December 24, 2014 Christmas Eve Open House

It was a perfect day of cooking and evening of entertaining.  I thought I would be sunk without help but Luke and Willy stepped up and became bulwarks of support for the entire day and evening.  Willy organized and set up and lit luminarias, while Suzette and I cooked with Luke's help all day. 

We chopped onion, tomato, and bell peppers for the octopus salad and Suzette dressed it.  Suzette made the green pork and black chicken molés with Luke’s help.  Last night Willy and Luke bought two bottles of much needed Real Lemon juice for the mulled wine and I made that in the afternoon.

Then Suzette and I picked fresh cilantro and celery from our garden beds.  The celery had formed into a tall column, just as Suzette had read and planned when she wrapped the celery plants with brown paper and twine.  Here is a picture of Suzette and her perfectly formed bundle of celery:

Suzette's celery 

I then chopped up cilantro and dill and mint for Suzette’s sautéed pumpkin dish which we put into the new copper chafing dish and then took a shower and rested for a few minutes around 2:30.

I then filled the sink with about 2 inches of hot water and dipped shrimp mold into the hot water for a minute and it freed itself from the mold cleanly.  We put the shrimp mold on on a large Mexican platter and Suzette decorated the inside of the mold with sprigs of fresh celery and dill. Then I refilled the sink and unmolded the chocolate dessert and put it on a glass plate and decorated it with whipped cream and the PPI grown hazelnuts Suzette had made for her Mexican Wedding Cookies, which we also put out on the dessert buffet. 

Salad Dressing 

While Suzette was finishing the molé's prep, I chopped up the fresh cilantro for the salad dressing and made a very citrusy, Mexican dressing with lime juice, the Santo Tomás Winery Extra Virgin Olive oil we bought in PV, three cloves of our garden grown garlic, large tsp. of Mexican oregano, about 1 tsp. of salt and a dash of black pepper.  I did not have to measure the oil and lime juice because the dressing behaved perfectly, thickening, as if on command, into an opaque cream when the correct amount of when the oil and lime juice came into balance.  I loved the dressing and everyone else seemed to also.  We put it into a 16 oz. Snapple tea bottle, so I could shake it up and cream it again when needed. Then I cut up 3 tomatoes, 1/2 lb. of Queso Oaxaca (string cheese), three cucumbers and 1 red onion and added those to the salad mixture Suzette had washed and we tossed the salad in a larger mixing bowl and then put it back into the teak wood salad bowl. As each dish was finished we put it out on the table.   

I next made 3 cups of vegetarian rice with 3 cups of vegetable stock (Suzette’s squash water), three cups of water, 2 bay leaves, some wakame seaweed and a bit of salt and simmered it on low heat for 30 minutes.  We then steamed 2 lbs. of string beans (Costco $4.99) and Luke plated the cubed fresh papaya and put them on the table.

Next I opened the tin of membrillo (quince) paste and fetched the tortillas and Manchego cheese and the comal and Luke and I made quesadillas with the membrillo and manchego.  Luke then made a few more quesadillas and we put them into the oven to keep warm until the party.  It was now about 5:00, so I started putting out the cheeses, including English Stilton, Irish Cheddar, the kilo round of French Brie, a log of California goat cheese, French Comté, a French Petit Cantral, and the winner by far, a creamy, runny French A.O.P. Lincet.  I then cut up and heated a loaf of Fano French baguette and put the slices pf 1/2 loaf out with the crackers Luke had placed on Suzette’s large pine needle basket.

Shortly after 5:30 Cynthia and Ricardo came with a plate of cookies and a lovely bottle of 2012 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon.  Then J.B. and Cirelda came with a bottle of 2013 Argentinian Alamos Malbec and Carey and Peter with a gift, then Ed, Michel, Lisa and Lynn came.  Lynn had made a lovely Mexican flan and Lisa had made very interesting black bean cookies, which we placed on plates on the buffet (I tried both and they were both authentic and delicious.  Lisa gets the award for the most creative dish of the night.). 

Cynthia and Michel wanted white wine so I went to the basement and fetched a bottle of Wild Haven Willamette Valley Pinot Gris, which they liked very much.  Cirelda, who works at the Albuquerque Museum, asked about the William Clift photo in the dining room and then when I showed her Laura Gilpin’s photo of Georgia O’Keefe, she told my an amazing story about how a friend found a copy of Laura Gilpin’s great photo book, the Enduring Navajo, with an inscription that read, “To my friend Georgia O’Keefe” signed by Laura Gilpin.  I looked for my copy of the “Rio Grande” by Laura Gilpin but could not find it.

Soon lots of people began coming, including Amy and Vahl from Santa Fe, the Petrakises (including Tyrone, Lisa, and Roy and friends), Davida and Josefo, Robert and Marilyn, Bill Turner and Regina, Jim and Jane, Marty and Jill, who just married on Thanksgiving weekend and shared the photos of their wedding, Charlie and Susan Palmer. Jim Stozier with his wife, Janet, son Ben and daughter Amelda, and  several others I cannot immediately remember.  It seemed as if folks wanted to drink red wine, so Vahl and I went to the basement, where I fetched the bottle of 2010 Mount Eden Vineyards Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir that Aaron had given me and a bottle of 2010 Clos de Val Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley.  I poured Vahl a glass of the 2010 Mount Eden (Vahl prefers pinot noir) and I took a small glass and found the wine to be very smooth, with good complexity and beautifully softened tannins.  Vahl said he had a killer bottle ready to give us tomorrow when we visit their home for Christmas dinner.

I loved the fact that about 25 of our friends made it.  Later, the most poignant event of the evening for me occurred, when Dale Alverson came with his friends Bill and Georgette and Dale informed me that he had just had bladder cancer and had been treated with reconstructive surgery at M.D. Anderson in Houston in which they made him a new bladder.  He was walking and talking and said he did not wish to miss our annual party.  Bill and he and I celebrated Dale’s recovery with Cuba Libres, made with rum, lime and Mexican cokes.  Bill gave me a compliment when he said Georgette had specifically remembered Mother’s Van Cliburn mold and wanted to try the food this year.  “Thanks, Georgette.”  It also made me feel great that folks showed up without a specific invite, just on my prior word that they were on the permanent invitation list.

     

About 20 or 25 of Luke and Willy’s friends, including the neighbor kids they grew up with, who are now adults, began to arrive, like Anna Watson, Eli Hicks, Emily and Rachel Graf with Jim and Diane, Franco Simbana with his girlfriend, Montana, who is studying set design at Yale, and a few other friends.  

Franco dipping black beans at the food table

The moles and mulled wine

Montana in the kitchen with Luke and friend

A little later Cliff and Nancy came by for a bit and admired the Dairy Queen by Tim Prythero.  At around 10:30, Ricardo and Cynthia returned and we decided to walk the neighborhood.  The neighborhood was lovely, filled with its usual thousands of luminarias and few cars.

Finally after we returned and talking to Cynthia and Ricardo until 12:45 and watching them open their Christmas gift, a modern Dutch pewter tea set, we said good night.

The kids helped us clean up the kitchen and then I fetched my camera and took a picture of the kids’ party that was still in full swing at 1:45.

I was very satisfied with the number of dishes and the array of dishes.  I thought this year’s menu had a balance of food, both vegetarian and meat driven, and the perfect array of beverages supplemented with many good complementary desserts brought by some of the best cooks.

Bon Appétit