Fork and The Cork

On the Second Day of Christmas, Fork and The Cork gave to me: The second dish on my Christmas Eve menu: Gratineed Mustard Cream Onions So, a couple of years ago, I decided to make a side dish of sauteed pearl onions in pomegranate juice, and cabernet.  They were delicious.  Where I went wrong was buying the little onions you need to peel by hand and I chose to wait until the day of, to peel.  This year, I bought those same little onions, but am happily writing my blog instead of peeling onions, as I peeled and peeled last night!  I don't know if substituting frozen onions would work in this dish, I just am averting possible disaster by not finding out the answer to that on Christmas eve.  I've had plenty of disasters (don't worry, there will be a blog solely devoted to THAT), and my goal this year is to pull all of it off without a hitch.  If I haven't mentioned it, we are hosting 14 tonight.  I am so proud of myself, I actu...

On the Third day of Christmas, Fork and The Cork gave to me: The Third dish on my Christmas Eve Menu: Johnny Garlic's Cedar Plank Salmon In the true spirit of the Northwest, salmon is an essential part of our holiday celebration.  I am tired of the same old salmon, and thus commenced my quest for the ultimate recipe.  When looking for this recipe, I perused my cookbook collection, and browsed my favorite websites:  http://www.marthastewart.com/ , http://www.epicurious.com/ , http://www.foodnetwork.com/ , and http://www.allrecipes.com/ .  This particular gem of a recipe I found on the foodnetwork site, courtesy of the crazy, bleached out, jacked-up, surfer dude, Guy Fieri.  Ingredients 2 tablespoons oil 2 jalapenos, cut into rings 1 tablespoon garlic, minced 1/2 cup white wine 3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard 1 cup apricot preserves 4 (4 by 4-inch) pieces parchment paper 4 cedar plank pieces, food service quality 4 (6-ounc...

On the Fourth day of Christmas Fork and the Cork gave to me: The fourth dish on my Christmas Eve menu: Ranch Potatoes This has to be, hands down, the easiest, tastiest, roasted potato recipe on the planet.  Serves 6 2 Lbs baby red potatoes 1/4 Cup Olive Oil 1 Package dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix Directions: Scrub potatoes, then quarter.  In a large ziploc bag, combine cut potatoes, olive oil, and ranch dressing mix. Line a 9 X 13 baking dish with aluminum foil, then spray foil with nonstick cooking spray. Put potatoes in baking dish, cover with aluminum foil, and place in preheated 375 degree oven.  Bake for 40 minutes, remove foil that was covering the potatoes, and cook an additional 10 to fifteen minutes.  Potatoes are done when a fork easily can pierce the potatoes.  Enjoy!

On the Fifth day of Christmas, Fork and the Cork gave to me: The top 5 tips for putting together a holiday cheese tray: MIX BASIC AND QUIRKY FLAVORS AND TEXTURES (say, goat cheese, brie, cheddar and stilton) to please all taste buds. Give guests cheesy adjectives (e.g., stinky, earthy) and have each person bring a type that represents it. COLD, PRECUT CUBES ARE TASTELESS To maximize flavor: Take cheeses out of the fridge 45 minutes beforehand, leaving them wrapped until ready to serve. DON'T LEAVE GUESTS IN THE DARK Label each cheese by name, milk variety and country of origin. That way, guests know exactly what they’re eating (e.g., pecorino: sheep’s-milk cheese, Italy). NO NEED TO BUST OUT FANCY UTENSILS All that’s required is a small butter knife for each cheese. Cut a few pieces of each (wedges for rounds, slices for everything else) to get guests started. ENCOURAGE EXPERIMENTATION (and calm stage fright). Ask everyone to share their top...

On the Sixth day of Christmas Fork and the Cork gave to me: Six reasons to shop at Trader Joe's for your Holidays 1. The wine . Massive selection of great wines under $8. AND a very knowledgeable staff to help you make your selection. 2. The cheese . It's got to be half the price of the grocery store, and the selection is enormous. Goat, brie, cheddar, feta, stilton, romano, they have it all. 3. The frozen aisle . Whether you need a peppermint cheesecake, breakfast croissants, truffle flatbread, or onion and goat cheese tartlets, you can get it. 4. The pantry aisle . Olives, tapenades, simmering sauces, grapeseed oil, cooked brown rice (I hate cooking brown rice it takes forever!!), are just a few of the treasures.... 5. The flowers . It's a pretty good bet to say that your local farmer's market is done for the season. If you need fresh, beautiful bouqets at rock bottom prices, go to TJ's. 6. The cookies . Caramel lace cookies, triple ginge...

On the 7th day of Christmas, Fork and the Cork gave to me, A YUMMY dish of Manicotti Ok, so I'm pretty much the furthest thing from Italian , but I must have been in a previous life. Seriously. Pasta, tomatoes, wine, garlic, basil, oregano, romano, parmesan, mozzarella, pizza, etc. etc., they have got it figured out. Italians even put cheese in dessert! That's my kind of people. Whenever I am trying to decide on a Sunday dinner, or a one pot/dish dinner to serve to company, I almost always go in the direction of italian. One of my favorite's is Manicotti. It's easy to make ahead , and is kid-friendly . Here is my favorite recipe: Beef and Cheese Manicotti Ingredients 4 teaspoons olive oil 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 1 pound ground beef Salt and freshly ground black pepper 14 (8-ounce package) manicotti 1 (15-ounce) container whole-milk ricotta 3 cups shredded mozzarella 1 cup grated Parmesan 2 tablespoons chopped f...

On the 8th day of Christmas Fork and the Cork gave to me: A Gr 8 centerpeice idea: Make your own Gingerbread House (well,kind of) It's a kit from Costco, is less than $10 (hurry, they won't be getting any more in), and it's a nifty little project for everyone. The kit comes with more gummies and candy than you would know what to do with, and not nearly enough coconut (snow), for ground cover. White and green icing are both included, but I stuck with the white due to this little issue: The not-so-commercial-strength pastry bag busted mid-frost due to my excellent grip strength. We went from "oh this is going to be so perfect everyone will think I am just amazing, like Martha" , to "I think I will blame this little masterpiece on my four year old niece, Brooke". So the last time I made a gingerbread house was in high school, in creative cooking class, Christmas 1992. I baked it all from scratch, and of course the sides didn't really ma...