I think it’s funny that my parents always ask me what my plans for Christmas are, since for the last 30 years, they’ve been exactly the same. Save some crazy extenuating circumstances, I’ll always be home for Christmas. This year, in lieu of gifts, said parental units decided that what they wanted from me was to plan, and execute, Christmas dinner. Which may have been for 6 people, or maybe 14. But wait, now it’s lunch. Oh, and there’s a ham. (distinct downside to having my mom as a follower, she’s gonna hate it when I write about her. Hi Mom!) Once the indecision settled down (lunch, ham, probably 6 or 7 guests), I did some recipe research, and found some tasty sounding sides from Bon Apetit. Butternut squash & leek gratin with goat cheese & toasted hazel nuts, and roasted green beans with onions, lemon, and marcona almonds. Oh, and those crazy good Touch of Grace biscuits. Add a tossed green salad, and round the whole thing out with a decadent dessert, and I was all set.

Dessert came from a cooking class my friend Ben enrolled me in as a Christmas gift LAST year, and I’ve made it at least a half a dozen times since then. There’s a pastry chef here in San Diego named Karen Krasne, who runs a couple locations of a place called Extraordinary Desserts. I have to assume she went with that name because Insanely Decadent Worth Every Bite Beautiful to Look at Extra-Extraordinary Desserts was too long for the letterhead. She started hosting tiny cooking classes (8 people max) in the kitchen of the larger location, each session featuring a different set of recipes from the regular menu. I just happened to be lucky enough to get in on the one that she taught the best selling dessert on the menu, her Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding. Instead of your standard bread, it calls for croissants. Instead of your standard custard, it calls for creme brulee. Instead of your standard raisins, it calls for chocolate. Extraordinary, remember? I honestly don’t know what the legalities of posting the recipe here would be, so until I figure that out, you’ll just have to suffice with inviting me to gatherings which require a dessert, and I’ll make it for you!

Have I warned you about my tangent tendency yet? That was a good one.

Where were we? Christmas lunch, yes? Menu planned, groceries purchased, travels planned. I baked up the batch of biscuits from the previous post that never made it further than my living room coffee table, but as promised, I brought my self rising/Wondra blend up to the Central Coast for another go. I made it to town without too much trouble, just the expected holiday traffic through downtown LA. Pizza for dinner with the folks, then I got down to business. I figured the more I could get done the night before, the easier I could take it on Christmas day. I got the squash to roasting, and the leeks to sauteeing, which is right about when my little brother and sister-in-law dropped by. In typical fashion, Jon leaned over the counter and ewwwed and bleahed about how he doesn’t like squash, or goat cheese, and how gross he was sure it was going to be. Jen (his wife – he married a girl also named Jen. Fun.) made him promise to try at least one bite.

I threw another batch of biscuits together, and got ready for church. Family tradition dictates that we go to the 11pm service, so it was gonna be pretty late by the time we got back. Mom saw the biscuits come out of the oven, and thought we might need one more batch. So after church, while I was wrapping presents, I whipped up one more round. Who bakes and wraps after midnight on Christmas Eve? This chick. I’m a master procrastinator, and this was my view around 1:20am.

November 2007
Molly Stevens

3 1/2 pounds butternut squash (about 2 medium), peeled, seeded, cut into 3/4- to 1-inch cubes (8 cups)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Coarse kosher salt

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, divided

3 cups sliced leeks (white and pale green parts only)

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

1 5.5-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place butternut squash cubes and olive oil in large bowl; sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and ground pepper and toss to coat. Spread out squash cubes on large rimmed baking sheet. Roast until just tender and beginning to brown, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add sliced leeks and chopped sage; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until tender but not brown, about 15 minutes. Coat 11×7-inch baking dish with remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Spread half of leek mixture over bottom of prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with half of squash and half of cheese. Repeat layering with leeks, squash, and cheese. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Pour cream evenly over gratin. Sprinkle with toasted chopped hazelnuts. Bake uncovered until gratin is heated through and cream is bubbling, about 30 minutes (40 minutes if previously chilled).

Lemon-Roasted Green Beans with Marcona Almonds
Bon Appétit
November 2007
Molly Stevens

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

2 pounds green beans, trimmed

1 onion, peeled, cut into 8 wedges

6 large fresh marjoram sprigs

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse kosher salt

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon (packed) finely grated lemon peel

1/2 cup coarsely chopped Marcona almonds or roasted regular almonds

Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 450°F. Spray 2 large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray. Combine green beans, onion wedges, and marjoram in large bowl. Drizzle with oil, then sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Toss; divide between prepared sheets.

Roast vegetables 15 minutes. Reverse sheets. Continue to roast until beans are tender and beginning to brown in spots, about 10 minutes longer.

Transfer vegetables to bowl. Add lemon juice, grated lemon peel, and half of chopped almonds. Toss to coat; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining almonds.

Starting to follow a blog several years after it’s inception is a lot like starting to read the Harry Potter series at book five. You’ve got tons and tons of great reading material at your fingertips right away, without all that annoying waiting and anticipation that the people who jumped on the ball right away had to endure. Such is the case with me, with Orangette. It’s lovely, and you all should read it. It’s here. It’s this blog’s fault that I fell head over heels in love with brussells sprouts this year, and for that alone I owe her a debt of gratitude. I’ve been dying to try the Touch of Grace Biscuits that she posted a couple of years ago, in this post. It’s a recipe from Shirley Corriher’s Cookwise, but lack of the correct flour has always stopped me. I finally just caved and used the substitute suggested, and it worked like a charm. I’m not sure how with so few ingredients I managed to make my kitchen look like a large bomb had gone off in it, guess I’m just talented like that. The plan was to bake them up tonight in order to transport home tomorrow, and serve with the Christmas day meal I’ve been put in charge of this year. It’s pretty clear however, that these are way too delicate to try schlepping up the coast, and I’d likely arrive with a big bag of delicious, tangy, buttermilky crumbs. I’ll probably just pack up the flour, and pick up some buttermilk & cream once I get there to make a fresh batch on Friday. You should do that too, trust me.

A few days ago, I burgled some meyer lemons from Yolanda’s mom. They were burgled with permission, but I feel like anything that leaves the premises in my purse is officially burgled no matter how you spin it.