LoveFeast Table

This is how we chill it, Minnesota style–out in a snowbank in sub degree temps!!  We are having a cozy New Year’s, in this year.  We are thinking about our friends far and wide, friends that we have rung in many a more festive New Years with…but, we are content and cozy in our home awaiting our crack into this very nice sparkling wine.  Kristin & Devon are celebrating in their home with a couple of our other dear friends and at some point we will ching our glasses to the receiver of the telephone like we have for quite a few years rounding in the New Year from here to Maryland.  We are excited for our next year at the Love Feast Table and all that we will share together on this journey.  We’ve had visitors from Japan, Germany, England, Italy and many other countries, according to our statistics!  Mind blowing for three months out!  So, we thank you for visiting us and welcome you to continue to come along as we enter a new year together!

Wishing you a Happy New Year from Devon & Kristin, Todd & Chris Ann at the Love Feast Table.

Cheers!

My brother married a wonderful English lass!  She’s creative, beautiful and in touch with our slight obsession for all things food.  Every year, we exchange names amongst the siblings and their spouses.  This year my brother had my name.  But, as my (newly added) sister in law discovered, it is still the wife’s job to round out the gifts (and sign all the Christmas cards!).  So, I opened a beautiful scarf from Scotland that my brother had chosen all by himself.  He really nailed it!  It’s gorgeous!  The next two gifts were definitely wifey chosen!  Laura chose a pleated bib front shirt from Aubin and Wills.  This is the sister company to Jack Wills, the outfit that Laura designs for!  But, at the bottom of the pile of packages, there was a flatter present wrapped and patiently waiting to be opened.  As I slowly (okay, not so slowly) tore into the paper, Jamie Oliver’s premier mag issue was smiling back at me!  I have been slowly digesting each page and savoring every article and picture!  I have to admit, I’m only half way through.  I want this moment to last!  It is a beautiful magazine…grainy pics, colorful shots and witty articles.  There is one thing I know, without a doubt, Jamie Oliver would be our friend if he lived next door.  I think everything my husband Devon loves is featured in this launch issue.  There is a wonderful article about root veggies and a discussion on Scotch.  If you read on, Jamie features the Rocket man!  Have you ever had a fresh rocket salad?  Most people in the US don’t even know what rocket is!  It’s a staple in our home!  Then to wrap up this incredible delight (yes, I flipped to the back page) there is an article written by Jamie’s wife Jools.  As she discusses food cravings during pregnancy, I couldn’t help but think, she would also be a best friend on this side of the pond.  She shared about her need for anchovies and chewing on rubber.  After reading her bit, it is apparent who rounds out this culinary family!

Ahh…after opening all the wonderful “prezzies” from my British family, I tried to devise a way to steal a ride back in their suitcases.  I think I would be able to move there, love the clothes, get lost in the food and immediately have new best friends (or should I say, other side of the pond best friends…cause our Minnesooota bffs could never be replaced)!  This Christmas made me hunger for more British wonders!

My sister-n-law, Kim, made a fantastic and festive punch this Christmas that we all enjoyed with appetizers before each feast.  She reminded me of a time I had forgotten, a slice of “peace” sandwiched between, shopping, wrapping, and  holiday meals come and gone.   A couple of years ago, Kim and I had managed to escape the craziness of the holiday madness going on in my home– think six kids cooped in, tired and wired on sugar and excitement.  We had asked our husbands to take over the mayhem while we escaped for some peace of mind at the Mall of America?  You do what it takes!   So, with legs weary from pacing the mall, loaded with bags, and lowering blood sugar, we stopped at the California Cafe for a very late lunch.  California Cafe has an outside the restaurant, inside the mall, patio-type seating area where the whir and the echos of the inside amusement park make a background hum perfect for pretending you’re somewhere else.   That, and with the depleting blood sugar, when our waiter said,  “How about some holiday sangria?” it took but a wink and a nod, for two tired moms to say, “sounds great!”  Turns out scrumptious!  I think we had one, or maybe two……but, what a nice get away and memory we had.  Away and yet in the hum of it all, we slowed down, lingered and rested in our own special holiday memory.

Before we left, Kim secured the ingredients from our waiter, and later recreated with her own measurements:

HOLIDAY SANGRIA

3/4 lb. real strawberries

1/2 real pineapple

3 clementines

1 sliced Granny Smith Apple

4-5 cinnamon sticks

3/4 C. Blackberry Brandy

1/3 C. Apple Pucker

1/3 C. Cinnamon Schnapps

1 bottle Cabernet

1 bottle Merlot

Let it mingle for a day or two before you drink it (maybe for New Year’s Eve?) and it will be wonderful.

The humor will come.   That’s what I keep telling myself…. There are certain bloggers out there that are witty and clever.   Very witty and clever.  And I’m happy for them.  Really.  It’s just that–  do they have four to five kids, dishes to do, shoes to pick up, piles of laundry, cakes to bake, beds to make, school parties to attend, baths to be drawn and so on?  I think not!  I think these clever witty food bloggers are lounging around in their pjs today, sipping tea, and reforming their paragraphs at leisure, updating their twitter feeds every HALF HOUR……they’re driving me nuts!!!  Tonight they have dinner plans at upscale restaurants that they are going to review on URBAN SPOON! Just about the time I will be picking up spoons, that have been dropped, with crumbs and napkins under my table.   But, at the moment, I have little wit or cleverness, perhaps my vacuum sucked it up.  But, that’s ok, a New Year is coming around the bend, and I will repeat like Peter Pan, “oh, the cleverness of me!” five times daily–if that’s what it takes.  And, to the rest of you brilliantly wonderful bloggers-you inspire me.

There are no words to describe the pastries, pies and cookies at Piedigrotta! One taste of their fig bread and I knew I had entered another time, place and era. I have yet to find a bakery in Baltimore that has the quality and depth of an old world bakery! There are no short steps here! If you haven’t made a visit to this bakery on Bank…you are missing a true gem!

I didn’t know if I even wanted to admit this.  I’ve been agonizing over whether to share this with you or not.  But, it’s about honesty, right?  Being transparent in this blog…right?  Ok, on Thanksgiving morning, a bunch of us handed out “love feasts” all over Baltimore city.  Different people donated turkeys, potatoes and baked goods.  Then about 50 of us gathered Thanksgiving morning to distribute 200 plates of food to homeless, shut ins and anyone else we met.  It was a beautiful morning!  But, as you can see, I was asked to contribute green bean casserole! (There are many variations of this recipe.  I used the one on the Frenchs fried onion packet. I couldn’t even envision spicing it up!)   I have to admit, this goes against my very constitution.  I opened 8 #10lb cans of green beans, added 10 cans of creamed mushroom, tossed in some fried onions and baked it.  “Shouldn’t I be steaming fresh green beans?” I asked myself.  But, then I realized.  Love Feast is about more than just preparing the freshest food.  It is about more than gourmet or beauty.  It is about meeting people right where they are.  Here in Baltimore, Thanksgiving isn’t complete without green bean casserole.  So, as I topped the hot green bean casserole with more fried onions, I realized I was preparing an important part of someone’s Thanksgiving love feast!  Who would’ve thought?

Just had to add a quick blip…roasted gems…I personally think should be added to every  Thanksgiving Menu!  Cut golden beets, red beets, parsnips, turnips, carrots in large chunks.  Toss together with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roast on 375 F, covered with foil until soft.  Can take up to one hour or longer depending on the size of the cut.  Let them cool a bit, then toss and watch the gems glisten!!

We make muffin runs to the Red Canoe!  The muffins at this local joint is the unique element that sets the Red Canoe apart.  We have hunted high and low for jus the right muffin in Baltimore.  They are usually too sweet or over processed.  Not at the Red Canoe!  My personal favorite has chunks of mango holding the muffin together…moist and fresh…best slightly heated up and enjoyed with a black cup of Zeke’s coffee!

He walked in with the baby.  It looked like it was at least 30 lbs.  It was round and plump and it quickly took me back to another place and time.  Italy in 2007.  It was night and we wound our way around the twisty Florence roads (it was somewhere near the Piazzale Michelangelo).  On the right we noticed a sign.  It looked quaint and tucked away.  We pulled in and parked the car.  As we descended down the steps, an Eden of a back yard unfolded before our eyes!  There were maybe eight tables set up and set aglow by candlelight.  We were casually greeted by the hostess, who we later found out was the co owner (with her husband) of this gem of a restaurant.  She took us to our table.  It was nestled in under a tree and surrounded with blooming roses.  We settled in for what promised to be one of the highlight meals of our trip.  It was euphoric to say the least.  We have tried to recall the menu.  Much to our shame, it blurred into a memory of wonder.  The two items that we can recall was the baby and two, the complimentary glasses of homemade lemoncello…both of which deserve their own posting.  This post is about the first!  The baby!  After we had induldged in a number of pasta dishes, the owner chef, came out with the baby.  It was a 2 pound slab of raw beef.  The chef unveiled it for us with the pride of new father.  We agreed to “The Baby” and poured another glass of vino while we waited for the baby to be finished.  We enjoyed that piece of meat.  It was roasted to perfection and seasoned with simplicity.  I don’t remember if we finished the baby, but it left an impression.  That impression came flooding back as our friend Albert walked in with our 30 pound baby…the Thanksgiving turkey.  As all of you know, it becomes the center of attention and when it is pulled out of the oven, it is diplayed like a newborn for all the world, or your guests to see!  Here is our menu…but, I have to admit, while we sat around that table, with friends from all over the world (Korea, Holland, Morroco and America were represented) the highlight was wrapped up in the moment, and the memory that was created with The Baby as the center of the show!

Potler Thanksgiving 2008 Menu:

Pomagranate/quince glazed Baby

Garlic buttermilk mashed potatoes

Cognac (and I mean Cognac) gravy!

Baked scalloped sweet potatoes with fennel

Roasted Root veggies with a melange of red and golden beets, turnips and parsnips

Sundried tomato, walnut and sausage stuffing with fresh sage

Steamed broccoli

Angel biscuits

Homemade apple pie

Homemade pumpkin pie

Homemade hubbard squash pie