Sorry, Bambi, but I kind of hated your movie anyway.

Awww, aren't you cute? Bet you would be delicious and tender on a plate.

Dinner du jour (or if we’re honest, dinner of a week ago): venison.

One of the benefits of having uncles and cousins who hunt (besides having nice uncles and cousins) is that when they kill a deer or elk, they have it made into steaks, sausage, and ground meat, and share it with my dad’s family.

This is something I think is very cool – being an unabashed carnivore, I’m also all about using as much of an animal as is humanly possible.   In fact, I still remember one vivid history lesson discussing how Native Americans used bison stomachs as cooking pots.  My mother and I were grossed out then, but now, all I can think is that it would impart some seriously delicious flavor to whatever one was making.  I mean, crispy pork belly is to die for, so why not something more game-y?

Sorry.  That’s probably not interesting to anyone but me.

A few weeks ago, Dad called me and asked me if I wanted some venison steak.  A few years ago, I wouldn’t have known what to do with it, but this year I said “heck yeah,” and immediately began searching for venison preparation techniques.  After awhile, I settled on venison with a blueberry compote, based upon this recipe.

Bambi, deconstructed. SORRY. I can't help myself.

Recipe and cooking technique after the jump!

Gift guide for the cooking nerd

Sometimes I watch Mad Men and wince when the advertising execs assume that women will want kitchen tools or things to make dinner parties easier – not just because of the obvious misogyny, but because in my case, it is so true.  A cute apron?  Sturdy, colorful kitchen utensils?  Razor-sharp knives?  Voodoo doll toothpick holder?  New serving platters?  Do they sparkle?  COUNT ME IN.

Boojiboo retro aprons on Etsy, $28.75 + shipping

For the cook who loves vintage clothing and doesn’t particularly love a mess, I highly recommend any apron from Boojiboo.  I own two myself, and can vouch for their quality, sturdiness, fit, and overall cuteness.  Plus, it’s cool to support independent sellers.  Browsing her Etsy site is dangerous: she already has some adorable retro holiday patterned aprons up.  Must…not…buy… must not host another holiday event…

STAB. Stab stabbity stab stab stab! $11.84 on Amazon.com

For the host or hostess with barely suppressed anger issues (not me, of course) or who just likes passive-aggressively poking at others, why not the Fred voodoo doll toothpick holder?  At $11.84 (and sometimes lower) on Amazon, it’s a great “small gift” or stocking stuffer that is sure to get a chuckle out of visitors.  (I own one and people constantly comment on it.)  Fred has tons of similar silly kitchen gadgets – check them out here.

Joseph Joseph heat-resistant kitchen utensils, $26.47 on Amazon

My old kitchen utensils were biting the dust, one by one – small wonder after heavy use for over four years.  While browsing Amazon one night, I came upon these heat-resistant (up to 480 degrees) utensils that are not only colorful and bright, but are weighted at the handle so the “active” portion of the utensil stays off the counter.  Having used them for several months now, they live up to my expectations and then some.  And did I mention they’re pretty colors?

If you want to get them with a carousel to hold them, that’ll cost you extra.

Shun 8" Chef's Knife, $139.95 on Amazon

And now, back to the pointy things.  For anyone who has never had a really good knife before, put this on your wishlist now.  Sure, the price initially makes me throw up a little in my mouth, but it pays off in the kitchen.  My +1 got the Santoku and paring knives a year or two ago, and, well, let’s just say they sweeten the relationship deal.  Also, were we ever to break up, he would have to pry them from my cold, dead hands, and even then, I would hope rigor mortis would set in.  Point being: a good knife is an absolute necessity, so if the cook in your life doesn’t have one, consider this.

Vintage Barbie Learns To Cook reproduction, various prices on Google Shopping and Amazon

Is your cooking fan also a Barbie fan?  (Really?  Is it me?)  Try finding the 2007 reproduction of the vintage Barbie Learns to Cook doll. It comes in an adorable display box, and if you want the brunette “platinum” edition, that will cost you extra.  About three times as much extra.

Holiday Cocktails card deck, $11.86 on Amazon (and sometimes can be found cheaper elsewhere)

Finally, because no holiday is complete without a little extra cheer, your friends (or you) might enjoy this recipe card deck (paired with a good bottle of booze, if you’re feeling fancy).  It has a lot of standard cocktails, but some have wintry twists.  There are also non-alcoholic drinks, suggestions for garnishes, and a detailed explanation of what basic ingredients and liquors one should generally have on hand.  I find the latter feature particularly useful, and it’s a nice, compact size with great photos.

For more good suggestions, check out Smitten Kitchen’s Gift Guide.  Hers is practical where mine delights in its ridiculousness.

What has been your favorite kitchen/cooking/entertaining gift?

4th Annual Thxgiving

Whereas I don’t care for xmas, I love Thanksgiving.  Or Thxgiving, if you will.  An entire holiday centered around rich, filling, seasonal food?  Count me in.  Perhaps I am the only person who loses weight on Thanksgiving, but after cooking all day, I can hardly stand to look at everything I made.  But you?  YOU EAT.  YOU EAT RIGHT NOW.  YOU ARE TOO SKINNY.

Every year, I host more people than before (which is somewhat alarming, given the tiny nature of my one-bedroom apartment – we’re either going to have to move or scale back).  This year I hosted 13, and fed 14 (I sent leftovers home for one person who couldn’t make it).

The gal in the smart black vintage pumps and the lemon-motif apron? That's your girl. I mean, it's me. Hi. Yeah.

I’ve been hosting an “orphan Thanksgiving” for four years now – it started out in law school for those of us who weren’t going home to others due to finals, and managed to blossom into something much larger.  The guest – and dish – count has more than doubled.  Now I am the hostess for my mother – which, she says, is a nice change from the many years that she hosted holiday dinners.

This year was my favorite menu yet.  I started with a prosciutto-wrapped stuffed pork (which was challenging when I realized what I thought was a single pork tenderloin was actually two.  Determination (and no other choice) paid off, and I butterflied, pounded, stuffed, and tied those two tenderloins into one roast stuffed) with leeks, apples, mushrooms, brandy, and spinach.  I (sort of) followed a recipe from the October issue of Bon Appetit and was very pleased with the results – two-tenderloin-issue aside.   It’s a great recipe, because you can prepare the roast a day ahead of time.  Although I don’t have any pictures of the complete roast, all trussed up on its bed of apples, let me say that it makes a very impressive presentation.  (As to the flavor and the pan jus gravy, well, I hope it was good.  I didn’t actually have any.)

The side dishes were all tried-and-true dishes I have made before, in various forms.  Try the butternut squash, the creamed leeks, and the roasted beet and orange salad (I added far more spring greens) next time you have an autumn party.  All can be (mostly) prepared ahead of time: the squash can be peeled, seeded, and diced, the leeks can be sliced and washed, and the beets can be roasted the previous day.

It was a lovely day, made better by the fact that I was able to keep my day-of prep time to a bare minimum.  And best of all, one of my guests actually wrote me a handwritten-thank-you note, which completely made my day.

I *heart* Seattle.

My +1 took me to Seattle for my birthday (Nov. 21, in case you ever have a spare diamond tiara to send along), and I got a Real Autumn.  Also, a few extra pounds and a numb face.

Seattle is one of the few cities I feel that I could move to and fit right in.  Aside from my lack of rain boots and the cold weather that hits you like a brick of brisk to the face, I love the scenery, the food/cocktail/microbrew culture, and the fish (!!!).  Sign me up for a vacation home, please.

I’ll never permanently move out of state because I never want to take another Bar exam, but sometimes it’s a tempting thought.

Especially when I imagine having Piroshky Piroshky and Purple Cafe whenever I want.

More photos from Seattle here.

Happy November

Sunflowers, originally uploaded by inlucesco.

The farmer’s market today was filled with all sorts of harbingers of fall (such as it is in California), including these vivid sunflowers.

Clearly, November is the superior month (and not just because it contains my birthday, my brother’s birthday, multiple friends’ birthdays, Thanksgiving, and our anniversary).

3-day weekend

Fleet Week – and the nice weather – have come and gone.  I spent this 3-day weekend (Columbus Day is a court holiday, hence my having time to post this) with my good friend at an expo (and got a free haircut)/shopping/eating diner food, and my +1, wandering around the city.  So out came the phone camera.

 

Autumn storm

skyjuice, originally uploaded by inlucesco.

First storm of the season makes for great photos – and terribly rude commuters.  But great photos nonetheless.

Kitchen Play: Fruit, cheese, carbs, done.

I spend far more time thinking about having dinner parties than actually having them.  Something always comes up, be it finances or timing or some unexpected life event.   But inevitably, I will make something good, and think: this!  This would be perfect if I was entertaining guests.

Then I eat whatever it is and forget about it.  Until the next time I make something good.

The only time I approve of flakiness is when it's a pastry.

Today, it’s my spin on a new Kitchen Play (this month, sponsored by the National Apple Association) entry: apple & herbed goat cheese tartlets, based on Fake Ginger’s apple and blue cheese tart.  It’s the same idea as the tomato galette, or the fig and goat cheese galette with balsamic and honey: fruit, cheese, carbs.  Although with this one, I could picture including a slice of crisped prosciutto (mmm, tasty pig parts), too.  Or lemon zest.

Whatever you choose, these tartlettes (or galette-lettes?  Er) are simple to pull together if you’ve already made the dough, and they’re made in a standard-sized muffin tin.  Half a batch of Julia Child’s cornmeal-enhanced galette dough makes six tarts.  Once baked, they end up being the perfect size for appetizers, and if you serve them straight from the oven, the crust is particularly flaky and the cheese is particularly gooey, as freshly-baked things tend to be.

They pair well with these green beans (made with a green heirloom tomato and swapping garlic for shallots, which received rave reviews from my vegetable-neutral +1).  Recipe after the jump.

Kitchen Play: it’s been fall for awhile now.

Summer in San Francisco is non-existent – at least during the traditional Northern hemisphere months.  It is not unusual for me to wake up to this scene, while my Twitter friends are complaining about the heat in their area:

Within the last week, we’ve finally gotten some good (hot) weather.  Of course, now everyone is talking about fall!  The equinox!  Time for pumpkin coffee drinks and cider and cranberries!  The slow creeping of the holidays!  (NOOOO.)  What everyone else is rejoicing about is what we’ve had for months now, especially if you live on the colder side of the city.  Meanwhile, I’m ready to break out the sundresses and the margaritas.

This month’s Kitchen Play contest reflects the change in the weather (for everyone else): the secret ingredient is apples, sponsored by the US Apple Association.  I love cooking with apples – especially Granny Smith, clearly the superior choice – because their texture and flavor lend themselves well to sweet and savory dishes alike.  (My annual Thxgiving feast is shaping up to prominently feature apples.)

Two dishes caught my eye – this entry falls under the “amuse bouche” category, from The Mommy Bowl, and I liked the idea of putting an appetizer on a crispy basil leaf.   Deanna’s version is a cherry-apple chutney with gouda; I opted for cranberry-apple with brie based on what I had on hand.

When baked, the basil loses a lot of its characteristic “WHAM!” scent and taste, but gives the appetizer an interesting herbal flavor.  I liked the chutney, but next time, I will make it with a more tart variety of apple (I used fuji, which can’t hold a candle to Granny Smith).

Ignore the schmutz (apple cider reduction, if you will) on my serving dish.  Recipe after the jump.

Nice to meet you, Julia: part two

In Part One, I made a savory tomato-and-cheese galette with half of Julia Child’s cornmeal crust recipe.

And now for the savory-sweet version: a fig and goat cheese galette, drizzled with honey and balsamic vinegar.  Again, this would be perfect as a cocktail party appetizer, sliced into small wedges – it’s sweet and tart, and the figs give it a really interesting dimension of flavor.  The combo is nothing new, but I simplified recipes I saw lurking around the web, so that it’s truly something that can be pulled together very quickly – especially if you’ve already made and frozen the dough.

looks (and tastes) complicated. is not.

 

Recipe after the jump.