Archive for December, 2010
Italy, meet the Ukraine. Isn’t it wonderful when all nations get together in joyous harmony at Christmas?
It hasn’t been all joy and harmony around here. Mike has some sort of stomach flu, it appears W is getting same, and just as I was ushering him (W) into the tub for a much-needed bath this afternoon (having severely cut his toe a few nights ago, he got a get-out-of-baths-free card for a couple days), we got a call from the parents of his kindergarten BFF, away for Christmas, reporting a lice infestation on the head of said BFF. And they all shared Santa hats at their Christmas concert.
We checked W’s head. Ew. I’ve never seen lice before, but we are now well acquainted. Ew ew ew ew ew ew ewwwww. How could we not have noticed this? With all the snuggling and head kissing? Shudder.
This afternoon I planned to make stollen and my Grandma’s peanut brittle to bring around to various parties and visits tonight – instead we’ve been shaving W’s head, bleaching stuff and tossing all our bed linens out in the back yard (apparently a good freeze will kill anything alive or freshly laid) while sporadically getting full-body heebie jeebies and checking each others’ heads, which are suddenly insatiably itchy. W is off trying to find a drugstore that’s open to buy a lice comb, and I’m dousing W’s head in vinegar. Tonight, after putting out cookies and milk for Santa, we’ll be slathering his head with mayo and a shower cap – another chemical-free remedy I found via Google. Maybe in a few days I’ll share my recipe for one-minute mayo – never thought it would come in handy this way.
To make Nutella scuffles, leave out the cinnamon and spread a spoonful of Nutella over each dough triangle before you roll it up.
Merry Christmas!
December 24 2010 | leftovers | 19 Comments »
Chocolate Hazelnut Espresso Shortbread
If your hazelnuts are whole, coarsely chop them in the food processor first, then transfer them to a bowl and blend the rest, adding them back in at the end.
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. instant espresso or coffee (or finely ground espresso beans)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, cold and cut into chunks
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional, to drizzle)
Preheat oven to 350°F. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, brown sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, espresso and salt. Add butter and vanilla and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add nuts; blend until finely chopped. Transfer dough to floured work surface. Knead just until dough comes together.
Divide dough in half and press each into an 8″ or 9” round cake pan, or tart pan with removable bottom. If you like, press around the edge with the tines of a fork. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until set. Cool on a wire rack, then cut each shortbread round into 12 wedges.
If you want to drizzle your shortbread with chocolate, put the chocolate chips into a zip-lock baggie and seal. Place in a bowl of very warm water and let sit until melted. Knead the bag a bit to make sure there are no chunks left. When smooth, snip a tiny corner off and drizzle chocolate over cookies. Let stand until chocolate sets.
Makes about 2 dozen wedges.
December 23 2010 | cookies & squares | 7 Comments »
I made scuffles! I never knew they existed until Kelley mentioned she was making them this Christmas in the string of free stuff comments, and I couldn’t resist the allure of their name. They’re Ukranian, even, which Mike technically is. Yes, I married into a Ukranian family who hates cabbage rolls and peroghies (possibly because when they did eat them they were the generic kind from the grocery store) – no good recipes passed down from the Saskatchewan farm. No amazing sour cream-and-bacon-laden Sunday dinners. No peroghy bees. I tried making some good old-fashioned Ukranian dishes myself for awhile, thinking I might trigger some nonexistent nostalgia, to no avail.
I still like the idea that these were Ukranian. If I can’t inherit recipes from my own mother-in-law, Kelley’s mother-in-law will have to do. (No offense to Mike’s mom – really. She’s very sweet, she just isn’t much into cooking.) As Christmas sneaks up, it occurs to me that the fact that the scuffles dough must be refrigerated overnight is ideal – perfect to prep ahead to assemble on Christmas morning. And the kids loved the assembly part.
Ukranian Scuffles
adapted from Food.com and Kelley’s mother-in-law.
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
sugar and cinnamon, for rolling
In a small dish, dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 3 Tbsp. sugar and salt. Add the butter, cutting it in with a fork or pastry cutter as if you were making pie crust.
Add the milk, eggs, and yeast mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix well, then turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead a few times, until smooth – it will be sticky. Put in a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight. This dough is very soft and must be chilled before use.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Divide dough into 6 parts, keeping one part out and putting the rest back in the fridge until ready for it. Scatter the countertop generously with sugar and cinnamon, and roll each piece into a circle on the sugar – they should be about 1/4″ thick. Cut into wedges (the recipe said 12 per round if the thickness is 1/8 inch – I cut mine in 8 and the dough was slightly thicker); roll from wide end to narrow end.
Place on a lightly greased baking sheet about 1 inch apart and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Remove from baking sheet immediately and cool well. These freeze very well.
December 22 2010 | bread and breakfast | 17 Comments »
How can one single cookie be referred to both as a Russian tea cake and a Mexican wedding cake? Can you think of two more opposite social occasions than a Russian tea and a Mexican wedding?
Interesting, though, that they’re referred to as cakes in both, when they’re so clearly cookies. Shortbread, even.
And one of few cookies that must be had at Christmastime around here. (Also: Hello Dollies.) And so when I was invited to a cookie exchange on Friday night and needed to make 11 dozen of something, these not only had nostalgia on their side, but ease of preparation.
Like any cookie recipe, you’ll see them vary slightly in ratio of butter:sugar:flour:nuts – I have one recipe that calls for them to be baked at 325, and another at 400. I played around a bit, and I think this is the best ratio and baking temperature. But that’s just me.
Mom’s Nut Balls
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup finely chopped hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds and/or pecans, toasted
extra icing sugar, for rolling
Preheat oven to 375°F. Beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until light. Add the flour, salt and nuts and stir until blended – you may need to use your hands.
Roll dough into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until pale golden around the edges and on the bottom. While still warm, roll in a shallow dish of icing sugar to coat. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 2 dozen.
December 21 2010 | cookies & squares | 12 Comments »
It may come as no surprise to you that I think about food a lot. So when I was in the presence of a cream puff the other day, my mind immediately envisioned it on a stick. Not quite structurally sound enough to be skewered on its own, I imagined a thin caramel shell that would not only provide the glue to hold the puffs upright and intact, would provide a crunchy exterior to provide contrast and give way to the soft, creamy interior.
Guess what? It worked. And how. Talk about party food! Except that I might eat them all if I’m there. I posted the recipe over at Family Kitchen.
December 20 2010 | leftovers | 14 Comments »
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