Cranberry Relish, two ways

Lately I've been getting a lot of mileage out of NPR on my now longer commute to & from work. Yesterday morning I tuned in just in time to hear the annual broadcast of Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish. When I looked it up this morning I came across two recipes, the recipe shared yesterday plus a bonus (and very different) one, also featuring cranberries. Now I just need to decide which one to make for Thanksgiving this year!

Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish

Makes 1 1/2 pints

2 cups whole raw cranberries, washed

1 small onion

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons horseradish from a jar ("red is a bit milder than white")

Grind the raw berries and onion together. ("I use an old-fashioned meat grinder," says Stamberg. "I'm sure there's a setting on the food processor that will give you a chunky grind — not a puree.")

Add everything else and mix. Put in a plastic container and freeze.

Early Thanksgiving morning, move it from freezer to refrigerator compartment to thaw. ("It should still have some little icy slivers left.")

The relish will be thick, creamy, and shocking pink. ("OK, Pepto Bismol pink. It has a tangy taste that cuts through and perks up the turkey and gravy. Its also good on next-day turkey sandwiches, and with roast beef.")

Garlicky Cranberry Chutney

Susan Stamberg calls this recipe "my truly favorite cranberry side dish." It's from Madhur Jaffrey's cookbook East/West Menus for Family and Friends (Harper & Row, 1987).

1-inch piece fresh ginger, cut into thin slivers or minced

3 cloves finely chopped garlic

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

4 tablespoons sugar

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1-pound can cranberry sauce with berries

1/2 teaspoon salt (or less)

ground black pepper

Combine ginger, garlic, vinegar, sugar and cayenne in a small pot. Bring to a simmer, simmer on medium flame about 15 minutes or until there are about four tablespoons of liquid left.

Add can of cranberry sauce, salt and pepper. Mix and bring to a simmer. Lumps are ok. Simmer on a gentle heat for about 10 minutes.

Cool, store and refrigerate. ("It will keep for several days, if you don't finish it all after first taste!")

Frankie & Johnny...

...is my new favorite Valentine's Day movie ever. And no, it's not too late to watch it. Besides, Johnny might be my new favorite character. Love Al Pacino.

Where has this movie been my whole life?

Holiday highlights

Ryan and I stayed in Portland this year instead of traveling to one of the other three corners of the country where we have family outposts. I took remarkably few pictures documenting the holidays and my week off, but just imagine a bunch of eating and napping, some craft project brewing, and no less than four (it will be five today) visits to Powell's. Because, well, you know.

Recap:
We spent Christmas Eve with some of our oldest friends in Portland. Parents were there, a toddler was there. Dogs were there. Great food was served (love the cioppino and the truffle cheese, the figs and the pickled onions). It was merry and delicious and familiar and festive. And after sitting around the table for hours, we retired into the living room to assemble Christmas goodies for the baby from Santa . I loved it.

One of the friendly faces at the table is sick. You'd never know it looking at him but he is terminally ill, too young. I felt grateful to share the holiday with him and his family, and overwhelmed by their love and cheer and celebratory spirit.

Christmas day brought with it more excellent food, goodies under the tree, and spirited phone conversations with family from the previously mentioned corners of the country. I love that my grandma, Oma, always answers the phone with an ubber cheerful "Merry Christmas?!" greeting.

We ate grapefruit, cinnamon rolls, bacon, mushroom tarts, and quiche for breakfast. Dinner consisted of several appetizers (remembering fondly the artichoke dip, mac & cheese balls, and wasabi almonds), a marinated tri-tip worth its weight in gold served with a horseradish sauce and roasted mushrooms, mashed potatoes, roasted squash with apples, pears, and rum (yum), and fresh rolls. Not surprisingly, there was no room for the chocolate coffee cake and pumpkin pie for dessert; fortunately those make for good breakfasts, too.

After dinner there was a slide show projected on our living room curtains. It started with photos from Tera's recent travels through Europe and ended with a frenzy of You Tube gems.

For New Years Eve, we settled in at Christian's with the old gang, eating and talking and playing games. The boys pulled together an impromptu and very charming concert. I'd use the word serenade but it wasn't that romantic (notice Adam is rocking two instruments at once). Then all of a sudden it was 2011.

And here we are. Let's make it count!

The Advent, and other Christmas goodies

I've window shopped for the perfect Advent calendar for a long time, and this year I found it. It just arrived this week and I am totally smitten! The calendar has ample pocket room, a pretty nature scene with trees and animals and snowflakes, and our name monogrammed at the top.

Since we're half way through the countdown, we simply filled the remaining pockets with pieces of candy, but our dreams are big for what future advent pockets with hold!

My list of Advent stuffers is below, but first, a few Christmasy links:
- our list of favorite Christmas movies
- another advent idea (I love this one, and have already started collecting books. Instead of paper wrapping them, I think I'll wrap mine in reusable fabric bags, tutorials here and here.)
- stocking stuffer ideas - these are such great ideas they happen to overlap a bit, by coincidence, with our advent stuffers!
- homemade holiday gift ideas (bookmarking these for next year!)

And now, the Advent Calendar gift list:
for him
- batteries for gadgets
- Starbucks gift card
- guitar picks and/or guitar wire
- razor blades
- junior mints, pretzel m&ms, chocolate covered graham crackers, peppermint bark...

for her
- nail polish
- tea light candles
- tea bags
- can/jar anchovies (stop right there, because I love them)
- hand cream
- a love letter or poem (this should be at the top of the list!)
- new brush or comb (Ryan's sweet idea - I think he's tired of looking at my 12 year old comb)
- yummy bar of soap
- fancy vanilla extract (OK, I did take this one off Marta's list, but its just too good to not include!)

for him or her (or the pet)
- carmex/chapstick
- hand warmers
- Emergen-C packets
- clementines
- fancy pens/pencils/highlighters (Remember in the 80's/90's, how it was popular to gift a pen or mechanical pencil in one of those long skinny boxes? What was up with that?)
- mini notebook/sketchbook, stickie notes
- movie tickets/gift card
- tree ornament
- toothbrush and/or floss (a new year, a new toothbrush)
- handkerchiefs
- bubblegum/mints
- postage stamps
- a fancy can of cat food for the kitty

What goes into your stockings & Advent Calendar?

Happy Halloween

In the spirit of the Season, I up & made an autumnal wreath based on this tutorial. A pretty simple and rewarding way to use up fabric scraps, I'd say.

Our friends Kat & Josh also hosted their wonderfully inspired annual Halloween pumpkin carving party recently, where we carved up these spooky jack-o-lanterns. Ryan says the one on the left looks like he's a relatively good guy who happens to have fallen into trouble and the one on the right looks like he is Trouble. And the one in the middle is their tin cousin, who is always cheerful and happy-go-lucky.

I am embracing autumn fully this year, savoring every minute of it. Tonight we had a late & chilly dinner at the food carts and then walked around a neighborhood in SE all bundled up, checking out the Halloween decorations. Then we actually did a bit of Christmas shopping. Good things are in store the rest of 2010. I can feel it (hello Halloween, a Giants football game live and in person, Thanksgiving, a graduation, a birthday, Christmas, and the New Year).

This weekend holds lots of cleaning and laundry and packing for a business trip in the woods and prepping Ryan for a week without me (this merely consists of stocking the freezer with edible goodies and leaving reminder notes out to do things like "Please Eat!" - he forgets when he's focused working). I will be in Sequoia/King Canyon National Park all of the week, returning literally just in time for Ryan's thesis defense. Good things to come indeed. Right now I am grateful and completely satiated.

Holiday traditions

So, as mentioned in paragraph three of a recent blog post, this season I have been gobbling up the food traditions of folks around me as if my life depended on it. I have loved, loved, hearing what people have to say. Because it's not just about food. Its about what defines a family during the holidays, what anchors them, what makes their holiday special.

Here are some of my favorite traditions from others (note, the word "tradition" can be used interchangeably with "food" in this whole post):

Our downstairs neighbor Shalita was taught to cook by her dad, who was a cook for the US Army and learned early how to feed a crowd. He also taught her mom to cook. We originally started talking about food in the basement over laundry. Every morning (I mean every morning) she makes a full breakfast for her family, including eggs, biscuits, bacon and sausage, hashbrowns, and sometimes donuts. I imagine there's also orange juice, milk, and coffee on the table. Anyway, we were in the basement together and I asked her about the brilliant smells filling up our building every morning, and eventually we got to the holidays. Here's what she likes to make for Christmas to supplement the more traditional fare she finds at the grandparents' houses (all homemade): fried chicken, macaroni & cheese, sweet potato pie, collard greens, a cold mashed potato salad, and a handful of cakes. This is what got my whole quest going.

Karen at work has filet mignon & crab on Christmas Eve with her family. Her kids have their own tradition and make several fondue courses.

Phil, another coworker, has all his kids and grandkids spend the night on Christmas Eve so they can go to church and share Christmas morning together. The night before they eat Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes.

My mom makes a prime rib on Christmas Eve. For Christmas she'll have some fresh rolls and havarti cheese on hand for prime rib sandwiches, which she serves with several fancy side salads.

Ryan's family enjoys the French-Canadian tradition of meat pie on Christmas morning with butter & cranberry sauce and half a grapefruit with a bit of sugar and a cherry on top. Ever since we started dating, we too have made this magical combination (also for Thanksgiving). It's especially great when a more seasoned pro, like his mom or Aunt Sharron, makes it for us.

My Mama in Mississippi (no, I was not going for alliteration there) makes both a ham and turkey, potato salad, sweet potato casserole, dressing, chicken dumplings, and a corn casserole, among other sides, for Christmas. She always makes several mouth-watering desserts (she easily could have run a southern restaurant or bakery) - this year it was red velvet cake and pound cake.

This is the stuff, people, that holidays are made of.

Here's what made our list:
for Christmas Eve - we were striving for light but comforting and fairly healthy
- Tomato and Three-Cheese Tart
- Bitter Greens Salad with Spice Pecans and Persimmons

for Christmas Dinner
- Crab dip on potato chips (as an app.)
- Some type of beef dish - this year it was a marinated tri-tip - served with a horse-radish sauce and light and fluffy dinner rolls
- Potato-leek gratin (what a magnificent taste sensation potatoes and leeks are!)
- Gingered Carrots
- and Gingerbread for dessert with freshly whipped cream
- This also sounded good as an aromatic bevvie, maybe for next year: Glühwein, or hot spiced wine (a German tradition)

Delectable. Fortunately, everything we made was a savory hit. We'll keep these around to look forward to the next time we find ourselves hosting Christmas.

What holiday traditions do you savor?

Welcome Twenty-Ten! We've been expecting you.

The Victory Bar
The Birthday Boy

A satiated R&R

The "dudes" - acting very silly

Adam & Michelle - a very cute couple!

Christmas morning - mom accidentally sent us two of the same stocking stuffer...

...and I received a Snuggie.

Some snowman action after the snow storm

Me after being stuck in the snow storm for a very long time

Our blue moon

2010. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it (say it "twenty-ten")? Happy New Year!

This place has been curiously quiet the last month, and there's a simple reason for that. My computer died. Long story short, it up & got a nasty, crippling virus. It is sitting inactive beside me now (as I type on Ryan's computer) waiting for its hard drive to be wiped. It's getting a fresh start like the rest of us.

Upon a bit of reflection, it's a good thing my computer decided to quit on me in December, possibly the busiest and merriest time of year. It's Ryan's birthday month, you know. We had our second annual beer tasting in early December to get the celebratory ball rolling. Then we had his actual birthday, which was spent at a fabulous new-to-us British pub: Victory Bar. Soon after that we found ourselves facing one of our biggest fears together: going caroling (practically door-to-door) with a cheerful group, singing classic holiday songs to anyone who would listen. And you know what? It was fun and people loved us (we were a big hit, OK? BIG.)! Christmas Eve was spent with the Harvey's. They are a fun bunch. And Christmas. Oh, Christmas. We were at home this year, just us two. More on that later. Well, then after Christmas one day we got a "surprise" snow storm (how can we get hit with a boatload of snow in this day and age when no one, not even the keenest meteorologist, sees it coming!?!). I was in a suburb when the snow really started accumulating, and it took me 5.5 hours to drive the 18 miles home. Epic journey that was. Yesterday we partly rung in the New Year by watching the 3-D version of AVATAR - a movie I did not want to see but am so glad I did. It's on my "favorites" list now. It was sort of like Dances with Wolves, but with a more uplifting ending. I love uplifting endings.

But the main tidbit that has been occupying all my extra attention this month is my quest for establishing our own unique, meaningful holiday traditions. Since it was just the two of us this time (for the first time, I might add) we took it as an opportunity to launch our own favorite customs in hopes that we'll return to them year after year. That's a lot of pressure, you know, gathering up favorite recipes and stories you hear from others to weave into your own celebrations. But let me tell you, I asked any and everyone who would listen what their favorite Christmas and New Years traditions are and LOVED what folks shared, absorbing every morsel as if their tales would be my only sustenance for the month. And boy-howdy, it was delicious stuff. I think I'll share my holiday tradition findings, along with the savory bits we settled on for our own tradition-launching merry making, in another post. This one's becoming unruly.

So you see? It's been busy around here. And though I've missed checking in every day to my favorite blogs and posting updates on our where-abouts here, not having my own computer to work from has been a nice reprieve. It's given me a chance to focus solely on the good stuff, the stuff this season is made of.

Thanksgiving 2009

Holy cannoli, Thanksgiving already!? It snuck up on me this year. I guess I was expecting snow. A leftover remnant from living in Boston.

But, snow or no, today is the day we are charged with acknowledging what we are grateful for. So here goes:

I am thankful for this fabulously rich time of year, the brief weeks between Halloween and New Years. There is much to celebrate right now, between Thanksgiving and Ryan's birthday and Christmas. Leaves are still changing here in the NW, and if I look out my window I can see remnants of brilliant orange and yellow and red.

I am grateful for my warm cozy home and a good job in a career I chose when I was seven or so. It has not disappointed once, but continues to get better and better. Libraries. Did you now I spend my days as an architect, working mostly on libraries? That's as good as it gets.

I am loving the small luxuries I indulge in every day, like my very full mug of hot apple cider, or the books I can't put down for a single second, or the delicious smelling candles I've placed throughout the house just because, or my beautiful rain boots that keep my feet ultra dry in our rainy climate, or the Andes mint chips and cinnamon chips we bought on a whim and keep in the freezer for late-night nibbling. And the music. Thank you, Kenna, for the mixes! We keep half in the house, playing constantly, and the other half in the car.

I am thankful for our family, literally spread across the four corners of the country, grounding us from so far away and providing ample opportunities for us to TRAVEL (my favorite word) for visits! And this amazing internet, which manages to keep us all connected on a daily basis! And for our friends, our stand-in family, who make the day-to-day fun.

Finally, I am most ultimately grateful to the Mr., who makes this great life grand.

Happy Thanksgiving.

A quick check-in

Hello! Its been a while since I showed my face around here. This past week has been full of wonderful distractions like the near-unprecedented 12 inches of snow (!), the arrival of a house guest, and the celebration of Ryan's actual birthday, which took place yesterday.

Friends have been flooding our house & phones since Kenna's arrival. Every day we get to see an old familiar face with this popular guy in 'da house.

Ryan's birthday was superb. I got to leave work at noon because of the snow. The boys met me at the MAX stop, we had lunch at Grand Central, and walked over to the movie theater to witness the new James Bond loveliness. Afterwords we stopped in at the GAP where I purchased a fabulous hat on sale (similar to this one) and then had a wintry walk home. For dinner last night we met some friends at Dove Vivi. We all fell in love with our waitress, who is very sweet and very pregnant and gave us cake for the birthday boy. Delish.

And snow. Oh, the snow! 12 inches of magic is what it is.

Now I have two glorious weeks off of work. As long as Kenna is here we will have social engagements every day. And hopefully more walks in the snow. And good food abundant.

I'll end my ramble here. Except to say that I intend to come back very soon to share photos of the cats (sorry, but yes), my new hat, our snowy wonderland, the two brothers in action, and a very clever gift I recently received.

Happy holidays friends!

Gifts from your kitchen

Sunset's online magazine has a great collection of home-made foodie gift ideas. The salted chocolate-pecan toffee and peppermint-stick cocoa sound pretty good to me.

We also have a friend who's been known to make beautiful jars of flavored olive oil and give those away. I need to get in on that this year...

Favorite Christmas movies

In no particular order:

01 Love Actually
02 A Christmas Story
03 White Christmas
04 While You Were Sleeping
05 Home Alone
06 It's a Wonderful Life
07 Harry Potter
08 The Santa Clause
09 A Charlie Brown Christmas
10 The Night Before Christmas
11 Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
12 How About You
13 Four Christmases
14 Joyeux Noël

Am I missing any classics? You'll notice we're a bit less discriminating with this list than we were with the last one. What can you do?

Home again

Me with the four generations at my Mama's

Ryan & his Pops

Nana practicing her Christmas show

Meat Pie. A family tradition.

We are home after a whirlwind trip, feeling a little sluggish but very happy to have made the journey down south.

We saw lots of family, including the two very sweet, pink, and small but mighty babes Isabella and Avery.

We stayed in the "Nana Cabana," Ryan's grandma's post-Katrina home, which has been rebuilt with much love, creativity, and a very talented eye for detail.

We ate. And ate. And ate. I had two Thanksgivings, one at Nana's and one the following day at my Mama's. My favorite meal, though, was the crab & prime rib feast Ryan, his dad, and I drove an hour for. I am still dreaming about the all-you-can-eat crab legs with melted butter, grilled prime rib, and free Bud Light! Yeah! Only in Mississippi, baby.

As if all this wasn't enough, I also had the honor and privilege of seeing the movie Twilight. Sigh. All I have to say is the characters Bella and Edward are spot on and the overall "feel" of the movie brought the whole saga back in vivid detail, as if I were right in the middle of reading the books. I love that story. I'm planning on going to see the movie again so if you haven't seen it call me. I also want the movie for my birthday, Ryan, if you're reading this. Please. I mean it.

That's all for now, folks. I'm off to nap.

A bright streak

Mom modeling her new apron

Rhonda rescuing Mom from a quilting pickle

View from the loft

Hello! I am touching down briefly here, as I just drove home from a fabulous beach weekend with Mom & Rhonda (thank you Rhonda) and am gearing up for our next trip tomorrow.

We're heading about 50 years back in time to Mississippi, where we both have grandmas. I am looking forward to good food, a quick stop in New Orleans, the chance to check out the recovery progress from Katrina, and mostly to catching up with all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and new babies.

I hope your holiday is one fantastic bright streak filled with family, friends, bounty, and gratitude.

(Thank you Kenna, for sending us the impressive footage!)

Favorite Thanksgiving movies

In no particular order:

01 Planes, Trains and Automobiles
02 Home for the Holidays
03 Scent of a Woman
04 Pieces of April

Am I missing any classics?