New Years Dinner {Pasta with Green Lipped Mussels}

Has the hype of 2012 fallen upon you yet?  Me? Ummm, not so much. Every year I find myself secretly looking for ways to avoid masses of people (and the crazy amateur pyrotechs among them...seriously almost said good-bye to a kneecap one year!) In the Czech Republic it's quite popular for anyone who no longer sees the appeal of rivers of cheap bubbly in the city center bars to hide away in a cottage in the mountains with friends. Good food and drink are brought, and games are played.

Wherever and however you bring in the new year, if you are looking for an easy and elegant New Years Eve meal, simply pick up a few ingredients that are a titch out of the ordinary, but keep the preparation and number of flavours limited. This guarantees a special dinner, without sweating in the kitchen for hours before a new beau arrives, or lugging multiple grocery bags up to the mountains for one dinner. 

Fish has such a history when it comes to New Years dinners, it's hard to want to pull away from it. Hunting down some New Zealand green-lipped mussels from your fishmonger (or in the Czech Republic, look in the Asian markets, like on Olomoucká street in Brno) makes for a definite treat. Using Italian squid ink pasta (spaghetti al Nero di Seppia) creates a striking visual contrast, and adds to the subtle depth of seafood flavour. I took the easy route and used already dyed spaghetti, but it's only a little bit more effort to buy a jar of the black dye from an Italian import shop along with some fresh pasta for a little DIY.

After the mussels and squid ink pasta are procured, the rest is a cinch. Garlic, shallots, tomatoes, white wine, and a hint of chili peppers make this a New Years dish that practically cooks itself! 

Another variation - with fresh fish and basil:

Italian Squid Ink Pasta with Sea Bass

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Merry Christmas! {with Eggnog Recipe}

Merry Christmas from the Czech Republic! Or rather, Veselé Vánoce! 

 

We celebrate it all on the 24th over here, so my 25th is reserved for my 'American' Christmas...mainly a skype date with my family in Wisconsin for their Christmas morning, and then an evening spent with another expat. 

 

Yesterday, however, I witnessed one of my finest Czech Christmas days yet with a Canadian-Czech couple and their family. Of course, my friend and I had to toss in our heritage a bit. For this spirited Canadian, that means eggnog. I remember her 'nog well from years ago, my first holiday season in Brno. This year, I finally got to catch some of the action (and the recipe!)

 

Fresh eggs are a must. As is the cream. The booze gets a bit of wiggle room. Rum, whisky, or a bit of both. And freshly grated nutmeg on top..mmmm...

Careful on the mixing. It is a drink, i.e. liquid. And it can, and will, fly everywhere if not careful! Use a combination of electric mixer for the eggs, and hand whisk for the rest.

Czech Christmas usually starts with decorating the tree in the morning, and preparing the food for later. A light meat-free soup (often lentils for luck and prosperity) can be had for lunch, that is, IF you don't want to see the golden pig. There are many, many Czech Christmas traditions associated with one's future. A widespread one is to fast all Christmas day until dinner so that one sees a golden pig. I think this hallucination should bring money next year.

After the soup, we warmed up with the eggnog before heading out for an afternoon walk through a gorgeous woods that had the exact amount of snow sprinkled about to make it wet enough for the dogs to get good and muddy.

Permission to roll in the mud turns out to be exactly what my Saffi wanted for Christmas!

After the walk, we arrived back home for some mulled wine and Christmas dinner of salmon and potato salad. It did take me awhile to get used to the Czech holiday dish of fish (traditional is fried carp, but most families seem to be substituting salmon these days), but I now find myself looking forward to it.

The potato salad is one which I adore. Not at all cloying and sweet like some American ones I've had, but light and tangy with the addition of pickles. With the fish, sensational!

As soon as everyone had savoured the last bite, a bell is rung to signify the arrival of Ježíšek (baby Jesus) who has just brought the presents under the tree. Gift opening, laughing, and more eating closes out the rest of a very special evening. 

More holiday libations:

Mulled Wine

Chocolate Cinnamon Cream Liquor

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Chocolate Pavlova with Caramely Bananas & Mascarpone Cream

Christmas morning is the perfect time to justify a leisurely dessert-like brekkie. And it seems to me that the messiness of pavlova certainly mirrors the disarray of little ones rushing down the stairs Christmas morning. I don't know about you, but for me, Christmas mornings are as relaxed and comfortable as a holiday gets. No one minds if they don't look their best in front of mom's camera when there are gifts to unwrap and gasps of surprise to be heard.

While Pavlova is usually thrown together with summer berries (as in last summer's strawberry-basil pavlova) it can take a winter turn as well with the addition of chocolate in the meringue base. Sauteed bananas are coated in caramel and a sprinkling of nutmeg, and a mascarpone cream sweetened with maple syrup simply resounds of breakfast.

And did I mention it's all spiked with a wee bit of Baileys Irish Cream? Good Christmas morning!

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How to Poach an Egg {and Eat it with Gouda and Tarragon}

So I've been poaching lately. Eggs, that is. And if anyone has not yet delved into this kitchen territory, let me beseech you to do so. When you've got the time in your morning to start a pot of water boiling (it's the first thing I do, before starting my coffee), you've got the means to make the softest, most beautiful and flavourful egg breakfast ever.

Now, I wasn't intending to blog about this, as I had changed my mind on my earlier consideration of making a hollandaise for it. I figured, no hollandaise, no blog post (which means no photos of the process, which, anyways, is actually so easy it doesn't even require any. Really, I promise.)

No sauce required a little improv on dressing up the eggs - topped on rye toast with gouda and a scattering of tarragon over top. And this, if I do say myself, was genius. Simple, easy, cheap...and sensational. My stomach was doing a happy dance while I ate the first one. I paused for a moment to snap a photo of the second before he was gobbled up in turn.

Eggs. Incredible, and oh so very edible.

More egg recipes:
Asparagus and Eggs with Parmesan
Classic Egg Salad Sandwich

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My (Strawberry) Morning Milkshake

Looking for more ways to get your calcium? I know I am. Thought I'd quickly share what has recently become my morning milkshake routine.

Now that we are facing the winter dearth of fresh fruit, I've been buying frozen berries again. And one of my fave, and healthiest, ways of partaking is sucking down a blended bevvie. In the warmer months I'm all about smoothies with juices and ginger...but in winter, I dream of cream.

This milkshake is an incredibly simple version that doesn't use ice cream, or heavy cream. Full fat milk, of course, but the key is using berries that are only half frozen. I take out the berries the night before, stick them in a glass in the refrigerater. The next morning, they are perfectly soft without being too watery. It gives a smooth, creamy consistency without as much fat in a traditional ice cream based shake. A bit of powdered sugar is used instead of granular, as it dissolves easier. And ground flax seed is thrown in for those happy omega-3s and a smidge of fiber.

And a good morning it will be.

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The Perfect Weeknight Chicken Pasta {with Mushrooms, Prosciutto, and Spinach}

This dish was not meant to be blogged about (ehem, hence the evening kitchen lighting.) Sometimes, a girl just wants to make her food and eat it. No cameras, no running monologue on how am I going to link this one to whatever holiday or cultural event is on the horizon. Simply, cook, sit, and enjoy.

But one taste of this dish had me running for my camera. My goodness, I told myself, I've finally done it. I've reached weeknight-chicken-pasta perfection.



The key to this little happenstance lies in a secret. Now, let me ask you about secrets. Are they really meant to be kept? For me, not so much. Ah, before you shoot me an evil look, let me clarify. I meant MY secrets. Can't keep 'em. Others, sure, more or less...so keep them coming :)

The secret begins.

For a number of months I've been running. Really running, not merely going for a leisurely jog and telling myself it's running. And with all this time spent running with just my thoughts bouncing away between my ears, I've had time to make plans. First, personal plans, and then came the bloggy plans. Again, these are only secret plans, but I can't bear to keep them in any longer.

The plan started with the idea of a half-marathon this spring. The plan then progressed to a focus on eating to feed my newly increased appetite, and feed it well. The lists then came into formation. Food lists of course. Lists from every running / fitness source on what I should be eating to keep my body in tip-top form. Then the lists were coordinated, adjusted, and merged into a master grocery shopping list. For the last few weeks I've been taking my master list with me to the store and trying to buy nearly everything on it, nearly every week.

I'm not going to lay out the list now, as I promised myself not to mention such plans until they were a bit more concrete. But such promises of self-secrecy never really work with me. So readers will benefit - the ultimate weeknight chicken-pasta. Healthy, seasonal, fast, and super tasty are exactly what I've been looking for. And having a kitchen fully stocked with all my 'running' foods made it happen. It can be prepared in the time it takes me to run 5 miles - under 40 minutes. The main difference, of course, is that I can drink wine when cooking...I think the other runners would frown on me for such an attempt on the trails!

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Sunday Soup {Lentil and Smoked Ham}

Lentils so simple,
and easy on my wallet,
tasty in autumn. 
- lentil haiku

As much as all of my American foodie friends are spending every spare moment right now planning and shopping for this coming Thursday, we can't all wait until then to eat. A hearty lentil and ham soup can be lazily thrown together on a Sunday, and eaten leisurely by the cupful as hunger comes and goes whilst pouring over those cookbooks (or web pages).

Mine was a bit thick, so I've written up the recipe with a bit more broth. But if you like it thick, then just add 1 liter of broth, rather than the 1 1/2 suggested.

I also decided to make the broth and root veg creamy,  à la immersion blender, before adding the lentils and ham. But this isn't necessary if one is looking for a more soup-like consistency.


Now let's get that Thanksgiving menu finished!

And yes, you read correctly, I did just start a post with a lentil haiku. It's that kind of a Sunday.

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