new year's day brunch idea: panettone french toast

My mom gave me a bunch of leftover Christmas panettone and I though the best way to use it up would be to make it into french toast.  Since the new year is around the corner, I thought I would try out my brunch idea - a great way to ring in 2011 and enjoy while watching the Rose Parade!  

Instead of my usual morning fruit salad, I placed the orange, blood orange and grapefruit segments in a fancy goblet with a splash of champagne....

panettone french toast.

slices of panettone (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick)

1 egg

splash of non-fat milk

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven on low or 200 degrees.  Mix egg, milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a bowl and pour into a shallow dish.  Preheat non-stick pan on the stove on low-medium heat.  Soak bread in egg mixture thoroughly and place slices in the heated pan.  Cook evenly (about 3 minutes per side).  Transfer to plate in the oven to keep warm.  Best with warmed maple syrup!

I also made an egg (broke the yolk but nothing a little grated parmesan cheese and fresh cracked pepper on top couldn't fix) and a slice of turkey bacon. 

risotto night.

Recently, my friend Jen came over for dinner (bearing amazing cheese, no less) so I decided it was the perfect night for risotto.  It was nice to have an extra hand in the stirring!  Risotto is one of those Italian dishes that slow you down - there is no such thing as cooking furiously with this recipe....

basic risotto (from Giada de Laurentis).

4 cups reduced sodium broth (I use vegetable - the recipe calls for chicken)

3 tbsp butter

2/4 cup finely chopped onion (from about 1 onion)

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

Added: cubed roasted butternut squash, 1/2 chopped shallot, fresh chopped rosemary and saffron

In a medium saucepan, bring broth to a simmer, cover and keep hot over low heat.

In a large saucepan, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat.  Add onion and saute until tender but not brown (about 3 minutes). Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter.  Add wine and simmer until the wine is almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup of simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes.  Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender (about 20 minutes total).  Remove from heat and stir in cheese, remaining tbsp of butter and salt/pepper.  Stir in any additions as well. 

christmas with family.

Just as I predicted, Christmas was spent drinking, cooking, eating, movie watching and dog walking.  We are pretty low key between the four of us (and my niece doggie Greta).  A few of my favorite things about Christmas at home with my family....

...Christmas cocktail (a white cosmo-see recipe below)...

 ...the tree...

...pure joy (Greta)...

...my favorite decoration - an old East German nativity candle pyramid...

 white cosmopolitan.

1 1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/4 oz white cranberry juice

fresh cranberries (for garnish)

Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass.  Float cranberries and enjoy!

christmas, finally.

After a rainy week, way too many sweets and a flood of consumerist holiday imagery (ENOUGH, commercials, I get it), Christmas is finally here.  I didn't have a lot of holiday gifts to purchase this year but I think my favorite is the beer-of-the-month gift I created for my dad.  A few things that make this week special...

...my new ornament (made at my friend Cathy's party)...

...Delirium Noel (enjoyed while gift wrapping)...

...last of the persimmons...

...citrus on display...

Off to Fullerton for a relaxing weekend with my family - drinking, cooking, eating, movie watching and dog walking awaits.  

Merry Christmas!

winter citrus.

Winter equals bowls and bowls of citrus - grapefruit, orange, mandarin.  The grapefruit and oranges are so juicy, they are not the kind you can peel and eat without making a mess.  Mandarins, however, are perfect little jewels and easily peeled.  

This weekend, I went out to my parent's house for a little Christmas tree decorating and citrus picking.  In true strange weather fashion, it was 85 degrees!  After tree trimming, we sat outside on the patio with ice cold beers, too hot to continue.

The trees are so gorgeous - I couldn't resist devoting a whole post to them....

make-your-own christmas ornaments.

I am partial to Christmas trees with character - my little tree is a mix of store bought and homemade ornaments.  A couple years ago, I made Christmas ornaments using clear glass balls filled with paint.  It is super easy and produces a stained glass effect of color.  A couple of mine....

christmas ornaments: make-your-own.

clear glass ball ornaments (can be purchased at a craft store like Michael's)

assorted paint (not necessary to use glass paint, but I did for the blue in the 2nd one)

Take off the top from the ornament.  Use the plastic trays for drips and drying.  Squeeze paint into the ornament, tilting to guide color down.  The paint will pool at the bottom so sometimes you need less paint than you think!  If doing 2 or more colors, allow to dry for a little bit in the plastic tray (maybe just make more!).  

After about 30 minutes, move onto the 2nd color.  Allow to dry without tops in the plastic tray for a week.  Test before fitting top back on (the prongs will scratch wet paint otherwise).  The bottom pool of paint will take a couple weeks to a month to dry completely but they can be hung on the tree while they finish drying. 

the family cocktail.

If I had to sum my family up in a single cocktail, it would be the greyhound.  Yes, it is an old fashioned drink but it is the one we all can agree on and enjoy (besides wine).  My mom and I are more of the straight up-3 olives martini set, while my brother and dad would rather have a lemon drop with sugar rim!  Ordering cocktails at restaurants is hilarious as the waiters always assume the opposite.

The great thing about this drink is that it combines fresh grapefruit juice (thus using a lot up from my parent's large tree) and icy cold vodka.  It reminds me of an Orange County winter every time....

classic greyhound.

fresh grapefruit juice from about 2-4 grapefruits (depending on how juicy they are)

1 shot of vodka (straight from the freezer)

ice cubes

Juice grapefruits and pour over ice cubes in a 8-10 oz. glass.  Top with vodka and stir to combine.  

I had my greyhound with a few snacks (goat brie, onion marmalade with crackers-yum) while I waited for dinner to finish and got ahead with a little work (gallery crunch time). 

post-shopping cocktail hour.

After a long day of holiday shopping (although couldn't resist this fun little jacket for myself), I was still hours away from dinner but had skipped lunch.  Since it was officially cocktail hour, I made a few snacks to enjoy with a glass of wine while sifting through packages....

goat cheese stuffed peppadew peppers - a little sweet with a little kick with creamy goat cheese

marinated cocktail mushrooms - a fridge staple

homemade onion marmalade - another fridge staple (good on sandwiches/paninis too)

water crackers - all purpose and go with everything (best kept in the freezer to avoid going stale)

Suggested wine pairing: spicy syrah

holiday music downloads.

I was talking to J the other day about Christmas music and realized I am quite a scrooge.  I don't like about 98% of the Christmas music out there but I realized that it is mostly the garbage they play in the stores between Halloween and Christmas day that is the turnoff!  Whoever said people want to hear the same music over and over again?

So I was off to find some new items for my ipod that were non-scrooge (is that a word?).  We'll see if they can get me off my regular music playlists....  Luckily, I came across two free album downloads with more modern Christmas music.

Hey, It's Christmas, a mellow, indie collection with lilting melodies of traditional holiday songs.  Cue the fireplace, tea and cookies while you listen to this one.  Great for a playlist or during Christmas dinner.

To download the album, click HERE

Target put together a list, Christmas Gig, an eclectic indie mix-up of poppier tracks.  Perfect for a holiday cocktail party!  Majority of the tracks are not traditional holiday songs but they are a fun surprise.  My faves are the retro Best Coast/Wavves song and sweet Coconut Records selection (Jason Schwartzman's solo project).

 To download the album, click HERE

christmas tree.

There has only been one year in my life that I haven't had a Christmas tree.  I love them!  I have to get the real kind - not a fan of the fake ones.  As you can tell from the pictures, I'm not exactly a traditionalist!  I have a mix of store bought and homemade ornaments mixed with a few picked up from travel spots like China, Florence, Mexico.  I've been under the weather lately so my friend, Damion, came over to help me decorate....

Instead of a tree skirt (boring and I never found one I actually liked), I scatter pine cones (some are painted gold and silver) and mini ornaments among driftwood pieces and my grandpa's coral....  

Stars never seen to stay upright on a tree - any tree.  Instead, I had this grapevine star that I nestle on the top....

For a little tree trimming floor picnic, I made a cranberry apple crisp to go with our champagne. 

cranberry apple crisp.

3-4 apples (depending on size)

1/3 cup cranberries

1/3 cup oats

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 tbsp butter

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Core and slice apples.  Add to baking dish with cranberries and sprinkle with cinnamon.  In a food processor, combine oats, brown sugar and butter and pulse lightly to combine (over mixing will result in oats chopped too fine).  Sprinkle topping over fruit and bake 20-30 minutes, until fruit is bubbling.  Enjoy warm - with ice cream, perhaps?

grapefruit overload.

My parents have a massive grapefruit tree.  It was supposed to be a dwarf but it is about 20 feet tall.  The tree produces tons of fruit each year.  Before all my friends get excited about grapefruit care packages, these are not the sweet pink ones.  They are the uber tart yellow kind: a tougher sell.  But they are delicious and unbelievably juicy, unlike the kind you get in the store. 

With the years of overproduction, we have had to come up with a few ways to eat all the grapefruit without getting too sick of it.  By the end of the California winter citrus, I am satiated but within a month, I miss the family cocktail (more to come on that!).  One of my favorites....

grapefruit brulee.

1 grapefruit, cut in half

1 tbsp sugar (don't skimp - maybe even bring out the good stuff like turbino)

Preheat the broiler until hot.  Sprinkle sugar on grapefruit and place on a piece of foil to slide underneath the broiler.  Broil until the tops are slightly charred, just a few minutes.

Best way to eat a grapefruit like this, is with a grapefruit spoon.  I got these a few years ago from Sur La Table and they are genius: