Michigan for Christmas: Family, Friends, and Fun with Food

I had an awesome semester but you know what made it even better - my time visiting family back home in Michigan. The week of Christmas was exactly what I needed and the kind of family time that always makes we want to come home. 

On Christmas Eve, we spent most of the day shopping (with the rest of the neighboring city apparently - it was packed!). My brothers and I made Christmas cookies "for Santa" too. 

 Christmas Day, I cooked up a storm! We had pot roast, corn casserole, sweet potato cobbler, spinach with caramelized onions and crayfish, mulled apple cider, pigs in a blanket, and for dessert -  puppy chow and homemade sugar free apple pie! We watched a marathon of some of the cheesiest movies Netflix had to offer. And, compliments of Santa (i.e., me!), we got a new W (on which I played Just Dance repeatedly). I even had a chance to catch up with a couple of childhood friends. 

Our Christmas miracle: snow on Christmas Day!

The day before I left was among the highlights of my time home. My final culinary endeavor? Cooking octopus! It was the first time my mom and I had ever cooked it ourselves but my memory of the grilled octopus I had beachside in Cabo last summer made it worth it. So, from my family to yours, here's a new holiday favorite! 

Stewed Octopus au Vin Blanc 

Step 1: Get suckered into buying a whole octopus from an expensive market (check!). Make sure they clean the octopus and take out the ink for you!

Step 2: Fill a large pot 3/4 of the way with water and bring to a rolling boil. According to YouTube, you should also put a wine cork in the pot.

Step 3: Pick up the raw octopus. (This might be the hardest part - eew!). 

Step 4: Inside out its head (double eew!) and dip the creature into the boiling water for three seconds and remove...

then again...

and again... 

Be sure to call your family over to see how its legs continue to curl!

Step 5: Put the whole octopus into the boiling water and boil for 10 minutes or so. 

Step 6: While that's boiling, cut the octopus into chunks. 

Chop an onion and sautée in a large pan with olive oil. Then add the octopus into the pan, and sautée with some garlic. 

Add diced tomatoes and some spices (cumin, chili, red pepper flakes), and sautée a little longer. 

At this point, you should be smelling something really yummy!

Step 7: Then, the best part of the recipe - add white wine. I started with a half bottle of lightly oaked Michigan chardonnay. Boil out the alcohol (about 4 minutes) and simmer. 

Step 8: The rest of the process is really an art more than a science. We added water, more garlic, and most of the remaining wine (burning out the alcohol each time). 

I also sauteed some scallops and threw them in the pan.

Step 9: Serve with linguine, french break, or Christmas leftovers (or all of the above); pour yourself a glass of the remaining wine, and enjoy! 

Mmm mmmm good! Happy Holidays!