A feast of fish in one dish
The first time ambitious foodie-chefs attempt the Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes --- a beloved Italian holiday tradition --- they prepare seven full-sized entrees and attempt to consume them one after the other. It won't work -- it's just too much food. So aim for something like tapas dishes, raw oysters, tuna tartare, think small.
A funny thing about this traditional feast is that many Italians have no idea what you're talking about when you bring up this tradition. A number of Italians in Atlanta had never heard of it when asked.
However, the tradition, which originated in Southern Italy as a way of observing Lenten-style abstinence from meat, is very widely observed among Italian-Americans in the Northeast and freely adopted by seafood lovers throughout the country.
It makes perfect sense, too.
A carefully prepared fish dinner on a cold winter night has a special kind of opulence. It is hearty without being overbearing --- an indulgence that won't try to outdo the eggnog. I like to make a seafood dinner on Christmas Eve because I know the next day will involve a full turkey dinner, a plum pudding and far too much wine.
Oftentimes I prepare this seafood stew, which borrows a little from cioppino and a little from bouillabaisse, but it is really just something I've developed over the years to work with fresh Gulf and Atlantic seafood. It is incredibly easy to throw together and has a finished flavor that's grand beyond its ingredients. It makes clean, simple white wines come alive. Inexpensive Southern French or Italian wines (Picpoul de Pinet, Garganega, Gavi di Gavi) are what you want with the tomatoes and saffron in this stew.
It only contains five fishes, however. You could start, as we like to, with some oysters on the half shell or smoked salmon with crackers. That gets you up to six fishes. I suppose a Caesar salad, with its all-important anchovy, pulls you over the finish line.
Holiday Seafood Stew
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium leek, white part only, diced and rinsed
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1 bottle (8 ounces) clam juice
1 large pinch saffron, seeped in 1/4 cup hot water
14 ounces (1 can) best-quality roma tomatoes, crushed with their juice
1 dozen farmed littleneck clams, well rinsed
2 pounds farmed mussels, debearded if necessary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
12 ounces red snapper, skin on, cut into four pieces
4 squid tubes, cut into 1/4-inch ringlets, and 4 sets of tentacles
1/2 pound medium-large (21-25 count) shrimp, completely peeled, deveined and partially butterflied
3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
Step one: Buy the best ingredients you can. Canned Italian San Marzano tomatoes market "DOP" (Denominazione d'Origine Protetta) are the best (sweetest and fleshiest) variety of plum tomato grown in a specific region in southern Italy. It's a bit more expensive, but so worth it. Make sure to get very clean farmed shellfish so you won't get any grit in the bottom of the pot.
Step two: Pretend like you've got your own cooking show and get all the ingredients prepared. The onions and leeks should be diced and placed together in a small bowl. The garlic should be minced, placed in a small dish and covered with just enough olive oil to keep it from drying out. If the tomatoes are whole, place them with their juices into a mixing bowl and squish them into bits with your fingers. Soak the saffron in a small glass.
Pull the beards off the mussels. Soak the mussels and clams in cold tap water for 30 minutes then drain. Peel and half butterfly the shrimp. Cut the squid, and poke your finger in its cavity to make sure the clear cartilage is gone. Chop your herbs and place them in a small bowl. Put all this in the fridge. You've set yourself up like Rachael Ray with 30 minutes to spare.
Step three: Assemble the stew. Heat a large, table-worthy Dutch oven or cocotte over a medium flame. Add the oil, then the leeks and onions. Cook two minutes, just until the vegetables are translucent. Add the garlic and stir until just fragrant. Turn heat to high. Add the wine and bring to a boil; let reduce by half. Add the clam juice, the saffron and the crushed tomato and stir. Add the clams and mussels and cover the pot. Check in 4 minutes. If the mussels are open and the clams are opening, you're good to go. Season with salt and pepper.
Reduce heat to medium; the liquid should be at an active simmer. Push the mussels and clams to the side and add the fish fillets to the center of the pot. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Open and carefully push the fish fillets to the side. Add the shrimp and squid and give them a stir just until they start to turn opaque. Turn off heat and cover pot.
The stew can sit like this for 15-20 minutes. When ready to serve, taste for seasoning and sprinkle with herbs.
Note: The recipe serves four. If you wish to double it, make it in two pots.
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HOT DRINKS FOR A COLD SNAP: Daunted by the prospect of planning a cocktail party or a sit-down dinner?
Think about the hot cocktails you've had in your life. Did you like them, did you finish those drinks? The best advice is to keep it simple. While this article isn't offering you any recipes, I encourage you to consider mulled red wine, filled with tannins, which tastes to me like the soul of Christmas. Another possibility is the most famous and tannic of all hot cocktails, the one that begat its own signature glass mug --- the Irish coffee. One cocktail expert advises starting with a top-shelf Irish whiskey such as Redbreast, barely sweetening it with brown sugar, adding no more than 4 ounces of hot black coffee and floating a spoonful of unsweetened whipped cream on top. When the drink's prepared this way --- with restraint --- you taste the character of the liquor.
There is also the Scotch Toddy. A proper Scotch Toddy starts with a good single-malt scotch, as peaty as you like. Add a splash of hot water, some raw sugar and a strip of lemon peel, then dilute with more hot water as you and your liver see fit.
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THE BASICS, AND WHAT TO HAVE ON HAND
A hot cocktail may be as simple as your favorite spirit extended with a splash of water from the tea kettle. That said, there are a few simple procedures and tips to keep in mind:
> Heat the mug or glass first. Fill it with hot water and empty the water just before assembling the cocktail.
> Don't heat the spirit directly. Its alcohol will volatilize readily and its flavor will change.
> Let the fumes blow off. Even a splash of hot water will cause the alcohol to release a cloud of potent fumes. You may wish to wait a few seconds before bringing it under your nose.
> Use brown liquors. Dark rum, bourbon, scotch, brandy --- all good. Hot vodka? Not so much.
> Find mixers that are tannic. The compounds known as tannins create a drying, gripping feeling on your palate and add depth to a hot beverage. Tea, coffee, red wine and pomegranate juice are all highly tannic.
> Prepare honey water. Equal measures of honey and water, heated until blended and then cooled, will stay pourable at room temperature and dissolve readily in a cocktail. Agave nectar also works well.
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Leg of lamb: Leave bone in or wield your paring knife
In today's world where supermarket meat cases are filled with pre-formed hamburgers and pre-cooked pot roasts, no one is going to suggest that you actually butcher your own leg of lamb. Isn't it enough to buy the darn thing, haul it into the oven and pray that you don't overcook it?
So, here goes.
When you go shopping for a leg of lamb, you generally have two choices. You can get a whole leg with its three major bones --- shank, thigh and hip --- intact. This is the holiday classic that Mom roasts with handfuls of rosemary, Dad carves at the table and everyone enjoys with electric green wiggles of mint jelly.
Alternately, you can get the same lamb leg with all three bones removed. The meat has been more or less butterflied then rolled and stuffed into an elasticized net. You can roast it as is, in its net. You can perhaps stuff some kind of filling --- apples and walnuts, spinach and cheese --- straight through its core. Or you fully butterfly it, rub it with spices and throw it on the grill.
The main difference between the two kinds of lamb, I think, is taste. The former gives off more of that muttony, lanolin smell as its fat renders and crackles in the oven, but it then rewards you with firm slices of meat and a sweet, clean, inimitable flavor. The latter has a tamer smell, looser texture and a milder flavor. It's inoffensive.
Bone-in legs are superior, though they don't offer too many options for a creative cook. You can sprinkle herbs on them. You can cut slits in the meat and shove in slivers of garlic. But then you're done --- unless, of course, you're willing to debone the lamb yourself.
The process is actually quite fun if you take pleasure in life's daily puzzles --- fitting all the suitcases in the trunk or unknotting the dog leash. You're simply feeling for the irregular contours of bone with your fingers, then separating the soft and easy-to-cut muscle that clings to it. Though I own and usually use a boning knife for this purpose, I tested the recipe with a small, plastic-handled paring knife I bought in a supermarket during the Reagan administration and had no problems at all.
When you debone your own lamb, you also get to create an actual pocket in the meat. You remove the hip and thigh bones, leaving the shank in place. You can stuff and close the cavity, then roast the leg with its shank in place like an elegant handle. You end up with a roast much like the Roast Beast in Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" --- a joint that cuts into gorgeous cross-sectional slices on one end and has a foot sticking from the other.
So what's the best recipe? I opt for the French classic bistro dish Gigot au Beurre d'Escargot or lamb stuffed with the garlic-parsley butter used to fill snail shells. Each cross section offers a stripe of green and fresh waft of the butter's sweet smell.
Below you will find very detailed instructions on how to debone a leg of lamb. And, of course, a suggestion to have your butcher take care of it.
MAIN DISH: Roast Leg of Lamb With Snail Butter
Makes 8-10 servings
Boning time: 30 minutes
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: About 2 hours
1 leg of lamb, about 7 pounds
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup Italian parsley leaves, packed
1 tablespoon cognac (optional)
1 teaspoon salt, plus additional as needed
Several grindings of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound new or fingerling potatoes
(optional)
Have your butcher bone the leg of lamb by removing the hip bone and thigh bone but leaving the shank and knee socket just above it intact. Or bone it yourself.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine butter, garlic, shallots, lemon juice, parsley, cognac, salt, pepper and thyme in a food processor until well blended and evenly green. Stuff this mixture into the cavity left by the thigh bone. Using a trussing needle and butcher's twine, sew the open flap of the lamb shut. (If you don't have a trussing needle, you can punch holes through the meat with a 4-inch length cut from a clothes hanger and then use the wire to poke the string through.)
Place the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast, uncovered for 1 1/4-1 3/4 hours, until an instant-read thermometer registers 135-140 degrees. Remove pan from oven and tent aluminum foil over the top. Rest on the counter for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Remove string with scissors and carve even cross-sections at the table.
If desired, you can scatter scrubbed new or fingerling potatoes around the edges of the pan after the first 45 minutes, and then turn them in the drippings every 15 minutes.
Per serving, based on 8, without potatoes: 937 calories (percent of calories from fat, 75), 57 grams protein, 2 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, 77 grams fat, 279 milligrams cholesterol, 448 milligrams sodium.
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WORLD EATS: Almond-encrusted English toffee delights sweet tooth
DESSERT
English Toffee
Makes 25 servings
Preparation time: 10 minutes, plus 20 minutes cooling time
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
1 pound whole, skin-on raw almonds
1 pound unsalted European-style butter (such as Plugra) or imported butter
1 teaspoon fleur de sel (or kosher salt) or 1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 ounces quality bittersweet chocolate, such as Lindt
Pulse the almonds three or four times in a food processor until they are broken into large chunks.
Remove about half and set aside; grind the remaining almonds into a coarse meal. Set aside.
Melt butter with salt in a medium saucepan over a medium flame. Stir the sugar in slowly with a wooden spoon.
Continue cooking, stirring pretty constantly for about 15 minutes. The sugar will at first sink to the bottom of the pot. It will gradually melt and begin to incorporate into the butter. The mixture will turn from yellow to off-white and begin to look like taffy --- gaining slightly in volume and turning slightly elastic. It will then gradually darken to tan, keeping a pearlescent appearance. When it turns tan, stir in the large chunks of almond and the vanilla, which will darken the toffee. Continue stirring until the almonds begin to toast and become very fragrant, about 5 to 10 minutes (your nose will tell you when it's ready). If it begins to "sweat" a few beads of butter on the surface, take it off the heat. Stir it vigorously off the heat and pour into an ungreased stickproof 11-inch-by-15-inch baking sheet and help it to settle into the corners of the pan.
Cut chocolate into chunks and melt over a double boiler. Spread half the chocolate over the surface of the cooling toffee with a pastry spatula. Cover with half the finely ground almonds. When cool enough to harden (about 20 minutes at room temperature), invert the pan over another pan and bend it to loosen the toffee. (Don't worry if it cracks.) Spread the other side with melted chocolate and dust with the remaining ground almonds.
Place in refrigerator to harden thoroughly. Break into pieces and pack with any excess ground almonds into airtight containers or bags. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to serve.
Per serving: 375 calories (percent of calories from fat, 69), 5 grams protein, 27 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 29 grams fat, 40 milligrams cholesterol, 83 milligrams sodium.
CONDIMENTS
When Thanksgiving cooks vote for their favorite cranberry recipes, there's no clear mandate. Half will opt for a fresh sauce blended with citrus, while half will prepare a simmered sauce with sugar. Half will do whatever the back of the bag suggests, and half will be lost without their discus slices of jellied cranberry sauce, right from the can.
But for those independent-minded cooks, we offer these alternatives.
CONDIMENT
Mimi's Cranberries
Makes 3 to 4 cups sauce
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Here's a simple, easygoing recipe that's sure to be a crowd pleaser.
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup Beaujolais or other dry, fruity red wine
1 (10-ounce) package frozen sliced and sweetened strawberries
Rinse and sort cranberries. Combine with sugar and wine in a saucepan. Bring to boil and cook gently, uncovered, for 4 minutes, or until half the berries burst their skins. Remove from heat and immediately add frozen strawberries; stir occasionally until defrosted. Store in covered container in refrigerator. --- From Mimi Fuller Foster
Per tablespoon: 13 calories, no protein, 3 grams carbohydrates, trace of fiber, no fat, no cholesterol, 2 milligrams sodium.
CONDIMENT
Fresh Cranberry-Orange Relish
Makes about 2 1/2 cups
Preparation time: 5 minutes
This classic fresh relish adds a bright, uplifting tang to a meal that (no pun intended) can bog down otherwise.
1 medium orange
1 package (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar
Slice unpeeled orange into eighths; remove seeds. Place half the cranberries and half the orange into a food processor container. Process until mixture is evenly chopped. Transfer to bowl. Repeat with remaining cranberries and orange slices. Stir in sugar to desired sweetness. Store in refrigerator or freezer.
Per tablespoon: 12 calories, no protein, 3 grams carbohydrates, trace of fiber, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium.
CONDIMENT
Molded Cranberry Salad
Makes 8 servings
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Chilling time: Several hours
This type of old-fashioned congealed salad will never go out of favor, no matter what food pundits may say.
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple in its own juice
1 package (3 ounces) raspberry-flavored gelatin
1 can (16 ounces) whole-berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped nuts
Drain pineapple and save the juice, adding enough water to make 1 1/4 cups liquid. In a saucepan, bring liquid to a boil, remove from heat and stir in gelatin until dissolved. Break up cranberry sauce with a fork and stir into gelatin mixture. Cook until mixture begins to thicken. Stir in crushed pineapple, celery and nuts. Pour into mold. Chill and set.
Per serving: 169 calories (percent of calories from fat, 13), 2 grams protein, 37 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 3 grams fat, no cholesterol, 47 milligrams sodium.
CONDIMENT
Cranberry-Apple Chutney
Makes 16 servings or 5 half-pint jars
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: at least 2 hours
This heartily spiced relish adds a complex palette of flavors to the table.
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1 cup white or dark raisins
1 cup finely chopped apples
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup light brown sugar
Place water, sugar, onion, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, salt, vinegar and cayenne pepper into a 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
Add cranberries, raisins, apples, ginger and brown sugar. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes longer.
Pour into a glass dish and let cool for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours to cool completely.
Note: If you wish to transfer chutney into jars, pour while hot into sterilized canning jars. Seal with sterilized lids and rings and let cool on counter for 1 hour.
Make-ahead tip: Chutney will keep in the refrigerator for six to nine months.
Per serving: 143 calories (percent of calories from fat, 1), 1 gram protein, 37 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 21 grams fat, no cholesterol, 71 milligrams sodium.
CONDIMENT
Cranberry Butter
Makes 1 1/2 cups
Preparation time: 5 minutes
This lovely compound butter looks and tastes great on hot biscuits and dinner rolls.
3/4 cup fresh cranberries
2 teaspoons grated lemon or orange peel (optional)
6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
In a food processor, chop cranberries with citrus peel (if using) and sugar until coarse. Add butter and process until all ingredients are combined but slightly chunky.
Per serving (per tablespoon): 57 calories (percent of calories from fat, 90), trace of protein, 2 grams carbohydrates, trace of fiber, 6 grams fat, 15 milligrams cholesterol, 1 milligram sodium.
CONDIMENT
Spiced Candied Cranberries
Makes 4 cups
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Cooling time: 45 minutes
"We always have this with Thanksgiving turkey (or ham) as a relish, " writes reader Karen Beneda of Stone Mountain. "After the cranberries have simmered, while they're still hot, I put some of the batch in the refrigerator for Thanksgiving and divide the rest into jars that I seal and give as Christmas presents or save to be served over cream cheese as a holiday hors d'oeuvre. The recipe came from Ursula's Cooking School."
Nonstick cooking spray
1 pound fresh cranberries, washed and picked over
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup port wine
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup apple jelly
1/2 cup raisins
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspooon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Spray a large Dutch oven with cooking spray. Add the cranberries, sugar, vinegar, wine, preserves, jelly, raisins, curry powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, allspice, cloves and cardamom. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 40 minutes. Cool about 45 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Per 1/4-cup serving: 157 calories (percent of calories from fat, 1), trace of protein, 40 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, trace of fat, no cholesterol, 74 milligrams sodium.
CONDIMENT
Cranberry Salsa
Makes 10 servings
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Chilling time: at least 1 hour
Try to find the small serrano peppers, which taste so good in combination with fruit, to use for this salsa. If you can't, jalapeno peppers are an acceptable substitute. And don't hesitate to add more sugar, lime juice, rum or minced pepper, to your taste.
Zest of 1/2 navel orange, peeled with a vegetable peeler, then finely minced
1 length (1 inch) fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus extra if desired
1/4 cup water
1 bag fresh cranberries
2 serrano peppers, halved, seeded and minced
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup plucked cilantro leaves, chopped, not packed
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon rum or vodka
Combine the minced orange zest, minced ginger, sugar and water in a small, nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Meanwhile, chop the cranberries finely in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Transfer cranberries to a nonreactive bowl. Cook the sugar mixture until very thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Pour over the cranberries, using a rubber spatula to scrape every bit. Add minced peppers, salt, cilantro, lime juice and rum. Mix well. Taste and adjust sugar if necessary. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Note: May be made up to a week ahead.
Per serving: 65 calories (percent of (calories from fat, 1), less than 1 gram protein, 16 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, less than 1 gram fat, no cholesterol, 16 milligrams sodium.
For more ideas about gifts, decorating, where to eat and what to do, check out our complete Atlanta Holiday Guide.
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