Christmas with the Tings!
There is no way I could write about memorable meals and good food experiences without describing some fantastic food with my family. Not to get all Freudian, but they are largely responsible for making me the food obsessed person I am today. This past Christmas, Shef and I had the good fortune to spend several days with my parents in Taos, New Mexico. My sister Cheryl (you might know her from such posts as Chinese New Year or empanadas) my bro-in-law Cameron and my awesome niece and nephew, Maia and Dylan were also in Taos visiting from Oakland so it was extra sweet to be in Taos with the family. We spent our time hanging out, enjoying wintertime activities like sledding, snowboarding, skiing and of course cooking and eating. Here are some photographic highlights, with captions of course.
Christmas Dinner
This was kind of a casual affair. I think we had leg of lamb, some roasted winter squash and salad. My dad is kind of a pro when it comes to preparing the perfect leg of lamb. It always comes out perfectly cooked – rare to medium rare – juicy and delicious. This time he marinated it in pomegranate juice salt, pepper and garlic.
Cheryl roasts the winter squash.
Dad slices the leg of lamb.
Perfectly cooked - the lamb is rare and juicy.
My dad's also been known to make really good salad, althought the amount of avocado and blue cheese in it probably disqualifies it from being low calorie.
The lamb is all sliced and ready to be consumed. Look at how pink and beautiful it is.
Cheryl, Maia, Shefali and Dylan are ready to eat.
Hot Wing Dinner
Cheryl and Cam decided to treat us all by preparing the most gourmet of meals: hot wings. Alright, so Cheryl used some sort of prepared buffalo wing marinade we bought at the grocery store. But she did make her own blue cheese dressing using blue cheese, yogurt, mayonnaise, worcestershire sauce and other things I can’t remember. I made ratatouille that was good, but a bit too rich in flavor for the kids because I used what I thought was tomato paste but which turned out to be Italian paste (?) and also used burgundy wine left over from when my mom had made boef bourguignon a couple days before. Fortunately, the hot wings kind of kicked ass. How can you not love chicken wings?
The family's ready to eat some hot wings.
The hot wings were actually baked, not fried so really, they're quite healthy.
A loveley plate of brown rice pasta, ratatouille and hot wings.
Hot Pot!
One of my fondest food memories of childhood was what we called dah bean loh or hot pot. It’s always been a favorite of mine because – well obviously it’s delicious – but also it’s a really communal way of cooking and eating and it probably has something to do with my deep enjoyment of both. How it works is each person sits around a table laden with raw food at the center of which is a single big pot of boiling water. Each person has his/her own personal basket in which to put either beef, chicken, shrimp, fish, tofu or whatever else needs to be cooked. Properly loaded, the basket is plunked into the pot of boiling water already loaded with vegetables and cilantro in order to lend flavor to the broth. Nothing takes more than a couple minutes to cook and when it’s done, the person takes his basket with their steaming morsel out, dunks it into a dipping sauce of their own devising and plops it into his mouth, taking care not to burn it of course. In this way, because everybody is constantly cooking and eating, the meal can last for couple hours while conversation flows and competitive juices flow especially if a stray shrimp pops out of a basket into the bubbling water and becomes in my mom’s words “free game.” It was our last meal in Taos and our best because it was a true family meal where everybody, including the kids got to cook.
An induction hot pot surrounded by beef, mushrooms, shrimp, chicken, scallops and other delicious ingredients ready to be cooked.
Dylan and Maia ready for some hot pot action.
Shefali's shows off her dipping sauce.
Let the dah-bean-loh begin. Dylan and Maia get down to business.
So much food to cook and eat. When I asked Maia if she was having a good time she answered, "Yeah,I think I'm having a little too much fun." Too much fun? Never.
Cheryl and Dad look for some stray shrimp.
Baskets laden wit tofu, and napa cabbage. Where's the beef... or chicken, or scallops?
Mom and dad demonstrate their serious old school eating prowess while Maia takes a break.
Shefali savors her meal
Gee, I wonder where I got my enjoyment of eating. Any idea, mom?
Cheryl serves herself some noodles. The noodles (fun see) are mung bean noodles that go in towards the end of the meal after evertthing has been cooked. By that time the water has become really brothy and flavorful and so you basically finish off your meal with noodle soup.
Bobb the Dog knows he missed out.
Honey, I really enjoyed your account of our holiday together. I think you left out a “u” in the boeuf bourguignon. Love the photos. Thanks for recording our very special time together!
Clarence, ‘great article and photos! We were lucky and got to partake of “hot pot,” too, for Chinese New Year’s with your parents and their friends. I know your Mom told you about the couple–Mark and Way (sp?)– closer to your age than ours– that were so much fun to be with. You’re right that it’s such a good way to have a meal together because the food and conversation are woven together and can go on an on. You’re an appealing food writer, Clarence.
And I meant to say that Tom joins me in sending our love to you and Shefali.