Day 9- Steak Au Poivre + other delicious things!

Happy Christmas Eve!

Last night I was too busy opening presents to post about our Christmas Eve dinner. Last night was also my first time carrying out a menu that contained four brand new recipes, so there was some craziness in the kitchen. For that reason, the photos of each dish are extremely lacking, but I'm hoping you'll cut me some slack- it is Christmas after all!

I was worried about getting everything done on time, so I made this swell chart!

I started with this awesome Christmas Tree Bread. Pretty standard rolls with a little dried rosemary and thyme added in. The dough was easy and making the tree was fun!

Christmas fail. I forgot that my oven was on the top only (left over from the french onion soup recipe) and I overcooked the rolls. So sad. The good news though, they were still pretty tasty as underneath that overcooked top was perfectly cooked yummyness! I would recommend this recipe and you could be creative with the shape!

Next I started on the Potato-Parmesan Pave. I wish I'd taken some photos of the process! It was really easy and sort of fun. You just thinly slice potatoes, soak them in heavy cream (I actually used creme fraiche) and then layer them in a casserole dish the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. These were DELICIOUS! Such an easy yet different potato dish to make. I would not recommend the creme fraiche as it did separate a little in the oven. It didn't affect the flavor, but I was a bit unappetizing to see.

With the potatoes in the oven, I began the English Peas with Mint. These took a total of 15 minutes to prep and cook and added a lovely dash of color to our plates. You saute a spring onion, then add the peas with some water and salt and pepper. A few minutes later, throw in some torn mint leaves. The flavor was very light and delicate. Next time I think I'll add more mint than the recipe calls for.

Finally, the piece de resistance- Steak au Poivre. I bought whole peppercorns in at the market and used a hammer to crush them up (classy, I know!). Then I used the end of a knife to finish off some stragglers. Note to self- buy a mortar and pestle (even though the pounding was pretty fun).

After the steaks rest for 20 minutes, you coat them with pepper, then sprinkle them with salt. The steaks then cook in oil and butter as you baste them with the juices. After the steaks are out, you make this awesome sauce using the leftover juices, stock (I didn't use the wine called for by the recipe), creme fraiche and mustard. Pour the sauce over before serving. This steak was so good! Less than 30 minutes and the flavor of both the steaks and the sauce was just so good.

The verdict: In the end, the entire meal was just great. Despite slightly burning the rolls, I couldn't have asked for a more perfect Christmas Eve meal. Because we ended up having an extra guest we ended up slicing up the steak. If only I'd take a photo pre-cutting! I think I'll make all of the recipes again at some point. Very solid holiday faire. 

Steak au Poivre, Potato-Parmesan Pave, English Peas with Mint

And it's not Christmas Eve without dessert. Our selections included Chocolate Mint Sticks, mandarine oranges and peanut butter balls. We snacked as we opened our presents (Christmas Eve present opening is a tradition from my mom's side of the family. Christmas morning is for stockings and gifts from Santa!)

Mohamed patiently waiting to open his gifts. We were lucky enough to have two stockings- one for Christmas Eve and one for the morning.

Thanks to my friend Sarah (and her mom!) for my awesome Christmas tree shirt.

Day 8- Onion Soup with Loads of Thyme and Giant Gruyere Crostini

Nothing like the smell of caramelizing onions to warm the tummy. This recipe just looked so good that I could hardly stand to wait until day eight!

Today's been another big cooking day for me. First thing this morning I finished the peanut butter balls that I started last night. Peanut butter balls have been a Christmas staple at our house for as long as I remember. 

Since I can't find paraffin wax here, the chocolate coating isn't quite as nice as the normal version, but hey, they're still darn good! And easy- the filling is just peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar. For the coating, chocolate and paraffin wax (or as in my case some milk to smooth out the chocolate).

I even found some adorable little holiday candy papers so I thought I'd throw them in. Yay!

After I finished up the PB balls, I started looking around to find something for lunch. I had a lot of spinach left after the T'fina Pkaila earlier in the week so I decided to make the Simple Summer Spinach recipe from Epicurious. After the spinach had wilted, I threw some leftover chickpeas in to warm up. 

Just before eating I squeezed a lemon wedge into the mix and it was FANTASTIC! Such a quick, healthy and filling lunch. Chickpeas are excellent for health and I think we all know what a superfood spinach is. I think I'll be keeping ready-to-eat chickpeas in the fridge from now on.

Tomorrow being Christmas Eve, I wanted to finish up all of my treats so that I could focus on making a feast for dinner. So in the early evening I made Chocolate Mint Sticks. These are another one of my favorite holiday treats. Homemade brownies on the bottom, a layer of mint frosting and then a chocolate coating. So good. These were really quick and easy too. Thanks to my mom for sending me the recipe!

first you make the brownie

next, mint frosting!

finally, chocolate sauce for the top!

so good!

Finally, I started the onion soup. The recipe is enough for two, so I doubled it and caramelized an entire kilo of white onions. The smell of them cooking away with fresh thyme and bay leaves was to die for. Following some of the reviews on the recipe, I threw the 25-30 minutes out the window and cooked until the onions were a really dark, delicious amber color. 

I wish this photo allowed the smell to come through. Ahhh.

The caramelization took at least an hour and a half. Worth it? I think so. I also didn't have any wine, so our soup is made entirely with beef stock (unfortunately not homemade- you can't have it all, right?). Once the stock is in there, you just have to simmer for around 30 minutes so that the flavors come together.

As the soup is simmering away, toast some bread. The recipe calls for ciabatta, but I used a plain old french baguette. Finally, ladle the soup into bowls, float some toast and cover with gruyere.

After a few minutes in the oven, EAT!

The verdict: I thought it was delicious. who doesn't love oniony, cheesy, soupy goodness? Sadly, the answer is my husband. He didn't like it. I guess one out of 8 isn't bad, but I was so impressed with myself by the time I was finished! Too bad. Anyways, if you like French Onion Soup, I say try this recipe. If you don't, you won't like it.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!!! So exciting. Sad to be so far away from home, but looking forward to eating my peanut butter balls and mint sticks; opening presents and making a yummy feast for dinner.

On the menu: Steak au Poivre, Potato-Parmesan Pave and English Peas with Mint. All from Epicurious. Should be a fun morning at the market!

Day 7- Ful Medames (Egyptian Brown Fava Beans)

Oh Egyptian Ful. I ate these nearly every day for the month that I lived in Alexandria to take my EFL teaching course. It was cheap (I think around 25 cents for a sandwich) and really delicious. So, when I found the recipe on Epicurious I just had to make it.

This was both the simplest and longest recipe so far on the challenge. I bought dried fava beans (the brown ones- outer layer attached) at the market and had to soak them overnight. Then as the recipe suggested I started to cook the beans this morning. The recipe says it takes around 2.5 hours of simmering and they are not kidding.

ful simmering over an open fire

I simmered these things for what seemed like days and eventually starting mashing. The recipe is actually for the soup version, but I always preferred the sandwich with mashed beans. Once they were soft I added salt, cumin and crushed garlic to the pot. Then I cooked longer, then even longer, then longer again.

In the end, I had my beans almost as I remembered them. When you buy the sandwich in Egypt they come inside a pita bread with some cucumber and tomato salad and a white sauce (which I actually forgot about until just now...)

I served the beans with some chopped parsley and lemon wedges and due to overly warming the pitas, we ate them taco style. Yum! 

The verdict: They came out great. Simple and yummy. One reason I like them so much is that they taste to me like refried beans. Mohamed agreed. Refried beans take me about 30 mins to make, so these are probably not worth the half day of simmering. I probably won't make them again for that reason, but it was fun to re-live my Egyptian lunches!

Tomorrow is another vegetarian dish from Epicurious- Onion soup with Loads of Thyme and Giant Gruyere Crostini. I guess I'm going to find out if my bowls are oven safe!

Photo by Caren Alpert for Epicurious

Be sure to check back tomorrow to see my peanut butter balls too! I made them today, but as they're not quite finished I'll document tomorrow. Yay!