My elaborately planned dinner unfortunately fell by the wayside tonight as I've developed a case of the stomach flu. Although I did manage to thaw some soup I'd previously made out for the kids tonight so they weren't left to fend for themselves.

The only bonus of the day was that our neighbors treated the entire block to a fireworks display right around midnight.

I definitely was in the "go out" category tonight. Despite the snow warnings, and the fact that there is about 4" of snow on the ground and counting, a really nice jazz band from K'zoo made it up to where I am now (Western Michigan). And, because of the snow, they came piecemeal- so we all got to hear the different parts of their band as they arrived - it was fantastic. It didn't hurt that the owner/chef of the restaurant started pouring the Veuve like water at about 1:00 EST.

Happy New Year Everyone!

I have friends coming over for the Rose Bowl (go Illini!) and my plan is (MAYBE EVEN "WAS") to smoke some baby backs in my WSM. Just my luck that I pick the coldest frickin day of the year. But, I have six slabs of ribs here (a little less than $50 worth), and my pride's at stake so I think I have to put up with the elements and go for it. Brrrr....

never to cold to fire up the smoker, I just got done shoveling my deck, and I will be firing up mine in a couple of hours.

Dinner last night was excellent. The prime filets were some of the best steaks we have ever had(having a competent local, family owned butcher shop is priceless when buying meat), and the crab legs were excellent as always.

happy new year

funholidaygirl wrote:In a related story, how can people choose tabasco over red hot? Red hot has sooo much more flavor and I douse my red beans and rice with it. I hate when I go out and the only hot sauce is tabasco.

Fun,

I couldn't agree more on the general uselessness of tabasco. Harsh, abrasive, one dimensional, the Carrot Top of the hot sauce world.

Enjoy,
Gary

jimswside wrote:never to cold to fire up the smoker,

Jimswside,

I did an 8-lb Costco beef tenderloin on the Weber kettle yesterday morning, never let a little snow deter one from cooking outdoors.

Trimmed 8-lb tenderloin


Indirect lump charcoal fire with a wee bit of apple wood


The Bunny approves


Chill, slice and serve with half-dollar rolls from Gladstone Bakery, tomato, onion and home made chipotle mayo.

NYE


Enjoy,
Gary


Gladstone Park Bakery
5744 N Milwaukee Avenue
Chicago, IL 60646
773-774-4210

Well we had a very nice evening. I made all my appetizers & then later we went outside to fire up the grill (We assembled & broke in a brand new Smokey Joe last night) & the girls played in the snow & built a snowman while the steaks grilled. My friend brought her dog over & so the 2 dogs romped in the snow & sniffed the smell of meat grilling....it was kind of magical, really; I should have taken pictures.

And now this morning I am having a spicy bloody mary, with puh-lenty of tabasco! ;>

Here is my fav bloody mary recipe:

12 oz Spicy hot v-8
juice of one lemon plus 1/4 lemon wedges
worchestershire sauce
several shakes of tabasco
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
4 oz Russian Shot vodka

Assemble all except the V-8, then add the v-8 and pour from one glass to another to mix (*never use a metal utensil to mix!) and then pour into 2 ice-filled glasses. Squeeze lemon wedges on top of your drink. Garnish with your choice of celery, olives or a dill pickle spear.

Soooooooo delicious!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We stayed in and made dinner for a total of 6. Had 6 lbs of King Crab legs, 3 nice thick ribeye steaks (about a pound each), 2 filets, and a pound of scallops.

Crab was heated using the Alton Brown method which involves wrapping the legs in damp paper towels and then sealing it in plastic wrap. After this it goes in the microwave for 2 minutes or so. Perfect every time.

Steaks and scallops were done on the gas grill. Brought my smoker to a friends to make a 24lb turkey on Friday and gave him my charcoal so I didn't have any to use my other grill. Steaks got hit with The Spice House Back of Yards Butcher Rub and scallops a simple salt/pepper.

Sides were nice and simple: Berghoff Creamed Spinach and roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes.

Dessert was a Pear Cumble with vanilla ice cream.

Needless to say we have a good amount of leftovers. Plan on making some crab and cream cheese scrambled eggs for lunch this afternoon.

In a odd twist I mainly drank 2005 Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Estate Riesling last night, though did finish with a Sam Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner. Guess it was a German drink theme all night

Was also the recipient of pretty much every Stone Brewing beer made and a mini keg of Bell's Two Hearted Ale from two friends that traveled to mythical lands where these beers are distributed. Looks like I have a lot of drinking ahead of me in the New Year!

Hope everyone had as much fun as I think I remember having last night!

Jamie

We broke our rule of staying in and cooking a nice meal and ended up going to Chuck's for dinner last night -- I couldn't stay away when I saw his surf 'n turf special on the menu. A nice-sized filet tail piece of meat covered with etouffee, along with a portion of pasta alfredo with some of the most delicious scallops I've ever eaten, cooked to perfection. A serving of broccoli was the perfect accompaniment to all that rich food. The girls split a piece of Chuck's fudgie-wudgie cake and even let us each have a bite before fighting over the rest of the generous slice. Most of the diners were there with their children.

We got home early and rented a movie with the younger daughter while the older one spent the night next door. This morning I made banana chocolate chip pancakes and sausage - special birthday request of my younger daughter. We'll be off to Chinatown later today for her birthday dinner.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Suzy

Did boneless lamb leg (and a bunch of chicken breasts after, since the coal was still up) in the WSM (no water pan). Had a lovely 1989 Chateau d'Armailhac (from Pauillac) as well as roasted potatoes with acorn squash, carrots and onions and a green salad. Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

Lamb was trimmed, then marinated in red wine, soy sauce, fresh rosemary, fresh garlic.

We stayed in this year. I'm 4 months pregnant and the hubby got put on the work schedule at the last moment, so rather than hitting a bar where I could not drink, I had a couple of friends over and cooked:

Delmonico cut-steaks with Shallot-Merlot sauce
Dilled baby carrots
Baked Corn Pudding
French Rolls

One of the guests brought a Caesar salad and the dessert.

I severed non-alcoholic sparkling wine. For those who wanted a little zip, I whipped up a Bellini base in my blender, so they could add it to their glass.

Happy New Year all!
Kim

After a surprisingly awful dinner at Blackbird several years ago, TPA and I decided that going out on New Year's Eve was a losing proposition. As a result, for the past two years, I have taken off the holiday and we host our own party. It's tremendously easy as I order and make a little bit more for a few of my client events storing and freezing accordingly. Adding in some last minute cooking, such as blini and homemade tortillas for the kid's quesadillas and voila! instant hospitality. Timing couldn't have been better this year as I did an appetizer demo at Bloomingdale's on Saturday and made additional product for that as well.

We served the following hors d'oeuvres:

Crab Puffs (bouchees made from homemade puff pastry filled with a savory crab mix)
La Quercia Prosciutto & Herb Stuffed Mushrooms
Mustard Cheese Crackers & Roquefort-Walnut Crackers
Beet Chips Topped with Blue Cheese Mousse and Radish Sprouts
Filo Tartlets of Brie & Pears Drizzled with Prairie Fruit Farm Honey
Pigs in a Blanket (wrapped in puff pastry)
Quesadillas
Butter-Toasted Marcona Almonds with Sage
Blini, Creme Fraiche and Caviar

Rounded out the meal with a Smoked Beef Tenderloin and a Smoked Venison Loin (rubbed with a rosemary, pink peppercorn and juniper berry mix), macaroni & cheese, a green salad with puff pastry croutons (centers of the bouchees) and a wonderful cheese platter with many stinky cheeses.

Dessert was a mix of Christmas cookies, cognac truffles, raspberry gelees (made with September raspberries from the market) and a beautiful chocolate cake decorated with a champagne bottle courtesy of guest Naomi Levine of Tipsy Cake.

We served our house wines (Caracol Serrano and Marques de Caceres) at first, but in the later part of the evening, we opened some wonderful Pinots (Sea Smoke, Lynmar and Landmark).

The kids entertained themselves with movies, playing band (with Thor's panapoly of instruments) and we enjoyed good conversation and company.

New Years Eve we went over to some friends house and cooked up a pretty large feast for 4 adults and two kids that aren't eating anything these days.

We started the evening with Scallops that were cooked in a white wine sauce. The scallops are then removed, sauce is reduced, cooked mushrooms and cream are then added. Throw the sauce and scallops in an oven safe dish, top with bread crumbs and parmigiana cheese. These were truly delicious. We quickly ate an entire french baguette dipping it in the sauce:



Sweet Potato Chowder:


BBQ Rubbed Tenderloin stuffed with Jack Cheese. Would have been fine without the cheese, but I thought I'd try something out. The pork was really good, the cheese just did not add anything:


Sage seared tenderloin that was served with a red wine prune sauce:


Prune sauce and a sweet and tangy bbq sauce I made:


Potato Gratin:


Baked Chocolate Pudding:


There was a salad in there somewhere too but I did not get a picture.

We drank brandy slushes all night and had a nice evening.

THOSE SCALLOPS! Of all the seafood I miss since becoming allergic, I have to say that scallops are the one thing I really miss the most.

Those scallops look divine! Next time you make some, eat some for me

jimswside wrote:never to cold to fire up the smoker, I just got done shoveling my deck, and I will be firing up mine in a couple of hours.

et. al.

Thanks to all of you, I was inspired to fire up the bullet. Results are posted separately here.

New Year's Eve this year was celebrated with an early dinner at the new Uncommon Ground on Devon. I intend to put up a separate post describing it and will link to it when I do. In short, it was a fantastic meal. Four course prix fix with wine pairings for $75 each. Mr. X and I were pleasantly surprised at how good everything was.

New Year's Day means an open house are our home with two kinds of chili, jambalya and other assorted snacks and treats. I tried Your Pal Will's award winning chili and it was very well received. The vegie chili from Jane Brody's Good Food Book was also tasty. Mr. X made his famous jambalaya (from America's Test Kitchen). I did learn that I should read my Spice House labels better next year. The chilis were spicier than they should have been because I used a combination of Medium and Hot instead of Mild and Hot. Some cheese and sour cream on top helped cool it off, but there were some spice averse attendees. Too bad for them, because I also made a hummus that had quite a kick between the garlic and cayenne pepper I used (having been inspired by the hummus thread.)

It's been almost a week since New Year's and we have just finished off the jambalaya. There is one more serving of meat chili and the vegie chili is going into the freezer tonight. We may need to adjust our quantities next year or invite more people.

Happy New Year to all!