The End of 2011
Bella Shows Off the New Oven
For many years, Howard and I have made it a tradition of taking off from work for the last week of the year. Typically, we don’t go anywhere. Instead, we spend the week on various housekeeping projects and other things we didn’t get around to finishing during the year. We also take time to do something fun everyday.
For the most part, my doings this week aren’t interesting enough to tell about in detail. However, here are some highlights.
- They say that friends are the family you choose for yourself. We shared Christmas celebrations with good, long-time friends who live nearby. The best was the Feast of 7 Fishes on Christmas Eve.
Chocolate Cake for Christmas Dessert
- Every morning, after breakfast, I go for a walk with Howard and Bella in the woods. It’s my favorite walk. The woods look different in each season, and it’s very quiet and peaceful there. It’s also the only place where Bella is allowed off-leash. She loves the freedom to explore the terrain, at the same time, never letting us out of her sight.
- We ate at two of my favorite casual eateries: All Star Sandwich Bar in Cambridge and Sweet Cheeks Q in Boston. All Star has great sandwiches (obviously from the name). The menu includes both classic sandwiches as well as more creative combinations. They also have amazing French fries. They’re hand cut and skinny and served piping hot, with lots crispy bits. I had one of the daily specials, an ALT, avocado, lettuce and tomato, served along with grilled onions and melted Jack cheese as a panini. Yum! Howard had a pastrami Reuben, which he enjoyed. I don’t eat sauerkraut, so I didn’t try it out.
- Sweet Cheeks Q is a new barbeque restaurant near Fenway Park. Their brisket can’t be beat, but we’ve also tried the pork belly, pulled pork, and ribs. It’s all exceptional. For a family with a genuine Texas smoker in our backyard, we know what we’re talking about. The sides are outstanding as well. I’m crazy about the Farm Salad made with seared Brussels sprouts, candied hazelnuts, and grapes, among other ingredients. The cheesy broccoli casserole is also worth writing home about.
- My home office has gotten to the point where it lacked any semblance of organization. I made a dent in the chaos. I managed to discard 8 to 10 bundles of unread magazines in time for the week’s curbside recycling. There’s more, but it made a noticeable difference.
- Nearby Watertown is home to some excellent Armenian markets. One morning, we went on a mini-shopping spree. Spinach pie, eetch (a sort of tomato-infused tabouli), and stuffed grape leaves made for a delicious feast for lunch. I don’t know why we don’t shop in that neighborhood more often.
- Our annual latke dinner for Hanukkah. I didn’t get around to making any applesauce, but we enjoyed that pile of potato pancakes with sour cream. They came out really well this year. The downside is that the house smells like oil for days, but it’s worth it.
Pile of Latkes
- My oven started acting up right before Thanksgiving. Well, it had some electrical problems over the summer, where the control panel stopped displaying, but Howard managed to fix that. More recently, a poltergeist took up residence in the oven and started locking and unlocking it while it was off. Kind of creepy, especially because the only time the oven usually locks is when it goes into self-cleaning mode. Howard removed the latch, but the oven’s days were definitely numbered. End of story: I had a new oven installed this week. Yay!
I know, it isn’t everyone’s idea of a thrilling vacation, but I’ll definitely end the year with a feeling of accomplishment! The week isn’t over yet. I don’t go back to work until Tuesday. There are a few more days and more projects on the list and more adventures too. Stay tuned.
French Fridays with Dorie: Crème Brulée
Crème brulée is one of my favorite desserts to order in a restaurant. It had never occurred to me that I could make it at home. Crème brulée was this week’s assignment for French Fridays with Dorie, and, so, the challenge was on.
I’d never made custard before. First, you heat the cream and milk. I chose to do this in the microwave, but lacking experience, I think I should have done it on top of the stove. I didn’t want the milk to boil over, but I wasn’t sure how long it would take. It was hard to see through the glass of the microwave, so I would have been better off just using a pot on the stovetop — much easier to watch.
Then, you whisk together egg yolks and sugar, and gradually add the hot milk until it’s all combined. My custard was overly foamy, even after a lot of rapping the container on the counter, so I skimmed off the layer of foam.
For a new twist on crème brulée, Dorie has you spread a spoonful of jam on the bottom of each dish. I had both raspberry and strawberry jams that I made this summer, so I made 3 with each flavor.
I didn’t have the exactly right-sized dishes for the crème brulée, but used what I had. None of my dishes were quite as wide as the 4 inches suggested, so my custards took longer to cook. Rather than spending an hour in a low oven, my custards needed more like 90 minutes to set. Then, after cooling, the crèmes spent the night in the refrigerator.
The final step, the bruléeing, called for family fun. For some reason, Howard had a butane torch in the basement, so I called on him to conduct the caramelization step. I don’t know whether I layered the sugar on too thick. Initially, the sugar flamed up like roasted marshmallows do, leaving little burnt spots on top. The sugar wasn’t really melting. We watched a couple of YouTube videos to see how it’s done. It worked better when he held the flame closer and moved the flame around faster.
Howard the Torcher
I have to let you in on a secret though. I’m actually the only one at our house that likes custard, so we only tried out one so far. This step will require more practice. The sugar wasn’t quite as crusty as I’ve had at restaurants, but there are 5 more dishes to try this on.
Overall, I liked my home-rendition of crème brulée. I liked the hint of fruit in the bottom of the dish. This would definitely be fun to serve to company, but no one was coming over before Friday. I’ll see if I can share some of the other 5 dishes in the fridge.
I’m looking forward to reading about what my fellow FFwD bloggers thought about this week’s recipe. Check out their links at French Fridays with Dorie. We don’t post the recipes, but consider getting your own copy of Dorie Greenspan’s book, Around My French Table.
Merry Christmas to all, and, to all, a good night!
A Plateful of Happiness 