Celebrations
It is the time of holiday parties for work groups and for friends too. Sometimes in excess, the quantity of party events, with the exhaustion of too many people. Some of it can't be helped, just be gracious, kind, and conversational. Yet, part of it can be under our influence too.
A Simpler, more Personal Way
We like to balance the large events and stand-up cocktail parties, with something more personal: lunches and dinners with friends in our home, delicious but easy menus and food.
Here is an entertainment idea, a three course menu, all made ahead:
- with a good home made soup to start (using home made chicken stock),
- then a main course with chicken breasts sliced in 1 1/2 inch pieces, with a simple sauce; vegetables; and steamed red potatoes rolled in chopped parsley,
- all followed by a fruit dessert.
Cooking for Simple Elegance
If all of that sounds difficult, it doesn't have to be, just prepare everything ahead of time, careful to not overcook the chicken and vegetables. The next day serve a lovely lunch or dinner.
Chicken -- I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this presentation. Simply poach the breasts in a simmering liquid of chicken stock, celery and carrot slices, and roughly chopped onion, plus a small amount of white wine.
Once done but not overcooked -- check by cutting into a breast and when the flesh is no longer pink but white the chicken is done --personally, I take the pot off the burner before that point and cover it, to gently finish the cooking --- but the chicken must be white when cut and the juices run clear for it to be cooked thoroughly to reduce the risk of salmonella.
When done and off the burner, the chicken is still steaming and cooking for a while, which is why I take the pan off the burner a bit early, I then add a generous handful of bay leaves and cover completely. Sometimes I do this in an air tight container or if the lid of the pan is quite a good fit, I strain off the liquid and leave the chicken in the pot, add the bay leaves, and firmly cover with the lid. Bay leaves have a lovely fragrance and their flavor permeates the meat, producing a wonderful flavor.
For the sauce, I will use a classic approach. Its not that difficult, just cooked flour in butter, to thicken a cooking liquid:
- First in a sauce pan, cook over medium heat equal amounts of flour and butter, to where the fragrance is one of nuts (this cooking process eliminates the pasty taste of flour) and the bubbly mixture is slightly tan in color.
- Then add a small amount of the poaching liquid, minus the poaching vegetables. With a whisk, beat the cooked flour with the poaching liquid, adding more of it a little at a time, to produces a consistant sauce.
- This mixture, slowly cooked over low to medium heat, will thicken, done when thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, dipped into the sauce and removed.
- Add salt, pepper, perhaps a dash of tobasco sauce, a squeeze of lemon juice to taste, that is, to make the sauce tasteful and appealing --maybe even adding a pat more butter too, if you wish, or a few tablespoons of cream. None of these enrichments will be over the top in calories, since you are adding just a small amount and then you spoon just a small amount, perhaps a tablespoon or so, over the chicken as it is served.
For dessert, I often serve fresh fruit, cut into small pieces, with the juices saved in a bowl in cutting. To this fruit juice add a few tablespoons of a liquor, like Cointreau. This can be poured over the fruit as it is served in individual goblets. A good cookie on the side, and that is enough to end a lovely meal.
I especially like a luncheon party for the joy of friends, with delicious food served in moderate quantity. Laughter and enjoyment are not caloric, over-eating is. So indulge in the former, savor smaller quantities of the later. Its the way to live well, even in the busy holiday month of December.
A Time For Thankfulness and Giving to Others
With this style of entertaining, and preparation ahead of time, we feel more at ease and more inclined to invite others to our home, like the neighbors who just moved in or the lovely older couple next door or the young couple with a new baby down the street.
There is also the opportunity to show our thanks by giving to others, those who are homeless, shut in, in the hospital. Devoting one weekend in December to a good cause is a great tradition. When my son was a child, we did this and somehow we have to continue even as busy adults. New acquaintances invited us to help prepare holiday food baskets for the Salvation Army; we are looking forward to that. I will call the local hospital to ask if there is a day I can give to read to patients there, in memory of my mother who died early in the fall.
What does all of this have to do with living well?
It seems that generosity and compassion are ingredients in living well, with appreciation for life, and being thankful. Perhaps the holiday season is a busy one, but it is also an opportunity time as well.
From us to you: Christmas and spirit filled greetings for the holidays, that tend to be so busy. We will practice being thankful, with compassion for others, and enjoyment of life, and living well.
Happy Holidays!
Roger & Richard
