Category: Food & Wine

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yuletide cheer

Yule Tide Cheer and Our 2008 Christmas Tree
Yule Tide Cheer and Our 2008 Christmas Tree

Well, a few days ago , I talked about a lovely marinade to soak a pint of strawberries to be used in what Karla called “Strawberry Pizza.” I hinted that the marinade would have some uses later on… and that it would ‘live again’ as a wonderful ‘drink.’

The only thought is to add something plus finely crushed ice to make it superb!

However, this is no ordinary alcoholic libation… it carries with it a serious ‘kick’ that surprised me. At first, I turned to Laura and queried whether or not the alcohol may have evaporated? She gave me this school marm look as if to say,” so, you think you will be able to walk after this?”

In any event, you definitely want to be wherever you intend to stay for the night before you enjoy this very special drink.

One of the interesting challenges of having your adult children all over the world is that you have to pick out the holiday decorations by yourself… and buy the mandatory Christmas Tree.

As is our habit each year, we find just the right tree!
Laura is working on the tree as we speak and I think I will put on the latest ‘Narnia” movie for backgound!

So as is my tradition, I will go sit in my chair and enjoy the festivities… hmmmm… I wonder if I should make some home made ‘egg nog’ this year? Why is the rum gone?… oh yeah… that’s why!

So , no matter what the future may bring, no matter what troubles and worries might be about you… enjoy this holiday season…

Roger Freberg

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strawberry pizza or torte

Strawberry Pizza or Torte
Strawberry Pizza or Torte

Karla came up with an interesting request a while back. She found a recipe for what was billed as a “Strawberry Pizza.” Since Karla is given to unusual requests , I wondered how small I could make it without having to actually… eat any.

After looking over the recipe, I realized that some changes we necessary: 1) Mace, Cinnamon and Cardamom and powdered sugar (rather than granulated in the original) for the crust, powdered sugar and white chocolate went into the cream cheese layer and the strawberries were made ala Romanoff with a Cassis glaze rather than a strawberry glaze.

Oh, maybe I overly customized this Chevy… but it worked out just fine!

Here’s the recipe

Roger Freberg

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Marinating the Strawberries

looks delicious
looks delicious

My daughter Karla uses email a lot, especially when it comes to birthdays and Christmas. The emails are full of detailed descriptions, pictures, where they can be purchased, rank ordered and cost. She is just as organized in finding things she would like to tryout. Recently she sent me a recipe for something that was billed as a ‘Strawberry pizza.’ It was simple enough, but besides being really a strawberry pastry dessert… it failed to be too interesting… so I thought I’d work on it a bit.

The topping was ordinary and needed something else… so the first thing was to use a variation of a “Strawberries Romanoff” dessert that is popular in Southern California as well as France and it’s native Russia.

It requires ‘marinating’ the strawberries for 6 weeks (just kidding). Here’s the marinade which should make a nice ‘drink’ as well:

1 pint strawberries (sliced in half)
2 cups made up of equal amounts of the following:  Orange Juice Concentrate, Armagnac, and Triple Sec (Contreau or Grand Mariner)
1/2 teaspoon mace ( one of my favorites)

Looks good enough to put nto a blender with ice right now… but this is for Karla’s Pizza… hmm

Roger Freberg

(full recipe to follow)

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Thanksgiving after-glow

TurGOOSen: Chicken into a Goose into a Turkey for Thanksgiving
TurGOOSen: Chicken into a Goose into a Turkey for Thanksgiving

Part of what no one ever discusses is how good we all feel after Thanksgiving. It is certainly NOT because of the ‘Black Friday’ sales — which I believe is only a way to ‘prime the pump’ for the Christmas holiday sales.

finally, I get a chance to sit down and enjoy Thanksgiving!
finally, I get a chance to sit down and enjoy Thanksgiving!

There is something about getting folks together and enjoying a wonderful meal… and hopefully there is something left over!

In my previous posts, I have talked about making a bird-within-a-bird recipe. Probably the best way is to see it in cross section. I am glad I took this picture because in a few moments, it was gone! This is a really good way to see all the various layers… the white chicken meat at the bottom and the goose in the middle all surrounded by various stuffings!

I have always enjoyed cooking, first because it is a life skill that all too many folks have ignored but can be learned, second because it is one of the few things that rewards you instantly for your hard work and lastly, it provides a control junkie what they really want… something that please their own particular pallet.

For those who may not know it, from Halloween to New Years Day is considered the ‘baking season.’ This is a wonderful activity to complement having to stay indoors in much of the United States… so enjoy this time by finding wonderful foods to prepare… there’s an entire world out there!

Roger Freberg

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Thanksgivings are Happy with turgoosens

a TurGOOSen : a Chicken within a Goose within a Turkey
a TurGOOSen : a Chicken within a Goose within a Turkey

Thanksgiving day is a wonderful time to bring out old favorites and to try some new traditions. Don’t let the picture fool you, this is one of those wonderful bird-within-a-bird recipes. In this case it is a chicken within a goose within a turkey. The only skin and bones are from the turkey and the only bones of the turkey that remain are the legs and wings! Ready for the oven!

I am using a cornbread dressing that I discussed in a previous post. The rest of the meal is a refection of the various tastes assembled: either potatoes au gratin or sweet yams, cranberry sauce, various additions such as Gerkens, olives, gravy, various cooked and seasoned vegetables and dessert of choice is Carrot Cake with Amarula creamcheese frosting.

Since we are being festive, champagne is a wonderful accompaniment.

Enjoy your day and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Roger Freberg