Elsa Macbebekin's Profile

I eat most dinners alone since The Fella works nights. On good nights, I indulge myself, relishing something that only I like, whether it's a great big salad or a plate of chicken livers (or a big salad and a plate of chicken livers, swoon!) or watching David Lynch movies in the dark while I scarf down popcorn for dinner.

On not-so-great nights, it's just me, the laptop, and a plate of whatever cobbled-together stuff I'm pretending is a good dinner. But even then, it can be a solitary pleasure: I love ploughman's lunch plates and pick-up suppers; a chunk of cheese, some bread, some fruit, and some olives makes me very happy, and I'm doubly happy that no one else is there, politely pretending to find it satisfying.

I bustled around Saturday to make homemade bread, mostly for the pleasure of looking forward to my dinner tonight: toasted anadama and local honey.

Oooh, Boston cream pie! I haven't made one since I was a child... but now I know what I'm making for Valentine's Day.

Nothing! After a busy week with lots of cooking, I'm taking it easy this weekend. Dinner last night was tomato-basil veggie burgers (store-bought) with cheese and red pepper spread (also store-bought) and carrot sticks.

I did make blueberry liqueur to take to my sister's birthday open house today. First, I infused vodka for several days with frozen blueberries, then strained them out. With strawberries, this works beautifully with some plain simple syrup added, but the blueberry flavor was a little flat, so I made blueberry syrup: sugar and a splash of water brought to a boil, then added plenty of frozen blueberries and simmered until everything was deep purple, richly scented, and thickened a bit.

The strained syrup added to the liqueur makes a deeply colored, fantastically fragrant liqueur. I'm also bringing a bottle of grapefruit-juice soda as a mixer.

Happy birthday, NYKATE!

As always, I'm using the weekend to prep food ahead. We're having The Fella's all-day birthday party extravaganza on Thursday, which means prepping 12 hours' worth of finger food that doesn't require much work on the day of the party.

This weekend, I'm going to prep and freeze:
- a giant spinach, caramelized onion, and parmesan galette; a giant broccoli and cheddar galette. (These can be frozen unbaked, then popped into a hot oven like a frozen pizza. So easy and glamorous!)
- hummus (which we'll serve with plenty of crudites and pita). I'll cook the beans today using the Paupered Chef's 90-minute no-soak method.
- black bean empanadas. Spicy black beans with onions, garlic, and sherry in a cornmeal-flour dough. I'm winging it, but it seems like they'll also bake up nicely straight from the freezer. I'm making a big batch today and we'll test a few empanadas for dinner (with leftover sour cream and salsa and a side of broccoli or greens; for the party I'll serve them with salsa and guacamole.

A few weeks ago, I made some mushroom powder (just dried mushrooms whizzed in a blender until fine and powdery, then sifted to keep out any oversized chunks) and WOW. Just a spoonful makes a big difference in sauces and soups.

We'll spend Christmas Eve, which is also my MIL's birthday celebration with The Fella's family (I'm bringing pumpkin gingerbread), then Christmas dinner with the local members of my family (I'm bringing butternut squash galette with roasted garlic & sage).

Then on Boxing Day, we're staying home and having our Christmas for the two of us: making fondue, swapping gifts, and snuggling on the sofa! Happy holidays, everyone!

My parents often served ham for Christmas dinner, or sometimes for Christmas Eve dinner (in which case I usually make ham and eggs for breakfast).

But my (vegetarian) husband and I started a new tradition: Christmas fondue! I make a pot of creamy, cheesy, winey fondue and serve it with a huge platter of accompaniments: roasted squash and potatoes and sweet potatoes and carrots, blanched broccoli and green beans and asparagus, grape tomatoes, chunks of apple and pear, grapes, and plenty of bread. We dim the lights in the living room, sit on cushions around the coffee table, nibble our fondue, open presents, and steal kisses from each other. It's a great tradition!

I really don't splurge on champagne, though I absolutely see the appeal! But I drink a lot of sparkling wine.

No, I mean, a lot of sparkling wine. It's my most frequent (alcoholic) drink these days, the wine I most often bring to a casual get-together, and the bottle I'm most likely to pop open just for myself on any given evening. I love having several bottles of inexpensive bubbly in the house so I don't hesitate to break it out for any reason --- or no reason.

I love regifting! I love getting regifted items! But one caveat: like all gift-giving, the best regifting is done with thoughtfulness and attention to the recipient. I don't just pass on things willy-nilly; I give some thought to the person and give them something that they may be able to appreciate in a way I couldn't.

My sister is a champ at regifting and, even better, at giving gifts from her trove of cellared household goods. Recently she gave me one of my very favorite gifts: a much-needed teapot and a stack of freshly pressed vintage linen napkins, both rescued from her pile of old stuff.