Cinco de Mayo

Normally, we don't celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but for the purpose of this blog, I've branched out a bit. Would've done May Day, as the poll suggested, but we had plans to go out that night. And in keeping with my I-don't-do-big-cooking-projects-on-work-nights policy, we celebrated CdM on the third (a Sunday) with our friends the Thomases.

Menu:

Chips, Salsa and Homemade Guacamole

Chicken Enchiladas

Spanish Rice

Steamed Vegetables with Green Chili Butter

Dulce de Leche Cream Cake

White Wine Sangria & Jarritos

Spanish rice from The Feast of Santa Fe (by Huntley Dent); Steamed vegetables with Green Chili Butter (also from The Feast of Santa Fe); Enchilada Sencillas from The Essential Cuisines of Mexico (by Diane Kennedy); Dulce de Leche Cream Cake , inspired by http://www.cooksrecipes.com/cake/dulce_de_leche_cream_cake_recipe.html
and http://sassandveracity.com/tag/dulce-de-leche/;
White Wine Sangria http://wine.about.com/od/howwineismade/r/whitesangria.htm

Cooks notes:

• For the veggies, I chose cauliflower and carrots because I thought they'd add interesting color. Would've thrown in green beans too, but they looked quite unappetizing at the grocery store. The chili butter is not green, but it is quite tasty.
• I made the enchiladas with flour tortillas against my better judgement because they are bigger than the corn ones. Corn tortillas simply taste better in my estimation. It is worth making more enchiladas to have that taste and texture in the dish. next time, I'll do right.
• Spanish rice is awesome and will replace white rice in my everyday cooking. Ridiculously easy and just plain tasty.
• Sangria is not Mexican (it's from Spain), but I didn't have tequila in the house. Sangria is unbelievably awesome! White wine sangria is refreshing, fruity and deceptive. In a word, it is heavenly and I will be drinking it all summer. It may just be my signature party drink. But I'll have to be sure to collect car keys from my guests upfront!
• More than a note on the cake. This cake is unbelievable. You have to make it. Don't be afraid when you pour the cream mixture on the cake. I too was worried that there was no way it would all be absorbed and not turn to mush. But it did absorb and the cake wasn't mushy. In fact it was incredibly incredible. My eyes cross just thinking about how luscious it was. Oh, and unless you are trying to kill your guests, consider serving this after a fairly light meal. The cake itself is probably closing on most people's recommended daily calorie allowance.

Easter Dinner

Roast Leg of curry-rubbed lamb
Minty Chickpea Salad with Couscous
Deviled Cauliflower
Panned Spinach with Pine nuts and Golden raisins
Pita triangles

Almond and Orange Cake

Libations: A nice Shiraz or Orange-Berry Spritzer, and Tea with cake

Luckily, Easter is always on a Sunday. As a non-church attending type, I can get straight to cooking without having to go to Church first.
It was a fairly simple meal, so I took my time and it took ALL day. I made the cake a day ahead, so I didn’t have the oven trauma that often comes with too many baked/broiled items in one meal.
The half-leg of lamb, from Bob’s Quality Meats, was just the right size for a family of three with plenty for leftovers. About three pounds, it fit in my roasting rack just fine. I did a curry rub, but it didn’t add much. Next time I’ll just do rosemary, garlic and olive oil.
The couscous was tasty (love the surprise lift that the orange zest gives) if a bit dry, the tomato accompaniment was fabulous. The panned spinache with golden raisins and pine nuts, a solid side. The surprise winner was the deviled (or on a day such as Easter, Angeled) cauliflower. We all loved it and the naysayers who hate cauliflower had seconds.
A note on lamb. Obviously you will serve first the pieces on the end. They will be the most dry pieces because they are well done. Everything else will be moist and tender; perfect for take two tomorrow.
And of course, the meal is just the permission you need to gorge on dessert. I made Almond and Orange cake which was heavenly. Just served with a cup of regular tea. Just the thing to end the meal and the day.

Curried Leg of Lamb – follow cooking directions in your favorite standard cookbook. The marinade/rub recipe: http://www.astray.com/recipes/?show=Honey-curry%20lamb%20roast
Deviled Cauliflower - (Bon Appetite, December 1994)
Minty Chickpea Salad with Couscous - (Real Simple, August 2007)
Spinach with pine nuts and golden raisins - (I think this is an Epicurious.com recipe that I’ve made so many times that I no longer need to look it up)
Almond and Orange cake - (http://homemades.blogspot.com/2008/10/itb-almond-and-orange-cake.html)

St. Patricks' Day Dinner

Corned beef and cabbage
Champ
Tangy Glazed Carrots
Apple Cake Cockaigne
Whiskey whipped cream
Beer/Sparkling Pomegranate Juice

Epicurious.com played a lead role in the meal. The beef brisket was brined in a recipe from southernfood.com, but otherwise the main meal elements were epicurious creations. A traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage was called for, but the thought of a 100% boiled dinner didn’t seem so special to me. I deviated by making a separate carrot dish. For dessert, I thought a cake would be nice. We have had and enjoyed the Apple Cake Cockaigne recipe from the 1975 edition of the Joy of Cooking several times. I ditched it for the French Apple Cake recipe just below it on the page. It looked good and since I had already bought the cream, I offered a whipped cream dollop for each slice.

Cook's notes:

• be careful not to overcook the cabbage. It was tasty but softer than it needed to be (you can tell in the pix);
• if you want pink corned-beef you have to add salt petre or sodium nitrate, which is a color fixative. It tastes the same regardless;
• you can half the recipe for the sauce that the carrots are tossed in;
• the cake is very good on its own and even better with a flavored whipped cream.

My troop and our the relatives who were over for dinner thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

Corned beef and cabbage:
http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/holidays/stpatricks/corned_beef_and_cabbage_recipe/recipes/food/views/Corned-Beef-with-Cabbage-241775
Champ (for the uninitiated, this is a potato dish):
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Champ-241776
Tangy Glazed Carrots:
From the Gooseberry Farm Family Favorites Cookbook
Apple Cake Cockaigne:
From the Joy of Cooking, 1975 edition
Does Whiskey Whipped Cream actually need a recipe? Even I’m not that needy. Anyway, if you do need a recipe for that, let me know and I’ll figure out the proportions for the ingredients (which are whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla and whiskey)

Slainte!
Sparkling pomegranate juice for those who don’t imbibe
Beer for everyone else (No, not green)