everyone loves a waffle iron

Maybe it's just me, but I think of waffle irons as one of those kitchen devices that everyone thinks that they will use, but inevitably ends up collecting dust in the basement with the deep fryer and other cool but non-everyday kitchen devices. I mean, I can think of probably two times in my life that my mom has used hers, so I was hesitant to buy one of my own, considering the limited storage space in my NYC apartment. Clearly, no matter how many delicious waffle recipes are out there to tantalize me, this was not something that I needed..... but alas, good sense and practicality lost out to the sheer force of desire and a tiny $10 waffle iron on sale at Target.

beet green spaghetti with raisins/cauliflower with hazelnut, pear and sage

This is this sort of meal I miss making now, in the dead of winter. God, I can't wait for spring! When the food co-op is in full swing, our fridge is chock full of all sorts of weird veggie odds and ends, and it's both a pleasure and a challenge to use that bounty as fully and creatively as I can. For instance: you don't often see them at the grocery store, but there are a lots of vegetables that come with a bunch of leafy greens growing out of one end. Most of the time, those go to waste, which is a shame because those greens can be really tasty, whether they come from turnips, radishes or yes, even beets.

what I cooked for the holidays pt 2

Wow. I really have been putting off this particular blog entry. That's right, it's time to talk Christmas dinner. And I wonder why no one is interested in reading my blog.



I made a few things that I've discussed on here before. First, this amazing recipe for maple syrup lemon brussels sprouts with bacon, as first discussed here.





In the first picture, you'll also catch a glimpse of some carrots, which were simply steamed and dressed with lemon and olive oil. Standard.

I also made a variation on those olive oil glazed potatoes first written about way back in July.





Of course the main event was the prime rib, which we made using a Craig Claibourne recipe. It was predictably juicy meaty delicious, and the simple horseradish sour cream that went with it was tangy and delicious. Less successful was the yorkshire pudding.



Does that look like a god awful spongy mess or what? I don't know if I just didn't have the drippings hot enough when I poured in the batter or what, but this was just a weird greasy omelet. I won't rule out that the pudding wasn't just a victim of me trying to prepare one too many dishes, but I definitely would skip this next time around.

We also made Thomas Keller's creamed pearl onions, which were labor intensive but delicious, if a little over reduced. Luckily, even with a less than perfectly silky cream sauce, pearl onions with bacon and chives are still delicious.



Check out the close up for some nutmeg action.



For dessert I went super low key, in order to accommodate Matt's gluten free diet without pulling out too many bells and whistles. The Smitten Kitchen's wayyyyy-easier-than-pie
roasted pears were a rustic yet elegant, easy yet delicious end to the meal.



Of course, when it comes to Christmas, you're there for the roast. Here's the recipe.

Prime Rib
(adapted from Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Cookbook, 1981, p. 165)

Roast
1 prime rib rib roast, ribs removed
¼ cup cold water
salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Remove the roast from the refrigerator 2 ½ to 4 hours before cooking. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
2. Place roast in an open shallow roasting pan, fat side up. Season with salt and pepper. Pour water around the meat. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
3. Reduce oven heat to 400 degrees and continue baking for 25 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees and bake for 15 minutes for rare beef, 30 minutes for medium rare beef, longer for well done. Carefully transfer the roast to a serving dish and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
4. Pour off all the fat from the roasting pan, but save about ½ cup for preparing Yorkshire pudding. Serve the beef sliced with Yorkshire pudding and grated horseradish or horseradish cream on the side, if desired.

Yorkshire Pudding
1 cup milk
⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg
4 large eggs, about ¾ cup when measured
½ cup beef drippings

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine the milk and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Put the eggs in another bowl and beat until frothy. Ad this to the milk and stir.
3. Pour the beef drippings into a heat-proof baking dish and place on the stove over moderate heat. When quite hot and almost smoking, add the batter. Smooth it over with a rubber spatula. Place the pudding in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. Turn the baking dish as the cooking proceeds for even cooking.

Horseradish Cream
½ cup freshly grated horseradish
¾ cup sour cream
salt to taste

Blend all the ingredients and serve.

prosciutto fried pears

I don't know if this is something that people do, or just a crazy idea that I had, but I had some prosciutto and I had some juicy ripe pears, and I decided to play match maker. I quartered the bartletts, and then wrapped each piece in very thinly sliced prosciutto. Toss those babies in a hot frying pan, maybe with a little melted butter, and let it sizzle. The sugars in the pear will help caramelize the prosciutto, and the pears warm up and get nice and soft.

This turned out to be pretty tasty, a classic mix of salty and sweet. I particularly liked the crispiness of the prosciutto, which is something you don't get in the classic melon/prosciutto combo. In that regard in the very least, I think this fried pear update is an improvement.

Has anyone heard of anything like this before? Regardless, I think prosciutto fried pears are a pretty good idea, and they honestly couldn't be easier. We're talking three ingredients and ten minutes max. Toss it on a bed of arugula for a fancy salad, or serve with some sort of crunchy cookie and some dulce de leche ice cream. I could definitely see a lot of cool things happening with prosciutto fried pears. If you like the sound of these, you should give them a shot at home and let me know how it goes!