That Time of Year

There's no denying that the Christmas season is one of the best - if not the best - time of the year. Christmas carols, The Nutcracker, decorating the tree. Something about this season just feels magical. Although my Santa days are sadly long gone, these traditions help bring back those feelings of excitement and anticipation that seemed to last an eternity as a kid. Just because I'm at the age where Santacon is more appropriate than sitting on Santa's lap at the mall, doesn't mean I can't still indulge myself in other kid-friendly Christmas activities. 

Now in its second year, my friends' gingerbread house making/Love Actually viewing party was even better than the first: more friends, more food, and even some blood! (Wouldn't be a gingerbread house party without someone cutting themselves opening a tube of frosting, right Steph?) As fun as gingerbread decorating is, it can also be a little frustrating. The walls fall down, gumdrops slide off the roof, and Frosty just refuses to stand upright! Thankfully we had some delicious mulled wine and treats to take the edge off. In addition to some deliciously festive eggnog cheesecake bites and super decadent chocolate chip loaf with caramel drizzle, I contributed something a bit more savory: stuffed mushrooms. For some unexplainable reason, I had a strong urge to make stuffed mushrooms. They've never been a tradition at my family Christmases (Ga-ga actually has a very strong aversion to mushrooms), but something about them just seems fun and festive to me - maybe because they're like little presents filled with yummy surprises? Anyways, it was a wonderful little fete filled with wine and Colin Firth-ogling. You can never be too old for Christmas; you just find ways to make your favorite traditions as a kid a little more grown up. 


Stuffed Mushrooms (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Makes about 24 with leftover stuffing which I used as a pasta sauce and with stuffed chicken - see pictures below!


Ingredients:
8 bacon slices
1 cup chopped onion (about 1 small-medium onion)
1 10-oz package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
Salt and pepper
3 packages white button mushrooms, stems removed


1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Coarsely chop bacon. Reserve bacon fat in the pan.
2. Heat 2 tsp reserved bacon fat in skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute until tender. Transfer to medium bowl and cool. Mix in bacon, spinach, feta, cream cheese and crushed red pepper. Season filling to taste with salt and pepper. 
3. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Toss mushrooms with remaining bacon fat in a large bowl to coat. Sprinkle mushrooms with salt and pepper. Place mushrooms, rounded side down, in single layer on the baking sheet. Bake mushrooms until centers fill with liquid, about 25 minutes. Turn mushrooms over. Bake mushrooms until liquid evaporates, about 20 minutes more. 
4. Spoon 1 heaping tsp filling into each mushroom cavity. Bake mushrooms at 375 degrees until heated through, about 10 minutes. Serve warm. 

Leftover stuffed mushroom filling makes a great creamy pasta sauce!

Or a savory filling for stuffed chicken breasts!

Eggcellent Spinach, Mushroom & Goat Cheese Frittata

One of my favorite dishes that my mom makes is her quiche. Quiche was a staple in my mom's weekly round-up of dinner recipes. Most frequently she'd make broccoli and cheddar quiche, which was delicious and suited to the picky taste buds of my younger siblings. But my favorite was the bacon and Jarlsberg quiche; the more pungent flavor of the Swiss cheese and the saltiness of the bacon were most satisfying to my "refined" palate as a kid.

Quiche always seemed like such an elegant dish to me when I was younger. I remember my French teacher used to ooh and ah about Quiche Lorraine, and I would envision myself enjoying the savory bite as I sipped un cafe au lait along the Seine (in fact, this is still a dream of mine...). Something about the indulgent ingredients - creamy cheese, fatty bacon, buttery crust - made me think quiche was a dish reserved for experienced cooks...

And it could be if you have the time and patience to make your own pie crust. But since moving to NYC, quiche has become one of my go-to dishes for entertaining or potlucks. Okay, I cheat and use pre-made pie crust, but it still tastes delicious and saves me so much time. From there, it's just a matter of mixing your eggs and preferred cheeses/veggies/meats et voila... quiche straight from Paris!

Now you're probably expecting a quiche recipe, when in fact I'm going to give you a recipe for a frittata. A frittata is like an Italian quiche, sans crust; therefore making it slightly healthier (depending on what cheese and other fatty goodness you put inside). In an effort to balance out the obscene amount of gingerbread and cookies I'll be eating in the coming weeks, I decided to fare on the lighter side by amping up the vegetables and opting for a lighter cheese (i.e. goat cheese). The great thing about this frittata (or quiche for that matter) is that it tastes great hot, cold or at room temperature, and makes for a delicious breakfast, lunch or dinner. Even though I cheat on the crust (or avoid it all together as I did here), I can still feel like a chic Parisian while I eat my frittata from my desk in New York. Bon appetit!

Spinach, Mushroom & Goat Cheese Frittata
makes 5-6 servings
Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 cups baby bella mushrooms, chopped
3 cups fresh baby spinach
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper
7 eggs, beaten
4 oz goat cheese

1. Melt butter in a nonstick, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and mushroom. Sprinkle with a pinch of red pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper. Stir to coat in butter and cook until onions become translucent, about 6 minutes.
2. Add the spinach to the pan. Stir until the spinach wilts down.
3. Add the eggs to the skillet. Continue to cook over medium-high heat, swirling around the eggs with a rubber spatula.
4. When the eggs start to set and the sides come together, sprinkle the goat cheese on top. Place the pan under the broiler until the eggs are fluffy and slightly golden, and the cheese is melted - about 4 minutes.
5. Allow frittata to cool slightly before cutting into slices. Serve warm, cold or a room temperature.

A Very Gaga Thanksgiving

While some of you may have turned on your TV to catch "A Very Gaga Thanksgiving" this year, we had a very Gaga Thanksgiving in the flesh! As much I would have enjoyed eating our Thanksgiving meal to the melody of "Bad Romance"as we all incubated in large eggs, I'm talking about the first and original Gaga, not Lady Gaga... our grandma! Me being the oldest grandchild and genius baby that I was, came up with the nickname Gaga, and 23 years later, I can safely say I was a fan of Gaga before anyone else.

Usually, my family spends Thanksgiving at Gaga's house in Westchester, NY with our cousins, aunts and uncles, but this year was a much more intimate affair at our house in Westborough, MA with just my direct family and, of course, Gaga. Though we knew it would be small, that was no excuse to skimp on the food. No, no. Not when a Costanzo is in the house! (Costanzo is Gaga's last name). In case you couldn't tell, Costanzo is obviously Italian, so any family get together - especially Thanksgiving - is going to involve a lot of food... obviously.

We all joked about the different food theories between my mom's family (Italian) and my dad's (Irish). In the Costanzo house, there can never be enough food, which is probably why we had six desserts for the six of us on Thanksgiving! For the Colberts, what you have is always more than enough. (To give you an idea of what I mean, my dad's mother used to feed a family of seven children with ONE can of tuna!!!) And even though my dad's family is full of great cooks, I'm gonna have to go with the Costanzos on this one. You really can never have enough good food.

But regardless of how big or small that turkey is, or how many pies you make, the food is just a vehicle for bringing us all together. Making jokes, laughing together, and sharing memories of loved ones. Now that I live on my own, not so close to my family, I've really come to appreciate the time that we do spend together. And the fact that my family lives loves to eat, makes these times even better.

The superstar herself... Gaga! 

Michael and Emma hard at work icing cookies!

Baked brie en croute with walnuts and cinnamon

Haricots verts with roasted shallots and fennel

Dad and his pride and joy

More sides! Sweet potato pie, roasted butternut squash, and stuffing...mmm