Holiday Traditions – Peeling Of The Garlic

My daughter has been known to say: “This kitchen smells like Christmas Eve at home”. Yes, I use a lot of garlic in my cooking. One of my holiday traditions is to peel a few heads of garlic as part of getting a mise en place set up. (See the featured photo)

A Traditional Kenny – Christmas Menu

Well, 2020 is anything but traditional. Susan and I are healthy, but staying at home by our lonesome, just to be safe. At one point, we considered adopting our Jewish son-in law family’s Christmas tradition of eating Chinese Take-out on Christmas. As Ethan would say: “Who else would be open on Christmas?”.

Instead, we are going to a modified traditional plan where we have a linguini with clam sauce on Christmas eve. The clam sauce will be my homage to the Italian neighborhood, in New York that I grew up in where the “Feast Of The Seven Fishes” is served on Christmas Eve. I must confess that I still have a little scar-tissue to deal with. One year we had the whole Kenny Clan to Memphis for Christmas, and I published a menu that called for “The Feast Of The Seven Fishes” on Christmas Eve. After dinner which included clams, shrimp, scallops and cod, my brother-in law Brian asked about why I called it seven fishes when there were only four? Now Brian is a nuclear scientist and one of the smartest guys I know. So I told him that I was careful to count and made sure he had at least. 3 shrimp and 4 clams. Sales and Marketing guys just look at the world differently than scientists do.

Another Christmas ,the whole Kenny Clan descended on the ski resort at Waterville Valley in New Hampshire where Susan’s brother Bobby has a condo. After dinner on Christmas Eve, we had wonderful experience. It was a magical evening with a horse-drawn sleigh ride through heavy snowstorm with the whole family singing Christmas carols. It was also an experience that describes the difference between my two sisters. My sister Joan, the college professor, exclaimed “Isn’t this beautiful, it’s a winter wonderland”. My sister Bernadette, the corporate executive, leans in to her college aged niece and whispers: “Winter wonderland my ass, it’s a ‘F- – king’ blizzard. You can’t buy memories like that.

Ok, so Christmas in 2020 will be a little different…

Not to worry, the Kenny kitchen will smell like garlic

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The Magic Pan

For most of us, the food we grew up with is special. People from New York like New York Pizza. People from Chicago like Chicago Pizza. If you are lucky enough to have a mother that is a great cook, your favorite dishes are going to be what your mother made. My buddy Angelo talks about his mother’s magic pan and the dishes she made with it with a mythical wonder.

Mom Doing Her Magic in The Kitchen

A friend of mine grew up on the island of Cephalonia off the mainland of Greece. Spiros would talk about Cephalonia and his face would glaze over with a smile fueled by the fondest of memories. Angelo talks about his mother’s Fried Zucchini and Ravioli with A Beef Ragu made with her magical pan with the same look on his face.

Fried Zucchini With Pasta

Ravioli With A Beef Ragu

Mom Making Homemade Gnocchi

Most families look at inheritance in terms of money, property, jewelry or maybe furniture. All I inherited from my father is a wacky sense of humor and a few old golf clubs. Angelo’s big ask is for his mother’s magic pan. That pan will make great meals, but more importantly, it will invoke really great memories.

Angelo with His Wife & Son

Reheating A Baguette Is Magical

Something magical occurs when you reheat a baguette. Even the most pedestrian (even day old) baguettes become perfectly crusty and delicious. It is truly magical.

I learned this trick from my friend Lucien, the famous chef. Back in the day, we would bring customers into our KFI culinary center to sell them Kraft Ingredients. Lucien would buy baguettes at Costco. He would serve the baguettes reheated to customers and get rave reviews. Customers thought the baguettes were from one of Lucien’s secret family recipes from the south of France. So we didn’t tell them about Costco, but the bread was magical.

(Lucien and Paul having fun in the kitchen)

Today I am using this trick to stage virtual wine group zoom sessions during the pandemic. I have been making baguettes and using them as a center piece for a fun evening.

Click for blog about neighborhood baguettes

Outline Of A Virtual Wine Group Proposal

Date: Saturday January 9 at 6 pm
PK (and the “baguette fairy” to provide baguettes and pesto in the afternoon
5:30 AC and SH reheat baguettes
6:00 we get together virtually via zoom with baguettes and a bottle

This also works if you don’t have a “baguette fairy” in the neighborhood. Trust me, you can buy the baguettes (and the wine) at Costco, tell everyone that the baguette is from a secret family recipe from the south of France. If you reheat the baguette for 6 to 8 minutes in a 400 degree oven…magic will occur.

Grandson Declan as the “Baguette Fairy”

By the way…The magic gets even better after a second bottle of wine

The “Baguette Fairy” destroying the evidence to protect his grandfather