Christian, Jewish , Agnostic, Atheist this time of year heralds renewal, new beginning, and rebirth. I was fortunate to spend Easter Sunday cooking for my Auntie Mame and two special old girlfriends. One was Gabi who I’ve only known for a few years, but through many twists and turns was instrumental to me meeting Certain Someone.
And Deborah, and old Shopgirl friend of mine from when I first moved to Chicago who is one the nicest, elegant , and giving people you can ever meet. I always remember how she was the first one of my ‘friends’ who showed up at the house when my Mommy died. Schedules keep us apart so I felt Easter was perfect to get us reacquainted with a girly lunch with Certain Someone away in Europe.
In the previous post I gave a link to articles I had written for the Ebony Jet.com site. This lunch used some elements from that post but made some changes. I served the salmon in a new way,
Asparagus Spears with Hollandaise
And Hot Cross Buns!
Gabi and Deborah brought some excellent wines . The highlight being a dry Tokaji from Hungry.
Dessert will be revealed later on this month so hold tight. I will tell you they were a success! This time I decided to place the salmon on a bed of sauteed spinach on puff pastry. The topping had a Dungeness Crab Imperial . Via Twitter one night watching the Number One Ladies Detective Agency, I struck up a conversation with the people of Ocean Harvest out of Charleston Oregon.
Dessert will be revealed later on this month so hold tight. I will tell you they were a success! This time I decided to place the salmon on a bed of sauteed spinach on puff pastry. The topping had a Dungeness Crab Imperial . Via Twitter one night watching the Number One Ladies Detective Agency, I struck up a conversation with the people of Ocean Harvest out of Charleston Oregon.
They checked out my site and offered to send me Dungeness Crab. How could I refuse!Please check out their informative site. If you are a seafood lover it has chock full of information and they also offer low Mercury Albacore Tuna. It’s a wonderful thing to see such pride and dedication in a family owned business.
Dungeness Crab, Spinach and Salmon En Croute
Serves 4
4 fillets of salmon
1 package of Puff Pastry
2 5 1/2 oz cans Ocean Harvest Dungeness Crab drained
1 bag of spinach washed and dried.
2-3 Tablespoons Mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
Old Bay Crab Seasoning
Paprika
1 Tablespoon capers
Butter
Olive Oil
1 egg beaten
Sea Salt
Prep:
Defrost puff pastry and divide each sheet in half. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. In a sauce pan melt a little butter and olive oil. Add spinach and saute until wilted.In a small bowl mix the crab, mayonnaise, mustard, Old Bay, and capers.
Assemble:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Brush inside of Puff pastry with egg. Place spinach on top of pastry. Add salmon fillet on top. Sprinkle with sea salt. Place a mound of crab mixture on top of salmon. Spread along the length of fillet. Dust with Paprika. Fold up ends and sides to encase the edges of salmon.Brush outside with egg. Bake for 15-20 minutes until pastry is golden and salmon is done.
Certain Someone and I needless to say were exhausted and jet lagged by the time New Years Eve rolled around. No overpriced parties and clubs for us. We decided to use the night as an occasion to catch up with couple who are old friends of ours. Last year Certain Someone purchased a Raclette grill for us. Many of his youthful single days were spent entertaining in this style. As I had kind of lost my kitchen mojo being inactive this was a perfect solution for New Years Eve. The first time I has Raclette was in Geneva visiting a friends house while in college. I remember the real authentic Raclette cheese . potatoes and the good wholesomeness of it. Certain Someone has taken more liberties than what I remember , but that even makes Raclette more fun.
Raclette is both a cheese and a type of grill with Swiss origins. It consists of a grill with individual melting pans and a grill top. Traditionally bread or small potatoes are served alongside melted cheeses, salamis and other charcuterie, vegetables, pickled vegetables,and toppings. One can assemble all sorts of creations to melt the cheese atop. Its communal , interactive, and very filling. Traditionally a good white wine is served with.There was an old superstition not to drink water with your raclette as the cheese balls formed in your stomach could expand and cause death. We served the following:
The next day Certain Someone actually cooked up this big baked gratin for us with the leftovers. He layered all the vegetables. meat , and cheeses with pasta. I have to say it was quite good and fattening. Just the right dish to kick of the New Year.
I was touched, as you really do not see a lot of that type of devotion here. One wonders if the younger generations will keep these traditions. We mostly stayed put while Certain Someone’s mother provided us three meals. She takes great pride in her cooking and it was fun to see her baby truly enjoy her sturdy food. Breakfasts began with various wursts, bread, Mett (similar to steak tartar but made with pork), some cheese, soft-boiled eggs, etc. I admit it was hard for me to adjust to eating like that each morning and I just cannot wrap my head around Mett. Lunches were the big meals and she presented my favorites like Leberkasse (a type of meatloaf which ironically does not have liver in it),
stuffed cabbage roulades in kraut, goose, and tons of potato dishes. Who knew all those versions of potato salads could exist and some even with more wursts! Certain Someone’s mothers likes to bake cakes and make puddings too. Normally he does not eat my sweets but again it was fun to see him lap up the puddings. All of this, washed down with tons of coffee drinking and beer .The kitchen was off limits to me and her sole domain . Unfortunately, I did not get to see or learn how to make her wonderful cookies.Rich marzipan and buttery confections. She also is a gifted needle pointer and the house was filed with all her decorated table linens, and ornaments with her signature needlework. In another time and place I can see her giving Martha Stewart a run for her money in the crafts and cooking departments.
Certain Someone and I visited some of his childhood friends as well while in Essen. I am not used to a place virtually shutting down for days. Christmas is celebrated over days. First, the opening of the presents on the Eve, Christmas Day, and then Zweiter Weihnachts Tag (the second day). Strangely, church going is not big in Germany except for perhaps Christmas. We did manage to leave the house and walk along the beautiful Ruhr River. 
Certain Someone entertained me with visits to both Cologne and Dusseldorf as well, both about an hour by train from Essen. We made it the famous Christmas market in Cologne, one of Germany’s oldest cities. The market is right under the Cathedral, which houses the bones of the Magi as well as many knights, kings, and princes. The cathedral dates back fro centuries and is always in a state of repair and renovation. 
We breaked for lunch at a traditional Brau Haus (brewery) for good German food and Kolsh (the beer Cologne is famous for). I loved these sort of places where one takes a table and may share it with others eating good simple food. I always claim German food is the Soul Food of Europe. I devoured with Certain Someone’s help a delicious Ham shank. Overall, I liked Cologne except for the maddening Christmas crowds. It was a bit overwhelming at that time of year, but hopefully one day I will be back when it is calmer. I searched high and low for Springerele molds for next years cookies but could not find any. It is a lost art it seems. After Christmas, Certain Someone whisked me off to Düsseldorf. While Cologne is known for media, carnivals, arts and culture, and being called ‘the gayest city ‘ in Germany, is its rival in fashion, more media, banking, and its Alt Beer. I think I am more a Dusseldorf kind of girl myself.
I loved walking by the Rhine and strolling down the Kö( Königsalle/ Kings Alley) taking in the fashionable designer shops and jewelers. I tried to show Certain Someone some baubles priced at around 20,000 euros but he was not having it. You know how men wait outside while you look. Although he stopped in a few stores to check out his passion, watches. We visited another Brau House to sample Düsseldorf’s Alt Beer (old beer) . I liked this one more because it was darker. We both had dishes with Spatzle and another memorable lunch before heading back to Essen. If I ever had to live in Germany Dusseldorf would be more to my liking. And alas, the trip was over. Ten days of eating, drinking, and a lot of contemplation. I have a new understanding of Germany and hopefully will get to explore more of it one day. 
Thank you all for reading these 12 Days Of Cookies posts. I haven’t blogged consecutively like that before, and it was a challenge. Certain Someone is relieved that all this cookie madness is over.But I don’t regret doing this. I made some new friends and learned a lot. If anything it reinforced that I love to bake. And for 12 days I was able to spread some holiday cheer with the fruits of my labor. Certain Someone and I leave for Germany next week and I wont be blogging for the last two weeks of December, but I will squeeze maybe one or two post before then. A big thanks to my Cookie gang and Andrea for inviting me. I know we screamed about these recipes and Gourmet but it was all in good fun. Nothing was wasted as it can all be salvaged and put to use later.I would suggest the folks at Gourmet give their editors test kitchen notes if they decide to publish vintage recipes in the future. We realize there was a disclaimer, but some insight into how they adapted these recipes to modern kitchens would be welcome. 