Special December Around the World Dinner: Christmas

Last night, we had an Around the World dinner of Christmas dishes from different countries. We enjoyed all of the dishes.

Menu:
Ensalada de Navidad (Mexico, literally Christmas salad)
Moros y Cristianos (Cuba, black beans and rice, literally Moors and Christians)
Kartoffelsalat (Germany, potato salad)
German Christmas cookies

The cookies and ensalada de Navidad were M's favorites. M is dictating to me, since he is busy making a Christmas present for his dad (aka Steve). M helped make the cookies and learned how to grate lemon peel. M says "The cookies were awesome" and I have to agree. We made extras to share with M's grandparents who will be visiting later in the week. M is also going to leave some for Santa.

I used Wikipedia's Holiday Greetings page to make a quiz about how to say Merry Christmas in lots of languages. M and Steve worked together and were able to get 8 out of 11 right.

the recipes:
German Christmas Cookies (they probably have another name, but this is how I found them on cooks.com. I cut the recipe in half and it still made 54 cookies! This is the full recipe.)
8 eggs
4 cups sugar
4 oz. chopped citron
4 oz. blanched almonds
grated rind of 2 lemons
9 cups flour
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Beat 8 eggs. Add 4 cups sugar, beat until smooth, about 15 minutes. Add 4 ounces chopped citron, 4 ounces blanched almonds, (which have been coarsely chopped) and the grated rind of 2 lemons.

Sift together 9 cups flour, add 1/2 tsp. ground cloves, 2 tsp. nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper to flour and sift again. Add to the first mixture.

Roll out dough 3/4 inch thick. Cut into small rounds 1-inch in diameter.

Before baking, turn each cookie upside down, put a drop of water on each and bake at 350°F. for 15 minutes.

Ensalada de Navidad - Christmas Salad (I skipped the pomegranate seeds)
10 servings
Ingredients

2 small cooked beets, peeled and diced
1 large cooked carrot diced
1 orange, peeled and chopped
1 apple, peeled and diced
1/4 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and diced
1 large banana, diced
1/2 cup unsalted nuts, almonds or peanuts
seeds of 1/2 small pomegranate

1 tbsp lime or lemon juice
3 tbsp salad oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
dash of salt

Mix all the fruits. Put lime or lemon juice, salad oil, sugar and salt into a screw top jar. Shake until blended and sugar has dissolved. Pour the dressing over the fruit salad and toss well.

Pile the salad into a salad bowl and garnish with the nuts and pomegranate seeds. Let it stand in the refrigerator until chilled.

Serve chilled.

Kartoffelsalat (I used faux bacon instead of real)
Ingredients

* 10 medium potatoes well scrubbed
* 1 large white onion chopped
* 1/2 cup cider vinegar
* 1/2 cup water
* 4 tablespoons olive oil
* 4 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
* 3 tablespoons parsley chopped
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Directions

1. Cook potatoes in water until tender.
2. While hot remove skins and set potatoes aside until cool enough to handle comfortably.
3. Slice into a large bowl.
4. Simmer onion in a saucepan with vinegar and water until tender.
5. Pour over potatoes and allow to stand until cold.
6. Do not mix or disturb the potatoes as they will crumble and become mushy.
7. When potatoes are cool add oil, bacon, parsley, salt and pepper then toss gently to blend flavors.

Special December Around the World Dinner: Hanukkah

M and I decided that we would do two special Around the World Dinners in December: we made the first one last night, with a theme of Hanukkah, and the next will be Christmas Around the World (next Sunday, Dec 20).

For our Hanukkah meal, we made:
Central European Cheese Dumplings
Latkes
& Applesauce

We also bought three wooden dreidels, one for each of us, and learned to play the dreidel game.

M's interruption
the dreidel game is fun. i drew a menorah. the food was okay.

Back to Anne. M is fighting a cold and did not have much of an appetite last night. Otherwise, I think he would have enjoyed the dinner more. Certainly, Steve and I didn't have trouble eating our share! :)

While looking for instructions for the dreidel game, I found this. It's worth a couple of minutes for a good laugh!



The recipes:
Cheese Dumplings (the recipe from "Olive Trees and Honey" via Epicurious)
We made half the recipe following the standard recipe, and half using the jam option (below). Both were wonderful!

Ingredients:


* 1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) pot or soft goat cheese
* 1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese or mascarpone, softened
* 1/4 cup grated onion
* 1 teaspoon table salt or 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
* About 3/4 cup semolina flour, farina (not quick-cooking), or matza meal

1. In a food processor or blender, or with an electric mixer, combine the cheeses, onion, and salt. Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Beat in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir in enough of the semolina to produce a firm dough. (Getting the moisture level right so that the batter holds together in your hand is the tricky part.) Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. (The semolina absorbs moisture from the batter and firms it.)

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a gentle boil. Using 2 moistened soup spoons or your hands moistened with water, form the batter into 1 1/2-inch balls.

3. Drop the dumplings in the water in batches and stir gently to prevent sticking. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until they expand and rise to the surface, about 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl. Serve warm. To keep warm or reheat, place in a 200°F oven.

Austrian Jam-Filled Cheese Dumplings (Gefulte Topfenknodel)
In the dumpling batter, omit the onion and add 3 to 5 tablespoons sugar and, if desired, 1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest. Press a deep indentation into the cheese balls, fill with about 1/4 teaspoon lekvar (prune butter) or other jam (about 1/4 cup total), and press the dough around the filling to enclose. Cook as above. Serve with sweetened whipped cream, cinnamon sugar, or jam.

Potato Pancakes / Latkes (from theveggietable.com)

Yield 15 latkes, enough for about 4 servings
Time 30 minutes
Tools

* grater
* colander
* wooden spoon
* knife
* food processor, blender, or large bowl
* large frying pan
* spatula
* paper towels
* oven-safe plate

Ingredients

* 6 medium potatoes (2 pounds)
* 1 small white onion, peeled
* 2 large eggs
* ¼ c unbleached white flour OR matzo meal
* ½ t salt
* pinch baking powder
* black pepper
* several T vegetable oil

Directions Grate potatoes, place in colander, and press with wooden spoon to squeeze out excess liquid. Transfer to blender, food processor, or bowl.

Mince or finely grate onion and add to potatoes along with eggs, flour, salt, baking powder, and pepper. Process/mix until well combined. (If you're using a blender, you might find it easier to do this in two batches and then mix them together.)

Heat oven to 200. Place paper towels on plate and set next to stove.

Add enough oil to frying pan to just cover the bottom and heat until a drop of water dropped on it sizzles. Put three or four scoops of latke batter into pan to make pancakes and press each one down. Fry until brown and crisp, turn, and repeat. Place latkes on paper towels and keep warm in the oven.

Repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil to pan as needed. Serve immediately.