Christmas is quickly becoming a distant memory, although I try my best to hold on by listening to Christmas music.  I have a lot of recipes and food to share from this past holiday season, and one project that really stands out in my mind is the Pineapple Christmas Tree we made. This year, my sister got a pineapple as a gift from one of my best friends and her husband.  We decided to add a little Christmas flair to a fruit usually thought of as tropical.

Taking a very sharp knife, cut the pineapple 3-4 inches below the stem.  Cut off two sides of the base so the fruit section is in a half circle shape that lies flat.

Using a smaller paring knife, cut out a star in the fruit. It may help to lightly carve out the shape of the star before you start cutting.  Also, remove the extra unused chunks as you go.

Next, cut an apple in half.  The apple will add as a stabilizing base for your Pineapple Christmas Tree.  Take one half of the apple, and place the flat side down.  Stick two toothpicks into the flesh of the apple – these toothpicks should be parallel and stuck up straight in the air.  Flipping the pineapple stem over (so the star is on the top), stick the pineapple stem onto the toothpicks.

Finally, decorate your tree! We fluffed up the leaves a bit and dusted some powdered sugar over our tree for snow.  We also added dried craisins for ornaments.

I got this idea from the book: “”Garnishing: A Feast for Your Eyes” by Francis Talyn Lynch.  Lots of really neat ideas on how to dress up your food!

A photo I took during a tour of the White House

Tong yun – A Chinese dessert made with black sesame.  Food of the Gods!

Virginia’s State Bird

We battled cold days with cozy fires and crazy puzzles

Yum.

Here’s to a happy new year. Can’t wait for things to come in 2011!!!

With these recipes, you can enjoy butterbeer and pumpkin juice in your very own home!  I read that JK Rowling had to approve of the butterbeer before it was sold, which is pretty cool because it tastes like what its supposed to in the book.   There are many different recipes online (not official recipes, of course), but this is a recipe that I used (based off of another one, which I tweaked) which gave me the results that I liked best.

First, the pumpkin juice:

You will need:

3 cups of apple juice (you can also use apple cider)

1 1″ piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 teaspoon whole cloves

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 28 oz. can pumpkin puree

Pour the apple juice into a saucepan and add the ginger slices, cinnamon stick, and cloves. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, and add the honey and brown sugar.  Stir to dissolve. Let mixture cool.  Strain the mixture.  Add pumpkin puree to strained liquid in small batches, stirring constantly to incorporate into liquid.  Add more apple juice if so desired.

The butterbeer was a bit more labor intensive…

You will need:

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons of water

4 tablespoons of butter (1/2 stick of butter)

1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

3/4 cup heavy cream, divided

A splash of rum

2 liter bottle of Cream Soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Place a saucepan over medium heat. Combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often.  Add the butter, salt, vinegar, and 1/4 cup of heavy cream.  Once all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated, remove from heat and set aside to cool.  Once the mixture has cooled, add a splash of rum for flavor (you can add however much you like)

In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes.

To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass).  Add 1 cup of cream soda, then spoon whipped cream on top.

Ok.  I have been a little MIA lately, as I have said, but with good reason.  Over the holidays, I visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  I am a HUGE fan, and it was so exciting to see Hogsmeade as well as the castle.

One thing that I absolutely could not wait for was the butterbeer and pumpkin juice.  These are two fictional drinks that were created by JK Rowling, the author of Harry Potter.  She had created an entire world in her imagination, and food was no exception.

In the movies, the chocolate frogs jumped and actually moved.  Also, you could get a collectible card with each frog (For instance, a card with Dumbledore on it with a description detailing his work with Nicholas Flamel!)

In the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, they had recreated Zonkos, a candy store from the novels.

And finally…the BUTTERBEER!

And PUMPKIN JUICE!

Of course, as soon as I had some I knew I had to recreate some on my own. Which I did!

Stay tuned for the next post where I will detail how I made these drinks as well as include recipes for each one. But for now….EXPECTO PATRONUM!

Things I like:

1. Eating Food

2. Making Food

3. Looking at Food pictures

4. Reading about Food

5. Reading extremely good narrative about food

Reading is like food for the soul:

“And Dom did a leg of lamb with lemon and garlic and olive oil; the olive oil came from a shop Nunzi knew in Boston, and Dominic used it to rub roast chicken or baste turkey, both of us which he stuffed with cornbread and sausage and sage…Occasionally, Annunziata could get fennel, which she and Dom cooked in a sweet tomato sauce with sardines; the sardines came in cans from another shop Nunzi knew in Boston, and mother and son mashed them to a paste in garlic and olive oil, and served them with pasta topped with bread crumbs, and browned in the oven.” – Last Night in Twisted River, John Irving

Yay for food imagery!

I heard a quote somewhere that said the most expensive food is the food that is wasted. How very true.  It can be hard not to waste food, however, when you buy specific ingredients for certain dishes.  After you make the said dishes, its hard to know what to do with the leftover ingredients.  What I like to do is plan ahead and get creative in all the different ways I can use one thing.  For instance, marscapone cheese can be used for anything from a pasta sauce base to a layering for a dessert!  Here are some ideas on how to use a bag of spinach before the spinach goes bad.  In addition to diversely satisfying one’s pallet, utilizing different recipes can ensure you eat many servings of that vegetable, and avoid breaking the bank by having to buy more.

First of all, there is the typical salad.  I started off by cutting tomatoes into chunks, mushrooms into quarters, and sprinkling spinach on top.  Then I tossed the salad using salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  You can, of course, use whatever dressing you would like.

On the second night, I sliced some garlic and threw it in a pan with some olive oil.  After the garlic had begun to brown nicely, I added halved mushrooms.  After these mushrooms had softened, I added a small amount of water (just enough to cover the bottom of the pot, really) and then added the spinach. I covered the whole thing, and cooked until the spinach had wilted (you don’t want to cook the spinach for too long, otherwise you will lose the nutrients).

And lastly, for the next day, I incorporated the spinach into a sandwich.  I pan fried a chicken breast after I had drizzled some olive oil all over it and sprinkled salt and pepper on it as well.  After the chicken was done, I sliced it into thin pieces, spread mayonnaise on the bread (for a spicier concoction, I like to use mayonnaise mixed with cayenne pepper), added tomato slices, bacon, and of course, spinach! Mmmm.

You can also use spinach as a layering for pizza, which I did here.

A few shots of some Christmas decorations I have taken in  various grocery stores:

Christmas songs have been blasting through my brain (and through the speakers of numerous stores) for DAYS now.  I love it!  It makes me feel grateful for everything that has happened this year, everything that has happened in my entire life, and all the wonderful people I’ve met along the way.  Thank you for reading my blog.

Ahh adventures of food.  I guess I have been in a Vietnamese food mood lately.

More culinary creations to come soon. I promise.

I made some Cranberry Eggnog cupcakes from a recipe I got from my Dec. issue of the Food Network magazine. It smelled heavenly baking, and it was just as good when done.