Archive for December, 2011
Bit of a gloomy last day of the year-looking forward to a drink tonight after a dry-ish holiday season.
It was weird this year, with Christmas on a Sunday. It came up quickly, without a buffer of days between between the busy week before and Christmas Eve. I had made a vow to get cozy with Bailey’s on ice or boozy milk punch before bed on the last few nights before Christmas, but only managed one glass on account of the arrival of our Christmas stomach bug.
The last of a bottle of Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey Whiskey had been left behind after our polyester & cheese Christmas party, and a slushy milk punch seemed like a good use for it. It couldn’t be simpler – milk, with a generous dose of cream, powdered sugar and whiskey, stirred together in a pitcher and chilled or partially frozen, then topped with a dusting of nutmeg. I made this last Thursday night for Friday, the day it turned out I could barely manage sips of water – I found it in there this week, bashed it up with a spoon, tasted it, and stuck it back in the freezer for New Year’s Eve. Hey, that’s today! Shouldn’t we be reminiscing? Cheersing? Yes, lets.
Happy new year everyone – may all good things come your way in 2012.
Slushy Milk Punch
Adapted from Canal House, v.2, via SmittenKitchen
5 cups whole milk and half-and-half (4:1 is suggested, but I went with equal parts 1% and half & half)
1 1/2 cups bourbon, another whiskey or brandy, or Jack Daniels honey liqueur
1/2 cup icing sugar (or to taste)
2-3 tsp. vanilla
Freshly grated nutmeg
Whisk everything together in a pitcher and freeze until slushy, which will take 3 to 4 hours, but you can leave it in there up to a week. (It may need to sit on the countertop for a bit – mash it around with a wooden spoon to break up the ice.)
Serve topped with freshly grated nutmeg. Serves 2-10.
December 31 2011 | beverages | 11 Comments »
I woke up early this morning, and finding myself downstairs in the kitchen in the dark surrounded with half cleaned-out cupboards and drawers and a sink more than full with dirty dishes, I opted to make muffins. Breakfast is important, right?
Also, that half jar of mincemeat in the fridge was far more pressing than total kitchen reorganization. (I do this every holiday week – decide to overhaul the kitchen or bedroom or basement, or all three. Most often my gumption runs out after I’ve taken everything out, and before I put it all back away.)
Mincemeat is one of those things that -unlike chocolate and cheese and wine- does not translate well to any season beyond Christmas. Namely January. Eating mince tarts in the middle of January just does not taste the same as the middle of December. But what else do you do with all that mincemeat?
Bake muffins!
They won’t come out tasting of mince tarts, but of themselves – moist and fruity and wonderfully spiced. You can add chopped apple or pear and pecans or walnuts too, if you like. And if you have a little more than a cup of mincemeat, or a little less, don’t sweat it – they’ll still work.
And the house will smell wonderful when everyone gets up.
Mincemeat Muffins
Gourmet, December 1997
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup canola or other mild vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 cup all-fruit mincemeat
1 small tart apple, cored and chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 400°F and line twelve muffin cups with paper liners.
In a largish bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a smaller bowl (or Pyrex measuring cup) stir together the milk, oil and egg, and add it to the flour along with the mincemeat. Stir until the batter is almost combined, then add the apple and nuts and stir just until blended. Don’t worry about getting the lumps out.
Fill the muffin cups almost full and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden and springy to the touch. Serve warm.
Makes 1 dozen muffins.
December 29 2011 | bread and breakfast and snacks | 6 Comments »
So. Christmas. It didn’t wind up being the healthiest holiday season. I thought I’d be back with too many photos to sort on Boxing Day – but as it turns out there hasn’t been much food to report. On Friday morning (our anniversary!) on which day we planned to head downtown and walk, do the last of our Christmas shopping, have a fancy coffee, then go for dinner and wrap presents, I walked in the door from my early morning BT spot feeling a little woozy. I spent the day in bed and the bathroom, and W joined in that evening – luckily I already had a barf bucket at the ready by the couch. We spent our anniversary evening mopping the floor, doing laundry, cuddling W and watching old episodes of Arrested Development. It wasn’t bad, actually, but no food to report.
Saturday we had Christmas at my parents’ house, and the big turkey dinner. It was beautiful – the setting and the meal, which featured a 20 lb organic free range heritage breed turkey from Winter’s that we went over to put in the oven that morning. The boys (five of them under 8 ) were over the top excited, building their Lego and popping crackers. Mike tracked Santa on his iPad. My sister made a killer chocolate cheesecake. I hadn’t at that point eaten since Thursday night, but as I was managing to keep sips of Coke down, I had high hopes. It didn’t go well.
On Christmas day I ate a cracker, and at dinner, with Mike’s mom and sister and half of my family over to our house this time for turkey part 2, I managed a Pillsbury crescent roll – perhaps the pouffiest, most refined food product available? And so on Boxing Day I thought I’d venture into real food territory. There were leftovers, of course, and so rather than take a stab at Turkey Dinner Part 3, or do something crazy like make turkey shepherd’s pie, I made soup.
There was mashed potatoes and peas, carrots and roasted sweet potatoes, so I made one pot of orange-red and another of green. (In keeping with the colours of the season, of course.)
You don’t need a formula to make soup. I’m not sure how many people realize this. I’m going to resist writing a recipe here, because that goes against the whole point of transforming whatever it is you have on hand into a pot soup.
So here’s what you do: put a pot on the stove, drizzle some oil in the bottom and add a dab of butter. Chop an onion and throw it in. A clove or three of garlic, too. I just slice mine, so that it doesn’t burn – we’re going to puree the lot, anyway.
Give them a few minutes to soften, then throw in your leftover veggies. In one pot I scraped in the last of the mashed potatoes – about a cup and a half? – and the peas – maybe 3/4 of a cup. Not that it matters. add however much you have. Broccoli would do well, or spinach, kale, asparagus, even roasted Brussels sprouts. In the other pot I put a spoonful of curry paste, the carrots and roasted sweet potatoes. Squash would have been perfect, too.
Add some stock to cover and bring to a simmer. (If you’re really on the ball, you may have some turkey stock already – I always keep those tetra packs of chicken stock in the pantry.) Cook for 10-20-30 minutes, or until everything is soft. Puree with a hand-held immersion blender. Add more stock or water if it’s too thick, or simmer a bit longer if it seems too brothy. You could add a splash of cream, but neither needed it. At its best, soup is simple. Any veggie dish – even just boiled or steamed veg – are delicious simmered with stock and pureed. And if you’re not in the mood for soup, it’s a great way to freeze leftovers – in soup form. Happy holidays, everyone!
December 27 2011 | freezable and soup | 14 Comments »
Tiramisu is the sort of dessert I love, but yet rarely order. It’s so often disappointing in restaurants – this statement makes me sound like I’m at an Italian restaurant a few nights a week – but isn’t it? And I’m pretty sure the bad ones have just as many calories. Tiramisu is also the sort of thing I never think of making. There don’t seem to be many occasions that scream for tiramisu.
And yet, it’s so tasty when done well, and you get that bonus coffee hit at the end of the meal, too. And so when Sue’s sister Holly, whom I’ve known since Junior High and now that I think about it was responsible for introducing me to Mike, called out for help via Facebook, I was happy to take on the tiramisu challenge. She’s planning to make tiramisu for Christmas dinner dessert, but all recipes seemed too complicated, too raw-eggy or too boozy. Good news! You can totally ditch the booze if you like. Or at least replace it with coffee or Kahlua – or Bailey’s! Something you have on hand.. I never have Marsala in the house anyway.
You’ll need a package of these. And some mascarpone – a rich, creamy Italian cream cheese – although depending on who’s eating it, you could get away with plain old cream cheese. Call it cheesecake tiramisu and they’ll let you off the hook for its inauthenticity.
Tonight we’re having an evening of Christmas caroling with drinks and dessert at my mom’s – as good an excuse as any to take tiramisu for a spin, don’t you think? As I made it I realized what a great idea it is for Christmas dinner dessert – kinda special, unusual, great for a crowd, and since it has to be chilled for at least 6 hours, perfect to make ahead, or take with you if you’re tasked with providing dessert elsewhere. You don’t need to even worry about whipping the cream for the top of your pie or whatever you’ve made in advance – it’s all just done. Brilliant!
It’s not too tough to make, either. You start with some egg yolks, and in this version beat them with sugar and Marsala or coffee in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water. It’ll start out looking like this:
And five minutes later, look like this. Then you beat in the mascarpone, and fold it into your whipped cream. Voilà! You can do it. Try not to eat it all straight from the bowl.
Then make some coffee – instant is fine – and stir in some Kahlua or Tia Maria or rum or something. Find a dish that will fit 12 ladyfingers in the bottom. (A package has 24, and you’ll need two layers.)
Dip the ladyfingers into the coffee – quickly, don’t let them soak or they’ll start to fall apart – and then lay them into the bottom of the dish. Top with half your cream mixture, then another layer of dipped ladyfingers, and the rest of the cream. That’s it.
Smooth the top, and sprinkle with cocoa powder. I like to use a tea spoon (like a tea ball – the kind you fill with loose tea and set in your mug of boiling water) – spoon out some cocoa and shake it overtop. Works like a charm.
Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours, or up to a day. Then all you need to do is uncover and eat.
Merry Christmas Holly! Thanks for the Mike.
Tiramisu
adapted from Gourmet, January 2009
1 Tbsp. instant espresso
1/2 cup sugar, divided
2 Tbsp. Kahlua or Tia Maria
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup dry Marsala or cooled coffee
1 1/2-2 cups mascarpone (or soft cream cheese)
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
24 savoiardi (Italian ladyfingers – one package)
cocoa, for dusting
Stir the espresso powder and about 1 Tbsp. of the sugar into 1 cup of boiling (or at least very hot) water. Stir in the Kahlua and pour into a shallow bowl-one you can dip the ladyfingers in.
In a glass or stainless steel bowl set over a pot of simmering water, beat the egg yolks, remaining sugar and coffee or Marsala on high speed for 5-8 minutes, until the mixture pales and triples in volume. Remove from heat and beat in the mascarpone or cream cheese. It will deflate the egg yolk mixture somewhat – don’t worry – just get the lumps of cheese out.
In another bowl, beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the mascarpone mixture.
Get out a dish that will accommodate 12 ladyfingers in the bottom, and then dip each ladyfinger into the coffee mixture, then lay it in the bottom of the dish. Lay 12 in the bottom, then top with half the mascarpone mixture. Add another layer of dipped ladyfingers, then the rest of the mascarpone mixture, smoothing the top. Sprinkle with cocoa, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or up to a day.
Let the tiramisu stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving it (the flavour is better if it’s not so cold), and if you need to, dust again with cocoa. Serves 8-10.
December 22 2011 | dessert | 16 Comments »
This is by far the most made recipe of the week. (And I just realized it’s only Wednesday.) I’ve cranked out dozens and dozens of these, starting with four batches with W’s grade one class on Monday afternoon, in preparation for their Christmas concert on Tuesday. The old sandstone school filled with the smell of baking cookies as we went up and down the stairs between classroom and staff room to bake sheet after sheet. And so yesterday there was a table of tea and homemade cookies outside the gymnasium for parents and kids to hang out and nibble before and after the performance.
If you’re a parent and have the opportunity to go help out in your kids’ classroom, and his or her teacher is up for an afternoon of baking, it may just be a few of the most rewarding hours you’ll ever spend. Some of the kids in W’s class had never cooked anything before. Rather than show up with premade dough to roll and cut, or prebaked cookies to decorate, I brought butter and eggs and flour and sugar and molasses and cinnamon and ginger, and printed out copies of this recipe – written out clearly, with simple steps. We talked about recipes and how they work – then talked about each ingredient and where it came from. Then there was measuring, learning about cups and spoons and halves and quarters of same. The kids were divided into four groups and did an amazing job following the instructions, measuring ingredients, cracking eggs, mixing and rolling balls of dough to bake. We talked about what happened in the oven, what made them rise and spread and turn from balls of dough into actual cookies. And at the end we sat around the tables and ate some while they were still warm. The kids took home their recipes and, eager to show their parents how they could bake from scratch themselves. (Of course some had kitchen experience already, but others hadn’t. I’m getting goosebumpy just thinking about it. Don’t wait for Jamie Oliver to show up at your school – get in there yourself. It’s amazing the impact you can make in an afternoon.
Later, I made more to boost quantities for the concert, and some may have wound up sandwiched with some leftover frosting. Try vanilla, cream cheese or lemon – just spread on a cooled cookie and top with another one.
This is the recipe we used:
Molasses Crinkles
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. In a bowl, mix together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until there are no lumps left.
2. Add the egg and molasses and mix together.
3. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Stir until you have cookie dough that is smooth and all one colour.
4. Roll the dough into balls about the size of a small strawberry. Put some sugar in a small dish, and roll each ball of cookie dough in the sugar.
5. Put the balls on a cookie sheet and bake them at 350?F for 12 minutes, until they are cracked and golden around the edges. Move them onto a wire rack to cool.
Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.
December 21 2011 | cookies & squares | 29 Comments »
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