Thanksgiving saga: The feast!

It was, indeed, a feast for all posterity.  Pretty much everything was top-notch delicious, made tastier by good friends.

Some photo highlights:
  • Wendy basting the turkey with, yes, a syringe!  With Vince looking on.
  • Vince grappling with a newly-dead carp fish.
  • The fish, steamed with ginger and scallions.
  • Scott & G's beautiful vegetable tian.
  • The full spread.
  • Candace's butternut squash risotto.
  • Wendy's turkey with Grace's rich gravy at the ready.
  • Gilbert's virgin attempt at an apple pie--great execution, and very yummy besides (plus his mulled wine was outrageously good).

Thanksgiving saga: Aioli FAIL

I didn't know this was possible, but I broke my aoili yesterday.  I have made this recipe for aioli a bunch of times before with perfect, trembly, buttery-creamy results every time.  This time, I got greedy.  There was a point at which I knew I had added enough oil (lots of really good olive oil too), but I thought, since I was using a jumbo egg yolk, that I could maybe add a bit more.  And a bit more.  So greedy.  I put the aioli to chill overnight.

The next day, I saw that it looked kind of sickly--whitish spots all over it, and sort of "sweating" or oozing oil.  This was not good.  Wendy said it would be fine, but I was unhappy serving less-than-perfect aoili.  I knew I had added more oil than my egg yolk could emulsify.  I thought, maybe I can put it back in the kitchen-aid and add another bit of egg yolk, and it would be fine.

As soon as I started whisking it though, it liquified immediately.  No longer nice and stiff like it had been before--no matter how much I whisked it, it was toast, as they say.  Apparently over-whisking will deteriorate the egg.  It's like the egg had just thrown in the towel and said, "Forget it!  If you are going to abuse me like this, I'm not going to work for you at all." 

I gave up and stopped whisking.  I was so sad.  After letting the mixture sit for a while, all the eggy stuff had floated to the top and the oil was there at the bottom, but it was truly inedible.  Sad.

Thanksgiving saga: My actual cranberry sauce.

I decided on regular sauce because I didn't have a grinder, but to spice it up I cut up a persimmon (they're in season!) and added it to the mixture.  Started with a bit less than 1 c. sugar and 1 c. water.  Added cranberries--after just a few minutes they started splitting or "popping open."  Soon the mixture began to boil in earnest, and the cranberries started breaking down, at which point I helped them along by mashing them against the sides of the saucepan.  

Careful not to over-cook the cranberries.

Thanksgiving saga: Steps to a beautiful eggnog

Man, I'm so sorry I forgot to take pictures of the first two steps.  -__-  I will probably make this again though.  I adapted the recipe from one I found on AllRecipes.com.

1. Warm 4 c. milk in a saucepan with 5 whole cloves (6 if you are feeling sassy), 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 1 tsp. ground cinnamon on low heat for 5 min.  Slowly bring to a boil, using a spatula to stir it so the milk doesn't crystallize at the bottom.

2. Separate 12 yolks from their egg whites (okay--or 8-10 if you think using an entire dozen is nutty).  Save the egg whites for later use, like the egg white quiche they sell at Costco now.  Whisk the yolks in a large bowl with about 1.5 c. sugar until "fluffy."  To really get your eggs fluffy, it helps to have a KitchenAid and turn it to the highest speed for a few minutes, and you may even want to throw in an egg white or two.

3. While still whisking the eggs, slowly pour the hot milk mixture in.  You don't want to put the eggs into the milk because they will curdle.  

4. When eggs and milk are fully combined, pour the whole thing back into a saucepan over the stove and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 3 minutes, until the eggs thicken.  Do not allow mixture to boil.  Remove cloves and let mixture cool for an hour.

5. If mixture has formed chunks, use a hand blender to smoothen it.

6. Stir in rum (to taste... up to 2.5 c. if you're an alcoholic and as little as 1/2 c.  I don't recommend going totally alcohol-free because rum really gives this drink a whole 'nother dimension), 3-4 c. light cream or half-and-half, 2 tsp. vanilla, and 1/2 tsp. nutmeg.

7. Refrigerate overnight.  This step is key, to allow all the wonderful flavors to meld and work their magic.

I also added pictures of my final cranberry sauce.

Thanksgiving Saga : Cranberries

Cranberry sauce is one thing I put myself in charge of this Thanksgiving, and I take my task very seriously.  I bought two separate bags of fresh cranberries.  I was just going to make a crapton of regular sauce (even though people typically don't eat a lot of sauce), but I googled 'cranberry sauce' and the first thing that came up was this interesting-looking recipe for raw cranberry relish.  It sounds dubious (calls for 1 whole orange, pith and all) but I think I really want to try it.

Then I will probably make a batch of regular cranberry sauce too.

Foodie Tuesday (1 day late): Inquiring minds want to know

I have a very important question for you all.  One I have been wondering for a long time.

At what point does a butter cookie become a sugar cookie?

I mean, they both have butter AND sugar in them right?  I assume that one cookie has more butter and the other has more sugar.  I did a little digging and what I came up with, is that butter cookies are a lot simpler: flour, butter, sugar.  They are often in biscuit form or pressed, and of Danish origin.  Sugar cookies are a bit more involved, calling for things like baking soda and eggs and whatnot, plus they tend to be rolled out, cookie-cuttered, and decorated (frosted) for the holidays.  Who knows where they originated, but they were perfected by German Amish people in Pennsylvania, and became PA's official state cookie.

What happens when there are equal parts sugar and butter?  Have you then made, as my friend quipped, a 'bugar' cookie?

I bet Reggie has an answer for this.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures below, including buckwheat butter cookies, brown butter cookies, decorated flower sugar cookies, "soft and chewy" sugar cookies, basic sugar cookies, and a lolcat!

Weekend Pt. 4: 40th Int'l Taiko Festival

I came *thisclose* to not making it to this festival in Berkeley, but I already knew I love taiko (I'm considering taking lessons with SF Taiko Dojo), and the AA group at work was subsidizing tickets (which were $38).  I'm so glad I went!  It was like 3 hours of nonstop drumming action.  I never really thought about how inventive, spiritual, and generally kick-ass taiko could be.

They were really strict about not taking any photos/video, but I snuck a couple minutes so you can get a glimpse of what it was like--sorry for the terrible camerawork; it's hard staying centered when you're trying to hide a camera in your jacket =P

Followed by a YouTube video of the same group at another event--performing an intricate dance-like number.