It's a Wonderful Life

I know that sounds pretty corny, but I'm actually watching It's a Wonderful Life for the first time in my life.  I can't believe I never saw this before. So complicated and compelling...I always thought it was going to be some simple sentimental movie. What a time.

The calmest night of the year turned into a task-filled evening: I was able to come home early from work but I had to pick up laundry, pack, wrap some presents, and make some things before the morning. I made pureed parsnips, batter for pizzelles, and cinnamon rolls for the morning. I didn't trust myself with the dough, so I enlisted D for some help. When the dough wouldn't rise, we turned on the oven and sat the bowl on top. The dough started to rise almost immediately.

My mother finally shared the recipe for cinnamon rolls that she's been making for the past few years on Christmas morning. I'm trying it for myself this year.

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1 Tablespoon yeast
1/2 cup white sugar
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 t. salt
3 eggs

filling
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 T ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins

glaze
1 t. light corn syrup
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
2 T half and half


Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Add the butter and stir until melted, let cool until lukewarm.

In large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk mixture. Add the sugar, 3 cups of flour, salt and eggs. stir well to combine. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes.

Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or saran wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 10x14" rectangle. Lightly brush the far edge with water. Brush the dough with melted butter. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon and the brown sugar and sprinkle over the rectangle. Then sprinkle the raisins over the dough. Roll up the dough into a log and seal the seam.

Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces, place the pieces in two greased cake pans or whatever you have to hold all the pieces. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rise overnight.

The next morning preheat oven to 375 degrees Take the rolls out of the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes or until golden.

Combine corn syrup with the vanilla in a small bowl. Whisk in the powdered sugar and enough cream to make a thick glaze, set aside. When rolls are done let cool a bit then drizzle the glaze over the rolls and serve warm.

You really don't have to put in the corn syrup for the glaze if you don't have it. and you can also sprinkle on chopped nuts with the raisins if you like. They freeze well. It sounds like a lot to do, but it is really easy.

Fresh Lamb Roast with couscous and purslane tossed with goat cheese, toasted pecans, and blueberries

I had to make up for a lazy day--we decided against going to the beach this morning because of impending thunderstorms--with a special dinner. Yesterday at the Farmer's Market, I found some purslane. I splurged on a nice cut of lamb roast...the guy told me to use romemary and thyme and cook it for thirty-five minutes. I had some couscous from earlier in the week, so I decided to put it all together. I was trying to replicate the salad I had at Cook Shop several weeks ago, but I think I like mine better. I served it with a chilled Pinot Grigio.

Fresh Lamb Roast with couscous and purslane tossed with goat cheese, toasted pecans, and blueberries

Lamb

1 lb lamb shoulder roast
5-6 sprigs of thyme, 5-6 of rosemary
olive oil
salt & pepper
3 cloves of garlic

Coat lamb roast with olive oil, salt & pepper, and chopped thyme and rosemary. Cut several slits into the top of the roast and insert halved garlic cloves into them. Roast at 375 for 40 minutes.

Salad

1/2 lb purslane
1/2 cup toasted pecans
2 Tbsp goat cheese
1/4 cup of blueberries

Toss together and drizzle with dressing (below)

Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp Champagne vinegar
1 tsp cooking sherry
1 clove garlic, minced
1 scallion, minced
salt & pepper
1/2 olive, squozen

Accompanied with couscous (with roasted red pepper, 2 roasted garlic cloves, salt & pepper, lime)

After we finished and cleaned the kitchen, we watched In Bruges with Ralph Fiennes and Colin Farrell. Nice.

Eating Out is No Good For You

So the past two nights I've eaten out, I haven't posted to my blog, and I'm out over $100. I also haven't gone running, and I probably gained 10 pounds. So I'm deducing that eating out is no good for you. In an effort to remedy at least one of these things right now, I'll just say a word about where we ate.

A friend was visiting from out of town, and we went to a seminar on HIV and Incarceration in the West Village. Afterwards, a group of us went to Cafe de Bruxelles, a restaurant right around the corner from the Venue. The space specializes in Belgian beer and mussels, so that's what we had. We started with Duvel beer, which was surprisingly good, and then the waiter made the mistake of bringing a basket of bread, which we all inhaled immediately, and which was immediately after that filled again, and so on....The bread was really meant to sop up the juice from the mussels, but it was yummy all on it's own. One of my friends and I ordered curried mussels, and they were very good. I'm not big on shellfish, especially the kind I have to extract directly from it's shell, but this stuff was good. We must have each eaten a loaf of bread between us sopping up the yummy sauce. The mussels came with pomme frites ("Freedom Fries," as our French waiter told us), and they too were yummy and really bad for you. All in all, very tasty, great company, terrific service. Cost: $40 each, with an additional $15 for the cab fare back to Brooklyn. (Too much beer = reluctance to take the train)

The next night, D. and I wanted to try Max Brenner's Chocolate by the Bald Man that opened about 6 months ago at Union Square. We decided to go after seeing Happy Feet at the Regal theatre across the street. We really wanted to go because of the amazing chocolate desserts, so we shouldn't really have ordered dinner. The food was okay--we shared a prosciutto sandwich with cheddar cheese and a spinach and asparagus crepe--but we were both too full and fed up with the service to really want dessert. Instead, we went back to Brooklyn, shared a piece of dark chocolate, and decorated the tree. I don't think we'll go back to Max Brenner's....too trendy, and the prices weren't that great.