FLOWN BY

Yes, 31 days in January 2010 are gone. Flown by so quick, you think nothing really happened, but it is not so, as you will see in this short recollection of mine. As you know we've been moving up in this world and bought us a Wii for Christmas and since we had only 1 day with sunshine this month and every day freezing weather we have enjoyed  this game on a daily basis. We are officially experts on the carnival mini golf and some games in the Wii sport resort. We definitively need much more practice with the Tiger Wood PGA Tour 10 Golf game.

January 10th we woke up to 3 inches of snow and Brian was busy with plowing and salting his clients streets and parking lots and a couple days later he ask me to help him clean his heavy machinery including snowplows, salt trucks, small 4weehlers with snowplows, Bobcats and backhoe.

 

  

  

  

 

 
It took us a good 7 hours and it showed me some things,   #1: I am totally out of shape   #2: I am not used to working for 8 hour straight anymore.    I was tired and sore on my entire body when I got home, but I enjoyed myself and was very satisfied with my accomplishment.

Wednesday January 20, Donna's Birthday, I was planing a nice gourmet Dinner just for the two of us here at home. I went shopping the the day before for all the ingredients and got my mise en place together. On Wednesday Donna had to work and we decided on going out for lunch together to a restaurant of her choice during her lunch break.  We ended up in the Macaroni Grill and it was delicious. Of course, after this super Italian lunch we decided to reschedule her birthday dinner for the next day.

Thursday night I fixed sashimi appetizer, Alaskan king crab legs, fillet mignon, Pomme souffler,
fresh grilled asparagus with hollandaise sauce, and hot berry with vanilla ice cream. Also, for a cocktail we had a Bacardi and coke, consumed some Pinot Grigio with the appetizer, enjoyed a California Merlot with the main course, ending up with a couple of Grand Marniers for dessert.
Overall a very enjoyable and festive birthday dinner.

Saturday night Daniel and Gina took us out for some Sushi for Donna's birthday,  following  with a  show at the Funny Bone and drinking and dancing at a Jazzbar, where we were joined by Karla and Eric.

Another superior night, but we physically payed for it.  It took us all Sunday to recuperate. I am thankful Donna's Birthday Month is finally over.

 The only sad thing is that Gina and Daniel`s Dog Jack seems to be quite sick.  It is very mysterious and nobody seems to know what it is. I hope he recuperates very soon.

Last Friday was grandparents day at Luke`s school. Donna and I  surprised him and showed up. He was very happy and Grandma enjoyed herself too.

Also, for the last two weeks the Australian Open was on TV, and I had to spend a lot of hours in front of the television. Believe me, it was all worth it.  Mr Roger Federer was giving all the other boys some Tennis lessons!!!

As before stated, no wonder this month flew by that fast.

TEN DAYS OF FUN

Today is Saturday, January 2nd 2010, and we have consumed our last of  the New Years eve dinner left overs. It was delicious and now Donna and I are reminiscing about the happenings of the last 10 days. 

Ten days ago it was Christmas and we spent a wonderful day with all the family here.

We got together on Friday around 1 in the afternoon and enjoyed a pork roast, zucchini & yellow squash Provençal  and traditional mashed potatoes and gravy. For dessert I baked a cheese cake with sour cream topping, what was really delicious, but most everybody is so health conscious I ended up eating the whole cake myself. (I got to stop that). They really don't know what they missed!!

We all opened our Christmas gifts, had some good Wine, played the wii, watched the kids play with there new toys, overall an  enjoyable afternoon.

My Christmas cookies where a big hit. We ended up giving some  to all my neighbors, (maybe there will help me rake the leaves next Year). We even got surprised with a white Christmas and everybody was loving it except Brian, he had to go to work with his salt truck.

Monday I had to do some shopping for our new Years festivity. I prepped and cooked for next two days so everything would be perfect for New Years Eve. And it pretty much was.

We started with a dish called " Seafood  Campechano" .  It is served ice cold, a ceviche like
dish, you could only find in the Hazienda Restaurant at the Princess Hotel in Acapulco or of course
in the Euro Garden Restaurant on Mackinac Island.

More stew like, it is prepared with onion, tomatoes, chile cerano, hearts of palm, cucumbre, Tomatoe juice mixed  with diced flounder, cut shrimp and chunks of meat from king crab legs all marinated over night in fresh lemon jus.

Afterward we had  "Prime Rib of Beef au jus"  with "Orchard Lane Potatoes" and fresh "Asparagus Hollandaise".  Donna and I used to live on Orchard Lane in St Charles where we several times had poolside barbeques and that is where Donna use to wrap potatoes, onions and garlic in foil and baked them on the grill. I took this a step farther and added some sour cream, butter and chedder cheese and wraped the filling in puff pastry dough. That's how orchard lane potatoes where born.

For dessert I prepared a fresh   "Rasperry Roulade". The filling consisted of Mascarpone Cheese, Philadelphia cream cheese, vanilla pastry cream and fresh rasperries. It was delicious,light and moist and it seemed everyone enjoyed it.

But wait, this is not all, for midnight snack I fixed the traditinal canapees, a parmesan, spinach dip and some fresh gugamole dip.

After dinner we play darts and card games and had a champagne toast at midnight.
I do not  know about everybody else, but I had a wonderfull time this holidays. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR  2010

                   

CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Since the weather was pretty bad the last couple of weeks and there is really not much to do, but go shopping or hang around the house, I decided to do something unusual for me and try my lost skill in cookie baking.  While Donna went Christmas shopping, I produced over 700 Christmas Cookies this past weekend, six complete different flavors.  This sounds like a lot of work, but it is actually more fun than work.  It is a bit challenging in a little housewife kitchen with only 2 little sheet pans, but I managed.
Here we go, starting with the most traditional Christmas cookie:

MAILANDERLI

            18 oz      Butter                                          whip soft in large bowl

            16 oz      Sugar

            1 pinch   Salt                                             add     

            6 each    Eggs                                            add one at the time, whip until fluffy
            2 each    grated lemon rind          
            36 oz     Flour                                            add and mix with spatula to a dough
                                                                              cover and  let cool for 2 hours

         Divide dough in to smaller portions and roll out with little flour until about 1/4 inch thick.
         Use assorted cookie cutters and place cookies on sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
         Egg wash and bake in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.

____________________________________________

                                                   

 GELEE RINGLI

             18 oz        Butter                                        Whip soft in large bowl
               9 oz        Powder sugar
               4 tbs       Vanilla sugar
               1 pinch   Salt                                            add all and whip fluffy
               2 each    Egg whites                                 add
             25 oz        Flour                                         add and form dough, cover and let
                                                                               cool for 2 hours.

          Roll out in small portions until about 3/16 inch thick .  Use 2 inch round cookie cutter
           and place  cookies on sheet pan with parchment paper.  Cut out the middle of half the
           cookies with 3/4 inch cutter.  Bake in 400 degree oven for 6-8 minutes.

             12 oz   seedless raspberry jam                   heath and fill bottoms with small amount 
              small amount  Powder sugar                     Sprinkle tops and press onto bottoms.
                

_______________________________________________________

CHOCOLATE CHRABELI

            14 oz      Butter
            11 oz      Dark couverture (Chocolate)
            6   tbs     Water                                           melt in double boiler and let cool
            ___
            18 oz       Flour
              6 oz       Powder sugar
              8 oz       Fine grated Hazelnuts
              1 pinch  Salt                                              mix all ingreedients in bowl, add the
                                                                               chocolate mix and form a dough with a spatula.
                                                                               (do not knead )

           Form  dough in to 1 inch rolls, cut rolls in to 1/4 inch slices, form slices in to small rolls
           and insert 3 cuts with paring knife, place on sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
           Bake in 400 degree oven for 8 minutes.
            
           2 oz        Powder sugar
           1 tbs       Chocolate powder                          mix and sprinkle cookies when still hot

 _________________________________________________________

VANILLA HORNCHEN

            18 oz          Flour
              1 pinch     Salt
            14 oz          Butter                                    mix soft (not liquid) butter,salt and flour throughly     
              6 oz          Powder sugar
              4 tbs         Vanilla sugar
              8 oz          fine grated Almonds
               2 each     Egg white                             add all ingredients, form dough and let cool 30 min.

                Form dough in to 1/2 inch rolls, cut in to 3/4 inch pieces and roll them into small horns
                place on sheet pans lined with parchment paper.  Bake in 400 degree oven for 12 minute.

              12 tbs         Powder sugar
                4 tbs         vanilla sugar                     mix and roll cookies when still hot.

  ___________________________________________________________

 

BRUNSLI

              11 oz           Sugar
                 1 pinch     Salt    
              18 oz           fine grated Almonds
                1 ts            cinnemon
                1 each       Orange rind
                6 tbs          Flour
               11 oz          grated White Chocolate                            Mix all ingredients in bowl
                  ________________
                 4 each      Egg whites
                 4 tbs         Grand Marnier                                     add and knead to a dough

                Roll out dough with sugar until 3/8 inch thick, cut with 2 inch cookie dough cutter,
                place on parchment paper  and let dry for 6 hour in room temperature.
                Bake in 450 degree oven for 4 minutes, let cool.                                    
             
                  8 oz White Chocolate                          temper chocolate and decorate cookies with
                                                                              piping bag.

  _____________________________________________________________

MAKARONCHEN

               6  each          Egg whites (about 7 oz)
               1 pinch          Salt
               4 oz               Sugar                               Whip egg whites, salt and 1oz sugar to stiff
                                                                             meringues adding rest of sugar gradually
                _________________  
               4 oz               Sugar
             22 oz               fine grated Hazelnuts         mix and fold in to meringues.

                    Use pastry bag with star tip to pipe cookies on sheet pan lined whit parchment paper.
                    Decorate each with whole hazelnut, and let dry for 6 hours or over night.
                    Bake in 325 degree oven for 10 minute.

____________________________________________________

WOW!!

It looks like I still got it.  They taste fantastic.

MERRY CHRISTMAS