Christina's Table

It is that time of year.  Gluttonly abound.  I need to detox – really I didn’t do one in the fall and I am feeling all icky, but who can seriously consider my kind of extreme diet for 4 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas?  Not me.  Especially when I spent Saturday assisting at CulinAerie in a chocolate class!!  Flourless chocolate cake, chocolate souffle, chocolate tart, chocolate truffles!!  I am grateful I am not a sweet lover or chocolate addict but even I succumbed to the rich brown seduction.  And after class it was the annual leftover feast (the neighborhood of family friend’s throw a leftover party ever year the Saturday after Thanksgiving – and Dave fries everything in site- fried turkey, fried potatoes, scotch eggs (boiled eggs surrounded in sasauge and breaded and then fried), fried snickers, we even tried brussel sprouts this year) in Silver Spring.  Needless to say everything there would appear on the NO list for my detox.  So what is a girl to do during the Holidays?  Eat, Drink and be Merry I think- at least that is what this girl is doing this year.  I will detox with the rest of the world after the New Year.  Cheers and Happy Holidays.

Sorry I have been absent for awhile, I have just been really busy, but not too busy to eat well.  Over the last few weeks two meals I have had really stand out.  Butcherboy veal chops and rabbit stew.  Butcherboy is a market near my friend Shelia’s house in Mass.  They  have the most amazing meat, honest, so whenever I go visit I bring back a cooler full of meat.  The veal chops were stellar – I won’t even tell you how I made them because they were sinful and fattening 🙂 

As for the rabbit stew- I have to confess I didn’t make it.  My Chef at L’Academie did.  Nor did I make the Papperadelle that I served with it – mum did.  I did however do the braised endives and chose the wine- a Stepping Stone Cabernet Franc.  It was an amazing meal.

Two other exciting kitchen moments occurred when I found fois gras on sale at Wegman’s and ‘canned’ it. I don’t know if it worked or not as I haven’t opened it yet, but I will be sure to keep you posted.  The other exciting event was the making of venison and boar sausage.  Some were smoked and then roasted and the others were poached and finished off on the grill.  They were YUMMY!!