The background for our Thanksgiving in Descanso

Several years ago, my brother-in-law Albert and his wife Lydia fled the confines of San Diego proper and now they are setting up a remote homestead in Descanso which is about an hour east of downtown. Actually, Descanso is downright urban compared to where they live in Sherilton Valley, a small community of families tucked into a hidden nook of the San Diego backcountry. Albert and Lydia own 25 acres that back up against national forest. There’s never been a house or a road built on their property. They’re in the process of securing permits from the county so that they can buy a pre-fab home and grade dirt roads on their amazing beautiful property which is full of live oaks, two creeks, and an artesian well. They’ll use solar energy exclusively and connect with the outside world through satellite phones. Albert and Lydia own goats, chickens, sheep, and dogs. They’re on their way to getting a couple mules.

The table was festively set for an early dinner

Lydia’s mom, Carol, owns a home on 10 acres adjacent to their property and that’s where we had Thanksgiving this year. Lydia and Albert are living in Carol’s house temporarily while they work on their own property. With our amazing southern California heat wave the past couple weeks, it seemed like a perfect idea to celebrate autumn in the backcountry where temperatures quickly drop and the world is as silent as can be.

Carol’s friends and family lovingly worked for days on the amazing dinner we all enjoyed. I admittedly didn’t do much. I contributed a cheese plate that guests could nibble on as the last minute meal preparations were finished up. Don’t worry… we also did a “Second Thanksgiving” on Sunday that I did a lot more work for. I’ll report on that later this week with recipes and all.

The hit of the party (or at least what I heard the most Ooohhs and Aaahhhs over) was the Butternut Squash soup. I am going to work on getting the recipe. The flavors were complex and rich and infinitely fascinating. I think there were pears and cloves and cinnamon involved. Once I get the recipe, I’ll definitely post it.

The turkey was free-range from Whole Foods. We also enjoyed a choice between vegetarian stuffing and turkey stuffing. Other sides included fresh kale with garlic and anchovies, yams, sweet potatoes, traditional mashed potatoes, salad, roasted root vegetables, wild rice, and a trio of pies for dessert. Nobody went hungry… that’s for sure.

Thank you to Carol, Albert, and Lydia for opening your home to all of us and thank you to the wide array of friends who put together our luscious and bountiful spread of food. I think that the Backcountry Thanksgiving is a new tradition for our family.

I hope you all enjoyed a lovely holiday as well. Now it’s time to look towards the December holidays and New Year’s!

… but the party was a success! Hey, that rhymes! That should be my mantra after every get-together at my house, when I look around the downstairs and wonder if my home will ever be the same neat and tidy place it was just a few hours before.

Tonight, I managed not to stress myself out to the point of being unable to enjoy myself. In fact I was pretty relaxed. There was only one time that my friend Jaime had to rush an emergency glass of wine into my hand.

The hit of the party was definitely dessert. After last week’s experience making my first ever cake, I decided to try my hand at making my second cake ever, using a different recipe. It’s from the September 2003 issue of Bon Appetit and it’s called Easy Chocolate Cake.

I tried to make it look pretty on a platter.

In my opinion, this cake is only “easy” by Bon Appetit standards. Or by expert cake-maker standards. The recipe required that I do a few techniques that I hadn’t tried before. I had my first experience with a springform pan, lined with parchment paper. Also, I don’t believe I’ve ever baked anything in a water bath. I actually made two of these cakes for the party, since we were expecting so many people.

It was a little scary serving a cake that I hadn’t ever tasted before, but I figured that with Scharffen Berger chocolate and such simple ingredients, I couldn’t go wrong.

I was right. I earned nothing but raves and both cakes were fully consumed by my happy party guests.

Special thanks to Heidi and all the ladies who were lifesavers in the kitchen with me today!

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Easy Chocolate Cake
12 Servings
Bon Appetit September 2003

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

6.5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1.5 cups sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 T water
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, softened

6 large eggs

Unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350. Tightly wrap outside of 10-inch-diameter springform pan with 3 sheets of heavy-duty foil. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper. Spray inside of pan with nonstick spray.

Combine both chocolates in large metal bowl. Set over saucepan of simmering water and stir just until melted. Remove from over water. Bring 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of water plus 2 T water to boil in saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves and syrup forms. Gradually whisk hot syrup into melted chocolate (mixture may look curdled). Add butter; whisk to blend.

Using electric mixer, beat eggs and 1/2 cup sugar in bowl to blend well, about 2 minutes. Using rubber spatula, gently fold egg mixture into warm chocolate mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan (batter will come halfway up the sides). Place cake pan in large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come 1 inch up sides of cake pan.

Bake cake until wooden skewer inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 50 minutes. Remove cake pan from water. Remove foil; cool completely on rack.

Cut around cake sides to loosen. Remove pan sides. Transfer cake to platter. Dust with cocoa powder and serve.

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Notes:

• I microwaved the chocolate to melt it. If anyone can tell me why that is horrible, please do! It just seems so much easier to me.
• I used butter instead of the nonstick spray.
• I made the cakes the day before and refrigerated them, letting them sit out for a half hour or so before serving. I think they could have used a full hour to warm up a bit.

If any of you were curious about some of the other dishes I mentioned for the party, don’t worry - recipes will come with time. I’ve only been writing this blog for a week and I already feel overwhelmed by all of the topics I want to write about!

Have a fabulous Monday!

I’m hosting a double birthday party at my house tomorrow for my little sister (28) and my father-in-law (50-something). Wanna hear the menu?

As usual, nothing can be simple with my family when it comes to throwing a party. I’m sure other families just get some pre-made goodies from Costco or dial for take-out from Rubio’s or a pizza place. But with us, we can’t even buy the salsa in a jar.

Everything has to be complicated with us. But the trade-off is that the food is usually out-of-this-world delicious.

You can taste the days of work that go into even the simplest gathering. The women of our family have been calling each other back and forth for days, making sure every detail will be taken care of. And by detail, I mean food. We don’t do balloons or streamers or activities. We just need lots of the best quality food and everyone together in the same room and we’re all thrilled.

So here’s what we’re devouring tomorrow:

To start:

• Spinach Dip in a Sourdough Bread Bowl - Classic 1950s dish that my husband requested as football-watching fare. I can’t deny that boy anything!
• Nuts, Cheese, Crackers, etc
• Mystery Appetizer brought my friend Heidi who puts Martha Stewart to shame, so I totally trust her

The main situation:

• Homemade tortillas from my new tortilla press (Hope it works!)
• Pollo and carne asada marinated and thrown on the BBQ - This is the one part that the men will be responsible for, besides the clean-up!
• Salsa, guacamole, Spanish rice, and pinto beans - All homemade from tried-and-true recipes
• Salad with homemade dressing - From a family recipe

After we’re all stuffed beyond belief:

• Almond and Cornmeal Giant Cookie - From last week’s cooking class. I’ll post the recipe soon!
• Easy Chocolate Cake from Bon Appetit - Yes, I’m making my second cake ever just a few days after the first!
• Homemade Premium Vanilla Ice Cream - 2 batches to go with the above desserts

Sound good? As you’ll see, we’re impossibly snobby about food which is often a giant pain in the ass. But I always feel satisfied when everyone is ooh-ing and ahh-ing and happy and together. Somehow, I never end up eating very much when I am the host, since everything’s so hectic. Does that happen to anyone else?

So, wish us luck! I don’t know exactly how many people are coming - somewhere from 12-20. But that doesn’t really matter because there’s always way too much food no matter what we do.

Happy Birthday, Amy and Rick!

Full report tomorrow night.