Holiday Cleanout

 This is the time of year wen the kitchen will be loaded with food and ingredients.This can be great save for the fact you may have leftovers or old foodstuffs around the fridge and pantry. If that's the case , then it's time to clean out.

One item that most home chefs and espcially bakers  have is flour. Keep in mind that refrigerated flour can last up to a year. If' it's been stored in a pantry then it's shelf life is only three months. Keep in mind that flour cna be used in making various roux and thickening gravies. You could also use the extra to make bread or the start of your holiday cookies and cakes. What that other all important staple - sugar? Technically sugar never spoils so you can keep it indefinitely. Howeve it can lose some of its' sweetness after three months. It's up to you if you want to keep it or not. It will come in handy for baking and also for sweetening coffee and tea. Is its cousin confectioner's sugar ever lasting? Yes!!! However throw it out if you see any bugs, moist clumps or contamination. Untouched sugar should be fine to use in glazes , icings and buttercream frostings along wit using it to make fudge and other holiday treats.

What about all those cans of tomato sauce and beans you bought whe the store was having a mega sale on them. One word - chili. This is the perfect hot crockpot dinner . Mix everything in the morning and let it simmer all day for a tasty, hot and nourishing dinner.It's also the perfect dish to serve at a tree trimming party. Add already made conrbread or tortilla chips to make it more of a party dish. You cna also add any onions you have too (usually one wull do it). Tomato  sauce can be used in making homemade sauce too. Nothhing beats this when served over any kind of pasta. Beans can also be used in rice dishes as a nice side oir if you're craving a taste of summer, whip up a three bean salad. Those cans of chickpeas can also be turned into hummus, the perfect party dish. Cannellini beans can be added to give the dip a milder flavor. Blend together with minced garlic, olive oil and lemon. Serve with air fried pita chips. Canned veggies can easily be made into sides and salads, leaving more room for Christmas dinner ingredients.

It's time for a quick clean out of the pantry and fridge. Throw out the old stuff. use what you can for different dishes and holiday baking. The pantry and fridge will then be ready for all your Christmas dinner ingredients.

Homemade Hors'D 'Oeuvres

 A holiday party or Christmas dinner should start with a pretty platter of hors d'oeuvres. A nice touch would be creating a variety of tasty nibbles from scratch. There's a wide variety to choose from so you can have a varied plate.

One of the most classic hors d'oeuvre is the cheese ball. This is one of the easiest recipes to make.Use cream cheese as the base and mix it with a good cheddar. Sharp, tangy cheddar is the best because it willhave a nice zing to it. Grate the cheddar into the a bowl of cream cheese. WHat gives commerically made cheese balls their unique flavor is the addition of Worcester sauce and finely chopped green onions or scallions. Once these are combined start forming a ball using a spatula. Then use your hands. It's now time for the famous nut crust. Use a mix of chopped  nuts like walnuts , almonds and pistachios. You can serve it surrounded by Ritz crackers or something fancier like homemade crostini. Another tasty cheese dish is whipped ricotta on crostini. it's ricotta mixed with a bit of honey, olive oil and garlic. You can top this with a savory topping like a pickled tomato and onion or a sweet one like peaches and figs. For a surprise salty jold add a paper thin layer of prosciutto between toppings.

Phyllo cups are always a welcome bite at any gathering. Hoemmade ones are pretty easy to whip up.It takes only two ingredients - phyloo sheets that your local grocery's freezer section has and butter or a plant butter  like Melt. I'ts first brushing the sheets with melted butter and then just cutting them to fit muffins tins. Bake with a filling at 350 degree Farenheits for ten to twelve minutes. What to fill them with? Try various quiches fillings sich as the traditional quiche Lorraine which has ham or bacon and caramelized onions mixed with eggs. Vary these with spinach and asparagus.  You could also try a mix of cranberry and Brie or the cheese with sliced pears. Bite sized beef Wellingtons are another tasty and sophisticated holiday bite. This is taking beef tenderloin and  cutting it into small one inch cubes cubes.  Brown the tendeloin bits in olive oil until the meat is browned. Let cool and the wrap into puff pastry. Brush each square with beaten egg for a glossy brown crust and then bake for ten minutes in a 400 degree Farenheit oven. Serve with mustard. You can  add a layer of chopped mushrooms and onions if you want a more authentic Beef Wellington flavor.

Homemade hors d'ouevres are always special. Try these for a tasty beginning to any holiday meal. YOur guests will appreciate them.

Your Best Culinary Gift Ever

 This is the time of year for wishlists. Many home chefs want something related to the kitchens. What was your best kitchen themed gift? A total makeover of the room? An air fryer? Prerty drinking tumblers?

Let us know what made you excited on Christmases past.(althought it can also be birthday and anniversary gifts too.)

A Host Of Holiday Treats

This is the season to indulge. There are so many treats both food and drink to make. Yet the question is what to make. LUckily there's a slew of recipes to choose from.

Yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section offers ideas and recipes to make any holiday ,from Hannukah to Christmas to Kwanzaa brighter. Regular contributorsJoan Nathan, Yewande Komolafe and  Chritina Morales supply with a some good ones perfect for just the family or for gatherings. Ms Nathan has an excellent recipe for flaky cheese pies,  sambousektaken from Syrian Jews.These were invented centuries ago when the Sephardic Jews escaped the Spanish Inquisition. They can be  filled with Munester, mozzarella or kashkaval cheese, a Balkan based cheese. They sort of look like empanadas.  with a half moon shape and pinched edges. They can be filled with meat and onions too if you want something different.Sesame seeds can be pressed into the pastries for more flavor as well. They're baked in a 350 degree Farenheit oven.

For sweet try two of Yawande KOmolafe's recipes. Both use a yeasty brioche dough. One recipe are buns filled with whipping cream and a red fruit jam such as strawberry, raspberry, red current or mixed fruits. The other is a tasty fried doughnut recipe Keep in mind you can also fry the holes for more tasty treats.They're fried ina neutral oil like vegetable. Nutmeg is added to this recipe to give them a warm spiciness. The dough for both recipes has to be proofed for forty-five minutes before shaping. What to drink with this? The festive crema, a staple in many Caribbean Christmas celebrations. Christina Morales 's recipe has the traditional mix of evaporated milk blended with coconut milk and condensed milk. What gives it kick is a dark one, preferably Rhum Barbancourt. Star anise and vanilla extract give ti more flavor.If you want to vary it try Jamaican rum which will give the drink a darky earthy color and more of a molasses flavor.

These treats are perfect for any Hannukah or Christmas party. The flavors are varied and differennt than the traditional treats of the season. Try them for a different spin.

Sacramento's Food Future

 Sacramento ha s long been known for one thing - being California's capital city. Yet something else is happening here. A food revolution is coming about. There are innovatove chefs and trendy restaurants making this Northern Californian city the place to be.

New contributor and known journalist Ella Quittner, wrote about this in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. Sacramento has always had a diverse food scen from its' earliest history but now it's even more so.The area is not too far fromthe Napa Valley so both fresh produce and a good assortment of wines are always to be had. This greatly affects restuarants and enables chefs to become more creative.There has always been a stalward farm to table movment in Sacramento yet it took some young chefs to really cement that idea.A growing group of Sacramento born chefs are returning home too.LuciaPlumb_Reyes is one of them, opening up the much loved bakery Moonbelly in August of 2022. She wanted her child to be raised near family and also took advantage of the phenomenal  low housing prices the city is known for. The result is such artisinal breads as walnut bread along with fruit croissants. Another plus is using the local fresh fruit in her croissants which make them even more special.

She;s not the only one. Sacramento native, Billy Ngo owns and cooks at the popular Kru where he has made such dishes as charred sturgeon slivers topped with caviar. For him the city was and always will be cool. Newcomers are also discovering all that Sacramento has to offer. Newcomer chefs like Alex Sherry 38 and his wife Chuttharat Sae Tong, 44 have opened up a funky sourdough based pizza shop Majka. They put feta and squash on a sourdough base for an unusual twist on the traditional Italian pie along with creating salads with locally sourced fruits and vegetables. Even classic eateries such as Franks' Fat, one of the city's first Chinese restaurants  since 1939 has a good fan base too. They serve traditional Chinese American fare witht eh addition of either chocolate cream or banana cream pie for dessert. Sacramento has caught Michilin's eye with its' French inspired restaurant The Kitchen winning a "Bib Gourmand" award. 

Sacramento is becoming a dynamic and vibrant restaurant paradise.It's worth taking a trip to this capital city just for the variety and good dining.It would be a memorable trip.

What Charcuterie Do You Want

Charcuterie is big right now. Every holiday party  will have one from a small dainty platter to a super  sized one filled with all sorts of goodies. You may want one for your holiday party but which one? It's time to sort them out.

A classic charcuterie has the same meats and cheeses more or less that it had when it was first created in the 1500's .The classic French has a variety of coldcuts like salame, mortadella, and prosciutto which are more Italian than French. Pair these with a baguette(this can be already cut or guests can cut their own slices) along with a varity of cheeses like Brie, Gouda and Edam. Have bowls of pickled mushrooms and artichoke hearts along with giardeneria - pickled vegetables . Also have a variety of different crackers, from the flaky water kind to Ritz. Olives and nuts are a must too along with fruits, both fresh and dried along with jams and jellies for those craving sweet. If you wanted to be  a little different add some savory jellies. You could make a homemade savory herb jelly using fresh and dried herbs mixed with instant pectin, to create the jelly , water and sugar. Should you include fish? No, You could set up what's know as a seacuterie board that contains such tinned fish as crab, tuna and salmon. For a lush seacuterie think about having cracked crab legs, lobster and shrimp along with ramekins of melted butter, tartar sauce and shrimp cocktail sauce.

What about vegans and vegetarians?. A vegan charcuterie board is just as easy to create as a traditional one. Of course you'll have the  same variety of baguettes and crackers. Veggies play an imprtant roll in it. Have broccoli and cauliflower florets along with carrots and celery sticks. Put out bowls of hummus too along with  store bought or home made pita crisps Scatter grape tomatoes around the board for color. You could also put out plant based cheeses and meats too. Miyoko's Creamery has some excellent choices from artisinal plant based cheeses like European truffle to  Smoked Gouda and Herbes de Provence.  As for the meats you can try Harry and David's vegan charcuterie board for $75.99. If not then get Tofurky's vegan turkey and baloney slices. A sweet charcuterie is a nice way of ending a holiday buffet. What goes on a sweet charcuterie board? Bowls of warm melted dark and milk chocolate along with such dippables as marshmallows, cubed pound cake  and strawberries to name a few. You can also add pretzel sticks for dupping too along with shortbread cookies. You could also have a cannoli dips with broken cannoli shells too. HAve bowls of holiday  M&M and mini candy canes for nibbling too.

A charcuterie board is a fun way of celebrating the holidays. You can have a savory or sweet one, meat or seafood, canivire or vegan.Anyone you choose is the right one for your party.

Lidl For The Holidays

 If you're looking to save this holiday season, then look no further than Lidl. This store is a godsend when to comes to holiday foods and goodies. 

Lidl has definitely become my new favorite.It has a wide array of foods from all over the globe. I know for sure I will buy their chocolate crema panettone and Pandoro. These are two classics of the Itatalina Christmas season. Another must buy are their meringue wreaths. These even are sprinkled with red and green sugar for the holidays. They also have a wide variety of baking goods at very good prices. Bakers should take advantage of their big flour sale. You can buy ten thirty-two ounce bags of flour for ten dollars!!!!! This is a true steal. They also have other ingredients like baking cocoa, sugar and confectioner's sugar at low prices. It's also true for their milk, eggs and butter, also vital for baking. If you don't want to bake , then go for their box of German assorted cookies for only $5.96 (this is the route that I'm taking. One the cookies are delicious and varied in style and flavor and two I just don't  have the time to bake this wide a variety of sweets).Keep in mind Lidl also has a good selection of toys, fun clothes and interesting gifts along with wrapping papper and gift cards.

Another must are their hams. They look absolutely delicious, in fact much better than what other grocery stores arte offering right now. LIDL is even selling veal cutlets for as low as $14.99 a package (around two dollars cheaper than other grocery stores right now.)Also if you spend $500 or more between now and CHristmas you're entitled to either a free spiral cut ham ro turkey. Looking for appetizers and hors d'ouvres for you holiday or New Year's Eve party? Lidl has frozen escargot (snail ) cups imported from France  along with French imported quiches. There are also a wide array of chicken wings, samosas and pigs in blankets for a hot appetizer platter. Keep in mind the store also has very good cold cuts and imported cheese along with always freshly baked French and Italian breads for a special charcuterie. Add some of their Greek imported olives as well as their Italian artichoke hearts. As far as something to drink, Lidl has an excellent selection there. A bottle of their Asti Spumante is only eight dollars and they also have port and Cabernet Sauvignon. for around the same price too. I love their diet cola which is more flavorful than the national brands.

Make Lidl your go to holiday store this Christmas and New Year's. It has good food at good bargains. That's a gift in itself.