Mary Jo and Dave decorated their Christmas tree. Notice the contrast to our mini tree which fits our mini apartment.
Ben made some amazing ribs in La Crosse. I sure miss eating his grilling.
Instead, Ben’s dinner is this pizza. I made it from scratch and tossed the pizza crust like I see them do on TV 
We will bake it on a pizza stone.
Ben and I are in La Crosse, WI for Thanksgiving. We spent the day at Grandma Arlene’s house with the Flottmeyers and Ben’s mom and dad. We ate turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, brocolli casserole, cranberry sauce (from a can), applesauce jello, rice pudding, pumpkin and apple pies. We are going to cut down a Christmas tree at the Hilliker Tree Farm in Tomah, WI tomorrow!
I knitted myself a purple scarf. Do you like?
Also, see my new laptop! I like the black keyboard.
I do not have a child so I will post lots of pictures of my cat Waverly. She was looking good today.
Instead of buying stuff for Dave, Mary Jo, Andy and Jodi this year, I propose that we cook the Stokes family a nice meal. Here are my favorite dishes that I would like to make during Christmas in La Crosse. Ben will choose wine pairings that go with this food and select a dessert that we can prepare together.
Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder With Melted Apples
Yield: 6 servings
Marinate: Overnight
Active preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 2 1/2 to 3 hours
Ingredients:
4-5 pounds boneless pork shoulder
1 tablespoon fennel seed, toasted and finely ground
2 teaspoons black peppercorns, cracked
2 tablespoons packed, fresh thyme leaves, lightly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, lightly chopped
4 medium garlic cloves, passed through a press
2 tablespoons salt, plus more for seasoning
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 medium all-purpose apples
1 medium yellow onion
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dry white wine
Instructions: Trim sinew and all but 1/4-inch of fat from pork shoulder. Put the pork on a sheet pan. — In a small bowl mix together the ground fennel seed, cracked peppercorns, thyme and rosemary leaves, pressed garlic, 2 tablespoons salt and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Stir until the mixture is uniform. — Rub the mixture evenly over the pork shoulder inside and out. Wrap the pork shoulder tightly in plastic wrap to hold the marinade against the skin and marinate overnight (or up to two days). — Peel, halve and core the apples.
Cut each half into 4 equal wedges. Place the wedges in a medium bowl. — Peel and trim the onion. Cut in half and cut each half into 12 thin wedges. — Mix with the apples. — Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. — Toss the apples and onions with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the bottom of a roasting pan or Dutch oven with a cover and put the marinated pork shoulder on top. (You may also use a regular roasting pan with aluminum foil to cover.) — Roast uncovered for 30 minutes. — Turn the oven heat down to 325 degrees and add the wine. Cover the roasting pan and slow roast for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until the pork shoulder is very tender and pulls apart easily when probed with a fork. — Transfer the pork shoulder to a serving plate. If the pan juices are very thick, add enough water to loosen, then mash and strain. If more liquid is desired, add a little water. The apples will be so soft that they will break down. — Check the seasoning and correct to taste. Strain the sauce through a coarse strainer to refine the texture if desired.
Braised Swiss Chard
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients:
2 pounds of swiss chard
6 medium garlic cloves, peeled
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions: Trim the stem ends of the Swiss chard while still bunched. Cut the leaves and stems into 1/2-wide strips. — Wash the chard in a large bowl of cold water; lift out the chard and drain the water. Repeat. Place the chard in a colander to drain well. — Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the garlic. Lightly brown the garlic and then add the Swiss chard. The water from the chard may make the oil spatter so use caution. — Stir the chard until wilted, and season with a little salt. Lower the heat to the lowest setting and cover. Braise for 15 to 20 minutes until the chard is meltingly tender. Drain the excess juice and drizzle the chard with the remaining olive oil.
Smashed Fingerling Potatoes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds thin-skinned fingerling potatoes
Salt
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions: Scrub the potatoes well with a stiff brush and remove any discolored spots. — Bring a medium pot of water to a boil; add enough salt to make the water taste like the ocean. Add potatoes. Cook until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove potatoes from the heat and drain. Reserve 4 potatoes for the torta. — Return the remaining potatoes to the pot and smash them with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the butter and olive oil and season with sea salt. Mix to incorporate the fat but leave the potatoes chunky. Serve immediately.
Chocolate and Almond Biscotti
* 1 1/2 cups blanched whole almonds
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 7/8 cup white sugar
* 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 tablespoons whiskey
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Toast the almonds in a shallow pan for 12 to 15 minutes, shaking the pan a few times, until almonds are lightly colored. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 or 3 cookie sheets with aluminum foil, shiny side up.
3. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Place 1/2 cup of these dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor. Add about a half cup of the toasted almonds and process for about 30 seconds.
4. Return the mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir in the remaining almonds and chocolate chips. In a large measuring cup, beat the eggs, vanilla and whiskey with a fork to blend. Stir into the dry ingredients until moistened. Wet your hands and divide the dough into four portions. Keeping hands wet, form each quarter into strips about 9 inches long, 2 inches wide and 1/2 inch high. Round the ends. Place two strips crosswise on each of the cookie sheets.
5. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven. If baking more that one sheet at a time, reverse the sheets top to bottom halfway through cooking time.
6. Using a metal spatula remove the slabs from cookie sheets and let cool for 20 minutes on cutting board. Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees F.
7. With a serrated knife, carefully cut at an angle into slices about 1/2 inch wide. Place the slices, cut side down, onto cookie sheets.
8. Bake 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the biscotti is crispy and lightly toasted.
9. Turn oven off and open the oven door, allowing the biscotti to cool in the oven. When cool, store in an airtight container.
Ben’s band has on a concert on Friday night. See HRT website for more info.
We went to the Smart house located in front of the Museum of Science and Industry. I don’t know if it’s worth going all the way down to Hyde Park because it was really crowded this afternoon and the tour guide forced us to go through it really fast and we couldn’t really sit on anything or touch anything. I would probably recommend buying a copy of Dwell magazine (at the Main street newspaper shop in Evanston) and peruse it for fun. We enjoyed some of the exhibits at the museum–especially the baby chickens hatching.
This video is probably the best part of the house: http://www.msichicago.org/online-science/videos/video-detail/activities/smart-home-home-in-90-seconds-1/
This is what I’m going to try to make for dinner tonight. I have one pizza crust I bought last Sunday and it didn’t taste very good, but I’m going to give it one more shot. I hope my oven doesn’t smoke as much as it did last time I tried to bake a pizza in it.
Onion confit with andouille sausage and sundried tomatoes pizza:
2 tablespoons of onion confit:
* 1/2 yellow onion
* 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
* Pinch brown sugar
* 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
* 1 tsp salt
* 1/2 tbsp red wine
8 slices of sundried dried tomatoes
2 links of Andouille sausage–cut into 1/4 inch slices
1-ounce mozzarella, grated
1-ounce Fontina cheese, grated
10 fresh basil leaves
Directions
To make onion confit: slice the onions in 1/4-inch thick. In a heavy bottom pot, slowly simmer the onions in the olive oil over medium-high heat for a few minutes until softening. Add all the remaining onion confit ingredients. Bring to steamy simmer. Reduce heat and cover with a parchment paper lid that has a 2-inch hole in the center to allow the steam to escape but protect it so that it can cook low and slow. Press the parchment paper down to touch and cover the onion mixture. Place the covered pan into a 250 degree F oven and bake for 1 hours or until the onions have softened and the liquids have reduced to a sticky gravy that clings to the onions.
To make pizza: Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.
Oil the edges of the dough and top it with Fontina, 1/2 of the onion confit, the sausage slices, tomatoes and top with mozzarella. Bake until golden brown. Top with basil and serve hot.
Here is a picture of the final product. It was delicious. I baked it at 450 degrees for 13 minutes. It tasted much better than the last pizza because I baked it for longer. Crispier crust and the andouille sausage was yummy. I liked the fontina cheese I got at the new San Marino store on the corner of Jefferson and Lake.
