I got up on my birthday morning at 6:00 AM and started coffee. I finished yesterday's blog and posted it. I started getting ecards for my birthday, and spent some time laughing at some of them, and smiling at others. Then I decided to shave and shower and get on with the day.
When I got out of the shower, I put the shower curtain, my towel and bathmat in the washer to freshen them up for Christmas. I checked the phone and found I'd missed a birthday call from Jake and Carla. I called them back to thank them, but just got voicemail.
I re-mixed and refilled the house seasoning shaker. The phone rang and this time it was Lu and Sadie, singing me "Happy Birthday," which, although traditional, never quite grows old! It looks like now they will be arriving on Friday, the 28th. Lu asked about my "big plans" for my birthday and I had to confess, I hadn't given it any thought. I don't even have an idea for dinner tonight!
I was just getting ready to go out to the grocery store (I forgot parchment paper for my Mushrooms en Papillote tomorrow) when I heard the front door open. It was Jake and Carla, who came to surprise me with a Birthday breakfast and bearing a special treat, homemade eggnog (the adult version with bourbon in it)! So, we chatted as Carla made her famous homemade home fries and poached three eggs, while Jake fried a ham steak and baked biscuits. They plated them with a spoonful of the home fires (Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed and fried with onions) topped with the poached egg and the ham steak on the side with a biscuit. Excellent fare! Thanks guys!
While they were cleaning up (over my protestations) my Mother called to wish me a Happy Birthday! Apparently my brother Joe's phone can be amplified, so we had a short but very satisfying conversation. After Jake and Carla left, my brother Joe called (on his way back home) and he and Kathy both wished me a happy birthday, too. They said Mom wouldn't let them talk, lol! Jeremy called, next, and wished me a happy birthday. He said they had a great day yesterday, celebrating with Jyl's sisters and their grandkids, exchanging gifts and decorating cookies.
While we are on the subject, I'd also like to thanks those people who cared enough to send birthday e-cards: Canada Cathy, my brother Carl (who sent multiple ones) and my daughter, Amy (who sent two). I'd also like to thank people for their birthday emails: Fran (my daughter's mother) and my friend Tracey (who, it turns out, was in fact too busy at work to come over and make cookies). And, last, those who mailed or handed me traditional cards: Luanne, Sadie, my friend, B___ and Jake and Carla (who brought two). And, lest we forget, the 20th anniversary edition of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader (if you have to ask, you probably don't want to know) and a huge variety pack of vegetable seeds from Dave and my daughter Melissa. Thank you one and all! Being 59 years old ain't so bad if it gets me all this attention!!
So, quick trip to Kroger's and I got the parchment paper. Its cold out there and still windy!! Once back home, I changed clothes and started prepping food for tomorrow's dinner.
I got the Hasselback potatoes peeled and sliced 3/4 of the way through, then put them in water until tomorrow (so they won't turn brown). I warmed up two gallons of water so I could easily stir in one cup of kosher salt and one cup of brown sugar, and then put the stock pot out on the patio to cool. Once that's done, I'll put in the other ingredients that make up the brine and then add the goose.
It's just after 4:00 PM and the mail just came. Trudged out to get it and found two more birthday cards: one from Jer, Jyl, Joe and Riese and one other from just Riese. Thanks, guys!
Back to work, now. Cut out the 12-inch circles of parchment paper for the Mushrooms en Papillote and am cutting up the ingredients of the pouches. First time ever: I was mincing a shallot and it made me cry (now I'm worried it might be too strong for this dish).
Sidebar: As you might have guessed, on weekends and Holidays, I type in stuff off and on, that I am doing during the day, because otherwise, I would forget things. Anyway, I just thought of something after typing the words, "First time ever" and I am ROFLMAO ("Rolling on the floor, laughing my ass off," Mom) so I am going to post my thought right now!
Okay, enough fooling around, back to work! Now, I've got the Mushroom en Papillote done and sitting in the fridge. It's a mixture of 1 pound of fresh wild mushrooms (I used oyster, shitake and baby bellos, which I still think are really Crimini. I was going to go with Chantrelles instead, but could only find dried ones.) The mushrooms were trimmed and torn into bite-size pieces and mixed with finely chopped chives, finely chopped parsley, finely chopped tarragon, the minced shallot and 2 cloves of garlic minced, along with about 1/2 stick of melted butter. This mixture is put into the circles of parchment paper, which is folded in a certain way so it can't open. I brushed the other half of the stick of melted butter on the parchment paper so it doesn't burn in the oven. The four pouches are in a shallow baking dish in the fridge. At the same time, I have been browning the pork sausage for the dressing. That's out of the pan and on some paper towels to drain thoroughly.
Next, I am tackling the goose and run into a problem! Although its been in the fridge overnight, its still not thawed, and its almost 6:00 PM!!! Then the phone rang, and it was my daughter Melissa, with her birthday/Christmas wishes (thanks!) She's making a honey glazed ham for Christmas dinner for her, Dave, Dustin, Linnea and Gavin. She had some interesting side dishes that I asked her to send me the recipes. She suggested a quick thaw for the goose in the laundry tub with cold water. I compromised and put it in my biggest stock pot with cold water (I think it's probably a little cleaner than my laundry tub). LOL, I was telling her about the Mushroom en Papillote and how the same technique cn be used to poach fish, etc. She said they did similar things when they lived up in Northern lower Michigan, but they just used tinfoil instead of all that fussing with parchment paper. So, there you go: The French may invent it, but the Yoopers will refine it!
Next, Carla's Mom, Acenter, called with her birthday/Christmas wishes. She just saw her son, Curtis and his family, but they aren't staying for Christmas dinner, so she's just making greens, etc. for her own Christmas dinner. However, she said when her brother comes to visit she is going to make my pumpkin-cranberry cake. She loved it! After she hung up, I wished I'd mentioned the recipe I saw for simmered greens and corn meal dumplings I want to try someday!
Now, back to work! I switch gears and go back to the Mushroom Sausage Dressing (interesting factoid: If you make it and put it in your bird, it's called stuffing. If you make it and bake it in, say, a casserole dish, it's called dressing.) So, I saut�ed 1 cup finely diced celery and 1 cup finely diced onions until soft. Then I added 2 cups of diced fresh mushrooms (I used button mushrooms here) and three large cloves of garlic, minced. Once that had all reduced (as mushrooms will) I mixed it with the pork sausage and let it all cool, then covered it with tin foil and put it in the fridge for tomorrow. You can prep it this far, but can't add the stock and croutons yet, because, overnight, the croutons will fall apart.
Well, it's almost 7:30 PM, and, unless the goose is thawed, I can't make the stock for the brandy cranberry reduction like I'd planned. So, I'll check it out! Nope! So, I peeled the rutabagas instead and cut it into 1-inch chunks and put them in a saucepan with water for tomorrow. I'll quit now, make some dinner and set my alarm for 11:00 PM to wake up and get the goose in the brine solution. I'll make the stock for the brandy cranberry reduction tomorrow morning, I guess. I did pour 1 cup of brandy over the 3/4 cup of dried, sweetened cranberries and set it aside to get happy overnight.
So, I washed everything that either was too big (stock pots and big bowls) or can't go into the dishwasher (my Wustoff and Shun Chef knives and one Shun paring knife) and turn on the dishwasher for the rest. Then I got out the two burner grill pan and grilled some smoked bratwurst (it's a German birthday celebration, I guess, Lol!). Put them on rye bread with coarse-ground mustard and had a few dill pickle spears as the side dish. It's 8:21 PM and I officially quit for the night (except for putting the goose in the brine, later). I set the alarm for the goose and watched TV.
I didn't need the alarm as I stayed up, so I just went and checked; and the goose was thawed! I dumped that water, took out the neck and the package of innards, put the goose back in the big stock pot and re-covered it with the brine. The brine now consists of the original two gallons of water, kosher salt and brown sugar, plus two oranges, quartered, two lemons, quartered, six sprigs of thyme and four sprigs of Rosemary. The stock pot goes out into the big fridge (unheated garage) for the night and I go to bed!
Thanks again, everybody, for a great birthday!