In My Kitchen

January In My Kitchen

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had as marvelous a holiday as we did. I wish you all a joyous, healthy, and love filled 2015.

This post is part of a fascinating monthly series about what is new in kitchens around the world, visit “In My Kitchen” hosted by Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for the January 2015 update. The holidays have been good to cooks and foodies.

In my kitchen today are the clean platters and wine glasses to be put away after our annual New Year’s Day party. I need the step stool to get into the tallest kitchen cabinets and haven’t gotten around to it. Meanwhile the dishes are happy reminders of a lovely party and time spent with good friends.

I will also be reminded of the party by the leftovers, now safely stashed away in the freezer, of three kinds of chili…all beef (A Bowl of Red), Chicken with Sweet Potatoes, and Vegetarian Chili with Beer and Winter Squash. Those quart containers of chili are a safety net for busy winter days.

Chili Con Carne

Chicken Chili with Beans and Sweet Potatoes

Vegetarian Chili

Under our Christmas tree I found two new cookbooks and a book of the best food writing of 2014. There will be lots of reading by the fire, and new recipes to try once I have lost my holiday bloat. There is a lovely recipe in the a.o.c. cookbook for a pudding using cornbread, I will put my leftover cornbread to good use.

New Cookbooks – Jamie Oliver Comfort Food, A.O.C. Cookbook, Best Food Writing of 2014

I’m looking forward to posting my first entry for the Cookbook Guru, a monthly cookbook book club for bloggers and cooking enthusiasts. My copy of the 2015 January and February choice, “Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book”, was delivered today. It will be fun to decide which recipe to write about. My husband’s first comment when he saw the book was “No pictures!” it made me realize how much cookbooks have changed since her book was published in the 70’s. Would a Julia Child without pictures sell today? At the moment, photography seems almost more important than recipes.

Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book

In my kitchen is a jar of ghee, a gift from my friend Suzanne who does a lot of Indian cooking. New to me was the fact that it does not need to be refrigerated. I need to find a special recipe for using it. Do you readers have any favorites?

Ghee

Simmering on the stove is a stockpot of duck soup (isn’t there a movie with that name?). We had roast duck for Christmas dinner and I froze the carcasses until I had the energy to tackle the stock. The weather has been dipping into freezing and it is definitely soup time.

Duck Stock

Also in my kitchen are some new spices, Sumac and dried Black Lemons (Omani limes). I haven’t used either of them before but have been reading about them in Yotam Ottolenghi’s cook, “Plenty More”. I’m envious of those of you in the UK; I’d love to visit his restaurant.

Sumac

Black Lemon Omani (LIme)

And lastly in my kitchen are the last of the holiday cookies.

Raspberry bar cookies

My husband likes them for breakfast with a cup of coffee.

Thank you Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for hosting the “In My Kitchen” monthly event. This is a facinating peek into kitchens around the world. There are some amazing cooks and photographers taking part, it’s a wonderful collection.

Here’s what is happening in my kitchen…

Blue Chair Spiced Bourbon and Tomato Conserve

I picked up this delicious conserve at the Blue Chair stall at our local farmer’s market. They were giving out tastes, wonderful! I was sold immediately. I think I will use it as a glaze with a roast chicken or duck. Their cookbook looks interesting as well, I need to take a closer look before I decide to purchase. My mother used to say that a cookbook was worth the price if there was even one excellent recipe. She always had a stack beside her bed as I do.

The market stalls are also full of root vegetables, the beets spoke to me and I pickled some ruby red and gold ones. They were delicious in a goat cheese sandwich with some arugula from the garden.

: Pickled beet and goat cheese sandwich with arugula

I bottled the lemoncello, just in time for the holidays.

Limoncello

A friend sent me a funny picture to go with my Jerk chicken recipe. I think something was lost in translation!

Lost in Translation – Jerk Chicken

I saw this lovely shallow bowl and couldn’t resist, my splurge this month.

I picked up these persimmons at a farm stand, the colors are beautiful. I’ve seen two recipes recently for persimmons that I want to try. One is a carpaccio of thinly sliced persimmons with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and toasted hazelnuts, the other a caprese with mozzarella and pomegranate seeds. Can’t you picture the colors? They seem perfect for the holidays. And, of course, persimmons are lovely by themselves. When I lived in Italy as a child we would eat them with a spoon for dessert.

Persimmons

My orchids are blooming, I can see them from the kitchen sink.

And I have lots of leftovers from Thanksgiving. I’m getting down to the end, time for soup.

: Stuffing Panini

: Makings for turkey soup

: Leftovers in salad

For a class assignment I was asked to make a video. Please be kind as it’s my first time on film!

I have a few new cookbooks and am looking forward to trying new recipes. If you have cooked from any of them, do you have any favorites and suggestions?

New cookbooks

And lastly, I picked up some Christmas crackers at the store. They sell out quickly, not being as common here in the states. Because my mother was British, we always had them at part of our Christmas day dinner celebration. I keep the tradition going.