Neighborhood Christmas Open House

Lentil Pecan Pate
Spiced cashews
Endive with blue cheese and walnuts

Mulled wine with homemade acquavit
Spiced cider (TJ, doctored)

From Trader Joe:

hummus and pita (make pita chips)
brie and crackers
chocolate covered ginger
lebkuchen
ginger cookies

Black Bean Chili

This recipe is adapted, simplified basically, from one in Deborah Madison's The Greens Cook Book. It makes eight very generous servings at a cost of 62 cents (Seattle) or 40 cents (Tucson) exclusive of garnishes and polenta. Like most soups and stews, this is better made a day ahead and reheated, making it excellent for entertaining. Additionally, chili is a familiar concept and won’t frighten the carnivores.


2 cups black beans
1 bay leaf
4 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons oregano
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons sweet (mild) paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium yellow onions, ¼ inch dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes, including juice
½ teaspoon chipotle puree, or to taste
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, or to taste


Garnishes:

pasilla peppers, roasted, peeled and diced
green onions, sliced
crumbled cotija or feta cheese
sour cream or Greek yogurt


Put the beans and bay leaf in a large kettle and cover them with water by a couple of inches. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.

Put the cumin in a large ungreased skillet and toast until they begin to color. Add the oregano and chili powder, stir and continue to toast until the mix is very fragrant but not scorched. Turn off the heat, add the paprika and cayenne and stir to combine. Remove the spice mix and reserve.

In the same skillet sauté the onions in the oil until they are soft. Add the garlic and spice mix and cook five minutes. Add the tomatoes and chipotle puree and simmer 15 minutes.

Add the tomato mixture to the beans and continue to simmer until the beans are quite soft. Season to taste with salt, vinegar and additional chipotle, if necessary.

Serve over polenta, garnished with cheese, peppers, sour cream or Greek yogurt, and green onions.

Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Blueberry Sauce

This quick and easy cake is an adaptation of a recipe I found on epicurious.com. You don't even have to get out the mixer, and it cooks in about half an hour. It has been very well received every time I've made it. In place of the blueberry sauce, you can substitute sliced, lightly sugared stawberries and whipped cream.

Cake:
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
½ cup sugar
3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 cup buttermilk at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature
Zest of two lemons
¼ pound butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

Glaze:
1 ¼ cups powdered sugar, sifted
Juice of two lemons

Sauce:
4 cups whole fresh or frozen blueberries
½ cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Zest of one lemon


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9” pyrex pie plate with deep sides and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar and baking powder in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Combine buttermilk, eggs, lemon peel vanilla and butter in small bowl and stir to combine. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and fold in with spatula until just blended. Pour the batter into the pie plate and bake until the cake pulls away from the sides and a tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

While the cake is baking, make the glaze: Put lemon juice into powdered sugar and stir until well combined and free of lumps. If the glaze is too thick, add a bit more lemon juice or water until glaze is of spreadable consistency.

When the cake is done, remove it from the oven, place a plate over it, and, using oven mitts, invert the cake onto the plate. Remove the parchment paper and, while cake is still hot, ice the top with glaze. Cool completely to room temperature.

Make the blueberry sauce: reserve half the blueberries. Combine the remaining ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and cook, stirring, until the berries are soft and the mix is syrupy. Remove from the heat and add the reserved berries. With the back of a wooden spoon, gently crush some of the fresh blueberries. The sauce can be made up to two days ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Before serving, bring to room temperature, or rewarm