Birthday Feast

I'm way, way behind on blogging, but there's no time like the present to catch up. Last weekend, I had a milestone birthday, and since we finally had a home we could host a party in, we did! I know most people would want to be pampered on their birthday, and have everything done for them (ok, so did I), but I just knew that, although I had fantasies of being content with a dinner out at a crowded restaurant where I can't hear my friends, I wouldn't be able to resist cooking and having my loved ones in my home. Not to mention, nothing makes me much happier than cooking, so it was a great way to decompress after the wild and crazy last two months! On that note, here's what I was up to for the last two months: I moved, started a new job (which is great!), completed my first triathlon, and took my first case to trial. It was nuts! It was also magnificent! I'm feeling totally refreshed after emerging from that time of lunacy, and now I'm ready to settle in for the holidays.

So, my party. As I mentioned, we moved, and now we have a great space for entertaining, and I'm lucky enough to have wonderful friends who will drive an hour to see me! I am also SO lucky that my mama now lives 3 miles up the street from me and she can come help me get ready for things like this! There are lots of other perks to having my mama close, but this is one of them. She was the commander-in-chief on the cheesecake, and it was the belle of the ball. Thanks Mama!

I wanted to serve foods that were simple, seasonal, and unique. I always love combining foods that I already eat every day in ways that are unexpected. My menu for the party was designed to be mostly hands off in the time leading up to the arrival of my guests, making it easy to pick up and set out serving pieces in the last moments. Of course, the best laid plans...Let's just say, I underestimated how long it would take to let cheesecake cool, then to bake bread, etc. I may have had wet hair when my guests arrived, and I may have served dinner an hour later than expected. And you know what? It was just as delicious and enjoyable. I also had the opportunity to count my blessings when I spent the entire afternoon the next day washing dishes. I am blessed that I have more loved ones than I can count on both hands, and I served 11 of them dinner. Here's the recipes of my veritable feast, plus the timing (which I've adjusted so you won't have wet hair when your guests arrive!)

Cider Brined Roasted Whole Chickens
2 4-5 lb. Whole Chickens
3-4 quarts apple cider
1 cup salt
2 bay leaves
1 Tsp. whole pepper corns
1/2 cup sugar
2 lemons
2-4 Tbs. Olive oil
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper

In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups of apple cider to a boil, then add 1 cup salt, sugar, bay leaves, and pepper corns, and cook until salt and sugar are dissolved (this is the brining liquid). Once dissolved, remove from heat and allow to steep/cool for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, rinse chickens and place in a large stockpot (or any container big enough to hold both chickens plus enough liquid to cover). Pour remaining apple cider over chickens plus salted-cider mixture (brining liquid) to cover. Place in fridge for at least 2 hours, and up to 4 hours until ready to cook.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9 x 13 baking dish (with at least 2 inch sides), pour 2 Tbs. olive oil and spread to cover the bottom. Drain brining liquid, discarding liquid, peppercorns and bay leaves. Place chickens breast side down side-by-side in baking dish. Cut lemons in half, squeezing juice into chicken cavity, then place lemons inside the cavity. Take 1 tsp. salt, and rub inside and outside each chicken. Sprinkle pepper on outside of each chicken. Drizzle olive oil on outside of each chicken and rub to cover skin.

Roast chickens breast side down for 20 minutes, then remove from oven, rotate breast-side up, then return to oven for 30-40 minutes more, until temperature in thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees. Skin will be very dark golden. Allow chicken to cool 5 minutes, then carve and serve immediately.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Grapes
2 lbs. brussels sprouts, trimmed, and halved
2 lbs. red seedless grapes
2 tsp. dry thyme leaves
2 Tbs. olive oil
Salt and pepper

Heat oven to 350. Drizzle olive oil into the bottom of a 9 x 13 or larger baking dish or rimmed baking sheet. Place halved brussels cut side down in dish. Place grapes over top of brussels, then spinkle thyme leaves over top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste (probably 1 tsp. each). Roast 15 minutes, then remove and stir, tossing brussels and grapes, then return to oven for 30-35 minutes, until grapes almost burst and brussels are well-caramelized. Serve hot!

Roasted Apples and Onions
4 Golden delicious apples, cored and quartered
1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg

Heat oven to 350. Toss apples, onion, nutmeg, and olive oil in a 9 x 13 pan (if you're keeping track, I do in fact have more than three 9 x 13 pans). Roast for 35-40 minutes. Serve with chicken-also delicious with pork.

 

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

See the recipe from my previous blog post by clicking here. It was the coup de gras for the party, well worth the effort!

Pumpkin Cheesecake
I adapted this recipe that my aunt Barb gave me to have a gingersnap crust instead of graham cracker, and the results were swoon-worthy.
Crust
4 cups ginger snap cookies
1 cup melted butter

In a food processor, crush ginger snaps until fine crumbs form. Add melted butter, 2-3 Tbs. at a time, combining between additions, until crumbs resemble wet sand, and stick together when pressed. Firmly press mixture into the bottom of two spring form pans. Set aside.

Filling
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
3 Tbs. flour
1 1/2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 8 oz. pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
6 eggs, yolks and whites separated
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 275. Combine 1 cup sugar with flour and pumpkin pie spice. Add cream cheese, pumpkin and vanilla. Beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks until light, then add to cheese mixture. In another bowl, beat egg whites, salt and cream of tartar. Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat until stiff. Fold gently into cheese mixture. Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 1 1/2 hours-until firm and no jiggle in center. Turn off oven, open door a crack, and allow to cool inside oven, at least 20 minutes. Chill at least 2 hours, then serve with whipped cream.

So, getting all this done in one day:
Don't do what I did. I did the cheesecake first, and letting it cool in the oven was eternal when I was trying to get bread baking in there. I would trade warm oven fresh bread for my sanity any day.
Start with the bread. The bread takes about 20 minutes to mix, 20 to rise, 20 more to rise after forming, and 20 to bake. Then the cheesecake takes about 2 1/2 hours all together, then about an hour for the roasting chickens and veggies. So, if you rewind from 6 o'clock dinner, that's starting around 1:00 p.m. And I started around 2:30. Don't do that. So, start with mixing the bread, and baking it. While it's rising the first time, make the brine for the chicken and get it into the fridge to marinate. Once you get the bread into the oven, mix the cheesecake. While the bread is cooling, pop the cheesecake into the oven. Now, prep your brussels and grapes, and quarter your onions. Do the apples right before oven time because they'll brown-no good. Once cheesecake is out of the oven, cooled, and into the fridge, you can work on putting the chicken together, and getting the brussels, apples, and chickens into the oven. then, unlike me, you'll have almost an hour to relax!

I have so much more to share, so keep an eye on my blog over the next weeks.

Wishing you a blessed fall,
Kelli