Rookie Cookery

Cranachan for a Burn's Night Supper 2011

I have written before about How To Have A Burn's Night Supper,    but in previous years we have attended Burn's Night events hosted by someone else. This year, we hosted our own dinner at home (last night, although Burn's birthday is actually this Tuesday the 25th) and invited our good friends John, Julia and Devin to join us. These friends, like my family, share a Scottish heritage, and arrived wearing traditional tartan and kilt finery. It was fabulous. I didn't wear my tartan skirt, because I had kitchen duties that could get messy.

Here was our menu:

Cock-a-leekie Soup

Poached Salmon

Neeps and Tatties

Peas

Haggis

Shortbread

Cranachan

Glenmorangie Scotch (10 year)

I was a little nervous about how I was going to pull off this menu in terms of timing, but these are the tricks I used to make it easy: First, I made the Cock-a-leekie soup early in the day in the crock pot. It was done well before our guests arrived. For the salmon, I made a court bouillon (a poaching liquid featuring water, white wine, onions, herbs and spices) and cooked the fish in an electric pan that also kept it warm. I baked the shortbread and made the cranachan earlier in the day. When it came time for dinner, all that remained was to cook and mash the potatoes and turnips, and heat the peas and haggis.

Dessert was quick to assemble and the haggis was (say it loud and proud) a canned version from Caledonian Kitchen that I bought at the local Corti Brothers grocery store.

Initially I was resistant to serve haggis from a can. I wanted to preserve my authentic food cred and it rankled me to take a short cut. But the fact is, haggis is made with tripe, lamb liver, lungs, heart etc. and I just didn't have it in me to track down the ingredients and make it happen. So I found an acceptable alternative in a can. It was strictly a heat and serve item, created for more common taste buds. Yes, everybody tried the haggis! The verdict? Not bad! Not bad at all.

Then we drank a wee dram of Scotch and I mangled my way through a reading of Burn's Address to a Haggis. The scotch helped.

How much is a dram, I hear you ask? A dram is an eighth of an ounce. So technically we had a tiny bit more than  a dram. But you get the point.

A highlight of the meal for me (other than the hilarity at the table with our friends) was the very traditional Scottish dessert called Cranachan. It was so simple and delicious to make. Here's how:

CRANACHAN RECIPE

Whip a cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form

Add a tablespoon of Scotch whiskey

Add a tablespoon or more of heather honey, mix again,  and taste until it has the desired sweetness

In a dry pan, Toast about a quarter cup of pin head oats until fragrant.

After the oats cool, gently fold them and mix thoroughly into the whipped cream.

In a serving bowl, dollop the whipped cream mixture in layers with fresh raspberries.

Serve with a generous piece of fresh shortbread.

 The moral of the story is-- don't be afraid to have your own Burn's Night Supper at home. You can do it.  All it takes is a little planning and a lot of love for all things Scottish! That's me.

Halloween Portrait Gallery

Here at the Winchester Mystery Home, on Halloween, we hang portraits of ancient relatives on the wall to greet our guests. Something seems a bit odd, though, when I pass them by.... It is as if they change. I have to stop and look again. Did I really see that?

I think my eyes are playing trick on me. What do you think? Trick or Treat?

Oh, and: Boo.

Giant Spun Sugar Dessert Recipe

Photo:  "Soleil Sucre: A Giant Spun Sugar Confection"

Recently I wanted to create a really WOW dessert for a special occasion.  What better way to do it than create a fabulous sculpture out of crystallized sugar? (see photo) With a little planning ahead and ingenuity, and a fundamental knowledge of physics, a simple sugar solution can be spun and formed into limitless shapes, like this giant sunburst created for a wedding reception of a dear friend. That's my husband Jim, on the right, and our two sons Evan (far left) and Ethan (in the middle). Note: you will want to have help with sugar scuptures of any significant size.

INGREDIENTS: (and equipment)

256 pounds of sugar (organic)
5 cups food coloring (I used yellow!)
three copies Sunday section of New York Times
25 pounds organic beeswax (or parrafin)

METHOD:

First, begin your sugar solution by heating the 256 pounds of sugar in about 26 quarts of water, in large vat until it dissolves completely. Remove from stove.  In a separate bowl, melt all the beeswax (or parrafin).

Meanwhile, taking five sheets of the newspaper at a time, create your desired shapes, like the twisted spirals used here.  Tape the paper to keep its shape.

Take the melted beeswax (or parrafin) and slowly pour it into the paper cone spirals, taking care that the wax coats the entire interior of the form. Set aside and let harden.

Now for the fun part! Add food dye to your sugar solution and stir until well blended.  Now very carefully, pour the sugar into the cone shapes so that it coats the interior. (Careful! It will be hot!) Allow to harden.

The next day, remove the paper forms from your brilliant crystalline shapes. Who knew sugar could be so fanciful?

Finally, assemble your sugar "stalagtites"  into pleasing shapes and use a blow torch to fuse into place. Allow to cool completely before moving into display position.

Now stand back and watch the stunned faces of your guests as they wonder if it is, indeed, edible!

Sadly, the above sugar scupture was dissolved in rain soon after the photo was taken, shown here at the California Palace of Legion of Super Heroes museum, San Francisco.

Thursday Night at the Drive-In Movies

Confession: Our sons (ages 23 and almost 19) have never been to a drive-in movie before. So when I learned that the local West Wind Drive-In theater was showing free movies on Thursday night, I decided that now was our chance to share the drive-in movie experience with our sons before it goes the way of the buggy whip and dinosaurs.

This particular drive-in movie business-- The West Wind Sacramento Six Drive-In-- has been "about to close" as long as I can remember. (Over twenty years, at least!)  I am beginning to think it is a clever ploy to draw business while at the same time exonerate the owners from the sad state of disrepair for what could be a much more satisfying venue.   Nevertheless,  the experience was still worth while.

This was one of our (mini) Mystery Trips for the family, where I plan a fun outing and they get to be surprised.  I say "mini" because it was brief (an evening's entertainment rather than a full day or more) and because by the time we left the house, everyone knew where we were going.

I think it was the popcorn, fizzy drinks on ice, sandwiches and the suggestion to bring a sweater that tipped them off. That, plus the fact that we needed to choose which of the three movies on offer we would see: Iron Man, Don't Mess with the Zohan, or Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  We opted for Iron Man, even though we had already seen it.  We had also seen the new Indiana Jones movie, and the reviews for Zohan were dodgy.  Iron Man fit the bill for what you want at a drive in: lots of action and not too much dialogue. Perfect.

I was surprised that there were no longer individual wired speakers to hang on the car door window for the movie sound. This was a disappointment for me, as I wanted the Retro experience of my youth. But I can totally understand how the current system of tuning into the sound through the car radio is much better than the frequent problem of forgotten speakers being ripped off their posts when the movie-goer is ready to go home.

Having no speaker-posts to guide us, cars parked more or less randomly, pointed toward the screen, or sometimes away from the screen for those who wanted to view from the back of a pick-up or SUV. I was glad to see a good crowd, with families and children running around (often not supervised) with glow in the dark toys.  Many enjoyed pizza or even a little bar-b-que while we all waited for it to get dark enough to start the show.  It was definitely a cool vibe, low budget and a little riff-raffy around the edges but mellow.

Suggestion: make sure to wash your car windows on the way to the drive-in as we did. The screen we watched was easy to see. My only technical complaint was the intermittent hiss in the background of the sound, just audible enough to occasionally annoy but not ruin the experience.

I was one of those who took a semi-perilous jaunt to the bathrooms during the movie. (Blame it on the fizzy drink).  This is precarious, since the ground is shaped in rows of up and down hills, like small ocean swells, so the cars can park on an incline for better movie viewing.  Walking along in the dark, trying to avoid glass, cigarette butts, disturbing other patrons, and trying to remember my way back to the car without tripping and breaking my neck... priceless retro fun.

The bathroom and snack bar area was functioning but not exactly pristine.  Video games in dubious working order lined the walls, and one could order pizza delivered to the car. In my imagination, I was painting and redecorating the circular building and bringing it back to it's glory days of the fifties and sixties car-culture.  Yes, I was there on free movie night,  so clearly the business owners have a slum-lord mentality when it comes to their investment in the place. But it pains me to see the opportunity for a successful and top-notch family friendly venue go to waste.  Especially now, when Retro Cool is all the rage. What are they thinking?  Sad.

The verdict from our sons (and my husband and I) was quite positive about the experience.  In fact I think they would go again, and willingly buy a ticket for a good night's entertainment with their friends.  Maybe even take their kids some day, before it goes the way of the analog watch and the non-HD TV.

Family Magical Mystery Trip Fun Days! (and another Scottish Games)

I've added a new category to my blog entries: FUN.  I submit as evidence the above photograph: that's Evan (the one walking) and Ethan (the one riding), our two sons, thankfully being glad to attend the 143rd Scottish Games hosted by the San Francisco Caledonian Club on August 30, 2008.

I say thankfully, because this was one of our Family Magical Mystery Trips, wherein I tell the family (sons and husband Jim) "Please check your calendars and reserve This Day for a family fun day", and then when that day arrives we all pile into the car and I take them some place FUN, only the thing is, they have no idea where we are going or what we are going to do!  Needless to say this can be risky. However so far they have really enjoyed all such days. 

I was a little nervous about this day because in April three of us (Evan could not go) had already attended a Scottish Games in nearby Woodland. I was afraid they would say "But we've already done this! (except Evan)." To my relief, they were good sports and I need not have worried. 

I really wanted to see the games in Pleasanton, because it is the largest gathering in California, and that's saying something!  And it was fun. The fair grounds are a nicer venue, and there was quite a lot more music and other vendors than the Woodland games. At the same time, we felt that our local games had a more intimate feeling, with a more passionate crowd there, truly proud of our Scottish heritage,  not just folks looking for a weekend diversion. (shrug). I don't know.

Since April I have officially joined the Clan MacFarlane,  in honor of my Great Grandmother  MacPartland (a variant spelling of the clan name) from Loch Lomand and  Coatsbridge area in Scotland. I even bought one of our tartan sashes, which I wore at the Pleasanton games:

We went to the clan representatives tent area,  but the MacFarlane tent was temporarily closed.  Some helpful people in a nearby clan tent explained to us that the MacFarlane folks were gone but would sooon return. I said, "What, are they out stealing cattle or something?"  As intended, this  brought a guffaw of laughter from one of the women in the other clan tent.

Aside: (From the MacFarlane history: For much of their history, the MacFarlanes were a very turbulent lot. Their rallying cry, "Loch Sloy", signalled many a night raid to "collect" cattle from their richer neighbors to the south and east. Their slogan "To Lift the Cows We Shall Go" gives ample notice of intent. They were so competent that the full moon was known as "MacFarlane's Lantern".)

So anyway, we didn't get to meet the clan members but we did get to see The Wicked Tinkers in concert, and they put on a good show.  My favorite part was when the drummer went through the audience and let a little boy, maybe four years old, play the drum. He was wild with excitement and joy!(I don't know what that lady with the camera is).

I also really enjoyed the (Australian) digeridoo music from their newest band mate, a droning musical instrument that complemented the bagpipes nicely. 

I am still unsuccessful in convincing any of my men (husband or sons) to get themselves a kilt. Spoil sports! 

Our last family fun day was the trip to see the Dale Chihuly art glass exhibit.   

I am well aware that soon our sons will fly the nest (indeed they are barely here now), so I am making a special effort to plan Fun days for us while I can.  I think the surprise factor ( their not knowing where we are going, and what we will do) is a big part of the Fun.  They want to be surprised, and I love to plan it all.  I heartily recommend it!