Great Big Holiday Dinner

Lily and I are visiting her grandparents in Monterey, California. Lily's grandma didn't want to cook a holiday dinner for the family but did want to have one, so I volunteered my services. I put together a meal I am very proud of, and would like to brag about it. I had been missing La Morra recently, and decided to do a meal with a few things I had learned there. I normally don't thoroughly enjoy big meals that I cook like this because I am my harshest critic, but this time it was different. Maybe it was because everything was served at once, family style, with no appetizers, so once I was done cooking, I could sit back and enjoy it without having to get up again and again. Lily and I agree that everything came out very good, and for a couple dishes, we were hard pressed to think of anything that could be improved. I hate using the P-word (p*rfect) to describe my own cooking, so I won't.

Here's what was on the menu:

Brussel sprouts with breadcrumbs
I cut brussel sprouts in half and carmelized them all cut-side down only in a salted pan in olive oil. Towards the end I added finely chopped garlic and then tossed them with some aged balsamic vin. They were served room temperature, topped with breadcrumbs cooked in olive oil and garlic. This was inspired by a very similar dish we had at Pizzeria Mozza in LA, but mine was better.

Wilted bitter greens with blood orange, almonds, and goat cheese
I wilted mustard and dandelion greens in olive oil, and added some very finely crushed toasted almonds. When cool, I added blood orange segments, and tossed the mixture with salt, pepper, and the leftover blood orange juice. I topped it with some very good goat cheese, and also served it room temperature. This dish came to me on a whim, and it turned out to be really delicious.

Carmelized parsnips with savory
Pretty simple - I carmelized thinly sliced parsnips in butter and salt, then at the end I added finely chopped savory. I should have cut them a bit thicker, which would have allowed me to carmelize them more before getting mushy, but they still came out great.

Butternut squash risotto with sage
I made this exactly how I used to make it at La Morra. I sauteed large diced squash in butter and sage until just tender. Then, after sweating the onions, toasting the arborio, and adding/reducing the white wine, I added the cooked squash and more sage. As you stir and add more and more chicken stock until it's done, the large diced orange chunks loose some of their squash to the rice, which makes the risotto orange and even more creamy. I love risotto in general but this one in particular, because the behavior of the squash peices mimicks what happens to the arborio - as you stir the rice, a little bit of starch rubs off of the outside of each kernel, which aid in making the risotto nice and creamy.

Duck two ways with persimmon mostarda
I cured the duck legs in salt, thyme, orange peel, and garlic, and then confit-ed them the next day in duck fat. The meat was then pulled off the bone in chunks. The duck breasts were scored and marinated overnight covered in thyme and orange peels, and the next day the fat was slowly rendered off the skin and cooked in a pan. Both preparations were served with persimmon mostarda, a northern Italian condiment of diced fruit (in this case persimmon) that is blanched and then preserved in a sweet glaze with ground mustard seed, ginger, citrus, and chili flake. The duck leg meat came out a bit too salty, but the combination of the fatty duck and sweet sauce was excellent, and all of the duck's parts were cooked perfectly.

Roasted leg of lamb with reduced rosemary aged balsamic vin
I marinated a peice of boneless leg of lamb in chopped rosemary, garlic, and slices of lemon. The next day, I roasted the lamb in a very hot oven to a perfect rare in the very center (for a good variation of doneness between med-well on the very outside and rare on the very inside, most of it medium rare). I rested the roast, sliced it thin, and served it with a drizzle of aged balsamic that I reduced by half with a couple sprigs of rosemary. The lamb came out a bit chewy (leg is in general, but I probably should have cooked it at a lower temp for longer), but it came out delicious with a very nice crust.

Dessert (by Lily)

Lime squares
These are sort of like a cross between lemon squares and key lime pie. Lily made them a month ago, and they came out nice and gooey, and they were really good frozen. These ones weren't quite as good as they game out a bit more dense, but they were still tasty.

Apple pie with vanilla ice cream
Lily made the best apple pie I've ever had. She used really good, sweet pink lady apples, and just the right amount of sugar and cinnamon. The crust she made was otherwordly - it came out flaky, crunchy, buttery, and slightly sweet. This is one of my favorite desserts, and I had a second slice that I probably shouldn've had but couldn't resist. The only thing I regret is that she didn't make TWO pies.

That's it. Man, it's weird critisizing my own cooking. But hey, it was fun, and I thought it would be nice to share.