[Jamestown1630]

This week, a pretty pie, Christmas candy, black-eyed peas - and a Happy New Year to all!

-JT

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[IM2MAD]

Our New Year’s tradition is pickled herring. Irish Coffee on New Year’s Eve.

[trisham]

My husband is in the kitchen making stuffed clams.

Saute onions, peppers, celery and garlic with a stick of butter.

In a bowl, break up some french bread into bread crumbs, as fine as possible.

Add sauteed ingredients to bowl.

Add some chopped, fresh parsley, some black pepper and a pinch of thyme.

Add 4-5 cans of drained (reserve liquid), chopped clams.

Grate one carrot into the bowl w a pinch of paprika.

Add some or all of the reserved clam juice into the mix until it can hold together firmly.

Stuff clam shells with mixture. (We save clam shells for this purpose) Add a small piece of uncooked bacon to the top.

Cook on a sheet pan in a 400 degree oven until brown.

Serve with hot sauce.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I did a 6 pound prime rib for Chrismas dinner for six people.
I made a spice rub and added Kosher salt.

In a glass baking dish without a cover, 500 degrees for each pound.
(total 30 minutes)
Then leave the oven door closed for two hours.

Perfect !

[sockmonkey]

Ninfa’s Green Sauce

Ingredients:
3 medium-sized green tomatoes, coarsely chopped (you can substitute yellow if you can’t find green ones, but never use red)
4 tomatillos, cleaned and chopped
1 to 2 jalapenos, stemmed and coarsely chopped
3 small garlic cloves
3 medium-sized ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced
4 sprigs cilantro
1 tsp. of salt
1 1/2 cups of sour cream

Method:
Combine chopped tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapenos and garlic in a saucepan. Bring to a boil (tomatoes provide the liquid), reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Place tomato mixture with the avocados, cilantro and salt in food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
Pour into a bowl and stir in sour cream.

Makes 4 to 5 cups

[Aliska]

Well, here is what I am up to. I never got my divinity made for Christmas. And I have Jonathan apples for a plain old apple pie, hope they will keep awhile longer.

I was so hungry for a pot roast and got a nice cut of top round on sale, have been eating it for three days and still one more to go. I screwed up the gravy by adding boullion cubes because I wanted a lot. I do the equivalent of a crockpot in a slow oven this time in a little oval covered enamel roasting pan, have one small dutch oven, and 2 large, the original crock pot which still works but is too small for most things and harder to wash. That cut of meat was on sale and would have made great Italian or French dip sandwiches with the right stuff added to the juice to make more au jus.

I am getting my pie dough working and made a very rich custard pie, just have to get a little more water as it soaks in and makes cracks when chilled.

Now I got some fine semolina from amazon; it's a small package so will get some more but it's expensive, don't know where I can find it around here, maybe across the river where the Africans and Middle Easterners have settled.

First I have everything converted to make a simple fine semolina pudding with carmelized sugar on the bottom of the molds which ends up on top if I'm lucky; I think I prefer caramel syrup but better aim for a light carmelized sugar. It's cooked on top of the stove and doesn't need to be baked, just chilled for a long time with plastic wrap pressed in the top so it won't get a film.

Photo is too big; the site automatically sizes them down on the blog but not for me so I will post a link:

Gateau de Semoule au Caramel

Then when I can get some Phyllo (tried it once for something, maybe baklava, with no luck but after watching a couple youtube videos it doesn't seem so formidable, and they didn't bother to keep covered with a damp cloth, just work fast).

It is called Galaktoboureko or Creamy Greek Custard Pie. A lady on amazon told me about it when I asked a question about the fineness of the semolina. Ours is coarser maybe the texture of regular corn meal.

This photo has the last layer for the top kind of scrunched up which is rather pretty, but I'm not sure how you get from damp phyllo sheets to that.

Happy New Year, everybody!