Ham Sandwich Indicted!

True to form (and compulsion), Ham Sandwich and family kept it on the foodie tip this Christmas, with several days of festive food and drink. We started off on Christmas Eve with our now-traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes. This year's menu included: Garlic-butter glazed salmon (caught by H.S's brother, up in Michigan) Lemon and herb stuffed whole trout (also caught by said brother) Prociutto-wrapped scallops Sardines in Salsa Verde recipe here , with sardines instead of anchovies Crab cakes Shrimp cocktail Crab salad Salmon dip Farfalle pasta with tomato sauce Assorted cheeses, olives, and breads We also experimented with cocktails from Imbibe! a book of old-tyme drink recipes. And maybe the folks of 1862 had a different idea of what tastes good, but I would argue that Hot Buttered Rum is not very delicious. However, the Vanilla Punch we made on Christmas Day (with brandy, sugar, lemon, and vanilla extract), was quite enjoyable. For Christmas Day dinner, we went with a...

My friend Brian turned 32 last week, and celebrated by having his friends over for pozole. It's becoming increasingly clear that he has a serious affection for slow cooked pork (see post on pig roast), and last Saturday's event was a great success. Pozole (or posole) is essentially a pork and hominy soup, pre-Columbian in origin. The pork (usually a shoulder) is braised for hours in a broth of chilies and spices, and the hominy is added near the end. Garnishes for the pozole included crispy tostadas, warm tortillas, sliced radishes, fresh cilantro, shredded greens, and a sauce made of reconstituted and pureed chipotle peppers. Needless to say, it was delicious. I'll see if I can't get Brian to share his recipe for the blog... "Three most essential parts of a good pozole: pork, hominy, and chile." Vince on shredding duty. There was also a pinata--which was demolished by some very enthusiastic participants wielding drumsticks.