Mad Old Time

I'm proud to say that my annual Mad Men Viewing Parties are gradually getting more popular and dapper.  What started as a goofy night swooning over Don Draper with the roomie has become a slightly anticipated event amongst my friends.  To prep for Season 6, I made three trips to the store, spent too much money and wasted away over the stove all day.  The classics made another appearance: Old Fashioneds and Dirty Martinis, but I challenged myself and created a new 60s inspired menu.  

Mad Menu:

(Utz) Potato Chips and Onion Dip

Chicken Liver Tea Sandwiches

Cheese Fondue and Accoutrements 

Vietnamese Spring Rolls 

Hawaiian Grilled Pineapple and Shrimp Skewers

Meatballs in Marinara Sauce
Ice Cream Sundaes

Welcoming guests with an Old Fashioned.


If you don't have a fondue pot, which I didn't, check out Craigslist!  I got a decent fondue pot for $5 and the seller even threw in a fondue cookbook.  The accoutrements were a mix of precut baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, apples, and french baguette.  Keep an eye on the fondue when the pot is on though, the cheese burns quickly.

For the Canadian-French Megan inspired sandwiches, I bought my favorite chicken liver pate at Trader Joes and store bought white bread.  For the cute tea sandwich look, I cut off the crusts and cut them into triangles.

The Vietnam War spring rolls were a real time suck-- I definitely don't recommend if you don't have a lot of time.  Not only do you have to buy and prep all the individual ingredients (rice wraps, rice noodles, thai basil, mint, cilantro, scallions, cucumbers and carrots, I had to cook the meat (used ground turkey left over from the meatballs [kosher guests], lemon grass and garlic), and then assemble each one. I actually got so frustrated, that I didn't even bother to make a peanut or nuoc mam sauce to go with it.  

 The simplest dish was the favorite of the night: individual ice cream sundaes.  I just purchased Bryers Neapolitan Ice Cream, canned whipped cream, Hershey's double chocolate syrup and nuts and voila! happy guests again (since the premiere's lack of drama deflated the mood a bit-- I suggest a drinking game to avoid this).  

I can't forget to mention MUSIC! My Mad Men inspired playlist featured: Otis Redding, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, the Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan. Of course, all songs were pre-1969 (it's all in the details).  

Shida and Karthik; Best Dressed

Mad Women and Men

A Christmas Feast J.C. would be proud of

Usually for the Christmas holidays, my sister will take on the main course of prime rib and I handle the appetizers and side dishes, but this year after seeing a recipe that claims to be the perfect prime rib recipe on SeriousEats I had to tackle the beefy beast.

My sister purchased a 20lb wet-aged prime rib, not dry-aged as the recipe suggested since that request needs to be made a few weeks prior, but honestly I don't know if there's a real taste difference.  I had to cut the beast in half to accommodate those who prefer well-done rather than medium rare.  I preheated the convention oven for 200 degrees.  Although this deviates from the recipe, I crushed garlic and thyme and stuffed it into the skin of the prime rib per my sister's suggestion (the family loves garlic).  I then rubbed the entire thing with room temperature butter.  Uncovered, I placed the prime rib in the oven for 3.5 to 4 hours until the internal temperature reached 120 degrees.  I then removed one half of the prime rib and allowed the other half to cook for an additional 30 minutes until it reached 130-135 degrees to get it to medium.




It must also be noted that while the beast was cooking, my family devoured the traditional yearly hor d'oeurvres of bacon wrapped dates (stuffed with either blue cheese or almonds), marinated olives (store bought), my sister's famous bruschetta, and washing it down with a Apple Cider Margetini.  

After taking out the 2nd half and wrapping it with foil, I cranked up the oven to 500 sear the outside while further cooking it to the 125 degree temp for medium rare and 135 for medium-well.  (Note: because the oven gets so hot and smokey, I hope your stove fan is on or have a window open.)  I seared the prime rib for just 8-9 minutes and it came out perfectly seared and crispy!  I personally let it rest for 10 minutes only since I had hungry people waiting anxiously, but I suggest letting it rest for 20 mins at least since it got bloody messy while I was carving it.

The finished product is below-- crispy seared exterior and a perfectly red interior without any grey overcooked sections.  Beautiful.

In addition to the perfect prime rib, I also roasted a "vibrant" medley of root vegetables, made a kale radicchio salad with blue cheese and hazelnuts (inspired by Sycamore Kitchen),  Joël Robuchon's famous potato puree, and my sister sauteed some fresh green beans.  For sure, the puree and root vegetables are coming back next year but I can honestly say without boasting too much that the entire meal was spectacular.  

Thanksgiving: My favorite time of the year

This is my fourth year cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my family and I try to make it more fabulous each year.   The menu was divvied up between me, my sisters and cousin.  I was in charge of the 20 lb turkey, roasted brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce, gravy and crispy kale chips.

Roasted Turkey 

I use Alton Brown's brine recipe to start things off.  It takes 12 hours so I prep the turkey the night before the big day.  I grab my mom's huge (holds 5+ gallons) pho pot to mix the brine and store the turkey.  Using a cheesecloth to hold the spices is highly recommended to avoid the peppercorns sticking to the turkey.  It's not in the recipe, but I like to add a slice of lemon, a few thyme and rosemary leaves too.
While the brine is cooling off-- I clean the turkey and take out the neck and gizzards.  I use the neck and gizzards to make the turkey broth for the gravy.  I placed the turkey inside the brine and stored it overnight.
The next day, the turkey is then removed, rinsed off and patted dry.  I finely mince and chop garlic and mix it in a stick of butter.  I then stick as much of the garlic butter under and over the skin as humanly possible.  This is ensure a crispy brown skin as well as a moist bird (since I don't baste the turkey more than twice).
In the cavity of the bird, I place a cored granny smith apple, a lemon I poke holes in, fresh sage, rosemary and thyme leaves.  I then take a piece of foil and fold it into a triangle to cover the breast and wings of the turkey.  I also poured 2 cans of chicken stock on the bottom of the roasting pan.  In a preheated 500 degree oven I placed the bird on the bottom rack for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, I turned down oven to 350 and cooked the bird for another 3-3.5 hours (basting it at the 1.5 and 2.5 hour mark).  I also remove the foil the last hour to brown the breast skin.

Sausage Sage Stuffing

I used both a rosemary loaf and french baguette for base, added granny smith apples and dried currants to the recipe.  It's a great recipe to make beforehand and reheat the next day.

 Suffering Bastard Cocktail

 Careful with this cocktail-- it got me in trouble.
 Recipe is  below.

1 part gin
1 part whiskey or bourbon
1 part lime juice
Splash of bitters
4 parts ginger ale (but I reduced it to 1 part)

Crispy Kale Chips
The only problem making the chips was that I didn't have the oven when I wanted it.  I needed a 375 degree oven that would fit two trays of kale.  I baked some in my parents' toaster oven and fit one small tray next to the turkey.  These were good--but I'll likely not make them again for a large dinner.



Gravy

I took the neck, livers and gizzards of the turkey and covered them with water in a 3-quart saucepan.  I let it simmer on low heat for 1 hour to make a concentrated turkey broth for the gravy.  I strained the broth and refrigerated it.
Once the turkey was removed from the roasting pan, I put the pan on the stove top and added a few tablespoons of flour and the turkey broth, whisking it until it thickened.  I then strained the gravy before serving.

Spiced Cranberry Sauce 
Still not a favorite dish with my family, but I liked it.

Corn Bread Muffins

I basically use the recipe on the side of the Albers Corn Meal box--but it works every year!