CaseT
TVWBB Platinum Member
Nothing super fancy this year. Normally we do Dungeness Crab for Christmas Eve, but the season hasn't opened yet due to low weight of the crab. I didn't want to buy last years frozen and the store had really nice looking wild caught prawns so we opted to made shrimp and grits. I was going to grill the prawns on the 14.5 but sleet was coming down sideways so I opted for the stove top Le Creuset cast iron grill pan. I seasoned the prawns with old bay and basted with garlic butter while cooking. My wife made the grits. Nothing fancy just low and slow in the cast iron pan until done, no cream, no stock just water.. We served crumbled bacon, Tillamook sharp cheddar, and green onions on the side. My wife also made some buttermilk biscuits.
Oh yeah, blue grits are our favorite:
Christmas day we were all going to the in-laws and all we needed to bring was desert. I opted to take Mix berry upside down polenta cake. Its nice as its not to heavy or sweet. As
As a note for whatever reason this cake took way longer this time to make. I'm not sure if the berries were too wet or what. Cake took 30 minutes longer than it should. I recently checked our oven temp and it is pretty close. So if you make the following recipe, don't be surprised if it takes longer.
INGREDIENTS
Vegetable oil for greasing pan
1 ⅓ cup sugar, divided
3 cups blueberries (you can sub mixed berrries, strawberries, peaches, etc)
2 large eggs
Finely grated zest of 1 large orange (I like to use lemon)
⅔ cup orange juice (you can sub 1/3 cup with lemon juice)
⅔ cup olive oil (not extra virgin) or sunflower oil
½ cup regular or instant polenta
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line base and sides of a 9-inch-square cake pan with baking parchment, and grease the parchment ( I use a spring form pan.I place the pan on a cooling rack on a piece of parchment on a baking sheet as they always leak). Sprinkle 1/3 cup sugar over base of pan, and cover evenly with blueberries.
In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, 1 cup sugar and orange zest. Whisk until pale and thick. Add orange juice and oil, and whisk until blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together polenta, flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, whisking until smooth. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for about 45 to 55 minutes, until golden brown and springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool cake on a rack for about 5 minutes. Carefully invert cake onto a serving plate, and slowly peel off parchment paper. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Since this was taking longer than expected, I place a sheet of parchment over the top at the 45 minute mark to keep the cake from getting to dark.
While the cake was baking, I made some breakfast in the CI. Homemade Canadian bacon, fresh eggs from our neighbors and O'brien taters.
Next up, 3 bone prime rib this weekend! Plan on rotisserie cooking it on the minitisserie!.
Oh yeah, blue grits are our favorite:
Christmas day we were all going to the in-laws and all we needed to bring was desert. I opted to take Mix berry upside down polenta cake. Its nice as its not to heavy or sweet. As
As a note for whatever reason this cake took way longer this time to make. I'm not sure if the berries were too wet or what. Cake took 30 minutes longer than it should. I recently checked our oven temp and it is pretty close. So if you make the following recipe, don't be surprised if it takes longer.
INGREDIENTS
Vegetable oil for greasing pan
1 ⅓ cup sugar, divided
3 cups blueberries (you can sub mixed berrries, strawberries, peaches, etc)
2 large eggs
Finely grated zest of 1 large orange (I like to use lemon)
⅔ cup orange juice (you can sub 1/3 cup with lemon juice)
⅔ cup olive oil (not extra virgin) or sunflower oil
½ cup regular or instant polenta
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line base and sides of a 9-inch-square cake pan with baking parchment, and grease the parchment ( I use a spring form pan.I place the pan on a cooling rack on a piece of parchment on a baking sheet as they always leak). Sprinkle 1/3 cup sugar over base of pan, and cover evenly with blueberries.
In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, 1 cup sugar and orange zest. Whisk until pale and thick. Add orange juice and oil, and whisk until blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together polenta, flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, whisking until smooth. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for about 45 to 55 minutes, until golden brown and springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool cake on a rack for about 5 minutes. Carefully invert cake onto a serving plate, and slowly peel off parchment paper. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Since this was taking longer than expected, I place a sheet of parchment over the top at the 45 minute mark to keep the cake from getting to dark.
While the cake was baking, I made some breakfast in the CI. Homemade Canadian bacon, fresh eggs from our neighbors and O'brien taters.
Next up, 3 bone prime rib this weekend! Plan on rotisserie cooking it on the minitisserie!.
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