It wouldn't be (British) Christmas without roasted potatoes. They're crispy golden nuggets of love and I could eat an entire plate of them (which I almost did the moment I'd finished making this recipe...) I head home to Edinburgh tonight, so yesterday I got in the Christmas spirit by drinking an entire bottle of wine and making roast potatoes. I really should've spent the time packing but OH WELL.
Since I wasn't making a full roast dinner yesterday, I didn't have any gravy to go with the potatoes, so I had to improvise. And, you know what they say, when you're out of gravy.... use yogurt? Okay, maybe no one says that, but they should because my yogurt, herb, créme fraîche concoction was delicious and the creamy dip went excellently with the crispy potatoes.
For the fluffiest potatoes, you boil 'em and then shake 'em in a pot with some fat. Since my roommate and I have a jar of bacon fat in our fridge (yup), I used a dollop of bacon fat in this recipe but olive oil works great too. Goose or duck fat also work nicely. These are pretty classic tatties, but feel free to spice them up with a little paprika? Or you could finish the whole dish off with some sumac or za'ater?
Steps
Preheat the oven to 450F. Peel and quarter the potatoes. Fill a pot with water, add the potatoes and a pinch of salt, bring to a boil. Boil the potatoes for 10 - 20 minutes or until they just begin to soften.
Drain the pot and add a dollop of bacon fat. Put a lid on the pot and shake vigorously so all the potatoes get coated in fat. Place the potatoes on a roasting tray and season with salt and pepper.
Roast in the oven until golden and crispy (approx. 45 mins), turning every 15 minutes or so.
For the dip, finely chop the herbs, then mix all the ingredients together. Adjust the flavors to your liking and drizzle with additional olive oil to serve.
I firmly believe that holiday snacks are the best part of holiday parties. I am a sucker for hors d'oeuvres and around the holidays everyone seems to up their snack game. The thing is, while little onion tarts with gorgonzola and walnuts and terrine of pork, smoked bacon and cranberries sound insane, I am not particularly good and anything involving focus or paying close attention to detail.
So I need my holiday snacks to be both fancy and super easy to make, which is why these little toasts are great. Pop open a bottle of sparking wine or a real nice craft brew and pass around a plate of these smoked salmon snacks and no one will complain.
This is a traditional tapas but a little less common this side of the pond. I recommend using the thickest, fullest of fat yogurt you can find (because you don't want it dripping off the toast). I'd also invest in some nice wild salmon and raw honey, you won't regret the amazing flavors plus it's the perfect season to splurge.
Steps
Slice and toast the baguette. Wait for the toast to cool slightly and gently spread a dollop of yogurt onto each toast.
Top with slice of smoked salmon and drizzle lightly with honey. Season with lots of black pepper and a dash of salt.
It's Decemeber and even though the Capital Weather Gang have tragically predicted zero snow fall this month, Christmas is round the corner and I am fully embracing the festive season. Hoping that if I wish hard enough, there will be some sort of winter miracle and a few flakes will start to fall...
Even though I can't control the weather, I can control the TV! And nothing makes me happier than curling up to watch Christmas movies and shows with a festive drink. Mulled wine, hot chocolate, spiked apple cider--all delicious--but, right now, my favorite festive drink is chilled and sparkling.
The drink is named after my favorite episode of my favorite snow-filled show. It's perfect for Hanukkah parties, Christmas parties, New Years parties, basically ALL PARTIES. You can make the bourbon apple cider part in advance and then just pop the prosecco when guests arrive.
Stuff
2 parts apple cider
1 part bourbon
couple cinnamon sticks
couple sprigs lemon thyme
prosecco
cranberries (to decorate)
Steps
Mix the apple cider, bourbon, cinnamon sticks, and lemon thyme in a jug. Chill or add ice to chill.
Pour about an inch of the mixture in a champagne glass and top off with prosecco (it'll be fizzy, so go slow). Garnish with cranberries.
Full disclosure, I'm not the biggest fan of Thanksgiving (I know, blasphemy for a foodie) but I didn't grow up with the holiday so I don't have any childhood memories of mountains of mashed potatoes or stuffing my face with three kinds of pie. It all seems kind of strange to me, like a plate of turkey with a lot of mushy baby food (sorry don't hate me).
The problem might be that the British have a tradition of eating a roast every Sunday. Yeah, you heard me, we make an epic roast every single week with roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, and sausage stuffing. So Thanksgiving has a uncanny valley feel for me, it's really close to something I know and love but not quite the same... Fortunately, there's one thing that's the same on both side of the Atlantic - brussel sprouts!
I know brussel sprouts aren't the most traditional Thanksgiving side but they've definitely been around more in recent years and they're super delicious, especially if you fry them and dress them in a honey balsamic vinaigrette. And, no, I won't apologies for using goat cheese in everything. Goat cheese is the best and everyone should eat it with everything.
This dish is pretty bare bones, but feel free to add hazelnuts? pancetta? breadcrumbs? more cheese? all of the above?
Also **safety warning** the oil spits a little, fry 'em gently and stand back!
Steps
Wash, trim, and half the brussel sprouts. Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan. On a low-medium heat, fry the sprouts in batches (usually 10 - 15 halves at a time). Fry until golden brown and crispy, approx. 1 - 2 mins per side. Remove from heat and place on a paper towel.
Mix together balsamic and honey (add a pinch of salt and pepper). Toss the fried spouts in the dressing and add salt and pepper to taste.
Spread goat cheese on the serving dish and pile sprouts on top.
Just got back from vacation and WOW, Norway is incredible. The air is chilly and the fjords are breathtaking. I ate reindeer, cod tongues, whale, shrimp, salmon, and SO MUCH BROWN CHEESE.
After my mum and I flew to Oslo, we went to Alta (way up north) and spent two weeks traveling around the Arctic Circle (including Tromsø, Hammerfest, Honningsvåg, and Kirkenes). We took boats down the Altaelva and grilled salmon on the riverbank. We ate bidos (a traditional Sami soup made with reindeer meat) in a turf covered restaurant. We saw 7000 year old rock carvings. We drank a lot of Mack beer. There were stockfish racks everywhere and it never got dark. Not once. Not even for a second.
I wish I could go back to the snow topped hills and escape the muggy DC heat. But alas, it's back to work now. Fortunately I smuggled back some brown cheese.
