2011 Tin
Full of Lebkuchen (German Gingerbread)
Buying this tin full of gingerbread has become one of our holiday traditions.
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Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!! ….from my kitchen to yours
This is a lovely dense, barely sweet quick bread. We paired this with a cheese platter and a fresh fruit tray for a quick and easy brunch. The tart cranberry sauce adds a great bite of fresh tartness that works well against rich and creamy cheeses. Cranberry Spice Bread 2 1/4 cups flour Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, sift dry ingredients. Set aside. Cream butter, eggs, and sugar. Add vanilla, cranberry sauce, and candied orange peel. Cream well. Gently stir in dry ingredients. Pour into a full-sized loaf pan. Spread the dense batter out evenly. Bake at 350 degrees F for 65-70 minutes.
For the bewitching hour… My Lemon Crush juice of 2 lemons crushed ice In a cocktail shaker, combine lemon juice, strega, vodka, lemon soda and ice. Stir vigorously. Strain over fresh ice. Garnish with lemon twists. Cheers!
California Wonder Pepper Seeds The seeds from one California Wonder pepper will be plenty to satisfy my pepper needs for 2012. And, I’ll pass the extras to my family in Florida. My mother is eager to see if they’ll grow in the Florida heat.
Pouding Chomeur Mmm… maple syrup. But, wait…. this is poor man’s pudding. Maple syrup isn’t exactly cheap. There are several versions of this recipe and it goes by many names. Pouding Chomeur, Pouding au Chômeur, Sirop Cake, Grandmere’s Sirop Cake, Grandpere dans le sirup… and there’s another one in French …something about a syrup boat? …. or was it a boat in the syrup? It’s on the tip of my tongue. But, it’s just not coming to me. For a true poor man’s pudding you might want to stick with brown sugar. Pouding Chômeur Syrup: 2 cups brown sugar Batter: Bring syrup ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan. Butter 8×8 inch baking dish. Pour syrup evenly over the bottom. Set baking dish aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Stir gently once or twice. Then, add milk. Stir gently until just barely combined. Pour batter over syrup and bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes. The center of the cake should be firm to the touch. If you test with a toothpick, only stick the toothpick half way into the top of the cake. Serve warm. Or, gild the lily with whipped cream, ice cream, or both.
Milk by Christina Tosi might just be my favorite cookbook for all times. For starters, it allows us to attempt the sweet and savory treats of Momofuku Milk Bar in our very own kitchen. It’s also bursting with unique ideas that jumpstart inspiration in my kitchen. And, most importantly, it’s a cookbook that has done the impossible. It’s sparked my husband’s interest in cooking. He wants to make the Volcano! We’ll probably be attempting those in the very near future. But, for now, cereal milk… Now, this is a very loose translation of the original. But, growing up in a strong Italian home. If I’ve learned one thing, it’s to be frugal. And, the idea of throwing away almost a whole box of cereal goes against my mother’s many years of brainwashing. It seems a bit wasteful to me. So, as luck would have it, my husband has a rather nauseating eating habit. He likes soggy cereal. And, I do mean SOGGY. He’ll eat cereal that’s so soggy it’s literally limping off the spoon. (Insert visible shudder and cringe, here) I can’t even watch him eat it. Anyway, we’ve devised a plan. He’ll pour the cereal into a large glass pourable measuring cup. Let it sit for about 15 minutes. Then, he eats the cereal. And, I make my version of cereal milk. My Cereal Milk 1 cup cereal (Here, I used Great Grains with raisins, dates, & pecans) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake cereal for 5-6 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Pour into large glass pourable mixing bowl. Pour cold milk on top. Stir and let sit for at least 10-15 minutes. Scoop out cereal and discard. (Or, feed to soggy cereal lovin’ loved one.) You should be left with just over 1 1/2 cups milk. Pour into powerful blender. Add peeled banana and ice. Smoothify it. Cheers! Cereal Milk Banana Smoothie… mmmMMm Yum.
With John Kessler’s cranberry salsa in mind, we deliberately bought two bags of cranberries this year. The first bag was used to make our traditional cranberry sauce. The second, we saved for the day after cranberry salsa. Now, we could have made this on Thanksgiving Day. But, we already had too many dishes planned for the day. My intention was to make his recipe verbatim. But, our internet connection decided to take that Black Friday off. This is what I made from my memory. Apparently, my memory was still on vacation, too. My dish bears little resemblance to my intended. But, guess what? It was still out of this world good. And, we’ve lucked into a new tradition. The Day After Cranberry Salsa 1 bag of fresh cranberries, well-washed and picked over In a food processor, add cranberries, jalapeño, 1/2 cup sugar, juice of one lime and lime zest. Pulse about 3-4 times. Add cilantro, salt and black pepper. Pulse again, try to leave a few coarse chunks for texture. Pour into a glass bowl and let it sit for at least 5 minutes before starting your sandwich making preparations. For The Perfect Turkey Sandwich: 2 pieces of freshly toasted bread Apply a very skimpy amount of homemade mayo to toast. Pile on the turkey. Top with two heaping teaspoons of cranberry salsa. Slice and devour immediately! P. S. This is was the recipe I originally intended to make. John Kessler’s Cranberry Salsa zest of 1/2 an orange Combine the orange zest, ginger, sugar and water in a small, nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Meanwhile, chop the cranberries in a food processor. Transfer to a nonreactive bowl. Cook the sugar mixture until very thick and syrupy (about 5 minutes). Pour syrup over the cranberries, using a rubber spatula to scrape out every bit. Add minced peppers, salt, cilantro, lime juice, and rum. Mix well. Taste and add sugar, if needed. Refrigerate at least one hour. Note: May be made up to a week ahead.
The traditional Aperol spritz is an absolutely delicious cocktail. It’s refreshing with a lovely (yet, delicate) tart bite to it. But, Gabe Thompson’s version shines the light directly on the Aperol. It’s all bright, bitter orange. Aperol is a fabulous spirit that is seriously worthy of more attention. I absolutely love it. If you don’t have Prosecco on hand, give Aperol a try by adding a splash or two to club soda or ginger ale on ice. You’ll be a convert…. guaranteed. This is a perfect drink for the holidays. It’s easy to produce en masse and it’s appropriately festive. Gabe Thompson’s Aperol Spritz 6 ounces Aperol In each ice filled rock’s glass, pour 3 ounces Aperol, 1 ounce Prosecco, and 1 ounce club soda. Cheers!
Whoops! Forgot the garnish…again. Oh well, it was still perfectly divine.
From the simple genius of cereal milk to the creative use of a wide variety of “crumbs” within a recipe, this cookbook is more than just a compilation of recipes to be followed. It’s a source of pure inspiration from cover to cover. It invites you to rethink the ordinary. Go wild, you know you wanna. What should I make first? Cereal Milk or Malted Milk Fudge Sauce. Too easy? Hmmm, maybe, I’ll go savory and try my hand at the kimchi croissants with bleu cheese or the volcano. My husband was quick to put in his vote. He wants a cheesy volcano, pronto! |
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