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Only 364 Days Left Until The Next One ---- ( Pix heavy!!!)

dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m

12 years ago

Christmas is too much. I am glad the next one is 364 days away.

Cooking for a party is a big labor deal. It doesn't matter how efficient you are. It's a good thing that two of the main dishes 12-lb rib roast and a duck both required no attention because of the sous vide method, and many of the other dishes were prepared ahead of time.

Still, there was no time to take pictures of all the food. I apologize for the lousy cell phone shots. Appetizers were not shown, desserts were not shown.

While the Rib Roast and the Crispy Roasted duck were spectacular, but guess what, they were not the stars of the show.

I decided to make latkes, when you think latkes you think potatoes. My latkes were Mushroom and wild Rice Latkes. There are no rules that say Latkes have to be potatoes. Well, that turned out to be the star of the dinner. Everyone wanted more. I had to make some more in the middle of the dinner and was asked to make even more for the guests to take some home.

Thank you Teresa for the Wild Rice. The Christmas dinner was make more enjoyable with the Wild Rice.

Also, Fresh (live swimming) tilapia filet, chestnut stuffing, Kabucha sqush soup, beet fennel salad, Japanese Okinawa sweet potatoes, mussels, ---- and a few more.

Happy Hanukahs, Merry Christmas and Happy New year to all.

dcarch

{{!gwi}}

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Comments (15)

hawk307
12 years ago
DC:
Talk about Dinners fit for a King !!! Wheeooo !

Any King would love this meal.

So Would I !!!
LOU
Jasdip
12 years ago
Wow, dcarch. Even with the lousy pics your efforts are outstanding.

Hmmmm I'll take the beef any day! Congratulations on your party, and now you have a year to plan next year's festivities.
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lyndaluu2
12 years ago
What a feast!! Pics look really great.

Linda
mustangs81
12 years ago
Amazing!! How does one get on your guest list?

Cathy
ann_t
12 years ago
That is one spectacular feast. The duck looks amazing. As does the beef.

I think that your mushroom and rice pancakes sound interesting and are probably very delicious,but I do find this statement "There are no rules that say Latkes have to be potatoes" a little amusing when I compare it to your comment on the What is Fudge thread - "Fudge should be made the old fudge way, all the others should just be called candies."

Ann
foodonastump
12 years ago
Absolutely, one heck of a feast! I hope you had a chance to enjoy it, too. I couldn't enjoy a busy meal with company. Which is why I made the simple meal that I made. I'd gladly do it again tomorrow.

I'm embarassed to say I didn't exactly know what latkes are. Somehow I was envisioning dumplings of some sort. So after several mentions over the past few days I finally looked it up. Potato pancakes, who knew! It's funny that although I never read (or at least didn't remember) what Ann quoted, my thoughts immediately went to the fudge thread and Jim's suggestion of jelly bean fudge. Oh well, call them what you will, your dinner looks wonderful.

p.s. You inspired to me celebrate the 1/16th of me that's Jewish - I made latkes for brunch today. Yum. DW's quote: "Excellent, but you know me, I'll take any excuse to eat sour cream!"
jimster
12 years ago
It's the spectacular food we have come to expect of you, dcarch. And the photos too, are mouthwatering, even the blurred ones.

The good fellowship which must have taken place can only be imagined by us out here in cyberland.

Jim
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you everyone, your complements make it worth my while to try to figure out what to do with two weeks worth of leftovers.

Posted by hawk307 "------ DC: Talk about Dinners fit for a King !!! Wheeooo ! ---"

Be careful Lou, behind every great king, there is a great queen who actually rules the kingdom.

Posted by jasdip "----and now you have a year to plan next year's festivities.---"

Yes I know, I hate to hear, "Come on dcarch! Not rib roast and duck again!"

Posted by mustangs "Amazing!! How does one get on your guest list? Cathy"

Marry me? LOL!

Posted by jimster "It's the spectacular food we have come to expect of you, dcarch. And the photos too, are mouthwatering, even the blurred ones. ---"

Thanks Jim, but truth be told, there are so many folks here cook with great panache, yet my cooking with sous vide, that requires absolutely no skills, nothing can go wrong, no overcooking or undercooking possible. Just flip a switch, "Set it, and forget it."

Ann_t and FOAS, regarding Potato Latkes authenticity, what I went by was as defined by Wikipedia, under the section:

Hanukkah Tradition -

"Latkes need not necessarily be made from potatoes. Prior to the introduction of the potato to the Old World, latkes were, and in some places still are, made from a variety of other vegetables, cheeses, legumes, or starches, depending on the available local ingredients and foodways of the various places where Jews lived."

And I did not invent the Mushroom Wild Rice Latkes recipe either, it was adapted from the KosherEye Web site

The Wild Rice Latkes tasted very good because I didn't have Schmaltz, so I used the dripping from the roasted duck and rib roast, as it turned out, much tastier than Schmaltz, IMHO.

It is always fun to engage your guests to go out of the regular food boxes a little. They really liked the purple Okinawan sweet potatoes, for instance.

dcarch
hawk307
12 years ago
Dc:
Do you have any leftovers ???

I heard the King & Queen thing a little different.

" Behind every Great King, there is a Great Queen and
behind every Great Queen there is a Great Behind "
************************

My Grandfather always said " I am the King of this house and your Grandmother is the Boss "

He called her the Boss. Smart Man !!!

But I know your version well" the Queen rules the Kingdom "

Happy Hanukahs, a Happy New Year to you and everyone too.

LOU
moosemac
12 years ago
dcarch,
Spectacular as always! The duck....swoon...

Any chance you'd share the Mushroom and Wild Rice Latkes recipe?
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you moosemac.

Here is the recipe from KosherEye WEB site:

Ingredients:

3 cups button or crimini mushrooms - thinly sliced
1 large yellow onion - peeled and finely chopped
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 can (425 g) cooked wild rice - rinsed and drained*
1 to 2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour

Directions:
Saute onions for 2-3 minutes in oil over medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms have released their juices and are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool.
Place the cooled mushrooms and onions in a mixing bowl and add add the wild rice, 1 tsp.salt, the pepper, eggs and flour. Mix well.
Heat oil in a frying pan and carefully spoon heaping tablespoons of the mixture into the oil. Fry for 3-5 minutes on each side until golden brown and set. I like to fry one small test latke to taste and check for seasoning. If it needs more salt or pepper add it now. Continue frying the rest of the latkes.
Drain well on paper towel and serve.
Another option is to make lots of mini-latkes, using a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon. Top them with sour cream and a slice of smoked salmon for a wonderful Chanukah appetizer.
Notes:
Yield: Makes 16-18
moosemac
12 years ago
Thanks dcarch.
bbstx
12 years ago
dc, I don't believe I've ever seen canned wild rice. From your experience, do you think it is possible to make the latkes with wild rice that you have cooked yourself?

btw, everything looks fabulous.
Teresa_MN
12 years ago
I think Dcarch cooked and used some of the wild rice I sent him. He just used a recipe that called for canned rice. I'm sure you could just sub an equivalent of cooked wild rice.

Teresa
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
Original Author
12 years ago
Posted by bbstx "dc, I don't believe I've ever seen canned wild rice. From your experience, do you think it is possible to make the latkes with wild rice that you have cooked yourself?
btw, everything looks fabulous. "

Thank you.

I think the reason may be that it is a kosher canned wild rice.

Of course the real wild rice from Teresa is completely different. I don't think it can be made Kosher because the harvesting of the rice follows Native American traditions.

In any case, taste-wise, I use good stock to cook the wild rice and I would assume that makes it taste much better.

It feels good to serve Chanukah Latkes using Native American wild rice for a Christmas dinner.

Thank you Teresa, on behalf of all my dinner guests.

dcarch

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