I have the most vivid memories of these ginormous glass jugs of apple cider we used to get while growing up in Minnesota. The cider was so sweet and fragrant–such a treat that a Little Nam just adored.
And when I lived in the Bay Area, seester P and I would meander down to the Ferry Building Farmers Market to get wonderful goodies and snack on some the most delectable produce. Outside the Ferry Building, there’s one particular stand run by the most gorgeous family. I’m not kidding people–they are all stunning! And they’re apple farmers!
In addition to their perfect apple varietals, they sold fresh icy cold, pressed apple cider.
It’s heaven.
Those ciders were the inspiration for the Apple Cider Sangria I prepared for our latest Fam Din. Sweet, lightly spiced and packs a hidden punch!
It starts off with a few bottles of white wine, apple cider, fresh fruit, and a few splashes of Calvados (an apple flavored brandy but you can substitute with any brandy/cognac of your choice). After the sangria refrigerates for a few hours to get the flavors partying together, it’s topped with a bit of sparkling wine for some effervescence.
Since you can make it in big batches, it’s the perfect cocktail to serve up at your next holiday gathering. Or if you’re an apple cider junkee like me, just whip up a pitcher for yourself to sip on.
Cheers Friends and Happy Thanksgiving! ❤
___________________________________________ Apple Cider Sangria
Ingredients:
2 medium sized apples, diced
1 pear, diced
2 750ml bottles Sauvignon Blanc (or white wine of your choice)
3 cups apple cider (fresh pressed-the better!)
½ cup Calvados (or your choice of brandy or cognac) 1⁄3 cup orange juice
2-3 cinnamon sticks
ice
1 750ml sparkling wine
In a large container, combine the apples, pears, white wine and apple cider, Add in the Calvados, OJ and cinnamon sticks. Cover the pitcher and refrigerate overnight or at least 4-5 hours.
Fill glasses with ice and pour in the sangria. Pour 2-3 ounces of chilled sparkling wine in each glass and gently stir the contents. Garnish with additional apple slices and cinnamon sticks.
With all the craziness going on right now, aren’t you happy to know that at least we have random holidays we can celebrate and temporarily take our minds off of the insanity?
Brilliant holidays like the one today. And “what’s today” you may be asking?
Oh silly Friend….
It’s National Rosé Day—-as in, Rosé Wine!
And no, I didn’t make it up–though it does sound like something I would do.
To honor this illustrious day, I’d like to share with you my SparklingRosé Sangria. It’s filled with fresh fruit, rosé wine, cognac, orange liqueur and is topped off with chilled sparkling wine right before serving.
And my special addition? Fresh ginger root! The ginger is steeped in the sangria for a few hours which imparts a subtle but bright flavor. The whole combination is like drinking summer in a glass!
Totes Pretty in Pink ❤
CHEERS Friends – and HAPPY NATIONAL ROSÉ DAY!
_________________________________________________ Sparkling Rosé Sangria Serves as many as you’re willing to share with
2 inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled 1⁄2 cup simple syrup 1⁄4 cup fresh lime juice 1⁄3 cup cognac 1⁄3 cup Cointreau or other orange liqueur
2 cups sliced fresh peaches
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
4 sprigs fresh mint, more to garnish
2 750mL bottles rosé wine
ice 1 750mL bottle chilled sparkling wine
With the back of a large chef’s knife (or mallet), carefully bruise the ginger to help release some of its juices–but be sure not to break it into smaller pieces.
In a large pitcher, add the bruised ginger, simple syrup, lime juice, cognac, Cointreau, fruit and mint sprigs. Pour in the rosé wine and stir. Cover the pitcher and refrigerate for 4-5 hours. Once chilled, remove and discard the ginger and wilted mint sprigs.
Fill glasses with ice and add the sangria. Pour 2-3 ounces of chilled sparkling wine in each glass and gently stir the contents. Garnish with additional mint leaves and serve.
It’s crazy to think of it but it’s been 3.5 years since my siblings and I first started having our monthly Sunday Family Dinners.
Every month we try to pick some type of theme for dinner and build a menu around it. Each of us are in charge of contributing some portion of the meal whether it be specialty cocktails, appetizers, entrees, desserts–or even staffing the grill.
And we try our darndest to not replicate dishes—which, I don’t mind saying, is kind of tough after 3+ years!
I get a lot of comments and compliments (THANK YOU for them!) about how great the food comes out. We’re often quite proud ourselves, too, but here’s a confession. Nearly every month, there’s some point in the preparation where things get really stressful and one (or more) of us starts freaking out.
It could be anything from the porchetta catching on fire (yeah…that did happen), the dessert not setting properly or having to double-fry pounds and pounds of French fries. And that’s where the bickering usually comes in—but remember, we’re REAL siblings who are very close. If we didn’t bicker, we wouldn’t be family.
That, and the fact that we’re all Type A and OCD.
We blame it on our parents.
But here’s the thing. Although the food is definitely a perk, the best part of SFD is hanging out with each other for no other purpose or cause other than Family Dinner.
It’s a time where the kids get assigned kitchen tasks to build their confidence in their own selves while allowing the adults to pass down a part of ourselves.
It gives the siblings dedicated time to catch up on family gossip, work, and be silly with each other— over cocktails, of course. And the educator in me also sees it as an opportunity to do a little “team-building” as we come together and challenge ourselves with creating dishes that we often have never tried, let alone never made before.
Because of the blog and because I love to document things, I’m always the one running around snapping pics of the fam, food and puppies. Since I’m still a novice/trial-and-error photographer, one of my stresses during SFD is trying to capture photos that I like. I love to snap photos with natural light and try to stay away from photo editing. But this gets particularly difficult during the latter part of the year where it gets dark so early.
So imagine me trying to finish my dishes while running around the house/kitchen/backyard to take photos. I can be a hot mess!
Which, in full disclosure, is why it can take a couple of weeks after a SFD before I actually post the photos and write-up of the dinner. When I get back to San Diego after a weekend at my seesters’ respective houses, I’ll download the shots I took and peruse through them. If I’m unhappy with the quality of the photos, I start to procrastinate because, again, I am not a fan of photo editing……or at least my photo editing skills.
That was certainly the case for our most recent dinner.
But after these past few days of horrific, HORRIFIC events that have taken place in the world, I’ve been reflecting a lot about my family, my loved ones, my work…..and really – just evaluating everything that is important to me.
So when I pulled up the photos from our last SFD, I saw them from a very different perspective. Shots that I was upset with because the white balance was off or not sharp didn’t frustrate me as when I first reviewed them. Instead, I focused on why I stopped to snap those particular pics in the first place. Like how Nini was covering her face because she didn’t want me to post pics of her (too bad!) or how sweet it was when Maya and Lucas were playing Wii.
Or how the Coq au Vinbig seestrah N made was one of the best I’ve ever had.
Or when seestrah T was rolling out homemade dough for her pie–because she rarely bakes!
Or how the boys decided to push tables into the tiny living room instead of using the dining room or backyard so that we could watch Green Bay get the smack down by the Broncos while we ate (HELL YEA!). GO VIKES!
Essentially what I’m saying is that the next time I start freaking out about not being able to snap the perfect shot or become upset that the meat pies browned too much, I need to take a deep breath and check myself and remember to appreciate/enjoy the important things.
Don’t worry– that doesn’t mean the sibling bickering will ever stop.
So indulge me this time around, Friends. In light of the heavy hearts so many of us have had these past few days–please go hug someone you love today. ❤
This Month’s Family Dinner Menu
Cocktails: Hard Pear Cider Sangria
Appetizers: Pot Roast and Cheddar Hand Pies
Entrees: Coq au Vin over Cheesy Polenta
Dessert: Flaky Salted Caramel Apple Pie
Only a little bit of it….but still– THE FIRES OF MORDOR!!!!!
But I’ll get to that in a bit.
It’s been a few weeks since we had our last Family Dinner and I have to admit, I want EVERY THING from that menu EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.
Since it was August, we were celebrating this pretty gal’s birthday. Yes folks, my little Nina is now 17. How is this even possible?! I feel like it was only the other day that I was zerberting my baby niece’s cheeks and now she’s a senior in high school, preparing to apply to college and driving me around. Well, the latter definitely has its perks.
So, the gang gathered at T’s house on a warm August afternoon for Family Dinner and birthday festivities.
There were cousins selfies……
Cuddle time…..
A little smooching…… (barf)…..
Dudes hanging out by the grill……..
Puppies running around and going BONKERS………
Leo-nators climbing on patio furniture….
Nini and Maya time…….
And lots of QT with this cutie..
We had A LOT going on.
Good thing T made a bunch of Green Sangriafor us to sip on. It was filled with kiwis, cucumbers, pears and white vino. Light and perfect for the HOT day we had.
As you may recall, if it’s your birth month, we usually create a menu with your favorite things for Family Dinner.
But the challenge you face when you raise little foodie-lings is that they end up having a taste for high end ingredients and dishes.
Don’t get me wrong, I ADORE all of those things too but I don’t recall having such a refined palate at our munchkins’ ages.
So her birthday dinner of choice was not something your average teenager would have.
Lucky girl.
Seester T’s neighbor had just gone deep sea fishing and they gifted her with a bunch of fresh yellowfin tuna. Now that’s a neighbor I would TOTALLY want!
We took a few pounds of it and my niece Nini made her infamous Spicy Tuna Hand Rolls for us to snack on as appetizers.
SO. FREAKING. GOOD.
I love that Nini has such a great palate and makes THE BEST Spicy Tuna Hand Rolls.… like, EVER. They far surpass any that I’ve had at sushi joints and it’s all because of that “crack sauce” she makes. And lucky for you all, she’s agreed to allow me to share the recipe {coming soon}.
Did I mention she’s only 15?
Remember those lobsters from a few photos up?
Seester N took those buggers and made a wonderful Lobster Bisque filled with chunks of lobster meat and finished with a drizzle of truffle oil.
Lobsters and Truffle Oil?!?
Yea…just keep thinking “17 year old birthday dinner”…..
And because that Lobster Bisquewas so nice, I had to show it twice.
One of the sides for dinner were twice fried Parmesan Garlic Truffle Fries.
Go Big or Go Home.
Well, we went Big and then went home.
As for the main course, Nina is like her grandma and ADORES beef. She always wants some kind of steak on her special day.
So she got this beauty below. Dry-aged, Prime Ribeye Steakswith herb butter and crispy onion strings on top.
I’ll pause a moment to allow you to lick the screen……
Oh! And there was a Caesar Saladfor a bit of greens.
And to wrap up the whole meal, a decadent birthday cake. Nina loves and I mean LOVES chocolate and green tea. With that in mind, I made her a rich chocolate cake and filled the layers with a matcha mousse. It was then frosted with a matcha buttercream and adorned with Matcha Pocky Sticks.
Not to toot my own horn but it was pretty fantastic.
Now, let’s spend some more time talking about those mouth watering, juicy steaks.
When we first started talking about the menu for Family Dinner, we knew steaks had to be on the menu. But we make steaks all the time–a TON of different ways. We had to do something special for Nina and that’s where my brother comes into the picture.
He and I have talked numerous times about that one episode of Good Eatswhere Alton Brownuses a chimney starter to “grill” porterhouse steaks.
Yup, you read correctly. A chimney starter that you typically use to heat up coals for a BBQ grill.
And what’s fantastic is that the thick steaks cook in 5 minutes!
It all started with the beef.
Now, Alton used porterhouse steaks but that ended up being tough for V to find that were prime and not choice or select. Why do you want prime beef, particularly for this method of cooking? Because of all that beautiful marbling in the meat. Lots of lovely marbling = taste bombs exploding in your mouth.
We ended up using prime ribeye steaks which were fantastic. V took those beauties and dry aged them in the refrigerator for four days. Click here to find out how A.B. dry ages steaks.
This is where the chimney comes in .
He filled the inside with a layer of natural lump coal………..
Then stuffed the bottom with newspaper…. well, actually, it was an old Trader Joe’s bag……..
Then he lit the paper and allowed the coals to burn.
And this is where the magic begins.
He lifted the chimney and placed one steak on the grill before placing it back over the beef.
He allowed the steak to grill for 90 seconds and then flipped them….
Then the chimney goes back over the steak for another 90 seconds….
Then he took the chimney off, placed the grate on top of the chimney and placed the steak on top………..
Then threw a metal bowl to cover the steak. It grilled for 60 seconds, the bowl was removed, the steak was flipped, the bowl was slapped back on top and then the steak grilled for a final 60 seconds.
And that’s it! The steaks were then rested before we dove in.
Wasn’t that freaking AWESOME!!!???
Not only did it produce a commercial-kitchen-salamander affect on the beef but it was SO FUN to do!!!
In fact, it was SO fun that I had to make a quick video about it. Check it out below and let me know what you think 🙂
All in all, it was a show stopping dinner.
Filled with kids inhaling pounds of lobsters.
And lots of laughter and vino.
Big, BIG thanks to my bro for overseeing our awesome steaks!
And I don’t know what’s happening in the picture below but I can’t stop cracking up over it.
And don’t forget about cake time!
Look at Luna and Leo’s faces below.
They kill me.
Happy Birthday Nina Love!
Speaking of love, take a look at the little photo bomber on the right.
Precious.
Delicious food, learning new cooking techniques, hanging out with the fam–it was a memorable summer family dinner.
With the fires of Mordor….
And Maya dancing behind them. 😉
Until next time gang!
xoxo ❤
This Month’s Family Dinner Menu
Cocktails: Green Sangria
Appetizers: Spicy Tuna Hand Rolls and Lobster Bisque
Entrees: Grilled Ribeye Steaks with Crispy Onion Strings, Caesar Salad & Truffle Parmesan Fries
Dessert: Matcha Chocolate Pocky Cake
This summer, I have been inhaling watermelons like they’re going out of style. Now, for most, this wouldn’t be such an odd thing since chilled watermelons seem to be synonymous with summer.
Particularly when it’s been so flippin’ warm….
But here’s the thing about me….. watermelons aren’t really my fav.
Now before you start virtually bombarding me with the “WHY?” “WHAT THE?!”, let me clarify and say that it’s not that I hate watermelon–they’re just not the first fruit I reach for.
But here we are, near the middle of September, and I’m still plowing through pounds and pounds of watermelon. Maybe they’re right when they say that your taste buds change through the years.
And no, I don’t really know who “they” are……just go with me on this one.
With this inexplicable obsession, I decided to use some to make a few pitchers of Watermelon Sangriafor a Family Dinnerthe other month. Sangrias are a great default cocktail I like to make because it’s easy to make big batches of and you can flavor it any which way you’d like. Plus, since it’s best to allow the sangria to chill a few hours before serving it, it’s the perfect make-ahead drink.
My sibs and I guzzled down 2 huge pitchers of these Watermelon Sangrias so I think they liked it.
But we’re Nguyễns.
So they’re really isn’t a sangria we’ve met that we haven’t guzzled down.
OH! And had I given it some thought ahead of time, I would have cubed a bunch of the leftover watermelon and stuck them in the freezer for several hours. Frozen cubed melons act as PERFECT “ice cubes” for your sangria that not only add to the flavor but also won’t water down your cocktail.
There’s always next time 😉
CHEERS!
_________________________________
Watermelon Sangria
Ingredients:
3 cups fresh watermelon, cut into large chunks
½ cup chilled water
12 fresh mint leaves, divided
juice of ½ lime
1-2 tablespoons sugar, depending on sweetness of the watermelon
1 bottle (750 ml) Sauvignon Blanc or white wine of your choice
¼ cup Cointreau
1 cup sliced strawberries
½ small orange, sliced
4-5 lime slices
6 ounces lemon lime soda
In a blender, add the watermelon chunks, water, half of the mint leaves, lime juice and sugar. Blend until smooth. Pour watermelon juice through a sieve to strain.
Pour the wine into a large pitcher along with 2 cups of watermelon juice, and Cointreau. Stir well. Add in the strawberries, oranges, and lime slices. Chill for a minimum of 2-3 hours.
Before serving, stir in the remaining mint leaves, soda and pour into glasses that have been filled with ice. Enjoy!
How can THAT much awesomeness exist in the world? Oh, but let me assure you…we’re real.
And although I’ve written this little blog for over 5 years now, I’m not sure if I have ever introduced each of my sibbies to you. Let’s break it down….
First up, we’ve got the eldest seester, N, who lives in Orange County. She’s a PT extraordinaire by day and expert bowler by night. N and her husband, C, have two daughters—my nieces Nina and Stephanie….and are the fur-parents to my pug niece, Princess Leia.
Next up, seestrah P who lives in the foodie land of San Francisco. P is a clinical pharmacist but in her spare time she enjoys hazing her family by making them hike up and down the hills of SF….for MILES and MILES! She is the mama bear to our newest little niece – Kaelani.
Next up, we have our brother V who resides in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. V is a hustlin’ entrepreneur by trade and a Jedi Master/random knowledge guru the other 16 hours of the day. He and his wife, L, have two little munchkins….my niece —Luna and nephew —Leonidas.
V also loves it when people misuse the word “literally”. I literally just fibbed…..he hates it.
Last up, we have seestrah T. T is an attorney in the LBC and is a retired 90’s hip-hop back up dancer…..ok fine–it was dance team but it’s practically the same. 80% of the time she follows a strict all-meat, all-vino, forget-the-carbs diet. She and her husband, R, also live in Orange County with their kids Maya and Lucas.
Why all of this background info now? Because for last month’s Family Dinner…. we were ALL here!!! Yup, all 5 Nguyễn sibs with their fams in N’s backyard eating up a storm. With everyone scattered around, this doesn’t happen very often–maybe once or twice a year. So it’s definitely a special time when it can occur.
We started it all off with how fam dins always begin….grocery shopping.
We crammed the five of us into one car (which hasn’t happened for nearly 20 years!) and headed down to Little Saigon to pick up the goods. We had intended to remake our N’awlins Seafood Boilwe did a couple of years ago with tons of crawfish, clams, lobstahs, etc. But even though crawdads were plentiful the week before–they were NO WHERE to be seen that particular day.
Seriously….10 stops and no fresh crawfish. Boo 😦
So instead, we went with a standard Shellfish Boil theme.
And we had a little fun while picking up the groceries too.
Shrimp, stone crabs, clams, locally made sausages, corn and taters.
Aren’t these clams lovely???
And there were also lots and lots of mussels.
So we put V and L to work cleaning the little buggers.
And while they did that, C had some cuddle time with Leonidas who had just spent time in the pool with his cousins.
Since it was Kaelani’s very first Family Dinner with us, we HAD to take tons of pictures with her. I mean, come on….look at that face. How could we not?
This also happened to be the first weekend where all 7 little cousins were together.
And can I just say how difficult it is to get a picture where all 7 munchkins have their eyes open, aren’t squirming and are looking at the camera??
This is the best one we got….and it only took 4.7396 trillion takes.
I counted.
In between takes, Nina and Leo would break out in dance…..
And Nini and Kaelani would be adorbs…..
But after a long morning and early afternoon of shopping and prepping…it was time to get down to business. And yes, by business, I mean cocktails.
I pureed a huge watermelon with a bit of lemon and mint to make some fragrant watermelon juice for the kiddos. And then took a bunch of it to turn it into SummerWatermelon Sangria for the adults. LOTS of SummerWatermelon Sangria.
To prevent a h’angry crowd, I steamed up some of the fresh clams and Nina used them to make a few of these White Clam Pizzasfor us to nosh on.
And then N went to town and boiled up all the seafood for us.
SOOOO much seafood.
Yes, Friends….we got Seafood Wasted.
And P loves it.
Look at all that crab roe I schmeared on a baguette. Rich, decadent….perfect with a sprinkle of sea salt.
After an hour of gluttonous shellfish consumption, we put the kids to work.
“Lucas and Luna–no dessert until all the dishes are done!!”
Just kidding….not kidding.
For dessert, N whipped out two icebox pies. They’re quickly becoming our faves for the summer.
At initial thought, I would have said “GOOD RIDDANCE!” but a lot of momentous things occurred this past year. I moved to a beautiful new city, welcomed my nephew to the world, reconnected with old friends—made new ones, spent more time with my family, and rediscovered my voice.
All and all, not too shabby really. 🙂
So to you, my Friends—Here’s to 2012 with all of its potential and unexplored Foodventures!
xoxo,
-N
ps. Your loved ones will pretty much adore you after you make this Sangria. True Story.
2 Bottles (750 ml each) Red Wine, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon
4 Ounces Grand Marnier, or other Orange Liqueur
4 Ounces Brandy, optional*
4 Ounces Orange Juice
4 Ounces Pineapple Juice
4 Ounces Lime Soda or Club Soda
2 Ounces Fresh Lime Juice
2-3 Whole Cinnamon Sticks
1 Orange, sliced thinly
1 Apple, sliced thinly
1 Lime, sliced thinly
In a large container (that can be tightly sealed), add in all the ingredients and stir well. Securely cover the container and store in a cool place overnight (or at least 8 hours). Before serving, mix the sangria. Serve in tall glasses with ice and the fruit that was soaked in the liquids. Cheers!
*I’m told that authentic sangria is served at room temperature but I like mine with ice. I’ve always been a rebel 🙂
If you ask those dear to me, they would say my poison of choice would be a nice glass of dry red wine or a Grey Goose cocktail (oh—and of course bubbly). But on those warm summer days, I find that a chilled fruity glass of White Wine Sangria is the perfect accompaniment to any occasion.
This quick and easy White Wine Sangria recipe serves as a great base for any direction you’d like to take this refreshing summer cocktail. Often times I’ll substitute the nectarines with sweet mangoes or leave out a bottle of the white wine at the beginning only to top it off before serving with a chilled bottle of Prosecco — for that added effervescent fun that only “bubbly” can offer. And finally, for those who enjoy sweeter wines, try adding a few tablespoons of simple syrup to round out the flavors of the fresh fruit.
With us well into the month of July….what are you waiting for? Mix up a pitcher of these and you’ll wonder why you ever waited so long to do so before. 🙂
White Wine Sangria with Nectarines and Peaches Serves: As many as you’re willing to share with🙂
2 Bottles of White Wine (such as a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc)
½ Cup Orange Liqueur
12 Ounces Peach Nectar
12 Ounces Club Soda
Juice of 1-2 Limes
1 Peach, sliced thinly
1 Nectarine, sliced thinly
½ Cup Fresh Mint Leaves, slightly bruised to release oils
Pour wine into pitcher and add Orange Liqueur, Peach Nectar, Club Soda, and Lime Juice. Stir well. Add in fruit slices and mint leaves. Chill for a minimum of 2-3 hours.
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