Christmas Dinner 2014

Most of us were able to gather together on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, so we had our family Christmas dinner then. Just imagine how busy I was the morning after that extraordinary(!) Christmas Dinner-out with hubby. Anyway, what an accomplishment. My kitchen was "fully-booked" for the entire day! Except for the pannnetone that I made using my homegrown "chef" about two weeks ago and the squash dish I made the day before, all were prepared on this particular family dinner day.

Here's the menu:

ONION SOUP served with homemade bread-croutons ( Sorry no photo )

VEGETABLE ANTIPASTO

Mixed Vegetable Antipasto

Recipe for the ANTIPASTO MARINADE: 

Whisk together till emulsified: l large garlic clove, minced; 2 T balsamic vinegar; 2 T red wine vinegar;1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crumbled; 1 tsp dried basil, crumbled; 1 tsp dried oregano, crumbled; 1/4 tsp dried hot pepper flakes; 1/2 cup olive oil ( add oil in a stream while whisking.

Pour over blanched vegetables of your choice and chill the antipasto for at least 4 hours.

HONEY ORANGE SQUASH

Honey Orange Squash

Recipe for the HONEY ORANGE SQUASH: ( can be prepared in 30 minutes or less)
Peel and dice into 2-cm pieces a 500-gm squash; put in a steamer and steam covered for 5-6 minutes. Melt 1 T butter in a skillet, add 2 tsp honey, 1/4 tsp orange zest, 2 T orange juice. Stir then add the steamed squash, salt and pepper to taste. Stir gently for 1-2 minutes till squash is coated well with the orange mixture.

ROAST CHICKEN for the main dish!

Roast Chicken with Wild Rice and Vegetable Stuffing served with
Apple-Pear-Craisin Sauce

I actually roasted two whole chickens just to make sure there would be enough for everyone---but missed taking a photo of them after carving it! No photo but everything tasted great!

It would also be interesting to note here that those whole frozen chickens were imported from Brazil, labeled in English and Islamic writings,  and were certified to be of "halal certified quality"... meaning that those poultry have not fed on avian meat or related by-products.  My online search led me to the info that "in order to be obtain HALAL designation, the conditions of Islamic breeding and processing must be met".  In other words, animals bred for meat must not have consumed any meat or meat by-products and that they are handled in a humane way that minimizes suffering.

Other items on the menu were:
LASAGNA using "gyoza" ( pot stickers) wrappers - one with meat sauce and another with eggplant slices.  Those were prepared by my second daughter, her 8-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter. Sorry but no photos!


CARVED FRESH PINEAPPLE

Diced fresh pineapple decorated with carved parrot figure

I carved this pineapple but wished the pineapple had a taller or longer crown which would have given the parrot a bigger body!


PANETTONE

A piece of Panettone served with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce

Panettone (baked in Bundt mold)  frosted with fine confectioner's sugar

The raspberry sauce was courtesy of a friend who grows raspberries, cranberries, black currants, "La France" pears, plums, and several varieties of beautiful roses (!).

On Ginger and Beans

Studies have shown that polyphenols have important roles in preventing degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes mellitus but particularly cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Ginger and beans have antioxidant properties.

GINGER

Did you know that there are various polyphenols that could be extracted from ginger? I have only eaten and prepared ginger grown in Japan and China. Hubby and I love grated fresh ginger on our tofu,  on raw bonito (鰹) sashimi; minced fresh ginger on our steamed fish slices; sautéed ginger in boiled fish and meat dishes...ginger, ginger and more ginger...make food a lot more palatable for us! 

Ginger has a wide range of antioxidant properties. It also helps reduce digestive disorders. These are reasons for it be a popular household remedy. Mixing grated ginger in hot water or tea and sipping it slowly makes one's throat and body warm - the reason for its use in relieving sore throat and in fighting off the cold in the winter months.  Preparing it with brown sugar gives it a molasses flavor and adds more minerals like calcium, potassium and iron to the finished product, which, according to Chinese medicine,  relieve menstrual cramps(!).

Sometime last autumn, a friend gave me a small portion of the ginger candies she had made and a vivid explanation of her recipe. She also gave me a big bunch of fresh ones so I could try making some myself.  I followed her recipe but instead of slicing the ginger into thin, coin-like pieces like she did,  I cut them into little chunks. I thought I could preserve and enjoy more of the ginger juice that way. (See photo below). 

Sugar-coated Ginger 

About two weeks after that, I found lots of fresh ginger being sold at a nearby produce. I could not resist buying some, so I did.  I thought I'd prepare it using a different recipe. After all, I always like to try something different. I preserved the ginger by cooking it in brown sugar and a little cinnamon. Yumm! Sweet and very pleasant to the palate! (Photo below)

Ginger cooked in Brown Sugar and Cinnamon

Both outcomes tasted good and could be kept in the fridge for more than six months.
However, cooking ginger in brown sugar has an extra advantage. The syrup has a ginger taste and could be added to any drink, hot or cold. It could be added to plain hot water or even Japanese "shochu"- a Japanese traditional hard liquor made from grains and vegetables like potato, sweet potato, barley, rice, buckwheat and sugar cane. (I will write a separate post on Japanese "shochu")


 Further reading about GINGER  led me to following information:

 Zingiber officinale -  a medicinal herb/spice in Nigeria- is thought to help in the amelioration of liver damages caused by diabetes. Studies showed that polyphenol extract of ginger has higher antioxidant potential that nutmeg or alligator pepper. (Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine Sep 2012;289):727-732) 

I guess we learn something everyday!

BEANS in general are excellent sources of protein containing polyphenols ( antioxidants) and are low in calories.

Beans can be prepared in various ways but my favorites are bean soups and sweet beans.

My family often gets three different kinds of beans during the year-end "o-seibo" period here in Japan. Someone who feels obliged to a person and is thankful for something they received during  the year express his or her appreciation by giving something back in the form of presents( or gift certificates!)  within the 3-week o-seibo period just before Christmas. Well, someone has been giving us three different kinds of BEANS during the o-seibo season for years now. Sometimes, I wish they were  "Jack's Beans"(!) - then I could throw them out in my garden and climb their stalks ( lol) instead of taking time to cook them. Oh well...

Of the three kinds of beans we get -  white hanamame, adzuki, and purple hanamame- I like the last one best. The ones pictured below are the beans called "murasaki hanamame"(purple hanamame)

Sweet Purple Hanamame 紫花豆(Kidney beans variety) or
Benihana Ingen ベニハナインゲン

Sweet Hanamame served with milk

As with sweetened yams, I like having mine with milk. My grandchildren like theirs with ice cream!

Dining Out on Christmas Day 2014

For the FIRST time in our long married life in Japan,  hubby and I celebrated Christmas Day by dining out at the Chinese restaurant at the former Sheraton Hotel nearby.  We eagerly looked forward to this Christmas Dinner Special as the menu was to include 'soup with truffles'.  Hubby was most eager to taste truffles since there was a TV special on it recently... but I truly think that he must have had truffles in the so many luxurious dinners and banquets he had been to - without him knowing what it was! @(^!*)@

Here's what the full course dinner included:

Hors D'oeuvres
特性クリスマスオードブル

Above were the six kinds of hors d'oeuvres served on individual trays. From top left clockwise: 
chicken meat ball, jelly fish, fish cake, gizzard strips, roast beef slices topped with greens and white asparagus, sashimi.

Below was the creamy pumpkin soup with the tiny raisin-like "dots" of truffles! We were a little disappointed at the scanty serving of truffles but the soup tasted great.  At this point of the dinner,  both of us started looking forward to tasting the Brie Cheese with Truffles that we had especially ordered online!

Creamy pumpkin soup with bits of truffles
トリュフの香り　パンプキンスープ

Prawns with Chili Sauce( made from fresh tomatoes) with 
deep-fried buckwheat noodle "net" and  melon breadstick
オマール海老のフレッシュトマトのチリソース、
スチックメロンパン添え

To get rid of the aftertaste of the oily shrimp dish, we were served a small serving of sherbet. 

Basil and Lemon Sherbet （バジルとレモンのシャーベット) & 
 "ShouKouSHu"(Chinese Shaoxing wine) with dried hibiscus leaves

North Furano local beef with onion slices and red and green pimentos
上富良野産和牛もも肉　ニュースタイルチンジャオロース

Abalone and Shark fins  in creamy sauce served with 
hot fried rice ball topped with scallions
フカヒレ姿煮と鮑の煮込み；熱々の揚げご飯とともに

For dessert, we were served an array of sweets: Almond custard or 杏仁豆腐, deep-fried o-manju, gelatin cubes in syrup, sherbet with strawberry syrup,  sweet Japanese mochi roll. 

Served with hot Jazmine Tea.

Santa's presents
サンタの贈り物
楽しいクリスマスデザート

Christmas Dinner 2013

For our Christmas Dinner in 2013, we decided not to have a turkey for the simple reason that we did not want to eat leftovers for days. We all agreed on having a roasted stuffed chicken instead.
In addition to beer and wine, onion soup and lots of fresh baked sourdough bread, we had all the stuff below.

Clockwise: Chicken slices, Tenderstem broccoli leaves,
Mozzarella and antipasti salad, Carrot diamonds

Mozzarella and grilled eggplant antipasti with fresh basil and
cherry tomatoes

Roasted chicken stuffed with Ethiopian style stuffing ( curry flavored rice,
veggies and nuts) and basted with Dijon Mustard and olive oil

Sourdough Panettoni with fresh cream frosting and
 ice cream cones
( decorated by my five grandchildren)

Red Velvet Cake

2014

JANUARY 2014 : Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me....

Last year, I decided to start celebrating my birthday( and those to come!) by making red velvet cake and then sharing it with those who could come and make the day a memorable one  for me. Its red color certainly symbolizes energy and vigor and I think that those are "must-haves" at this stage in my life.  

The  Red Velvet  Cake I baked for my birthday (2013)

The Red Velvet Cake for my birthday (2014)

Red Velvet Cake is also called "Devil's Food Cake" and is called so "because it is supposedly rich and delicious that it must, to a moralist, be somewhat sinful", according to John Mariani (author of The Dictionary of American Food and Drink). I think I would stick to the name Red Velvet Cake just to avoid the "falling into sin" part! lol

The Red Velvet Cake I baked in 2015 (Flowers from Hiyori)

The 2015  Red Velvet Cake: icing and frosting stage

No, I didn't use the instant Devil's Food Cake Mix. I made it from scratch and followed the recipe provided by the Joy of Baking...but made few adjustments as to its sweetness.

The cake could be had with tea, coffee or wine! Yummmm

2015

For my 2015 Red Velvet Birthday Cake, I used two new ingredients. For the flour, I used お米の粉 ( Rice Flour)* because I could not find one labeled "Cake Flour" at the supermarket. For the cheese, instead of mixing cream cheese with Mascorpone cheese, I used drained yogurt which made the filling less caloric and therefore more nutritionally healthy. The taste of the cheese filling was not as rich but the difference was not that outstanding. The result was great!

*The Rice Flour bag indicated that it could be used for chiffon cake and tempura batter, so I thought I'd try using it for this purpose.

2016

Like the past four years, I celebrated my birthday with my Japanese friends. My Red Velvet Cake - which did not turn out to be reddish this year (too much chocolate powder?) - was there. With the champagne and the other dishes they brought, my birthday lunch celebration was perfect! 

2017

2018

2019

2020

Empanadas

June 2013

The book entitled "Meze" that I had ordered through Amazon was delivered three days ago. It contained recipes that seemed appetizing and easy to prepare that I soon found myself preparing my original "meze" for lunch.

A slice of toasted roasted garlic sourdough bread, topped with lettuce and seasoned seaweed-cod egg preserve and cucumber and tomato slices on the side.

Roasted Garlic Sourdough topped with seasoned kelp seaweed-cod egg preserve

I don't know how others would rate this open sandwich but I thought it was an innovative culinary creation! Who would ever think of eating seaweed preserve with bread?



Yesterday, I thought I'd try the book's recipe for "Sambusak", meaning spicy meat pie. 
The moment I saw the photo in the book,  the "empanadas" that I had made many times before came to my mind. Isn't it funny that we all eat almost the same things but call them differently?  Sambusak is what people from the Arabian world call meat pie. It is what people in the Latin world call "Empanada" ; and in the Indian world,  "Samosa".

Here is the recipe for this mediterranean appetizer called Sambusak:

 SAMBUSAK ( spicy meat pies or EMPANADAS) 

For the pastry:

• 175 g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 egg yolk , lightly beaten

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. 

Make a well in the center, add the oil and mix with your fingers.

Add the water and knead until a soft, neat ball is formed.

Cover with cling film and let rest for 30 minutes.

For the filling:

• 3-4 Tbsp olive oil 
• 1 large onion, minced
• 200 g lean minced lamb ( or beef if you prefer) 
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• a large pinch of ground cinnamon
• Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
• 3 Tbsp raisins, rinsed 
• 150 ml hot water
• 3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint leaves
• 2 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted in a dry frying pan
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in saucepan, add the onion and sauté on medium heat until it turns transparent or near light brown ( about 10 mins) .

Increase the heat and brown the minced meat until it sizzles ( moisture must have evaporated).

Add all the spices and salt and pepper. Continue to brown for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the lemon juice, raisins and hot water, cover and cook for 20 mins till fairly dry.

Turn off heat, add mint and pine nuts. Let cool.

Cut 8 cm round pastries and put 1 tsp of filling in the middle of the round pastry.

Moisten edges with water, press firmly to seal and put on baking sheet.

Brush tops with egg yolk and bake in preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius or 400 degrees Farenheit for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy with tea, beer or wine!

Meze

While netsurfing, I encountered the word "meze". According to one article, "Meze, short for mezethes, denotes small dishes served typically at small eateries like `mezethopoleion'; ouzeri, similar to the Italian wine shop; and the tsipouradiko, serving Greek eau-de-vie. The object of these establishments and their meze fare is to offers its patrons a place to eat, drink, and have conversation in the hours between large meals. Although there is a strong similarity in portion size and preparation similarity to Spanish tapas, the dishes were specifically developed to be eaten only as an accompaniment to drink in the middle of the day, not as a `before the meal' bite to get you started on the main meal of the day. It is much more comparable to bar nuts, pretzels, and pickled eggs on American bars."

Meze is pronounced  "mezei"  and I like the sound of it.  I thought that if ever I decide to name a cafe or a bakery, I would include it. "Mezecafe" or "mezeicafei"? Either one would be all right but definitely not "Mezethopoleion" , a difficult term to remember that simply means an eatery of mezethes. 

After knowing about the phonetic symbols of the word, I started to carve an eraser with the word "mezei"- and instantly used it to stamp the new brown bags I had in store. 

My brown bag original stamper

After stamping my bags, I searched the internet for books on meze and got one through Amazon.

The book I bought and the "Sambusak"
(meat pie) I made using the recipe in the book.

Check out my posting entitled "Empanadas" for the Sambusak recipe.