Oktoberfest explored

Stein and I just returned from an impromptu and lovely Oktoberfest dinner at Sabi & Rick's. Sabi is a Slovenian transplant, and waxes nostaligic over central/eastern European food & culture. Sabi stirred up some lovely warm sauerkraut and a marvelous twice-cooked potato dish. Simple, satisfying, and extra mmm-y with a smear of whole mustard over top of each (I was substituting for the beer-boiled-brats and polish the rest of the partygoers were wolfing down hot from the grill on rolls with aforementioned mustard).

We had fun playing "find the polka" on Pandora (turns out Weird Al's dad was truly gifted), Sabi jolted my muscle memory with a few rounds of jaunty arms-about-the-waist polka across the linoleum, and I realized that that syrupy beer that confounded us the week prior when Chuck brought it over was the perfect counterpart to this hearty meal and the growing chill in Fall's approaching air.

Stein and I returned home at a decent hour, and with this warmness in my belly and heart I begin to wonder about my own roots in this corner of the globe. Ironically, the first person I think of when I consider my own German parts is my long-passed and never-met maternal grandfather, Carl Engle. Ironic, because he was actually adopted and we'll never know his true genetic family tree. But I consider him today, and wonder what it must have been like to serve in the US Military in WWII with a name like Carl Engle. No easy feat, I imagine. Here's to you, Carl.


And there's Mary Meehling, mother of Margaret Logue, my paternal grandmother. Mary was a solid midwestern gal, born 1890 in Clark County, Illinois. As delivered to my recipe collection, Mary's culinary legacy runs more to the fried chicken than the maultaschen.

I just wonder how particular cultural branches dominate a family tree? It could be that two world wars severed my family's ties with their German heritage, and the Irish limbs won that particular confrontation. But I know that many American families survived WWII with their Germanity intact. Perhaps the 1950's USA hofbrau + polka explosion was natural fallout from a decade of cultural repression? Controversial stuff, my friends!

And with that, I leave you with an audio treat...

Peasant food is sexy.

On tonight's menu:

Chanterelle, Leek and Potato Personal Pies
Wintry Brothy Borscht with Parsnips and Potatoes

It's Friday, I'm tired. If you are intrigued by the above descriptions, make a comment and I'll get my crap together and post the recipes!




Happy Winter Weather, my friends.

BORSCHT:
*recipe adapted from Crescent Dragonwagon's (I know, I know, just trust me)
Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread Cookbook.
This borscht is the chunky variety, with enough broth to sop up with crusty bread.
Stunning to look at, fun to make.

3-4 large fresh beets, greens removed (+ saved for sauteeing later with garlic.. mmm)
Veg oil for rubbing beets
3-4 TBS butter
2 L yellow onions, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium carrots, peeled + sliced
1 parsnip, peeled and sliced thin
1 can (16 oz) tomatoes and their juice, chunky puree
4 C Chicken stock or well-flavored veg stock
2 TBS honey
1/2 C loosely packed fresh dill, roughly chopped, no stems
2 bay leaves
1 TSP ea. dried oregano + basil
1 TSP salt
1/2 h cabbage, cut into thin ribbons
12-15 small red potatoes, boiled til tender
sour cream + dill for garnish

Leave tails and top stem base on, rinse, dry and rub with veg oil. wrap each in foil, or put together in a snug-fitting baking dish, cover with foil, and bake @ 350' til beets can be pierced with a fork. (Baking this way keeps flavor concentrated in the beet flesh.) Let them cool while you:

Sautee onions in butter til soft, then add carrots, garlic, parsnip. Lower heat and sautee til veg are slightly limp, about 6 mins. Add tomatoes, stock, honey, herbs, salt. Bring to boil, turn down heat and cover, simmering about 40 mins. Boil the potatoes til tender and set aside.

Back to the beets: rinse in cool water, the skins should slip easily off, as well as the crusty stem cluster and tail. dice beets and add with cabbage, simmering covered until cabbage is tender, about 15-20 mins. Adjust seasoning to taste, serve piping hot with 1 or 2 potatoes in each bowl, garnished with sour cream and a dill sprig. Serve with a yummy slab of warmed crusty bread. mmmm.

Bizzy!

okninajustguiltedmeaboutnotkeeping
upwithmyblogbutcan'tyouseehowinsanemylifeisrightnow?
yes,thefestivalstartsinthreeweeksandibarelyhavetimeto
breatheletalonewriteafriggingblog.sothelackofspaces
inthisentrywillhavetoillustratethelackofspaceinmydays!
thatsaid,yes,letsdohavedinner!xofryer

Happy New Yeee--- oh crap, it's almost March.

So last Saturday I was making Aloo Gobi - ya know - deep frying cauliflower, as you do -- and had to banish all children from the kitchen as an explosion of oil-coated water globulets went flying from the pan all over me, my stove, my floor -- I had a 2nd degree burn the size of a sesame seed right under my nose. Invisible to the eye, yet excruciatingly painful. Pity me. But due to the fantasticness of the bar in our lovely ranch house, my pal Jennie was seated out of direct range of said oil splatters and witnessed the mayhem, which made me feel kinda fabulous, like I was on an ER-Food Network hybrid drama. The Aloo Gobi was quite tasty in the end, and I'm pretty sure contained no pieces of me. (Note: dry cauliflower off before tossing in boiling oil.)

Which brings me back around to Jennie's behind. I mean where Jennie's behind was parked when said drama occurred. On our fabulous new barstools!
I'm only bragging about them because we got them for free. And I'm in love with them. My husband is awesome. My husband is awesome, but I'm in love with my barstools. Is that wrong? Good score, hubby. All it took was an hour with a toothbrush and some harsh cleansers, and voila! good as new. Friends, come try them out.

OK - it's shamefully late, Edie's still up with me as she refuses to go to sleep without the soothing sensation of yanking the hair out of my head with her bare hands. Bless her. I love the little nutter. And her big nutter sister...

Deck the Halls with Flogging Molly..

It's 11:06 pm on Thursday before Xmas. I'm working tomorrow per normal and should be in bed, but have my latent holiday brownies in the oven, so I'm up extra latently. Which doubles as an excuse to have the house to myself!

I tucked Edie and her cousin Simone into bed tonight singing an endless cycle of "Silent Night" - which is such a lovely tune, but I always start to mumble when I get to the "Christ our Saviour" bit. I wish this season was pure light and clarity, but it is so very conflicted and abstract. I like the general sweetness of it's origin, but not being a True Believer it's hard to be fully immersed in the entire experience. I wish the holiday was built around how jaw-dropping Arana Gulch looked this morning, with the mist gently rising from the newly green meadow.

Or around how much I love the smell of sauteeing onions and butter. Or when my hair curls the right direction. Or the joy of finishing a project. Or when my kids are engrossed in something for a good while and emerge triumphant with something new. Or when my husband lets stress roll off his back. Or the magic of REALLY good music that knocks you out of where you are stuck.

These are tangibles I can relate to. Not some random guy from centuries ago. I don't mind the centuries, and the wisdom is real, but the corruption since has made the association with that little christ-child a little flimsy. But, yea verily, this makes for dee-licious comedy.


OK - it's now 11:59, the brownies are crisped around the edges and soggy in the middle. I think I should stick to onions and butter.

Happy Yule! God, I really do love Christmas. Gulchmas. Onionmas. Musicmas. Happymas. Productivemas. Kidmas. Mas.

Happy Winter from the FryesnSteins!

Welcome to the Fryes-n-Steins first Winter Greeting and Update blog!
















For those of you who haven't heard from us in a while - we moved to Santa Cruz, CA in June 2004, shortly after the birth of Edie. We chose Santa Cruz, where I (Jess) was raised up, after considering other options such as Petaluma, Arcata, Oregon, and even returning to Dave's home state of Virginia.
For the uninitiated,

SC is a pretty hoppin' little town, lots of live music, great restaurants (but why no good Indian?), lovely nature including the ocean and redwoodsy forests just a short ways away. The perfect mix of kitchy pleasures (the Boardwalk, the Mystery Spot) and genuine breathtaking beauty.

Our good pals the Koskis (Jennie) (Darius) moved here the same summer, with their two boys, so instantly habitual BBQing was established! It's lovely that our kids are growing up together.










I have family in SC as well, my mom and dad and aunts and uncles and cousins and lots of extended family too - so the family network has been fantabulous.

In SC Dave started out working for Darius' dad, building a house. After that project, Dave was hired by a super duper residential remodel company called Talmadge Construction. They have been fantastic to work for, and Dave is now a hands-on project manager, doing high-end remodels and construction projects. A perk of that work was meeting our friends the Lukes (Mike L. is a plumbing subcontractor) and their four kids who we adore!


I stayed on maternity leave for about 9 months after Edie was born, then was hired as office manager for the SC Symphony. About a year and a half after that, I was promoted to marketing director. That was a great learning experience on many levels. Recently I took the position of associate director for the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. Check out the website to learn more.

Other big news: Fiona graduated from 5th grade in June, and thusly began Middle School this September! So far so good - she likes it, and we are getting used to a totally new social structure, and all that Middle School brings up! Fiona was also accepted onto a competetive soccer team, the Jaws, who travelled to the Silicon Valley and thereabouts. A whole new ball game, as it were! Very exciting, great coaching, great team mates. She also was accepted onto her school soccer team, but has had to miss several matches due to breaking her wrist a few months back, then re-injuring it a few weeks ago. But kids are bouncy, right?
She is a fantastic kid, we are so proud.

Edie is now a spicy three-year-old, goes to preschool and hangs out with her Mima and Aunties and cousins. Edie is truly a crazy nut. But a cute one!






Dave and Darius and Mike all bowl in a League together, and now the Lukes and the Frye-Steins have formed a bowling team (the Lane Asses), looking ahead to January and our second year in the annual Punk Rock Bowling Tournament in Las Vegas! Hee-Haw!














So - I'll leave it there for starters, more later... Here's a parting picture to help you look forward to next Thanksgiving - my sister Consuelo and my husband Dave, haggling over the birds. That's Schmuel on the left, kosher (no butter) and Earl on the right. Dave is trying to recover from having shoved an entire stick of butter up under Earl's hide. " 'Appy Cookeeng" as Jacques says!