Happy Friday, folks! By now, you’ve probably gorged on Mom’s homemade cookies, seafood on Christmas Eve (or is that just us Italians), delicious, decadent Christmas Day fare, day-after leftovers, and several too many glasses of wine (or is that just us Italians?) You’re headed into a weekend, followed by an early week holiday that is guaranteed to bring delicious appetizers, more drinks, and champagne…

But now, in the calm between the second storm, I think we could all use a clean-out. Not just a “What is this wrapped in this tinfoil behind the relish?” clean out (which we should all do, too, because it might be some brie) but also a “I can’t believe I ever went a day without eating kale” clean out, too.

So here’s a roundup of some veggie-heavy, cream-light dishes to keep you going and bring some balance to your diet before the next major holiday.

First, if your like us Italians, you might have some extra seafood lying around. Try out this Crab, Apple, & Pomegranate Salad from Joy the Baker to get in some veggies, fruit, protein, and get rid of some of that room in your fridge! If you have extra pomegranate, try our Steak Salad for another main course that’s filling but veggie-rich.

If you’re of a comfort food person, try this Roasted Apple, Pear, & Parsnip Soup from Two Peas + Their Pod. This will help you get rid of some of those almost-too-ripe apples and pears, and the extra parsnips from that CSA you joined when berries were in season but now only brings you hearty greens and onions.

Have leftover pasta? In need of something simple? Try this Broccoli Pesto Pasta, from Shiksa in the Kitchen. Or try our Spaghetti Squash with Pesto if you want to skip the pasta altogether – we are cleaning it out, after all.

What are your go-to recipes when you just need some vegetables? 

Hello folks! As the year quickly approaches its end, it is a time of reflection, a time of resolutions, and most importantly a time to have a great party. If you’re hosting, you can choose the kind of party you want to throw. I have always preferred something classy, and an easy way to bring some class to your party is to have a standard bar kit at your disposal.

Image: Amazon.com

There are many positives to having a professional bar kit. First, a bar kit in your house creates an immediate conversation piece, it’s a great distraction for party guests with whom you don’t converse with very often.

Secondly, it just looks really cool. No more using the end of a wooden spoon to mix drinks in a lemonade pitcher. You know who you are!

Finally and most importantly, it helps control the amount of alcohol you are putting into mixed drinks. This can save time, money, and depending on how bad a bartender you are, lives. People often go a little crazy this time of year and it’s good to have somebody mixing the drinks with proper ingredients and quantities. Remember it’s a night for celebration, but also responsibility. So if you are looking for something to buy with that gift card grandma got you, think about investing in a bar kit. You can usually find them for a good price and here is what should be included:

Standard Bar Kit:

Image: Katom Restaurant Supply Inc.

1 – 28 ounce shaker

This is often referred to as the large shaker. When you go to bars, this is the size that most drinks are mixed in. Pretty much every major mixed drink can be created in this shaker. Just be sure to clean it out between drink creation – you don’t want to mix liquors that shouldn’t go together.

Image: Instawares.com

1 – 16 ounce shaker

This is a smaller version of the main shaker. This is actually used most often as the top for the larger shaker. You can try using a pint glass, but I will tell you right now that you are just going to make a mess. Use this little guy as your top while mixing and you shouldn’t have a problem. It fits in very snuggly and releases easily. So go on and shake it up!

Image: Beveragefactory.com

1 – bar spoon

This is not a typical spoon. It is elongated, usually with a spiral handle. Bar spoons typically come with a plastic or wooden end on the back to help with stirring drinks both in the shakers and in your serving glasses. Most importantly, it keeps your fingers and your silverware out of the drinks!

Image: Bed Bath and Beyond

1 – jigger

This is your measuring tool. It is two sided and will help you make your drinks faster. Many recipes have their liquids measured by ounces and the jigger comes usually with a 1.5 ounce side and a .5 ounce side. It will keep your portions correct, so the drink tastes good and doesn’t put you into a stupor.

Image: bottleopener.com

1 – corkscrew

Not everyone at your party may be into mixed drinks. Some may want a glass of wine. When the clock strikes midnight, the champagne bottles pop, but in between you need something to open up those corked wines. Don’t get yourself into the pickle where you have to use a good male shoe to open up a bottle of wine. And no, I will not teach you that trick; you can look that up on your own.

Image: webstaurantstore.com

1 – prong strainer

Obviously, after you are done mixing drinks you need to pour the contents of your shaker into a glass. Depending on what you are mixing this can become a messy endeavor  Many drinks are made with a fruit juice base which has pulp; other drinks have spices or full pieces of fruit. Make your life easy. Get the strainer. This way you don’t have to worry about mixing components falling into your glass.

Image: alibaba.com

1 – speed opener

Have you ever noticed when you want a beer you can never find a darn opener? Have a good one by your bar, for the folks that don’t enjoy mix drinks or wine. I am not going to explain how this works, because well, I shouldn’t have to. If you are old enough to drink you know what to do.

Image: barninja.com

1 – muddler

This is also sometimes called the crusher. This wooden or stone piece is used to basically crush spice leaves, sugar, or fruit over ice. It helps to release juices and flavors so that when your drink is mixed you get all that you can out of it. Don’t use your fingers, that is just gross.

Folks have a great New Years Eve and I will see you in 2013!

Good Spirits!

Hello from Chicago, kids! We are enjoying second-day leftovers of fish over here, and spending some time watching movies and relaxing. We hope you’re doing the same, but if you find yourselves with some extra Internet-time, we wanted to keep you entertained all the same! Without further ado, here are a few posts from the past that we’ve written in Christmas’s past:

And from 2009, I want to remake Corelyn’s delicious burgundy mushrooms. She has made them several times since then, and I have loved them every time.

In 2010 about our traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes. Please forgive the photography, as we haven’t always had so much skill…

A post from 2011 reminds me of a delicious brewed stew that I made with Liz that I should make again – especially because I am in cold Chicago and need something to warm my heart.

Wherever you are for the holidays, I hope you have good food and company to keep you safe and warm!

What are some of your favorite family traditions? Do they revolve around food?

Merry Christmas, everyone! For Christmas Eve dinner in my family, we celebrate with a Feast of Seven Fishes, as the Italians of Southern Italy. This year, we had squid, crab, lobster, scallops, shrimp, mussels, and clams. We steam the clams and mussels, and use the crab, lobster, and squid to make a sauce. Then, we deep fried the scallops and the shrimp (as well as having shrimp cocktail and lemon and garlic shrimp.) We served it all up with lemon broccoli and a big salad – and rolls, too!

These are the shrimp, ready to be battered and deep fried!

Here are the shrimp and the scallops, ready to go into the deep fryer!

Here are the delicious scallops!

We use peanut oil to make these suckers – it’s more expense, but worth the splurge for Christmas Eve!

Nikki, attempting to steal a shrimp…

And, the final product!

Here are the mussels and clams – steamed. Tip on steaming clams/mussels/shellfish – any that are open when you start, toss – these are dead. Any that don’t open whilst steaming, or those with broken shells, toss – these could be bad too!

Here is the seafood sauce with our pasta!

And here is the squid – my favorite part!

Do you have a Christmas or Christmas Eve meal that’s traditional to your family? Tell us what makes this holiday special to you!

A couple of weeks ago, Ky and I decided to try out a chicken and dumplings recipe.

We took to the internet to come up with at least a method, and we settled on this:

Check it out!

We also decided that the more vegetables the better, so we added red pepper, corn, and kale in additional to the vegetables that the recipe actually called for.

You start by browning a couple of chicken breasts (or thighs, or whatever you happen to have hanging around), and then finishing them off by poaching them in boiling water.

Generally I hate poaching anything, but it was a decidedly good move in this scenario.

Next up, we loaded the chopped vegetables (minus the corn, peas, and kale) into an oiled pot, and sauteed them up.

Once that’s done, add some flour to the vegetables, stir to coat, and after a couple minutes, begin ladling chicken broth and then the chopped chicken (ah, yes, you should have chopped that chicken) to the pot full of vegetables.

Leave that alone for awhile, it’s time to make the dumplings.

As far as the dumplings, we followed the recipe exactly, using all-purpose flour, but if we did it again, I’d make the dumplings smaller and try the cake flour for a fluffier dumpling.

In other words, practice makes perfect, chickens. Don’t be blue if it’s not perfect the first time.

These were good and herby, but a little undercooked, and a little bigger than we bargained for- but still pretty delicious.

Quick note: We actually added the torn up kale, corn, and peas right before nestling the dumplings in the pot and covering them up for a quick nap. This is the way to do it, since you don’t want to overcook any of the vegetables that don’t take long to finish.

We liked our version of the chicken and dumplings because we used less meat and more vegetables. This lightened it up a bit, but still left it squarely in the “comfort food” category. A few more tries at the dumplings, and we think we’ve got something to put in the regular rotation.

Try it yourself this winter, and you’re guaranteed to warm up with a lovely, classic meal that won’t disappoint.

Merry Christmas eve, chickadees, and enjoy!