons, but for the taste too. Spinach and Swiss chard are standards for me, but lately I’ve been playing around a lot with the kale family and cavolo nero, a type of dark leafed, loose cabbage. Kale is a bit tough, so I like to blanch it before stir frying it, adding to soups, and so on.

This is a complete meal-in-one recipe, that also cooks in one pan for less cleanup. It’s great hot or cold, so it makes an interesting non-traditional bento. Make it for dinner, and bring leftovers for lunch! Besides the kale, it also features tiny new potatoes that are sold around here at this time — they are popular for Christmas dinners. New potatoes have a subtle iron taste that complements the similar taste present in kale. If you can’t find new potatoes where your are, substitute firm, ‘waxy’ type potatoes rather than the floury baked potato type. Dried cranberries are added for a touch of sweetness, which fits very well with the kale. And, it has chunky bacon or panchetta or lardons in it, because you know, everything is better with bacon.

This recipe is featured in Bento No. 70.

Recipe: One-pan braised kale with bacon and new potatoes

Makes 4 servings, enough for dinner for two plus bentos the day after

• 2 bunches black or green kale (to end up with about 6 cups of cooked and chopped kale)
• 16 small new potatoes, or 4 medium regular firm boiling potatoes
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 225g / 8 oz piece of bacon or panchetta or lardons, cut into cubes
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 tbs. soy sauce
• 1 tsp sea salt or to taste
• black pepper

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Wash the kale, and rip off the leaves. If you have very long leaves you may want to cut them in half or thirds so they fit in the pot. Put the kale in the boiling water and cook for 4-5 minutes. Drain, and refresh under cold running water. Take bunches of the cooked kale and squeeze out as much water out of them as you can. Chop up finely. (You may want to do this part in advance to save time - the chopped kale will keep for a day or two in the refrigerator.)

In the meantime, scrub the new potatoes and cut them into half. If you’re using regular potatoes, peel and cut into chunks.

Put the bacon cubes in a large frying pan, and fry them over medium heat until they are crispy-brown on the outside. Take the bacon out, wipe out most of the bacon fat with a paper towel if there’s a lot there, and add the garlic and potatoes. Saute for 5-6 minutes over high heat, until the potatoes are lightly browned. Add 2 cups of water to the pan, and put a lid on. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Add the chopped kale, and stir and season with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Add the cranberries, and put the lid back on. Let it cook over medium-low heat for another 10 minutes. The garlic cloves should be soft enough to just mash up at this point; do so and stir it into the kale.

Serve hot or cold. If packing in a bento box, let it cool first.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/elise/simplyrecipes/~3/iN-zl7nRLF4/

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/hot_chocolate/

Come in from the cold and take the chill off with a warm cup of hot chocolate! Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic as he takes us through a hot chocolate tutorial. ~Elise

Hot chocolate is one of those things that spoil you forever. Once you make it at home you just can't go back to those ready-go packets of hot cocoa anymore. It's like comparing homemade truffles to a Hershey's bar from last year's Halloween. It's just not even a contest. Real homemade hot chocolate is thick, rich, and the real essence of what chocolate in a glass on a cold day should be.

How is hot chocolate different from hot cocoa? Hot chocolate is basically like drinking a melted candy bar; the chopped chocolate contains cocoa butter which makes it richer and smoother. Cocoa is powdered and contains no cocoa butter and thus very little fat. It also contains dried milk, sugar, and added flavors.

This is the real stuff, and once you try it you may never want drink hot cocoa again! The recipe here serves four, it may not look like a lot but believe me it's very rich and one cup is more than enough for a single person.

Continue reading "Hot Chocolate" »

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dailytiffin/~3/kNlTnSB4BII/time-for-giving-bitter-orange-marmalade.html

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/08/skinny-figgy-bars.html