Christmas

I got up Christmas morning at exactly 6:00 AM. I had made fresh coffee when Jake and Carla were here, so I reheated a cup and posted the Blog. Then I shaved (downstairs) and showered (upstairs).

I used the leftovers from my Birthday Breakfast for a satisfying Christmas breakfast. I am listening to a special Over Easy radio show, featuring old and new Christmas songs.

Then I started to prep for today's dinner. I preheated the oven to 400 degrees F. I arranged 12 ounces of bacon on a rack in a tinfoil-lined cookie tray, over-lapping each slice slightly with the next. Then I generously dusted them with fresh cracked black pepper. I put them into the oven and set the timer for 25 minutes.

Next, I trimmed the stems and pulled off the outer leaves of two pounds of Brussels sprouts (that took quite a while, BTW). I put the cleaned little heads in a pot, covered them with cold water and added some kosher salt. I put the lid on the pot and set it on a burner turned to High.

When the timer went off, I pulled out the bacon tray, checked for crispness (perfect) and set it on the cutting board to cool.

When the water in the Brussels sprouts pan began to boil, I set the timer for seven minutes (you want them cooked but not mushy). Then that timer went off, I quickly drained them and put them in a bowl of cold water and a tray of ice cubes (to shock them and stop the cooking process). I let them set in there a few minutes (until the ice cubes had melted), then drained them again and left them in the colander for later. So, my side dish is prepped.

I checked outside and noticed the sun is shining, but it is also snowing big while flakes. The rain did knock down the depth of the snow, but the snow is still here. So, we did get us a white Christmas. I straightened up the kitchen and swept the floor. I happened to check the voice mail and found I'd miss a joint call from my daughter's Amy and Melissa. So, I edited yesterday's log and also added in as a comment so at least they would know I did eventually hear their happy birthday message. Thanks, guys!

Now it was onto cleaning out poor Newt's tank (long neglected because of the tile). I got the fake plants, the climbing stick/tree branch thingie and the filter all cleaned and the filter cartridge replaced. I rinsed out the rocks and then started washing the aquarium 10-gallon tank itself on the kitchen counter (I normally do this in the main tub, but my back couldn't stand bending over like that for as long as it would take). I got it cleaned out and took it into the bathroom to rinse in the tub.

That's when tragedy struck! While maneuvering it into the bathroom I rapped the one end on the corner of the sink. The resulting "crack" was audible! I took it back out and downstairs to throw away (its right at the bottom of the one end). Filled with Christmas hope, I went up into the attic to see if there was an old goldfish bowl or "anything" I could use. But, I froze my tush off for nothing.

So I came back downstairs and got my biggest glass bowl (which is not all that big, but I didn't want him to be in the dark) and put a few rocks in it, a fake plant so he can hide, some water and finally poor Newt. I covered the top of it with the aquarium screen (it folds in half) so he couldn't get out and the cats couldn't get in. I think this will work as a temporary solution until I can pick up a new aquarium first thing tomorrow morning.

Dammit!

So, now I was discouraged. I took a break and had two glasses of the homemade eggnog Jake gave me yesterday while resting on the bed. It was just after 12:30 PM when the doorbell rang. It was Jake and Carla! Carla had made the appetizer (jumbo lump crab meat with cheese) and it needed some oven time. They had also had a Charcuterie for supper the night before, so they brought the remnants of that, too: thick salami, liver pate, three cheeses (Brie, Irish cheese and a beautiful Blue cheese), black olives, stuffed green olives and some green grapes and assorted crackers.

So, we popped the crap dip into the oven and, while it baked, exchanged our Christmas presents. I got a great book called "No Shortcuts to the Top" (climbing the world's 14 highest peaks) by Ed Viesturs. As long-time friends and relatives will tell you, I have been fascinated by mountain climbing and mountain climbers ever since Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay climbed Mount Everest in 1953. I did climb an indoor rock wall once, but that's as close as I ever got to mountain climbing.

The crab dip was done, so we moved back to the kitchen. They decided (much to my dismay) that the liver pate was too far gone to eat so they threw it away, but we sat and munched on the rest for a while. The crab dip was excellent, and so different from the usual canned crab meat and seafood sauce dip you usually see at Holiday parties. I think Carla said she made it with Monterey Jack and gruyere cheese.

Well, now we're pleasantly stuffed, so we moved back to the living room to chat. The timeline is slightly blown, so we decided to put the roast in at 2:30 PM. When it was time, I asked Carla to cut three pounds of baby redskins in half (down the long way, not around the middle, to get more surface area for roasting). Meanwhile I made the coating for the beef by combining one cup of Dijon mustard with two three-ounce bottles of the green peppercorns in vinegar. I used one bottle (and the brine juice) just as is, but the second bottle I drained the juice into the bowl and then tried to chop up the peppercorns (try that, sometimes! The peppercorns are about the size of a large BB and tend to roll everywhere as you chop). I added the juice of a lemon and whisked it all together. Distracted by the peppercorn chops, I completely forgot to add the little bit of oilive oil the the mixture.

Then I took out the roast from the fridge (a big mistake, it turned out) and set it in the rack over a sheet tray. I just started applying the coating when I remembered I was supposed to season the roast heavily with kosher salt on all sides, which I then did. Meanwhile Carla chopped up some fresh sage and thyme and, after seasoning the potatoes, tossed them with the herbs and some olive oil in the roasting pan.

I slathered the roast with the mustard/peppercorn mixture and, after Carla made sure the potatoes were all in one level, I placed the roast on the rack over top of them. I had preheated the oven to 500 degrees F. and moved the oven rack to the middle of the oven. So, I put it in. We checked the crust after ten minutes (there are some discrepancies in the recipe I have) and Carla decided it needed to go for another ten minutes. So, after 20 minutes total at 500 degrees, we turned the oven down to 350 degrees and set the timer for 80 minutes (figure 10 minutes per pound total).

When the timer went off, Jake checked in the internal temperature of the roast with my meat thermometer. Instead of 130 degrees we needed, it was only 90! After some discussion, we decided it was because I did not take it out and let it come to room temperature first (like I should have) before putting it in the oven. My bad.

So, we decided to let it cook some more! Why is that a big deal? Well, even though it's Christmas, both Jake and Carla have to go to work in the morning and don't usually stay too late. But, if they were game, so was I.

When the thermometer alarm went off, we gave a little cheer and got back to work. We took the roast and potatoes out and covered the pan with tin foil to let it rest. Carla put her gratin in the oven (it consisted of cauliflower, gruyere cheese, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, b�chamel (Mom, b�chamel is a French all-purpose white sauce made by thickening milk with a roux and cooking it gently with aromatics), and bread crumbs.

While that baked, Carla and I finished the creamed Brussels sprouts. I took each Brussels sprout and cut it in half. Carla thinly sliced two shallots and two large garlic cloves (use three regular sized cloves) and then saut�ed them over medium-high heat in a tablespoon of bacon fat until lightly browned (2 minutes). Then she added three cups of heavy cream and simmered that until it reduced by half (five-seven minutes). She seasoned it with salt and fresh ground black pepper. She then stirred in my Brussels sprouts and gently coated them in the sauce until they were warmed back up.

The timer went off for the cauliflower gratin, so we started to assemble dinner. I set the table, Jake sliced the roast and Carla put the Creamed Brussels Sprouts into a serving bowl, topping them with crumbled bacon. I put the roasted potatoes in a serving bowl as well. The gratin just went on the table as is, with a serving spoon. I cut up a few slices of the Italian rustic bread I'd bought. Jake said grace and then we dug in!

Oh, my!

I loved the cauliflower gratin (it has a great flavor and was a lovely, light dish)! The creamed Brussels sprouts were good (I'd made them before, if you remember). The potatoes were perfect (I was concerned about them as the roast didn't have a lot of fat on it and part of their cooking process was to have the drippings from the roast self-baste them), crunchy outside and soft and tender inside. And all the side dishes seemed to complement each other, none too similar and yet none too very different and possibly clashing.

And the roast? Well, it was perfectly cooked and the green peppercorn crust was fantastic (I loved the tang). Jake had sliced the meat very thin, so the texture was great. My only complaint was that it didn't "melt in your mouth" (like prime rib does). But, since the per pound price for a Top Round roast was 1/3 the cost of prime rib, I guess that was understandable.

After we finished and the food settled a bit, I brought out the maple-pumpkin cheese cake. Carla discovered that the $5.00 worth or raspberries had gone bad and they both thought adding the warm maple syrup on top would make it too sweet. So, without any toppings, we cut little wedges and tried it. Not bad! Not bad at all! I would like to find some maple sugar and remake this dish, though (I had just substituted dark brown sugar, you see).

Then, we started cleaning up. I put most of the leftovers in baggies to send home with them. I cut the roast about 1/3 to 2/3's and gave them the 2/3's chunk (Why? I have vegetarians coming to two days and would have no hope of eating that much meat by then - it was a seven pound roast, BTW).

Jake was busy rinsing dishes and cleaning pots and pans (I quickly tried to put a stop to that, reminding him he had to get home). He stopped washing pots and pans, but did insist on rinsing all the plates.

I think they left about 7:00 PM. I loaded up the dishwasher and turned that on. I was beat, so I grabbed my new book and headed into the bedroom. I stayed awake, reading, until about 9:00 PM and then shut off the light and went to bed. Christmas 2008 was officially over.