All you could hear from the kitchen was laughter...I mean serious laughter! My mom and I were on our third bottle of champagne, the "hot and cold" game of finding a childhood memory present was over and it was time to start experimenting! That's right, experimenting. My mom and I decided to try some new stuff...a turnip and sweet potato gratin and, of course, one of my grandmother's recipes, Spaghetti Squash Fritters. Now, the turnip recipe had excited both us as we were pouring over magazines and cook books in preparation for this exciting family Christmas; however, today, as we looked at the odd root vegetables in front of us and noticed the 60 minute cook time (we promised brunch at noon and now it was looking more like 3ish! ha ha), we were a bit trepidatious to say the least. It only got more interesting when my mom said that she couldn't cut it and would have to ask my dad for help. I squealed at the thought!!! "Mom, we can't let them come in here because they will freak out about what we are making!!" She did agree so she told my father to come help, but he couldn't ask any questions or make any comments! ha ha My father is an amazing husband and so he obliged, but not without a few odd looks and suspicious "hmmmm's." Meanwhile, for g-ma's recipe, she wanted me to use a spaghetti squash. Of course she did because that just sounded weird and, as I stated before, this was an experimental Christmas. My mom told me to throw the squash into the microwave for 5 minutes and then check. "Not done," she says with a squeeze. After another 5 minutes, it was plenty squishy so I pulled it out to rest. By this time, my brother sauntered in. This was not a good sign! Mom and I quickly scrambled to cover up the title on the recipe and stand in front of the cut up turnips and sweet potatoes. It was ridiculous how we were both trying to distract him from the stuff. I just kept saying, "WE HAVE HAM!!" That seemed to quiet the masses. Truly what made it so entertaining was that we had the giggles! We were very suspicious. I guess you can't begrudge my brother and father for coming in and checking on us...we were supposed to be cooking and all we were doing was laughing. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I only had one knife. So, to cut the onions for spaghetti squash fritters, I had to use a little cheese knife, ridiculous.
On to cooking the fritters, I put the onions and garlic in an oven safe pan and started to soften them. Meanwhile, my mom cut the squash in half lengthwise and scraped out the seeds. Using a fork, she dug into the flesh. It pulled up like strands. It was pretty cool and, I must say, quite delicious. We added it to the pan. I scrambled 11 eggs (the recipe called for 12 but I needed one for the cake, who cares!?!), added freshly grated parmigian reggiano, bread crumbs (I used panko because they are so much better!! yum), and a splash of water. All that was added to the pan and cooked.
Time for more champagne! It was all coming together beautifully.
The turnip dish was done, the ham was done and the asparagus was grilling as we high-fived in the middle of the kitchen. All I had to do was pop the fritter dish in the oven to finish cooking through and we were going to be table-bound. That, of course, is when things go awry! My mom is scrambling to finish the traditional Christmas Cake, my dad is carving the ham, my brother and I are arguing about how to get the egg fritter dish out of the pan, and the dog is running through the kitchen. Okay, so maybe there wasn't a dog!! ha ha!! It just made the scene seem more exciting. Anyway, the ham got sliced, the cake got mixed, and the egg dish flopped out of the pan...with a big divet! I guess you can't win them all. I scraped the rest out and played Picasso as I creatively recreated the masterpiece. Let's be honest, I just threw extra parmesan and some green onions in the hole!
Now, it was truly time for the table. Everything was delicious; however, a few dishes became the big topics of the table. Yes, we have some skeptics...don't act surprised. I truly enjoyed the turnip dish as did my mother. I think I will make it again but it definitely needs some doctoring. As for the egg dish, it was the favorite. Well, I have be truthful here- I asked people their favorite dish, but made them choose something other than ham. I know it sounds kind of unfair, but who is going to pick anything other than the ham!
I asked each person to think of one word to describe the meal...my dad needed four he says, "I'm not done yet." I said, "experimentally delicious!" My mom said, "unique." And, my favorite was by my brother, "country." It made me think of us sitting at a big rustic table in the Italian countryside. "Mmmm, that's nice," we all say. And, before we can keep dreaming, I say, "I think something is burning!" My mom and I look at each other and, in unison, say, "THE CAKE!" All we could was laugh!!
By the way, eating chunks of "unburnt" cake from the middle of the dish with our fingers, was a glorious way to end one of the best Christmases I have ever had.
As it stands~
guests- 3
emotions- 1 (joyful laughter)
mistakes- 1 (the masquerading divet)
meltdowns- 0 (anything that went wrong became sheer comedy!)
recipes- 1
recipes to date- 16
The recipe~
Spaghetti Squash Fritters (basically a frittata)
1/3 cup of oil
1 onion, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of water (I thought this was a little too much)
3 cups cooked squash12 eggs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used panko)
Heat oil. Add onions, salt, pepper and garlic. Cook until tender. Stir in squash. Beat eggs thoroughly. Add cheese, crumbs and water to blend. Stir in egg mixture into sauteed vegetables. Cook slowly, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Gently lift. When bottom is browned, put under a broiler and cook top. Invert omelet onto platter.
