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Christmas Eve Fondue Party

December 24, 2009 in Appetizer, Entertaining, Entrees, Salad Dressing | 6 comments


Merry Christmas to everyone!  The holiday season is my favorite time of year and Christmas Eve happens to be my favorite part.  My family has a tradition of hosting a fondue party every Christmas eve.  Lots of dipping, eating and having fun.

And any Frei family holiday would be complete without a lot of red wine spilling.  This year was no exception:

 

 Fondue? Don’t mind if I do!  I love fondue – I think it might be because I am a sauce person. I am obsessed with sauces.  Fondue is the only meal I can think of where you dip every course and every bite.  In the words of Lustopher Hardy – “A little bit of heaven”. 

We generally setup the fondue around my parent’s kitchen island, which promotes lots of socializing.

Even Mavie (who has severe IBS (not joking) and is not allowed people food) tried to get a piece of yumminess. 

 

For those of you not familiar with fondue, we have three courses for the party:

The Cheese

The Meat

The Chocolate

Easy to remember since it is the three basic food groups :) .

I am sure some of you will be able to relate to this, but all of our family’s Christmas recipes have been around for so many years that they are stored in this little messy handwritten card holder my mom keeps.

 I love looking through all these recipes every year.  I even found a couple of Tomato Aspics (sick).   We don’t make that anymore. My favorite was this recipe written on a Goodyear Tire notepad. Hehe.

 

 Here are the fondue recipes.

 Don’t worry, I retyped them :) .

The Cheese Course

As previously mentioned, the night begins with the cheese fondue.  I really could just have this course and be fine for the rest of the night.  It is sooo freaking good. I have seen people make cheese fondue with many different types of cheeses and ingredients.  We never stray from the traditional.  Why fix what ain’t broken? 

Important note: When eating the cheese you must be careful.  It has been said that if you drop your piece of bread or fruit into the cheese you must kiss the person next to you.  Generally, this gets a little strange because I am usually eating fondue with my family.

Traditional Cheese Fondue (Adapted from handwritten recipe circa 1972 by Pam Frei)


½ Pound freshly grated Emmentaler Swiss Cheese

½ Pound freshly grated Le Gruyere Cheese (Do not use processed Gruyere.  The year we tried the processed is the same year we tried the chocolate fountain.  It will forever be known as the year of the fondue failure and subsequently the year without a Santa Claus)

1.5 Cups Dry White Wine

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

1.5 Teaspoons Cornstarch

1 Garlic clove halved

½ Teaspoon Nutmeg

Salt and White Pepper to taste

3 Tablespoons Kirsch Cherry Liquor

Dippers

Loaf of French bread cubed

2 Apples cubed

Roasted potatoes for dipping (optional)

Rub garlic on inside of large pot with two forks.

 Remove garlic solids.  Add white wine and lemon juice and heat over medium heat.  Heat till air bubbles rise but to not boil.  Whisk in cornstarch so there are no lumps.  Reduce heat to low.  Add a handful of cheese. 

 When cheese is melted add another handful.  Do not boil.  Add in nutmeg, salt and pepper and Kirsch.  The Kirsch adds great flavor.  At this point, we add the cheese mixture to a crockpot on high, so it doesn’t burn.  Use fondue sticks to dip.

 The Meat Course

The meat course is a little different because the eater is actually cooking their own meat. 

There are fondue pots (we have 3-4) of heated beef bouillon and red wine (one year we experimented with peanut oil) and over the years we have tried the different combinations of the following:

Shrimp (peeled and deveined)

Steak (cut into chunks)

Chicken (cut into chunks and generally marinated)

Salmon (cut into chunks)

Mushrooms

Peppers          

 Heat the following over a stove until boiling and add to fondue pot.

2 Cups of Beef Broth

1 Cup Red Wine

We like to use Sterno, not tealights, as a heat source.  Otherwise, it doesn’t get hot very fast.

Now for the dipping sauces – I try to make these the day prior to the party:

Sweet and Sour (my personal favorite)


½ cup Apricot Preserves

¼ cup Catsup (this cracks me up!  Anyone know the difference between catsup and ketchup?)

2 Tablespoons honey

2 Tablespoons white vinegar

2 Tablespoons Major Grey’s Chutney

Heat all ingredients until it reaches a simmering stage.

Mustard Sauce

1/2 Cup sour cream

1/3 Cup mayonnaise

1.5 Tablespoons prepared mustard (the French’s kind. Not the Dijon)

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Teaspoon horseradish

Combine all ingredients and mix well

Blue Cheese Dressing Sauce

This can easily be used as salad dressing to.

¾ Cup sour cream

½ Teaspoon dry mustard

½ Teaspoon salt

½ Garlic clove minced

1 Teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ Cup mayonnaise

3 Oz. Crumbled blue cheese

Combine all ingredients with the exception of blue cheese in a large bowl.  Mix for 2 minutes on low speed.  Slowly add blue cheese and blend 4 more minutes.  Refrigerate 24 hours prior to serving.

Teriyaki Sauce
We take a shortcut and use Yoshida!

  The Chocolate Course

I am usually so stuffed at this point that I can barely walk, but I always make room for just a bit more since the chocolate is so good.  Our recipe is super simple but really yummy!

Chocolate Fondue

2 Large bars of Symphony Chocolate with Toffee Bits – This stuff is the best and adds a little extra crunch

½ Cup Whipping Cream

2 ounces of Bailey’s Irish Cream (optional)

Heat chocolate and whipping cream over double boiler over low heat.  Stir until melted.  Transfer to chocolate fondue pot.  

We have this super cute hot fudge warmer thing we use:

Dippers

Use any combination of the following:

Bananas sliced

Mandarin Oranges

Strawberries

Apples

Pineapple

Pound Cake (bite size)

Cheesecake (bite size)

Leftover holiday cookies

At this point in the party I am generally ready to pass out since I am so full. 

I hope you have all have a wonderful Christmas!  I would love to hear about your Christmas traditions.  Please post them in the comment section. 

Be safe, be merry and eat & drink with reckless abandon!  You can work it off later!

Love,

Lindzee

PS.  I wish Mr. Barrera could have been here!  Hope you are having fun in b-town!

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Barb’s Pork Loin Roast with Mustard Sauce with Roasted Carrots

December 14, 2009 in Entrees, Pork, Sides | 5 comments

 

For the past 15 years my parents have lived next door to a family named the Newton’s.  When I was 15 we moved to Wenatchee from Seattle and our families have been great friends ever since. The mom of the house, Barb, is definitely the hostess with the mostest, Martha Stewart without the jail time.  She is also the sweetest most caring woman you will ever meet. 

 Here she is with her husband Dick (who is also very nice and makes a mean grilled salmon).  I stole the picture from her Facebook.

 Growing up, Barb always cooked the most wonderful meals and it seemed like she was constantly feeding the entire town.  My parents still eat dinner at their house all of the time. Probably 3-4 times a week. :)  I would too if I lived there.  Her food is amazing. I asked Barb to contribute a recipe for the blog. Her pork roast is my favorite and she very graciously agreed to give up her trade secrets.   This recipe is remarkable and simple!  Great for entertaining a crowd and practically impossible to screw up.  But don’t blame me if you do.   

 

I could eat the sauce/gravy with a spoon.   It is so good.  Go make this now.  I mean it.

I served mine with some carrots roasted with butter and garlic and mashed potatoes.  Mmmmmm.

Barb’s Pork Loin Roast with Mustard Sauce

 

Serves 6

1 3lb pork loin (de-boned)

 Garlic – Lots, about a whole head chopped

½ Cup Olive Oil

½ Jar (4oz) Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard

1 Teaspoon Rosemary chopped

Salt and Pepper

1 Cup Heavy Cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together, ½ of the garlic; and all the oil, mustard, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Make an incision in the meat in the middle only about 2 inches down.  Spread rest of garlic in this cavity and half of the mustard sauce.  Roll and tie with kitchen twine.

 

Spread the rest of mustard sauce on the outside of the roast.  Bake 1 hour and 20 minutes or until it registers 145 degrees in the center.

 

Remove roast from pan.  Either add drippings to another stock pan or use the roasting pan for the sauce. 

Add cream to drippings and reduce by cooking over medium heat for about 15 minutes while stirring constantly. 

Salt and pepper to taste. Sauce will become a rich, light caramel color. 


Slice and pour the sauce over pork.

 
Roasted Garlic Carrots

 

12 Carrots

¼ cup melted butter

2 chopped cloves garlic

½ teaspoon sugar

1 Tablespoon parsley chopped

Salt and Pepper

Rub garlic into butter.  Pour over carrots in roasting pan.  Sprinkle with sugar,parsley and salt and pepper. 

 Roast on 350 degrees for 1 hour until tender.

Enjoy!

Love,

Lindzee

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Sherried Mushroom and Apple Chicken Pot Pie

December 10, 2009 in Entrees, Soups | 2 comments

Sherried Mushroom and Apple Chicken Pot Pie

Mmmmmmm…Nothing like a warm hearty chicken stew covered in flakey puff pastry on a cold-ass freezing day.  Since it was 1 whole degree here outside last night, I figured we needed some warm comfort food.  Mavie was so cold!

 We had some apples and mushrooms on hand and I remembered a dish served at Campbell’s Resort on Lake Chelan, Washington.  Campbell’s has been on the shores of Lake Chelan since 1901 and is the quintessential vacation spot for Seattle peeps to visit throughout the summer. Growing up, we would always visit a few weeks during the summer and eat in the main dining room for a special occasion. 

I never failed to order the Country Chicken – Our famous breast of chicken dusted with seasoned flour, sautéed with golden delicious apples, shallots & mushrooms, simmered in sherry and cream. (description from their website).  It is sooooooooo freakin good!!!   If you are ever anywhere near Campbell’s, please try this dish.  Then order an extra plate and bring it to me in Boise.  Thanks for your cooperation in advance of this matter.

I thought this combination of flavors would be great as a pot pie.  It certainly was!  The leftover filling could even be eaten as a very rich and creamy soup – unquestionably not low-fat/calorie, but worth it! 

Sherried Mushroom and Apple Chicken Pot Pie

Serves 8 plus lots of leftover filling

 

What you’ll need:

6 Cups Chicken Stock

2 Teaspoons Chicken Base or 2 Cubes Bouillon

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Onion Chopped

1 Shallot Chopped

5 Carrots Chopped

4 Celery Stalks Chopped

2 Cups Sliced Crimini Mushrooms (any kind will do)

¾ Cup Dry Sherry

2 Apples Chopped (I used Golden Delicious)

4 Sprigs of Lemon Thyme Chopped

½ Chopped Parsley

½ Cup Butter

½ Cup Flour

2.5 Cups Cubed Herb Roasted Chicken (I used a store-bought (the horror!) roasted chicken)

¾ Cup Heavy Cream

Salt and Pepper

2 Packages Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets (Thawed. Must be Thawed.  I tried to do it frozen.  Trust me, it doesn’t work.)

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees after prepping veggies etc.

In a medium saucepan heat chicken stock and chicken base until boiling.  Once boiling turn down to simmer.    

Over medium heat in a large skillet sauté onion, shallot, carrots, mushrooms and celery in olive oil.

 Once onions are translucent add sherry, apples, thyme and parsley.  Season to taste. Sauté for one minute more.  Set aside.

In a large stockpot, melt butter over medium heat then whisk in a flour to make a rue.  Constantly whisk for 2-3 minutes until flour cooks. The flour might clump up but that is ok.  Do not let burn. 

 Slowly add chicken stock whisking constantly until there are no flour lumps.  Add in chicken and sautéed vegetable/apple/sherry mix.  Stir.  Add in heavy cream.  Stir Salt and Pepper to taste.

Use 8 oven-safe ramekins. Fill ¾ of the way full.

 I made the mistake of filling up too far and the oven was a mess! Take thawed (very important) puff pastry sheets and cut roughly into squares with a knife into squares just larger than your ramekins.  Cover each ramekin with a square. Trim and crimp edges. I am bad at this part as evidenced by the photos. You will most likely have leftover filling!

Bake for 25-30 minutes until pastry is puffed, flakey and brownish. 


Enjoy!

Love,

Lindzee

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Cancer Fighting Chopped Salad with Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

December 8, 2009 in Entrees, Salad | 8 comments

Cancer Fighting Chopped Salad with Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette


My mom and I have recently researching cancer fighting foods to help aid my dad in his battle.  I am not a doctor, but I personally believe a combination of traditional medicine, diet and supplements is the best way to treat cancer. Since cancer is an epidemic in this country, it is important to not only eat well after you are diagnosed with cancer, it is also imperative to eat well for preventative measures.  Based on secondary research, I came up with a chopped salad that incorporates many ingredients that may prevent and smash cancer – It is also yumtastic too!

Cancer Fighting Chopped Salad with Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette


Serves 2-3

Chicken

What you’ll need:

2 Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast (If possible, organic and free range)

1 Tablespoon Turmeric – Studies have show this spice slows the growth of some cancer cells

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Rub chicken with turmeric and salt and pepper and add to small baking dish.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until cooked through and golden.  Set aside to cool.  Once cool chop up chicken into small pieces.

Chopped Salad

What you’ll need:

Cooked roasted chicken from above

5 Cups Romaine Lettuce Chopped – Like other dark leafy greens, romaine lettuce is believed to fight cancer.

2 Apples Chopped – Apples have a lot of  phytochemicals and because they are inexpensive and available all year long, it’s easy to add them to a cancer fighting diet.

1 Avocado Chopped – Not just for heart health! Plus my 85-year-old grandma swears she is healthy due to eating ½ Avocado a day for the last 20 years.

½ Cup Dried Craisins – Studies show this superstar fruit battles cancer.

1 Tomato Chopped – Lycopene, which is naturally occurring in tomatoes, has long shown to lower risk of some cancers.

¼ Cup of Feta or Blue Cheese Crumbles

1 Recipe of Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette (see below)

Directions:

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Enjoy!

Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

¼ Cup Blueberries (I used thawed frozen) – Blueberries are high in antioxidants which act as a tonic for your cells.

¼ Cup Balsamic Vinegar – Since good Balsamic is made from grape pressings it is also high in antioxidants.

1 Tablespoon Garlic Chopped – Garlic contains allium compounds, which have been found to prevent several different types of cancer.

1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard

½ Cup Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Blend up all ingredients in the blender. 

Pour over salad.

Hope this recipe helps add to your cancer arsenal!

Love,

Lindzee

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Root Beer Slow Cooker Pulled Pork with Root Beer BBQ Sauce

December 7, 2009 in Entrees, Pork, Slow Cooker | 5 comments


Top of the afternoon to ya! I am currently visiting my fam in the lovely town of East Wenatchee, Washington. Please do not get the “East Wenatchee” confused with just Wenatchee. Wenatchee is on the wrong side of the tracks :) . Anyone who is from the Eastside will tell you this. This is the view from my parent’s house.

My dad is in the hospital, so I came home to help out my mom etc. He hasn’t had much of an appetite and I can’t really blame him considering how gross the hospital food is. How do they expect people to get well eating that crap? Since coming home on Saturday I have been making him most of his meals. Yesterday, he thought barbequed pulled pork sounded great and since it slow cooks for hours it would definitely be soft enough for him to eat. Poor guy has a sore mouth.

My friend Crissie makes a delicious root beer slow cooked tenderloin, so I thought I would take the same idea and make a pork shoulder.

I woke up early this morning to make sure the pork had enough time to fully cook in the slow cooker. While I prepared the pork, my niece and nephew wanted to finish decorating the tree. They each showed me their favorite ornament

Finished tree.

I love the holidays! This recipe turned out great and is super easy! The root beer flavor is not overpowering, but you can still catch a hint of it. Everyone who tried it seemed to love it – Even Maverick who is now very sick with a tummy ache or maybe it is from wearing that Santa costume?


 Homemade BBQ sauce is my absolute favorite and incredible easy to make. I am going to bring my dad the dinner tonight with extra sauce – He has been known to eat sauce alone with just a spoon. I will let you know how it goes!

Root Beer Slow Cooker Pulled Pork with Root Beer BBQ Sauce

 Serves roughly 10 hungry peeps

Pulled Pork

What you’ll need:
(Seems like a strange combo but I promise it will come out spectacularly moist with excellent flavor)
1 4-5 lb. Pork Shoulder – Bone-In
5 Cloves Garlic Chopped
¼ Cup Dijon Mustard
¼ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Cups Root Beer
1 Tablespoon Salt Pepper
10 hamburger buns
3-4 Tablespoons butter

Directions:
Put pork shoulder in slow cooker on low heat.

 Mix rest of ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over pork shoulder into slow cooker.

Cook on low for 8 hours until tender and falling off the bone. Mine practically shredded in the slow cooker.

 Shred pork with two forks removing fatty pieces and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add back to slow cooker with ¾ of the Root Beer sauce from below. Cook on low for 1 more hour.

Heat butter on medium in a griddle pan. Lightly toasted buns and top with finished pork and as much sauce as you like. Some top theirs with coleslaw. Do as you wish.

Root Beer BBQ sauce

You might want to double the recipe if you like a lot of sauce!

What you’ll need:
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
½ Onion Minced
1 Clove Garlic Minced
1 Cup Root Beer
1 Cup Ketchup
¼ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Mustard
¼ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
¼ Cup Maple Syrup (Substitute brown sugar if you don’t have any)
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
½ Tablespoon Chili Powder
Dash of Tabasco (optional) S
alt and Pepper to taste

Directions: Heat oil over medium heat in medium saucepan. Add onion and garlic and sauté until translucent.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer 20 minutes until thick enough for your liking.

Enjoy!

Love, Lindzee

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