Birthday potluck at our house!

What better way to celebrate than having our home full of friends and good food? Laid-back, no rules or theme, just bring your favorite small plate food to share. We had such a great time, we really ought to do this more often.

Josh and I made grilled melon skewers basted in a dressing of lime juice and sriracha, a winter fruit salad of persimmons, pomegranate seeds & green apples with a dressing of lemon, honey and mint, and seared prosciutto-wrapped figs. Josh made our favorite dip, a simple one of sour cream with crushed garlic and cayenne, perfect with salted Kettle chips. We had bottles of sparkling water and a variety of juices for a make-your-own-juice-bar and had a couple of fun wines on hand.

Friends brought incredible dishes! I was truly impressed with everything and the food was so good, a few of us talked about how in heaven we’re going to be able to eat all we want and never get full or fat. Pretty sure that’s how it’s going to work out.

Some of the foods that were brought through our front door included chicken quesadillas with garnishes of sour cream, salsa, olives and avocado, shrimp cocktail spread, bruschetta on crostini, rosemary crackers with tomato, basil, mozzarella & kalamata tapanade, potstickers, and more. We had a spread of our favorite cheeses and garlic-stuffed green olives, peppadews and homemade pickled green tomatoes (yes, from our garden!) and a centerpiece of a buddha’s hand, which proved to be quite the conversation piece. Josh had picked up a box of assorted cookies from Specialty’s and one sweet friend brought us a beautiful rosemary plant (which we’ve used several times, including for the duck!) and another sweet girl even surprised me with a homemade grasshopper pie, complete with birthday candles. I couldn’t have felt more loved.

First of all, earlier in the afternoon, Josh’s sister Rachel and her husband Seth stopped by on their way to the family’s house. They brought over their new little one, Raelynn. This was our first opportunity to meet her (they live down in Olympia and we hadn’t seen her yet).

What a little love bug. She even took a poopie on me. I’m loved by her, I can tell.

For Rachel’s shower, Josh and I bought a darling little “symphony” dress; Seth works in music and conducts the community orchestra, so we figured she had to have something fancy to wear for all those nights out. A girl can’t be seen in just anything when she’s listening to the cello, you know. Momma thought Christmas would be a good time to try the dress out on her, but from Raelynn’s face, I think she would have rather hung out in sweats and a hoodie all day. Not digging the fancy dress yet, Auntie Rosemary.

Someday you will, little one. Just wait till you can see yourself in the mirror and see how smashing you look.

After Seth, Rachel and Raelynn left, we got to work in the kitchen. I had to share a picture of a little snack, Kettle chips and that wonderful sour cream dip (sour cream, crushed garlic, cayenne). Too addicting.

We prepped the duck, scoring the fatty skin nice and deep, all the way to the meat. This is to let all the fat drain out and allow the skin to crisp up. We rubbed it down with salt and pepper, and put a bunch of rosemary in the cavity as well. Josh was eager to try the little mystery bits that are all hidden in the cavity. We had fun trying to guess what they all were (remember, we’re new to this whole roasting-the-whole-guy business) and cut some of the bigger ones up for cooking, leaving the little ones whole.

We then got to work prepping the veggies; we had a beautiful collection of root vegetables from the last couple of weeks, thanks to our CSA. We cleaned and prepped carrots, potatoes, shallots, garlic, turnips and parsnips. I had spotted a recipe for duck and turnips, so I thought I’d put the turnips in with the duck (and on a whim, threw the parsnips in there too), but the other veggies we roasted separately in my new dutch oven (thank you Josh!) They just looked stunning. Slender, elegant carrots, and shallots… I’m so in love with these little guys. The kinder, gentler cousin of the onion, they have a crisp rust-colored husk, and the inside is a pale, creamy purple in spots. They are just wonderful. All of the vegetables got rubbed down with olive oil, salt and pepper, and got thrown in the pot.

We also did a spaghetti squash – cut that guy in half and roasted him face down in a shallow pool of water until tender. Then, we forked all the squash out in thin, spaghetti strands, and tossed it with butter, parmesan and oregano. O Heaven!

The duck we roasted at 325F until the temperature reached 170F. We then turned up the heat to 450F, poured most of the drippings out of the pan, threw in the turnips and parsnips, and put that bad boy back in until the temperature was 180F and his skin was nice and crispy. The veggies got soft and browned on the edges, some of them crisping in the drippings a bit. Mmmmm….

Everything turned out perfectly. I was a bit nervous taking on such a new piece of meat to me, but it was just delightful. We couldn’t have been more pleased. We really didn’t know what we were doing with the heart and liver and such, because we just threw them in at the bottom of the pan, and by the time they came out they were unrecognizable little clumps of burnt… something. Not even edible. Josh wasn’t too crushed, and now we know to do it differently next time.

The next day with leftovers, we pulled off pieces of the duck, and sauteed it in a skillet with the leftover parsnips and turnips and just made a big pan of hash. We took the leftover duck skin and broiled it on a cookie sheet until it was the texture of super crisp bacon. Oh. My. Goodness. To die for!

These little guys are pretty easy to make and an excellent way to use up any extra potatoes you have lying around. The ingredients are so simple, you can make them most any day. For ours, we shredded up four potatoes (one medium sized potato will equal about two latkes), added in about half a diced onion, two eggs and a few spoonfuls of flour, as well as salt, pepper, and our personal favorite ingredient, birds eye chilies. Those little guys added to just about anything makes it wonderful. (Before adding all the other ingredients in, I strain the shredded potato and get as much liquid out as possible. This helps them stick together more and get thick and soft on the inside and crisp on the outside.)

Fry them on medium heat in about half an inch of good oil that has a higher heat tolerance – we use sunflower oil. Once they’re browned on the outside and cooked all the way through, drain them on a cloth or several layers of paper towel and keep them in the oven on warm until all batches are done. Serve with sour cream and fall in love.

For our sour cream dip, we added some crushed garlic and cayenne pepper. It’s an addicting little dip we have in the house from time to time that is perfect for chips too.

On Christmas Eve Josh and I got to spend some time with my extended family. I so love spending Christmas Eve with them; ever since I was a little girl, it was the one time of the year I could see aunts, uncles & cousins that are scattered around the state. While there were pieces of the family that were missing, I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to see those that were here. My Aunt Jeri, for instance, I hadn’t seen in probably 8 years. I wasn’t expecting her to be here this year, and when we saw each other for the first time, we hugged and hugged for so long. I got a little teary, and I think she did too.

I think I might have gotten my love of food from my Dad’s side of the family. We know how to cook. We know how to eat. And there was plenty of yummy finger food to go around tonight.

Little Olivia made these snazzy little roll-ups with pickled asparagus and ham and cream cheese. She was very careful to separate those with cream cheese and those without with a tidy line of carrots in the middle. Way to go Olivia! I applaud your organization!

My G’ma & G’pa brought a platter of a whole smoked salmon with lots of veggies as well as my G’ma’s traditional crab-stuffed mushrooms (she buys whole King crab legs, cracks ‘em and goes from there. No cutting corners here.) For those of us that may not appreciate mushrooms, she makes a big bowl of the filling to go with crackers. It’s to die for.

My Aunt Jeri brought these spicy meatballs with a chipotle barbecue sauce – so good!! I’m usually not a big meatball fan, but I really dug these.

There were all sorts of other goodies… cheese fondue, platters of crackers and cheese and olives and pickles, lots of sweets (my Aunt Katy makes the most wonderful peanut butter fudge and blondie bars) and of course all the things Josh and I brought. It was more than enough food to put on your plate.

We spent the evening eating, talking, playing Punto (an Italian card game my Aunt Katy introduced to the family), and just enjoying each other’s company. Riley is developing quite the gift for photography, and he had fun using our camera to document the evening; a few of the photos posted here were taken by him!

So much good food….

My G’ma connecting with Phil, Rachel’s boyfriend.

My Cute Boy with my sister Rachel.

Uncle Jim, Aunt Katy, and me having a very animated conversation with Olivia.

Three generations; G’pa, Uncle Brad, his son Riley and my brother Jon.

G’pa preparing food.

My beautiful G’ma.

My Aunt Jeri. Right after I took this picture she broke out in a huge smile; but that shot turned out blurry! It’s okay, she looks quite regal in this one. :)

Brad and Katy. Too cute.

Uncle Brad.

My beautiful Joshua.

G’ma connecting with Rachel.

Riley concentrating…

An unsuspecting little brother.

Little Olivia!

My Aunt Katy; bubbly, sassy, full of life. This picture captures her perfectly.

Punto!

Aunt Jeri & Uncle Jim.

G’pa being contemplative.

This is how I often see my brother. I love that genuine, hearty laugh.

Larry Bird is very much a part of the Woods’ family culture.

Need I say more?

Panettone is one of our favorite breads to make during the winter. We fill ours with almost double the fruit the recipe calls for, this year it was plump dried cherries and cranberries. So delicious. I made a batch of cinnamon butter to go with it, and it was incredible. This bread is even better toasted.

For something sweet to share, we made a few giant batches of Muddy Buddies. Or Puppy Chow. Or Reindeer Food. Or as Josh’s brother, Brian, took to calling it, Reindeer Poop. Whatever you choose to name it, it’s ridiculously easy and addicting. I swiped my recipe from Sweet Savory Life, but found the recipe also on the back of the Rice Chex box. We bagged up lots of little portions to share with all the kids. Of course, we saved a package for ourselves!

One of our favorite appetizers lately has been seared prosciutto-wrapped figs. They’re just heavenly and so easy to make. They’re best made right before you eat them, so for our little gathering we just prepped the figs, wrapped them in this strips of prosciutto, and seared them till crispy once we got to Brad & Katy’s house. We had to do a little batch before hand to get a good shot in the daylight, so we had to eat these guys up…. darn. We made a huge platter full of them, and they were all polished off by the end of the night – the mild sweetness & earthy flavors of the figs paired with the salty crisp prosciutto is just perfect. I make them any chance I get.

So let’s reflect, shall we?

Besides, I still have a party to blog about that happened in November, so be impressed that Christmas is here.

For the last I-don’t-know-how-many-years I’ve requested my mom’s homemade Chicken Pot Pie for my birthday gift. When Josh and I got married, we had a pot-luck style reception (it was small enough and informal enough it worked beautifully) and my mom brought a huge cast iron skillet full of the goodness. So this year for Christmas when we were trying to make plans, this just seemed like the natural thing to make. Besides, it was high time I learned how to make it as well.

I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten my cooking techniques from my family; I rarely see either my mom or my dad look at a recipe. Everything is made by taste, by feel. So for any of you that are wondering where all the neatly written recipes are on this little blog, um… I don’t have them. I love cookbooks, I love food blogs, I love recipes, but I almost always use them as just a loose inspiration.

So I had to laugh as my mom was teaching me to make Chicken Pot Pie and I’d ask her how much of something to add, and she’d say something to the effect of, “Well… I don’t know, just taste it.”

It’s a pretty basic peasant kind of food. Chicken cooked in onions, garlic, a bit of oil, S&P, and some herbs; oregano, sage, thyme, whatever tastes good to you. Add a bit of flour to coat the chicken and cook a bit more… steam your veggies first so they’ve got a head start because they won’t cook all the way as the pie bakes. This evening we used potatoes, broccoli, carrots & green beans. Add the veggies into the pot with the chicken, some broth, and a bit of a roux if you need to thicken it up. Let the filling simmer and bubble for a bit while you work on the pie crust.

Now here’s where we deviated… My whole life my mom’s made the classic pie crust of white flour, salt, shortening and water. In the last couple of years I’ve started my own traditional pie crust of whole wheat flour, salt, butter and water. I don’t love the idea of cooking with shortening and try to sub out whole wheat flour whenever I can. So after much teasing and rivalry, we decided to make two different pies (we had enough filling for five pies; I’m not joking. I have a jar of filling in my freezer for next time). She spent a good 20 minutes bragging about how she makes the best pie crusts, and then the texture didn’t turn out and spent another 20 minutes griping about how the recipe has failed her and it won’t stick together well. Well, of course I took full advantage of that and made my crust as beautiful as I could. I brushed it with an egg white and sprinkled salt on top. Lovely.

In the end they both turned out terrific. Bake the pies long enough to get the crust crisp, and you’re all set. Perfect comfort food.

I had to put this picture in; my baby sister, Emily, is in a full-blown Tim Burton/Johnny Depp phase. She’s sitting here in her top hat watching Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory while we’re cooking. Cute girl.

We’ve got four different food-oriented events this Christmas! While it’s been busy and bustling and schedule-crammed, it’s been so fun menu planning and preparing for these little feasts. Even thought I might not be organized enough right now to put together a traditional post, I wanted to share anyway.

Our first little Christmas gathering was with my immediate family, my mom, dad & youngest sister Emily. We made chicken pot pie, and took lots of pictures. I hope to post them as soon as I get organized and have some spare time.

A couple of days later, we had Josh’s family over to our house – his mom & dad, grandparents, little sister Amy & brother Brian & Brian’s fiancee Lauren. On the menu that night were roasted game hens, au gratin potatoes, honey roasted brussel sprouts and for dessert, vanilla bean roasted pears. Everything turned out perfect. And I didn’t take any pictures of anything! I know! What’s my problem? My problem is the dinner was on a weeknight and I was too busy cooking to reach for my camera every thirty seconds. But trust me, it was beautiful and delicious. Josh even took the day off to get the house all ready and get a head start of preparing the food. He did a fabulous job; the game hens turned out beautifully, and he did it all!

Tonight, Christmas Eve, we’ll head over to my Aunt Katy & Uncle Brad’s house to visit with my extended family as well as my brother Jon and my other sister, Rachel & her boyfriend Phil. Grandparents, cousins, relatives we really only get to see once a year, I so look forward to this gathering. We’re just having a spread of appetizers and sweets, and we’re bringing some of our favorites; seared prosciutto-wrapped figs and homemade panettone. I hope I remember to take a few shots of tonight!

Tomorrow, glorious Christmas Day, we get to spend relaxing all by ourselves. After the busyness of the last two weeks, we’re so excited to be at home and just nest and love on each other. I’ve always been the “kid” who’s brought something to both Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner at the grown-up’s house, and I’m so biting at the bit to prepare our own meal for the holiday in our own home. I told Josh I just need to braise something. Give me a big hunk of meat and let me figure out what to do with it. Honestly, my comfort zone is in curries, coconut-milk soups and throwing together sauteed veggies and pasta. I don’t think I’ve braised or roasted a hunk of meat in my life, unless you count the rare whole chicken. This year I wanted a challenge.

We went to Central Market (one of my favorite places for Josh to date me), and perused the meat section. We landed on duck. A whole, glorious duck. We considered a goose, but as it was three times the price, my desire to go Charles Dickens settled on the duck. My friend Jamie reminded me of the Christmas Story and the Chinese restaurant; my duck comes without the head!

So after lots of research on how to properly prepare this guy, we’ll also roast some root vegetables (carrots, turnips & rutabaga) as well as spaghetti squash. A very wintry meal. Again, I’m planning to take some photos and post them later on.

Merry Christmas!

What an amazing day. First off, I am so thankful for all of the hard work and generosity from so many great businesses in Seattle that made it possible to pull this event off. Trophy Cupcakes donated sweets, our morning coffee was donated by Victrola Coffee, the location and all of the amazing food was prepared by Spring Hill Restaurant and of course Viv pulled it all together. It was an incredible event.

I learned so much today. Being able to gather in one room with so many other wonderful people who are passionate about food and learn from a photographer of this caliber was a real treat. I loved meeting such a wide variety of people today; bloggers and professional photographers, writers and personal chefs, we all came from so many different backgrounds, professions and levels of expertise. But the one thing we have in common is we love what we do and we want to get better at it.

I sure learned enough today to springboard me into the next phase of growth in food photography and I hope this little blog shows it in the coming months.

Penny’s teaching style was real and approachable, she was comfortable with herself and with all of us and I am so grateful she didn’t laugh if you had a blank expression when she talked about f-stops. As she talked about the art of creating good photos, I absorbed inspiration to play with texture, props, color, to vary perspectives, explore the image, capture the story and the mood of the food. I loved the phrase she used of “art begets art” and encouraged us to look at food photography daily, be inspired by other people’s work.

She started to get into the meat of technical details (which I am brand new to!) and touched on shutter speeds, ISO and f-stops. I’m so thankful I wasn’t the only one who was new to this language, and a handful of gracious women explained some terminology to me. Sometimes you just have to be blunt enough to confess you have to start from the beginning on these things. Penny was terrific about pulling some of us aside and starting with the basics on these things and when I had more questions, she answered each of them thoroughly, always quizzing me at the end to make sure I really got it and wasn’t just faking it. ;)

I learned today that I have a lot to learn. I learned the basic beginnings of how to manually manipulate settings on my camera I didn’t know existed. I learned to think outside the box when it comes to food and photography. I learned to be confident when I am a little bit lost. I learned to be bold and share my photos even when I knew they weren’t as good as my peer’s and to absorb the encouraging tips on how to improve each photo.

Thank you Penny. I learned a lot. And I have the tools to keep digging in, to keep exploring and to keep learning.

Oh yes… and we did get to taste all the food we took pictures of. I also learned I need to go to Spring Hill for a meal very soon.

There’s nothing quite like a foodie potluck. When the invitation says “casual potluck”, even then you know you’re in for some good food. There was so much more than what we took pictures of, but here’s just a small sampling of what the evening held (food-wise)…

(If I’ve misdescribed your food pictured here, forgive me, I’m just going off of memory and my best guess. Feel free to correct if necessary!)

Curried chickpeas and cauliflower with a lemon-pesto spread on baguette…
Rich, chewy chocolate cookies… 
Vegetarian Indian finger-food (so yummy, I’m sorry I can’t remember the name!)… 
Muscles on ice…
The most delightful homemade “nutter-butters”… (I snagged the next-to-the-last one, it just about made my night!)…
Piled-high apple pie a la Kate McDermott (that’s my baklava in the background!) …
Homemade fudge, caramels, and marshmallows. My first homemade marshmallow. It changed my life.
A gluten-free ricotta cake that I cannot wait to make at home! This one was Josh’s favorite.
And one gentleman from Canlis brought a dish that created some buzz – a black truffle that he shaved delicate slices from into outstretched hands. With a graceful flavor and a scent of raw musk, earth and forest, I felt like I was tasting the offspring of the land. Such a treat.

I am so excited for this workshop. Viv of Seattle Bon Vivant is putting together this incredible event. This Friday, for 3 hours, I get to be taught by this woman how to make my food photography better. It’s a miracle of God I got tickets – heard a rumor on Twitter, checked it out that night, and 24 out of 25 tickets were sold! Snag!

Some of the other bloggers that will be there include Michael Natkin, Dana Cree, Tara Weaver, and Shauna James plus many more. It’s been fun perusing the food blogs on the event list and I’m excited to meet so many talented people who are passionate about good food.

I came across this terrific interview with Penny De Los Santos and reading it has made me even more excited for all I hope to learn in just a couple of days!

There’s also a little soiree in Seattle the night before – potluck. If you were feeding this famous woman along with 20+ other foodies, what would you make?

Yeah, I know. I have no idea either. But it’d better be good.