Labels

Monday, December 17, 2012

Baby, It's Cold Outside!


December 17, 2012

by Heather

Baby, it's finally cold enough in the Valley of the Sun to have a fire in the fireplace!  We've had two days/nights of rain and temps below 60 and even though the sun is shining today, it's still chilly outside which makes it perfect weather for woolies.

Chico's boiled wool camel blazer; Burberry-inspired but not Burberry-priced camel, black, and red plaid scarf; White House Black Market jeans

My new favorite purse from Michael Kors; gold-tipped heels from Macy's; set of 11 bangles from Nordstom's; Michael Kors gold watch; Alexis Bittar gold bangles

In the last post I wrote, I was scurrying around getting ready for book club. I like to provide an elaborate meal for the December meeting because it's close to Christmas and I think that's cause for celebration -- which translates, in my world, to food, drink, and pretty surroundings. I'm not an everyday cook, but I do enjoy "event cooking" as my husband calls it, and I've been doing it for 41 years, so this meal shouldn't have been any problem at all.  Hah!

The house was decorated...
(love how the mirror reflects the fireplace)

The tree was trimmed...

The rocking horse was be-wreathed...

The holiday glassware was moved to its proper place...

The plant shelf was candle-lit...

The table was set...

with a slight change for the dessert course...

And the menu was chosen...

Appetizers:

  • Holiday dip (goat cheese, cream cheese, toasted walnuts, chopped dried cranberries, orange zest) with cranberry toasts
  • English Huntsman cheese, crackers, red grapes 
  • Mousse Truffee (pork and chicken liver mousse with truffles)
  • Prosecco with a dash of cranberry juice for taste and color with a garnish of frozen cranberries to keep it well-chilled
First Course:
  • Winter salad of mixed greens, thinly sliced Anjou pears, chopped walnuts, crumbled Gorgonzola cheese, and dried cranberries dressed with a vinaigrette of rice vinegar, cranberry juice, Dijon mustard, and olive oil
Main Course:

  • Herbed standing rib roast marinated overnight with a paste of crushed garlic, fresh rosemary and thyme combined with ground peppercorns and bay leaves, olive oil and sea salt, then set on a bed of potatoes, carrots, and onions to roast until the thermometer reaches 110 (roast continues to cook once removed from oven until it's 130 -medium rare -- pink and perfect) 
  • Popovers (or individual Yorkshire puddings)
  • Jus - beef broth, roast juices, fresh thyme and rosemary
  • Pinot Noir or Zinfandel 
Dessert:
  • Tea
  • English trifle (I use pound cake, assorted fruits, Birds custard, sherry, and whipped topping)

Sounds good, right?  All things I've made before, so should be easy, right? Hah!

Things started to go wrong as soon as I placed the rib roast on the middle rack (where it's supposed to be) in the oven.  The rack went crashing to the bottom of the oven -- somehow the racks had shrunk or the oven had bowed -- and the weight of the roast meant that it would spend its time at the bottom of the oven.  Okay, maybe I could still make it work.  I put the thermometer in, checked it ten minutes later and saw that nothing had happened...checked it again..still nothing showing.  The thermometer I had just used at Thanksgiving was no longer working...same for a backup thermometer...heaven help me.  The recipe gave a time of about two hours (20 minutes at 450 degrees; the rest of the time at 350) so, without much choice, I set the timer and hoped for the best.  When the time was up, I pulled the roast from the oven, and set it on the counter to rest while I put the popovers in.  I've made popovers or Yorkshire pudding for years and have never had a failure...until tonight.  The popovers start at 450 degrees and then the temp gets reduced to 350.  Now granted I was chatting with the girls in the living room and drinking wine by this time, but I swear I did go into the kitchen and press the buttons on the range to adjust the temperature. When the timer rang, I went back into the kitchen to find I had a batch of dark brown hockey pucks, not the golden, puffy popovers I was expecting.  The temperature in the oven was 450 degrees...not the 350 it was supposed to be.


The good news is that the book club members are my friends and kindly suggested that the hockey pucks might still have some life in them (they were wrong about that).  We sat down for dinner, introduced English crackers to the unfamiliar, put our paper crowns on our heads and showed off our cracker prizes while my husband carved the roast for us.  The best news is that the rib roast came out perfectly - succulent and medium rare. The surrounding veggies were crisper than usual (okay, slightly burned) but still tasty.  Everybody cleaned their plates (always a good sign) and enjoyed the trifle with a cup of tea for dessert.


Wishing you better luck with your holiday cooking!
Love,
H







15 comments:

  1. What a glorious dinner! And of course a beautiful home to enjoy it in - thanks for sharing the beauty with Visible Monday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Patti! Always enjoy linking up with your blog.
      Heather

      Delete
  2. Very festive! Your home looks amazing. Happy Holidays :) Seasons Greetings from Australia♥ ~Pernilla

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, and happy holidays to you, too. I have a special place in my heart for Aussies -- I have many cousins, aunts, and uncles down under!
      Heather

      Delete
  3. Very festive and beautiful!
    Thanks for sharing.
    Hope to see you on my blog:)

    Happy Holidays and Warm Seasons Greetings from Singapore~Sanghamitra.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, it is so very cool that someone in Singapore is looking at our blog! Makes the world seem a little bit smaller.
      I checked out your blog and it's amazing. Brilliant colors and photography -- beautifully done.
      Thanks for visiting!
      Heather

      Delete
  4. What a lovely home! I hope you had a wonderful party despite the food fiasco! Reminds me of the first year I was married hosting Thanksgiving and the oven ended up broken...Sidenote: you can't cook a turkey on the grill very well (tell it to my 22 year old desperate self!). Anyway, I enjoyed your beautiful table and decor as I'm sure did your guests!
    Jessica
    http://ahumblecreation.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. p.s. I would love to invite you to link up at my Monday Makeover for Your Table party. Your decor is too pretty not to share some more!
      Merry Christmas!

      Delete
    2. Thank you, Jessica. My girlfriends and I always have a good time regardless of the food provided -- we may not say the same if no wine was offered though :)
      I linked up with your Monday Makeover. Thanks for the invite.
      Merry Christmas!

      Delete
  5. You and your home both look fabulous. It must have taken a long time to decorate so beautifully! Love the colors in your outfit.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You look gorgeous and your home is beautifully decorated. I love your plantshelves, and the horse is stunning. Thanks for joining TTT. Hugs, Marty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Marty! Always a pleasure to join up with you.
      Heather

      Delete
  7. A pretty woman in a pretty house...love your gorgeous decorations.
    Over from Lavender Garden

    oops, your word verification is ON...just sayin' :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. We thought the word verification should be on to deter spam, but what do you think?

      Delete