Kim hosted our last dinner of 2019. The theme was Holiday Traditions. Since our group includes people from all over the world, it was a fun mix of different traditions.
We started with Sourdough Popovers (made by Kim) to munch on while drinking Christiane's Rumtopf (sorry! no pic of the Rumtopf which we drank mixed with a little champagne). While the Rumtopf is a tradition in Germany, the popovers were just a convenient snack while other courses finished cooking.
Easy Dijon-Parsley Sourdough Popovers
from Artisan Sourdough Made Simple by Emilie Raffa
Makes 6 large popovers (or 28 muffin cup sized popovers)
1 1/4 cups (300ml) milk, whole or 2%
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, cubed
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (120g) leftover starter
1 tablespoon (20g) Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon (4g) finely chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
cooking spray, oil or melted butter for coating
Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C). Place a large nonstick popover pan inside to heat up.
In a small saucepan, gently warm the milk and butter over low heat or in the microwave. Allow to cool slightly before adding to the rest of the ingredients.
Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a large bowl. Add the leftover starter, Dijon mustard, parsley, garlic powder, salt and a few turns of freshly ground black pepper. Whisk well to combine. Gradually pour in the warm milk mixture while continuing to whisk thoroughly. Add the flour and whisk until the butter is thin, frothy, and lump-free.
Remove the hot pan from the oven and lightly coat with cooking spray. Ladle a portion of the batter into the pan, about 2/3 full. It will sizzle. When finished, place the pan on the center rack and reduce the heat to 400°F (200°C). Bake for 40 minutes. The popovers will be beautifully risen and deep golden brown when ready. Serve piping hot. The popovers will begin to deflate as they cool.
Sara made passatelli
For Christmas Eve every year for the past 10 years or so, Kim's husband, Trevor, has made this chicken posole from Sunset magazine. It has become a tradition that we look forward to each year.
Speedy Chicken Posole with Chicken and Lime
from Sunset Magazine
3 large poblano chiles (1 lb. total)
6 garlic cloves
1 large onion
2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) white hominy
1 1/2 pounds boned, skinned chicken thighs
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano*, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons ground red New Mexico chiles*
Garnishes: sliced avocado, lime wedges, cilantro sprigs, and sour cream
1. Preheat broiler. When hot, broil poblanos on a baking sheet until blackened, turning as needed, about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a food processor, whirl garlic to mince. Cut onion in chunks and pulse with garlic until chopped; set aside. Drain hominy; set aside.
3. Cut chicken into 1- to 1 1/2-in. chunks and sprinkle with salt and 1 tsp. oregano. Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat. Brown half the chicken lightly, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer meat to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.
4. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add onion mixture and remaining 1 tsp. oregano to pan and sauté until onion is softened, 3 minutes. Meanwhile, in a microwave-safe bowl, microwave broth until steaming, about 3 minutes. Add ground chiles to pan and cook, stirring, about 30 seconds.
5. Add broth, hominy, and chicken to pan. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer to blend flavors, 10 minutes.
6. Remove stems, skins, and seeds from poblanos and discard; chop poblanos. Stir poblanos into posole and cook 1 minute. Ladle into bowls; top with garnishes.
*Find Mexican oregano at well-stocked grocery stores, along with ground red New Mexico chiles.
Kim's notes: I didn't need this posole to be quick, it just happens to have some shortcuts to make it that way, so I didn't warm the broth in the microwave and I allowed the stew to simmer on the stovetop for several hours.
Susanna brought her family's traditional oyster dressing
Anali shared tamales from her family's tradition
Lauren made a Moroccan spiced quinoa salad with cranberries. See (https://www.jessicagavin.com/cranberry-almond-quinoa/)
Quinoa with Cranberries
Cranberry almond quinoa is the perfect healthy side dish, that is quick and easy to prepare and packed with flavor!
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (approximately 2 teaspoons)
- ½ cup onion, diced, cut into ⅛-inch dice (approximately ¼ of a large onion)
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup bell pepper, diced, cut into ⅛-inch dice (I recommend orange and yellow bell peppers)
- ½ cup dried cranberries, rough chopped
- ½ cup blanched slivered almonds
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
- 2 tablespoons mint, fresh, very thinly sliced
Instructions
- Add quinoa to a fine-mesh strainer, rinse under running water, drain and set aside.
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a medium-size saucepan fitted with a lid. Heat oil over medium heat and then add minced garlic and onions. Continuously stir until onions are translucent, approximately 3 minutes.
- Add the washed quinoa to the saucepan. Add the water and salt. Bring quinoa to a boil, cover with the lid and reduce to a simmer until all of the water is absorbed, approximately 20 minutes.
- Check the quinoa, and allow to cook another 5 to 10 minutes longer if needed. The grain should look more translucent and the water absorbed. The quinoa should not look soggy.
- Turn off the heat and allow it to sit covered for 5 to 10 minutes to finish cooking.
- Taste and season with more salt and freshly cracked pepper to your liking.
- Add the bell pepper, cranberry, almonds, and cinnamon to the cooked quinoa, stir to combine.
- Add the mint, just before serving gentlly stir into the quinoa. Garnish with additional mint if desired.
- Serving Size: 3/4 cup
I (Katharina) made "Herrencreme", a pudding that my mother would often prepare for festive occasions:
1 package of Vanilla pudding powder (Dr. Oetker)
500 ml milk
4 tbsp sugar, divided
3 tbsp spiced rum
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 oz dark chocolate, chopped
Following the directions on the package, prepare the vanilla pudding using the milk and 3 tbsp sugar. When done cooking, stir in the rum. Allow to cool down for about half an hour, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin forming. Beat the cream with 1 Tbsp sugar until stiff. Fold the whipped cream and the chocolate pieces into the pudding. Chill for at least 4 hours.
For dessert, we enjoyed the holiday traditions of two of our members. Christiane made Stollen Cookies and Katharina brought Herrencreme, a traditional pudding.
It was a wonderful dinner and a lovely way to close out another year for our Supper Club. Looking forward to enjoying more meals together in 2020!
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