Cooking up a storm!

Tomorrow is Christmas. And for Joe and I, that means Mass, SeaWorld, and Christmas dinner at the Wises'. I've been cooking for the last few hours for three (3!) measly dishes. But they taste amazing.

"Oh, Tierney," you exclaim, "your trademark modesty is once again revealed!" And I will blush, toe imaginary dirt on the ground, and say, "Oh, it wasn't that big a deal."

It wasn't. But I made creamed spinach, curry spiced cauliflower and a cake with such an elaborate, every-ingredient-in-the-title that I shall give it to you: Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze. It is also the dessert with the most hyphens in its name.

The creamed spinach is amazing. I helped Mom make the dish over Thanksgiving and I ended up in love. I've always liked creamed spinach in restaurants, but I LOVED this dish. A secret? Serve it piping!hot! It also does very well with a hint o' the following: lemon, nutmeg, parm, salt and pepper. The only disheartening thing about creamed spinach is that you spend so much time cleaning and destemming a mountain of spinach leaves that the end result after the "wilting" step is sorely disappointing. I had to buy more spinach from the local mart because my original amount shrunk to such pitiful dimensions.

Next is the curry spiced cauliflower. I have never been a cauliflower fan. It is the pale, weirdly crunchy cousin of broccoli, which doesn't fare all that well itself in salad bars of yore. BUT, caramelized cauliflower after 50 minutes in the oven with the addition of softened onions mixed with curry powder and mustard seed makes for quite a treat! I've made the dish twice before and it's always a hit. I still don't get it because even though I gobble down my fair share of it, I still think cauliflower is intrinsically too weird of a vegetable to be a hit.

Finally, the cake. It's a triple layer chocolate cake with peanut butter-cream cheese frosting. I've had a few crumbs that stuck to the pan and a lick of the frosting (no double dipping though!) and it is pretty awesome. I will let you know the verdict tomorrow, but already, I think this is going to be a repeat recipe.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Especially to the East Coast fam party, representing 2/3 of this fine family. Joe and I are thinking of you. Especially when we see Shamu.

I KID!!!