I hardly even know where to begin on this one. I’m so thrilled to have been invited to contribute to this project, and so happy that I can finally share it with you. Nobody needs an introduction to the earthquake that happened last month in Haiti, but unlike most of us who sat in front of the pictures feeling helpless, one woman pulled on her combat boots and came up with a plan. That woman is Julie Van Rosendaal – better known as Dinner with Julie – and the plan she conceived was to create a benefit cookbook to raise money for the Haitian relief effort. Gathering her extensive experience in publishing, her contacts in the field and her superhuman determination, she cast her net for contributors and knuckled down to work. She found writers and artists and designers and marketers all willing to donate their skills to the cause. She found a publisher willing to produce the book at cost. She got up early for meetings and sat up late at night fiddling with layouts and text size and image resolutions. Rumor has it she even (gasp!) ate meals at her computer. And today, barely three weeks (!!!) after inception, the cookbook is no longer an idea but a reality. I don’t know how she did it but there’s surely a world record in there somewhere, don’t you think?

Okay, here’s the deal. This is a glossy, full-color 120-page cookbook with recipes and photographs from twenty-seven bloggers and food writers. There’s every kind of thing you could want inside: soups, cakes, granolas, gluten-free, vegetarian and kid-friendly, and they’ve all been vetted and tested and are tried-and-true favorites. There are two versions of the book, a softcover for $25 and a hardcover for $50. The book is printed on demand by SF-based publisher Blurb, who have a reputation for very high quality output. Every penny earned (after the cost of printing) is going to Haiti via the Canadian Red Cross and Doctors without Borders. But that’s not all – both Blurb and West Canadian Graphics are matching every dollar raised, up to $10,000. Then, until February 12th, everything raised will be matched by the Canadian government, since this is a Canada-based effort. So basically, any donation you make is being more than tripled – and you get a beautiful cookbook out of the deal. Doesn’t sound too shabby, now does it? Oh, and don’t think that if you’re not in North America you can’t get a copy – Blurb has very reasonable flat-rate shipping to most parts of the world. Many of you can even pay in your own currency!

So I’ll quit babbling now and let you take a look for yourself. Just click on the button below and choose your version. On each order page there’s a full list of the contributors and Blurb even lets you preview a good chunk of the book to see what you’ll be getting. So check it out, think it over, then buy a copy for everyone you know. I guarantee you’ll love it.

Edit: The powers that be decided to wrap up this project on Feb 12th after an amazing response – in total 1818 cookbooks were sold, raising $47,166.00!!! Thank you so much to everyone who bought one of these. You’ve not only helped raise a sizeable chunk of change for Haitian relief, you’re now are the proud owner of a limited-edition cookbook. 🙂 If you missed the opportunity to buy one of these books but would like to know more about the project (the full list of contributors, how it came to be, etc.), take a look at the blog dedicated to it.

Rustic Chicken Liver Pâté

Well hello, and happy new year. Or happy new decade, actually. Has it sunk in for you yet? It hasn’t for me, that’s for sure. I just can’t figure out where the last one escaped to. I remember my stepdad telling me when I was young that the older I got, the quicker time would seem to pass. Isn’t that the truth! Every time I think about that it kind of scares me, since I’m not that old, yet the years already seem to be flying by faster than I can keep track of them. But ready or not, here we are in the tens, or teens, or whatever they’re going to end up being called, and despite the fact that I don’t know where the past decade went, there is something undeniably exciting about facing the totally clean slate of a new one and contemplating its endless possibilities.

And particularly so, since many of those possibilities are meals! By my count, at three meals per day minus a few weekend days when breakfast happens too late to fit in lunch, there are about 10,400 meals to look forward to in the next ten years. That’s a lot of food, but quantity alone doesn’t even begin to tell the story. How many of those ten thousand meals will involve the discovery of a new favorite dish? How many will happen in a favorite new restaurant? How many will involve deciphering the menu in an unfamiliar language on unfamiliar shores? How many will be shared with people who haven’t yet come into our lives? How many will be eaten in bed, scattering crumbs into all the crevices of the sheets, and how many will happen on a blanket in the grass, the hot sun glinting off glasses filled with warm champagne?

Hopefully many, and then some.

While I may not know the specifics, I do know is that regardless of where, how and with whom these meals take place, I’m planning on enjoying them all to the fullest. Maybe not three-course affairs every time, but meals that are as memorable, meaningful and delicious as I can make them. And on the topic of delicious, I’m also planning to make sure that quite a few of them include chicken liver pâté. Though not just any chicken liver pâté, mind you, this chicken liver pâté. I made it as an appetizer for the Italian-themed meal we hosted on Christmas and honestly, words can’t describe how much we loved it. Creamy, meaty and complex, it needs no mustard, pickles, or compote-of-this-and-that to come into its own – its subtle sweetness and hint of tang balance the richness from within. I don’t think it would be a stretch to say it’s in the top two or three pâté/terrine/mousse-type things I’ve ever eaten, including those made with truffles, foie gras and other regrettably expensive luxuries. It was so good we ended up rationing the leftovers, all but marking the level on the side of the dish to discourage midnight nibblers from secretly depleting the stash. When we ran out, I made a second batch, and I’m already contemplating a third.

Now, I know this doesn’t fall under most people’s idea of ‘January food’, what with the post-holiday scale nudging alarmingly upward, but the way I see it is that it’s important to set the tone for the new decade. In other words, leave the dieting for later. As of today, we have 10,340 or so meals left to work with before this decade comes to a close, and I, for one, am already plotting how many of them might be improved with a generous slab of pâté.

Rustic Chicken Liver Pâté

I have Portland chef Tommy Habetz to thank for this recipe, though I do have one bone to pick with him about it. He calls it a ‘mousse’, which in my book it most certainly is not – that is, unless you’d also consider liverwurst a mousse. Whatever you call it, though, it’s incredibly delicious, and though it boasts a few more ingredients than your average liver pâté, none of the flavors are superfluous. In fact, I found the recipe so perfect that the only change I made was to substitute Madeira for the sweet vermouth, since that’s what I had on hand. I imagine Port would also be delicious, or you could try your favorite sweet fortified wine. The only other change I might make next time is to skip the marination step for the livers, and just add the brandy, bay leaves and extra garlic to the pan as they cook. Since everything ends up blended anyway, I can’t see this making much of a difference.
Serves: 8-10 as an hors d’oeuvre
Source: Adapted from Tommy Habetz in Food and Wine

1 pound (450g) chicken livers
1/4 cup (60ml) brandy
2 bay leaves
4 garlic cloves, 2 crushed, 2 thinly sliced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, minced
4 ounces (100g) thinly sliced pancetta, coarsely chopped
1 anchovy filet, chopped
2 teaspoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup (125ml) madeira, sweet vermouth or port
1 cup (250ml) heavy cream
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
1 teaspoon chopped sage
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter, to seal (optional)

In a medium bowl, toss the chicken livers with the brandy, bay leaves and crushed garlic; let marinate at room temperature for 2 hours or refrigerate for up to 8 hours. Drain the livers and pat dry; discard the bay leaves and garlic.

In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion, pancetta, anchovy and sliced garlic and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until the onion and garlic are softened, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir for 1 minute. Stir in the chicken livers. Add the vinegar and cook until nearly evaporated. Add the madeira, vermouth or port and cook until nearly evaporated and the livers are just pink within, about 3 minutes. Scrape the mixture into a food processor; let cool slightly.

Add the cream, thyme and sage to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until the cream is reduced to 1/2 cup (125ml), about 8 minutes. Pour into the food processor and puree. Press the mixture through a fine sieve set over a large bowl, working through as much of it as you can. Season with salt and pepper (don’t be shy with the salt; it should taste very well-seasoned – test a little on bread if you’re not sure). Scrape the sieved mixture into a terrine or other serving dish (at least 2-cup/500ml capacity). Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter and pour over the top of the pâté to seal (for decoration, top with a bay leaf before pouring on the butter). Refrigerate until chilled and firm. Serve with crackers or toasted baguette slices.

How does this happen every year? One minute I’m looking at the calendar and it’s the beginning of December, and the next minute Christmas is barely a day away. Actually here in Germany it’s Christmas already, since the main part of the celebrating is done the night of the 24th. While that’s a little hard to get used to for someone raised on the Christmas-morning adrenaline rush (and really, what’s Christmas without the too-excited-to-sleep night before Christmas?), I’ve decided that the best thing is to embrace both traditions, which is exactly what we’ll be doing. After all, that means twice the Christmas fun!

But Christmas Eve is far from the start of holiday celebrating in Germany. In fact, it’s been going on for nearly four weeks already, in the form of the Weihnachtsmarkt. Otherwise known as the Christmas market, most medium-to-large cities stage one each December, usually in the heart of the old town. While the most famous ones may see more tourists than locals, most Germans wouldn’t dream of missing out on their yearly pilgrammage to the market to eat, drink and shop and catch up with friends. In other words, it’s still a very important part of local holiday tradition.

I’m short on time as we rush out the door to my inlaws’, but before I go I wanted to share a few images of this year’s Weihnachtsmarkt in Göttingen – in particular, all the things to eat and drink!

Göttingen’s market takes place in the large square in front of the medieval city hall. Little wooden structures house everything from jewelery to clothing to handmade crafts to fresh-baked bread…

…to popcorn (though despite the old-school font I think it’s a rather new addition to the canon of German holiday treats)…

…to one of my favorite things ever, gebrannte Mandeln (literally, burnt almonds). They’re almonds that have been roasted in a mixture of sugar, butter and cinnamon. Fresh from the roaster, they’re simply heavenly. But they’re good cold too – I always buy an extra packet and stash it away until after Christmas.

Flammkuchen, a specialty of southwest Germany and Alsace, has also gained tremendous popularity here in recent years. This stand bakes them to order in a huge wood-fired oven, little rounds of bread dough smeared with sour cream and a variety of toppings.

The classic is thinly-sliced onions and bacon, but this one has chunks of soft potato and cheese. Not that it wasn’t good, but I think I’ll stick with the classic next time.

The most popular Weihnachtsmarkt snack isn’t Flammkuchen, though, it’s Bratwurst, the famous German sausage. You can get one plain or as a Currywurst – sliced up and topped with ketchup and curry powder. Yes, it’s an acquired taste. I’m still in the process of acquiring it.

Holy cow, do you see the size of those sausages? They’re the famous 1/2-meter bratwursts – that’s one and a half feet long! One of those is enough to fuel some heavy-duty Christmas shopping.

They come in normal sizes too, though, and are best enjoyed dripping with ketchup and mustard like hot dogs back home.

Speaking of hot dogs, that’s something Lily most certainly wasn’t, even in her fetching winter coat. Luckily she discovered a convenient spot out of the rain.

And what to drink with all this food? Well, here there is really only one option. I mean there are other options, but you’d be crazy to even consider them. Everyone who comes to the market has to warm up with at least one glass of Glühwein, otherwise known as hot mulled wine. It’s so popular I think it replaces the blood in Germans’ veins each December. Everyone, young and old, drinks it (although for the really young there’s a nonalcoholic version), and the stands that sell it act as community meeting places. Everyone seems to run into half the people they know while drinking a Glühwein.

And I must say, it warms your fingers better than any gloves. Actually it warms you from head to toe, not to mention makes that last-minute shopping infinitely more bearable!

Merry Christmas everyone! May your holiday tables be overflowing with good food and even better company.

p.s. Menu for Hope ends tomorrow! If you haven’t donated yet, you still have time… but hurry!!

 

Glühwein

 

Glühwein

Glühwein is Christmas in Germany. Hot, spiced and boozy, it’s just the thing to thaw out frozen extremities and put a healthy glow back in your cheeks. I find it plenty strong with wine only, but many prefer it with a little extra shot of something. And while it may be lacking somewhat in atmosphere, the homemade stuff beats the pants off what you get at the Weihnachtsmarkt.

Serves: 8-10

2 (750ml) bottles red wine (nothing too expensive!)
3/4 cup (150g) sugar, or to taste
4 cinnamon sticks
8-10 whole cloves
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 orange, thinly sliced
1 mandarin, thinly sliced

rum, brandy or kirsch (optional)

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot combine all the ingredients (except the optional booze) and place over low heat. Cover tightly and bring to a gentle simmer (don’t let it boil, or the alcohol will evaporate!), stirring once or twice. Remove from the heat and let steep for 30 minutes. Just before serving, return to low heat for a few minutes. Strain out the aromatics and serve hot. For an extra kick, add a splash of rum, brandy or kirsch to each glass.