2012 Christmas tree

Our Christmas tree packed with
ordimintes

A closer look at the Christmas tree

For our 2011-2012 Christmas Tree we choose a 8 1/2 foot tree. My dad said that we will be getting a smaller tree this year. He was wrong. It was so big that it even fell onto the floor, days after we had set it up. The tree fell one day when we were at school. When my brother walked in the house his mouth dropped open. One reason we think the tree fell was because the stand we had was good with trees 7 feet or under. We had to weigh down the stand with a couple of rocks from Lake Superior. We got the tree one day after school which was a fun thing to do. The tree was oddly shaped in the back so we put all of the ornaments on the front which might have put too much weight on the front. I wonder if dad will stick with the same goal for next year, of getting a smaller tree. Every year we get our Christmas Tree at a local farmers market.

2012 New Years Dinner

This year for New Years my mom and dad made an excellent dinner. We chose to stay in. My dad made a wonderful lamb roast which was really good. We had leftovers from the lamb for at least a week. My mom made a wonderful Quinoa dish topped with mushrooms. I thought the Quinoa was really good. The lamb was really juicy and tender. This meat went perfectly with the Quinoa. What I did was cut the Lamb into bite size pieces and put some Quinoa on the plate then put the cut up meat on top of the Quinoa and then enjoy. She also made a spectacular salad to top off the meal. To really top off the meal for dessert we had Sonny's Spumoni ice cream which was really good. Staying in was just as good as going out to dinner. As usual, the lamb was from Clancey's, an excellent butcher that gets all of their meat or fish locally.

Pietro's Pizza

During Christmas our family ordered in from Pietro's Italian Pizzeria. It was our last dinner in Grand Rapids, Michigan and it was a good dinner. We thought that after seeing a movie it was time for some good pizza. This restaurant has been around a long time. It is a family owned pizzeria. The pizza was pretty good. We ordered three pizza's. One sausage and mushroom, one bacon with garlic and peppers, and one which was a BBQ chicken with onions. "The sausage was really good," said my dad. The sausage and mushroom pizza was a deep dish instead of a traditional pizza. Not one pizza was over cooked or dried out. What was nice about our order, was that each pizza tasted so different.

A big healthy salad that my mom made really rounded out the meal.

This restaurant has every kind of Italian meal from pizzas to salads and subs and many more tasty meals. The only thing that was a little disappointing, were the bread sticks we ordered. They were very plain. Two ingredients could have changed the bread sticks from okay to very good. Some tomato sauce and some melted mozzarella cheese in the middle or on top. It was a very good last night dinner for us at least. Everybody in my family had a difficult time stopping from eating because the pizzas were so good.

The link below will bring you to the home page of Pietro's Italian Restaurant.

http://www.rcfc.com/backdoorpizzeria/menu.asp

Fabulous Hibachi Experience

While visiting with my dad's family during Christmas vacation, we went to a Japanese Steakhouse. The restaurant was named Shang Hai Ichiban located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their are 3 sections to the restaurant, each a different kind of food. Japanese, Chinese, and Sushi. We went to the Japanese part of the restaurant. It is a Hibachi style restaurant. Hibachi is when you get your personal chef and they cook your food right in front of your eyes. There is large griddle in the center of the table, and that is were the chef cooks your food. The griddle is big enough for you to make dozens of pancakes. The link below will lead you right to the home page of the Shang Hai Ichiban restaurant.

We were seated at a table which was a half square and the chef and the stove was in the middle. I think the best spot to sit was in the front of the chef because he gave out tastes and extra samplings of food. Our chef threw in a couple of pranks. The chef threw out pieces of leftover shrimp for us to catch in our mouthes. I had a very bad but funny experience trying to catch a piece of shrimp in my mouth. While trying to catch a piece of shrimp, I leaned too far back in my chair and fell right over. I didn't even get the piece of shrimp. While cooking our food, the chef really showed off his knife skills. I wonder if he had tons of safety training for that. Our meal started off with a very good bowl of soup and then our chef started cooking our dinner right in front of your eyes. I had a very fun time with my family there. Hibachi style restaurants can be found really anywhere. I would go back to that Hibachi restaurant anytime I was able.

http://www.shanghaiichiban.com/

Caramelized Pear Upside-Down Cake

This is a great dessert for when pears are in season or grown locally. My mom made this cake for a dinner with some guests. If you are really hoping for a good cake that does not look like a birthday cake. Once you put the pears on the cake the top will look like a palm tree on the coast of Hawaii. This cake would go perfectly with a couple teaspoons of whipped cream. Homemade not store bought. You can find millions of recipes for whipped cream on the internet. The cake is so good that you might catch yourself eating it for breakfast. You might think that a little ice cream would also be good with this but I would choose whipped cream other ice cream for this dessert.

Softened unsalted butter for the pan

For the topping
2 medium firm-ripe Bosc pears (about 1 lb.)
1 recipe Basic Caramel
2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

For the cake
6-3/4 oz. (1-1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. table salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
4 oz. (8 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs

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Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x2-inch round cake pan (don't use a springform pan, as the caramel might leak out during baking). Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment and butter the top of the paper.

Make the topping
Peel, core, and cut the pears lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the pear slices on the bottom of the pan in a circle around the edge, overlapping them slightly, with the pointed ends towards the center. If necessary, cut a little off the pointed ends to make the slices fit better. Or if the pear slices don't reach all the way to the middle, arrange a few of the shorter slices in the center to cover the bottom of the pan.
Make the Basic Caramel according to the directions. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the 4 Tbs. of butter one piece at a time, until they are completely melted. Carefully pour the hot caramel evenly over the pears (it should spread over the pears and onto the bottom of the pan).

Make the cake batter
Sift the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and salt into a medium bowl. Stir to combine. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and vanilla.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.Turn the mixer to medium and slowly add the brown sugar. Increase the speed to high and continue to mix until lightened in texture and color, 2 to 3 minutes total. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Reduce the speed to low and alternate adding the flour mixture and milk mixture in five additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix each addition just enough to incorporate, as overmixing will lead to a tougher cake. Scrape down the sides of the bowl one last time and mix briefly to blend well.

Bake the cake
Spoon the batter in large dollops over the pears and smooth it into an even layer with an offset spatula. Bake the cake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan. Turn a cake plate upside down on top of the cake pan and, using pot holders, carefully invert the cake pan onto the plate.

West African Peanut Soup With Chicken

My mom made this soup one night and it was amazing. This soup is a great winter dinner for the family. This soup can be eaten during the whole year. Even summer. When you take a sip of the soup you will feel so good. One thing they do not list in the recipe is bread. Bread and soups are a great combination. If you dip the bread into the soup for about 15 seconds it will be come soft. You might want to use the bread like a sponge to soak up this delicious soup. One strange ingredient that is in this soup is peanut butter. You might not think of peanut butter being a good soup ingredient but it does add an incredible flavor.
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken (about 2 thighs or breasts) cut into chunks
Pinch of cayenne
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cups stock or water
2 sweet potatoes or yams (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into thick slices
8 plum tomatoes, cored and halved (canned are fine; drain and reserve liquid for another use)
1/2 pound collards or kale, washed and cut into wide ribbons
1/4 to 1/2 cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth.
1. Chop peanuts, or crush them with the side of a knife, or pulse them in a food processor to chop roughly.
2. Put oil in a deep skillet or medium saucepan over medium heat; a minute later, add onion, ginger and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add chicken and continue cooking for another 3 or 4 minutes, until just coloring. Add 1/2 cup peanuts and the cayenne and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Stir in the stock and the sweet potatoes, bring to a boil, and turn heat down to medium-low so the soup bubbles gently. Stir in tomatoes and collards, then cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
4. Stir in 1/4 cup peanut butter. Taste, adjust seasoning (you may want to add more peanut butter at this point) and serve, garnished with remaining peanuts.