NYE | Bigos, or Polish Hunter's Stew

Before the bacchanalia, comfort. In fact, comfort food to line the stomach. Cabbage, sauerkraut, mushrooms, sausage are key. Without those it's just not it. Beyond that, get creative with cooked meats and prunes. Wash down with vodka preferably and traditionally, or beer to keep it in the hunter spirit, or red wine to take it in that direction. Be bold. Happy New Year!

Sunday Feast № 52 | Roasted Red Snapper with Rosemary and Fennel

About a year ago, a photo of red mullet with fennel appeared in front of me again. OK. Less dramatic: I was looking for a Christmas Eve fish dish that was not carp. I went to one of my local stores that still has the fishmonger-like stand and one that seemed the most likely to have less standard fish options despite still being a supermarket, and looked for mullet. Saw none and asked - yes, actually interacted in the supermarket with someone beyond a cashier! I was told that this supermarket doesn't carry mullet due to its poor sustainability. "What is a good substitute then?" "Sea bass is one." It was good. Just did not have the red tinge on in its scales, and I suppose that's what I wanted. Too.    But red snapper does! What's more, supermarket next door always has it and I had a roasted red snapper recipe ferreted away already. This one was from Food Network courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis, which is rather fitting since the red mullet recipe was from an Italian cookbook. My oil use was liberal; hence, no measure. I sliced the onion and fennel bulb being too lazy to chop - isn't that the height of laziness?! This roasted snapper makes a great alternative to Christmas Eve carp, and beyond.

Sunday Feast № 51 | Almond Frangipane and Cranberry Tart with Honeyed Pistachios

Ever since late fall, there was a bag of fresh cranberries still hanging around in the bottom drawer of my fridge. They should have been gone by now, meaning eaten, but no, and suprisingly still looked highly edible. Maybe it is the skin... Anyhow. Here I had in my hands the latest issue (December/January 2017) of Saveur magazine, with this tart on the cover. Well, "those cranberries are dead now!" The original recipe called for ¾ cup frozen cranberries, which I thought suprising considering my state of fridge affairs and perception of the season, but probably normal for other fridges-freezers, and the original recipe called more sugar to mix them in. Also, seeing all the butter mixture beating, this recipe pushed me to acquire a hand-held electric mixer despite trying to keep the kitchen as "decluttered" as humanly possible - for me. Hand-held since I am still not ready to graduate, spacewise and otherwise, to a standup mixer. Give it time. Before that, bake this tart.

Sunday Feast № 50 | Quinoa with Dried Cranberries and Pistachios

Quinoa is one of those ancient Latin grains that became very popular outside of its indigenous regions around mid-2000s and early 2010s, and around that time, funnily enough, I always ate it as a cool salad with fruits and vegetables that one would most likely not cook. Fast forward tiny bit past exactly mid-2010s, and yes I am super late to the party, I considered the season and locked onto this version, which in fact tastes better warm, and was a very welcome alternative to the cool, or cold to be exact. Serves 4 as stand alone lunch or 6 as a side dish. The recipe is from Muscle & Fitness magazine November 2014 issue and has been slightly changed by adding twice the dried cranberries and pistachios.

Sunday Feast № 49 | Grilled Swordfish with Cilantro Chile Vinaigrette

The combination of what I see as Latin flavors of cilantro, chilies, lemon or lime juice, is irresistible to me. The multi-dimensional citrus flavors cut with spicy heat enhance any rich food far better than any of those ingredients alone. Plus, the simplicity of this meal is quite alluring. Think about it: simply grilled fish steak with butter finish, elevated with that kind of a vinaigrette. Have it with crisp dry white wine and good bread to mop up those juices, or maybe skip the latter if you have big fish steaks, and after all, licking the plate is acceptable is certain circumstances. If you can't get swordfish steaks, I hear halibut and fresh tuna are good substitutes. The recipe is very slightly adapted from Food & Wine magazine November 2014 issue (yep, still with the same issue after the pumpkin focaccia): it was the garlic - the cloves I had were big so I downsized from two to one as not to lose the other flavors. And yes, I did use left over vinaigrette like pesto. Fun on the side The same magazine issue made me happy to no end by including a recipe for Yemeni hot sauce. This meant that for once I didn't have to fret over what to do with significant amount of cilantro left behind, which is more often than not the case in my kitchen. This sauce drizzled over roasted vegetables was a divine simplicity. Yet again.

Sunday Feast № 48 | Focaccia with Roasted Pumpkin

It is well into pumpkin season and I've also been meaning to make bread. This adaptation of a recipe from Food & Wine magazine November 2014 issue (yes, I am going through my old issues) is mainly to do with the fact that I do not have a stand up mixer, so elbow grease it was instead. What I do have is great central heating that allowed me to proof the dough with the bowl or baking sheet standing on a wooden cutting board on top of a column radiator for that perfect 80-90°F/27-32°C range. Lose some. Win some. Watch the initial roasting of the pumpkin slices knowing that they will roast again atop of the focaccia dough.

Sunday Feast № 47 | Mushroom Barley Salad

Do you like mushrooms? Have I got a recipe for you, adapted from Food & Wine magazine November 2015 issue. I used more sage (2 tsp vs. my 2 tbsp) and was happy for it as the sage added a woodsy-like smell to go with button, baby bella, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms. "Mushrooms. Meat for vegetarians." was the advertising tagline for Australian mushroom growing industry. Makes no difference to me. I like mushrooms, vegetarian or not. The wilder, the better. Maybe it's the childhood memories of my Grandma picking fresh mushrooms in the forest, or their smell as she dried them for winter, or how they add flavor to warming dishes. Having barley also induced childhood memories. Such a filling grain. Nutritious, too. One cup is loaded with more fiber than you would think (~ 32 g), has a high amount of protein (~ 23 g), and appears to be a nice source of magnesium, iron, and vitamin B-6! This one is good for lunch (~ 6 servings) or as a side (~ 8-10 servings). Bring it to room temperature, if you prepared it earlier or maybe zap it in the microwave on the vegetable reheating setting. Prepare to be satisfied.

Sunday Feast № 46 | Grilled Escarole Toasts with Salmon Roe

Simplicity is happiness. "Really?!", you pull back and purse your lips. Take a look at this! As simple as it gets! Grilling and good produce brought together to get the feel good factor going. And I have you know that I woke up uncustomarily early for a weekend day, and for me, and started the day with crème fraîche and salmon roe courtesy of œufs en cocotte, so you would think I have had enough crème fraîche and salmon roe already. Come lunch, this tweaked recipe from Food & Wine magazine October 2015 issue was on the menu (more thyme and infusing the olive oil with thyme and garlic, microwave has to have its purpose). Great as an appetizer, too. Add a glass or more of your favorite dry white wine, and you will be as happy. Trust me.

Sunday Feast № 45 | Sabayon or Zabaione, or an exercise in tenacity

After making potato and onion frittata, I was left with egg yolks. Unusual situation for me, since majority of the time it is egg whites, and I know what to do with those; add to them an egg or two and have eggs your way, sunny side up in my case, for breakfast, brunch, or lunch. I haven't made dessert in a while, and that is where egg yolks are used the most. I looked around and found an egg yolk based one in “The Little Paris Kitchen” by Rachel Khoo - champagne sabayon. I had prosecco though, which makes me wonder if this is now officially zabaione, the Italian version. However, as it turns out, that was the least of my worries.    First time around I took "To test, draw a figure 8 in the mixture with the whisk. If it stays put, then sabayon is ready." too literally, was too heavy handed, and most of all missed the timing when to take the mixture off the heat, and ended up with rather tasty and sweet and smooth but scramble. I overcooked it. Truth be told, I needed to research the required consistency when cooking as I knew that the final product was too thick and lacked the expected volume all that whisking should produce. Time to learn.    This YouTube video at 5:09 showed me what I should be looking for, and I tried again. To say that I was gun-shy next time around is an understatement. I kept on taking the bowl on and off the heat, and kept on whisking furiously. When it seemed to head in the right direction, I took the sabayon mixture off the heat and "threw" it into the fridge, then proceeded to deal with leftover egg whites.    When I came back to it, it decreased in volume and liquefied under a layer of breaking froth. I undercooked it. Yes, I took it off heat too quickly. To save it, off I went whisking over the heat again and persisted and watched till the consistency was definitely right, this is why I am not telling you how long the whisking takes. I have no clue. Also, serve immediately. While whisking, I thought how this is too much. All that changed after having a serving with raspberries and prosecco with raspberry syrup. I will master.

Sunday Feast № 44 | Festival des Pommes, with Honey Glazed Roast Pork with Apples as a Main Attraction

"An impressionistic tour of Normandy, where the apple is king and calvados completes the meal" said the subtitle to a story in Saveur magazine May 2016 issue. That also means apple cider, or as it was in my misreading of a recipe I locked onto - apple cider vinegar. Yes, that is what I used even though looking at the recipe again, it distinctly calls for just apple cider. Did the swap matter? No, it was super tasty just as the run through the ingredients promised.    If the photo here does not grab you, please ignore it, I was in a rush to eat and feed, and proceed with cooking your own. Absolutely worth it. All that butter and honey help, I'm sure. Also, if you happen to have those big size apples, three is enough. Pair it with apple, celeriac, and carrot salad and apple cider to drink. Finish off with after-dinner swigs of calvados. Life is good.

Sunday Feast № 43 | Potato and Onion Frittata

Yes, I am one of those sad souls who assumed this was a Spanish dish. The thing is first time I had it, it was cooked by a Spaniard and I forgot him referring to it as tortilla de patatas. Back then attention span was shaky at times or otherwise preoccupied; I will blame memory now. Hence, this Italian dish has embedded itself in my brain as Spanish. Olé! We all make mistakes. Mi dispiace.    Looking for some color in the autumn cooking, I locked in on this recipe from “Everyday Food: Great Food Fast” by Martha Stewart Living Magazine, more so since it suggested to make a side of red and yellow bell peppers sauté (bell peppers cut lengthwise, sliced red onion, olive oil, salt and pepper, and you are good to go).    As a tip: if you have the misfortune of the onion, potato, and rosemary mixture sticking to your skillet, do not disrepair. Warm up another skillet to a similar temperature, lightly oil it, transfer the onion, potato, and rosemary mixture that did not marry itself to the first skillet, and proceed with pouring the egg mixture. You, or your frittata, will survive and bond very well together. Via your belly.

Sunday Feast № 42 | Wild Rice Cranberry Soup

Not exactly the most photogenic, but sometimes that's what it has to be. You know it. That vegetarian cooked food that you must have to feel nourished, less stuffed, and virtuous. Here is my autumn baby. Adapted from "A Beautiful Bowl of Soup: The best vegetarian recipes" by Paulette Mitchell, I upped and tweaked the portions of the ingredients to match my one-and-only/last/entire supply of vegetable stock: 4 cups.

Sunday Feast № 41 | Latin Braise Coc Co Co Coc, or Coconut Braised Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes

The flavor combination read as perfect. Perfect enough to drown the pages with dribbling saliva.    I might be exaggerating, but mussing up of the pages was involved, followed by quick run through the cupboards and the fridge, and a grab for pen and paper to write a shopping list, to make about a half of the original recipe. Then I spaced out on changing the cooking time when recipes are halved, first time around at least, then I learned fast.    Adapting a recipe from from Food & Wine magazine October 2016 issue to a smaller portion, I went ahead and let it braise in the oven for about an hour the original called for. Now being mindful of the fact that the cooking smells, no matter how divine, after lingering overnight are less so, I opened to kitchen backdoor, and thus effectively removed smell as a cue to check in on the chicken. An hour later, I came back to a broken sauce and a rim of burn where it used to be. However, the chicken and potatoes were fine, and there to prove that my initial impetus to make this dish was absolutely justified. Two days later, I remedied the situation. See below. This one is here to stay as an alternative finish-the-chicken-in-the-oven-"go-to" to Pablo's chicken with potatoes and aioli. And that says something.

Sunday Feast № 40 | Apple Tart

Unlike making sweet pastry from scratch, I am not ready (if ever) to do puff pastry from scratch. It's easy, some say - you just need cold but pliable butter and a good rolling pin and get a'rolling. I suppose with the cooling weather, butter is easier to keep chill on the counter, but all that rolling - I don't know, and I am feeling lazy. Prepackaged puff pastry has been used in many cooking shows, so who am I to get THAT busy? As for that cooling weather, it is apple season, although in the Midwest apples seem to be always in season. I suppose other regions have apples galore and some of those, OK - plenty of those end up also here. This recipe from “Everyday Food: Great Food Fast” by Martha Stewart Living Magazine is very easy once you do the prep, which truth be told is mostly around the peeling, coring and slicing of the apples. Truth be told, I changed and ignored some, but you don't have to. The recipe asked for Granny Smith apples but I used Jonathan apples first time around because that is what I had - made for a sweeter tart than with Granny Smith. It asked to roll out the pastry while it is unfolded, but I did not first time around. The texture and most definitely the taste did not suffer much, but I was not lazy next time around, and neither should you be, says Mum, unless ... Serves 4-6, and disappears very quickly.

Sunday Feast № 39 | Spicy Chicken Stir-fry

Keeping it very brief this time. It's been a long while since I made this one, and since I am burrowing through my recipe notes, it was time to make it. The spices give this dish a warmth that has nothing to do with heat but everything with aroma. With this amount of vegetables, you can skip sides like rice or noodles, unless you absolutely must have them for a trio on a plate. Serves 4.

Sunday Feast № 38 | You saucy tart, Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

Spaghetti alla puttanesca means "spaghetti in the style of a prostitute", and is not a very old dish after all, but considering the taste profile, it has a fitting name. Saucy, briny, with a hint of spicy heat, with a color selection of red and black that imitates just right, say, Carmen's garb (Spanish, I know, but you get the reference), while taking care of you just the way you needed. I was so fixated on getting the visual right that the Kalamata olives I already had just would not do. They were not black enough. The recipe is adapted from "The Food of Italy: A Journey for Food Lovers" - I used fresh cherry tomatoes instead of canned ones, and dried oregano although I could've used 1 tbsp fresh oregano. Let's play.

Sunday Feast № 37 | Goat Cheese Pistachio Prune Savory Cake

As Rachel Khoo notes in her video, often cake is taken as something sweet, but French do savory cake. Music to my ears as I believe that cakes are perfect breakfast food. Think of them as something similar to muffins. This one being savory has the lower guilt factor, if you will, and as such can be paired with egg done you favorite way - sunny side up in my case, till I truly master poached egg. The recipe is from "The Little Paris Kitchen" by Rachel Khoo, adjusted to use goat cheese instead of sausage, the way she does it in the video of her show.    Hopefully, unlike me, you can bake it at a setting specified in the recipe below, or twiddle with it all by baking at 345°F for 45 min then 340°F for 10 min then 350°F for 10 min then keeping it in an off-oven for 5 min for a total of 70 min.    Absolutely not necessary, but I guess I like to twiddle.

Sunday Feast № 36 | Roasted Trout with Thyme

This is a recipe I picked up a long time ago. Really long time ago. It is the easiest way to prepare a meal that can be served on a bed of lettuce or with Turkish bread and salad or with some sautéed potatoes and salad, and paired with a nice sauvignon blanc or similar dry white wine. Till now, I always did it with a whole trout, head and all, but as it turns out fillets work just as well. They have the added advantage of visual assessment for doneness as you can see the flesh turning opaque. Clean, filling, and very satisfying.

Sunday Feast № 35 | Quinoa Salad

Don't know where this recipe came from. My guess is that it was from a vegetarian magazine or website or blog. It made it into my recipe notebook back when I didn't keep references. Let me know when you find a reference, but till then I encourage you to give this one a go. Make the whole batch, which is meant to have 12 servings, and make those servings larger for a stand alone lunch or eat the leftovers on the weekdays as your carry-with lunch. Chill in the refrigerator in a meantime, of course. With the magic of quinoa and freshness of vegetables and herb and fruit (yes, tomato is a fruit) and nuttiness, prove me that you are not feeling wholesome after having this salad. Let me know if used it as a side dish, if you used it a side dish at all, and what did you pair it with.

No rice cooker? Lost the box with cooking instructions? No worries. Bring 2 qt/2 L of salter water to boil. Add quinoa, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 12-14 min, or until quinoa is tender and small 'tails' bloom from the grains.

Sunday Feast № 34 | Baked Potato

Baked potato is so pedestrian, and so simply comforting for that very reason. Helen Russell in her book "The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country" wrote how in the rural Jutland, where she ended up living for a year ... or ... I digress, feasts seemed to include something with potatoes more often than not. That something many a time was a pork product of one kind or another, but that is beside my rambling point. The Russets at my local seemed appealing all of the sudden, especially so since I prefer to either roast or fry or boil potatoes (yes, in that order, with the latter the only choice for young potatoes) rather than bake them, and Russets are perfect for baking; hence, there was something new to do at home. For me. Armed with Ali's recipe for the perfect baked potato at Gimme Some Oven and simply dressing the finished product with butter, sea salt, ground pepper, and dill, I was set to have my Jutland inspired meal. However, rather than porky anything, I opted for a different nod to the Scandinavian - smoked salmon. The meaty and porky sides will come out later in the year when the temperatures drop and need to feast rises.