Christmas Cookies

     It's a cookie factory in my kitchen!  I've set about making 9 cookies/candies for the 2009 holiday season.  That sounds like a fairly reasonable amount, right?  Enough for a beautiful cookie tray with some nice variety....a great gift for friends, family, neighbors, teachers, etc.  Except, I don't have family or a lot of friends here in Portland yet; who is going to eat all of these cookies??

     Then again, making cookies is about more than the final product for me.  I'm able to turn on Christmas music or movies while I bake and get into the holiday spirit.  Spending time in the kitchen always makes me happy, and rolling dough, cutting shapes, icing, and decorating is even more fun. This first year away from my family is pretty weird.  It's Christmas in the stores and on the streets, yet I'm without the things that usually signal Christmas for me.  Baking cookies gets me closer.  I may not get to share these treats with some of the people I love and care about, but they're all on my mind.

      The list:

Lebkuchen- This traditional German cookie has all the warm spice I love in gingerbread, but it's soft.  A winner for me because there are very few crisp cookies I enjoy, and therefore don't like the standard gingerbread man.

Pistachio Linzers- Gotta love the jam experience in a linzer cookie, and the ground pistachio in this dough just takes it up a notch.

Rosemary and Nut Shortbread- I made this shortbread dough with brown sugar, walnuts, pine nuts, rosemary and lemon zest.  I love rosemary and these are a perfect not-too-sweet cookie.  They have just the right amount of chew and crunch.

Sparkling Ginger Chip Cookies- A recipe from 101 Cookbooks that were too pretty to pass up.  Still on my to-do list, and I'm looking forward to this one.

Triple Chocolate Cherry Cookies-  Well really, how could I not have a least one cookie that was a chocolate overload.  It was a must.  Both cocoa powder and melted chocolate for the dough, and dark chocolate and white chocolate chips stirred in with the dried cherries.  Yum.

Carrot Cookies- A nod to Grammy.  I love it when she makes these, and had to try it myself.  One of my favorite little recipes from the Junior Social Workers' cookbook.

Cream Cheese Brownies- A request from a special someone for tradition's sake.  Hope this version is everything he remembers.

Coconut Joy Candies-  Coconut had to be on this list somewhere.  Bite size candies...that can be dangerous.

White Chocolate Popcorn-  This is a stupidly easy thing to do, but the salty sweet is addictive.  Great for munching on while cooking a Christmas meal.

That's the rundown.  I'll let my friends choose they're favorites once they're all ready.  For now I'm enjoying the baking.

Chocolate Babka 2.0

     Last night we were wanting a sweet treat and remembered there was still half of loaf of chocolate babka in the freezer.  I had even pre-sliced it for easy eating.  Well, warm, sugary, chocolaty bread sounded just right.
     I stepped into the other room to make a call and by the time I finished my boyfriend had gone above and beyond toasting and buttering some babka.  I was instructed to remain on the couch so he could surprise me with the dessert he had plated.  I'm still a little giddy thinking about what he made- Chocolate Babka French Toast.  But it gets better....the pieces were perfectly crispy and browned on the outside, drizzled with warm caramel sauce that I had also previously made, and then topped with a scoop of caramel praline ice cream (note said ice cream problem in post below).  Yep.  Talk about eating with goofy grin on our faces.  I realize not everyone has the same insatiable sweet tooth that I do, but who can resist that?  A perfect expression of what I prefer in desserts.  I love the textures of the crunchy outside and the soft, dense bread,  the chocolate oozing into every bite, the warm sauce to complement the chocolate and custard, and the delicious ice cream melting over the warm bread.
     Yes, chocolate babka does get better. A lot better.
     How about Chocolate Babka 3.0?  We had leftover custard and just two pieces of bread, so he cubed the bread and put it in to soak for bread pudding.  Big smiles again.  My mother's chocolate chip bread pudding with warm caramel sauce happens to be my very favorite dessert, and I have a feeling chocolate babka bread pudding (still have that caramel sauce on hand) will be a close second.

Chilly and Rainy

     It's raining.  It's cold.  It's raining and cold.  And repeat.
All I want to eat at this time of year (outside of my year-round ice cream problem) is something warm.  Even the yogurt or shredded wheat I am usually pleased with for breakfast has to be replaced with oatmeal, grits with lots of pepper and butter, or toast and eggs.  I just don't feel satisfied without food that fights the chill.  Braises, roasts, stews, soups... it's the season for rich and hearty bowls of goodness.  A perfect excuse, I might add, for a couple extra pounds of defense against harsh winter winds.
     I want chicken and dumplings.  I want to plug in the slow cooker and just let time and heat work its miracles.  I want to sit in front of a fire with a steaming mug of apple cider.  I want Junior Social Worker's Spaghetti Day spaghetti with every little noodle coated in meaty sauce.  I want spicy chili thats been bubbling all day.  I want to cuddle on the couch late at night with my mom and her tapioca warm off the stove.  I want white beans and ham.  I want French Onion soup in its special crock.  I want hot and gooey sandwiches.  I want to dunk hot, fresh doughnuts in my coffee and soft, crusty bread in my soup.  The list goes on, but warm comfort is clearly the theme.
     All these things were on my mind a few days ago as I considered what I wanted to eat on my weekend.  Well, here's the delight of dating a man who cooks for a living, he was thinking the same thing and I never had to say a word.  Just spotted the beef short ribs at the market, and proceeded to create exactly the meal I was craving.  After searing the ribs, slowly adding layers of vegetables, tomato sauce, seasoning, and beef broth, then simmering everything for many hours,  he had a meltingly tender ragu.  The meat fell into soft shreds in its thick sauce, and even though most of the mirepoix and mushrooms became unidentifiable in the ragu, each flavor came through.  We ate it over creamy polenta cooked with beef broth, Parmigiano-Reggiano rinds, more cheese, and plenty of butter.  Might as well really go for it, right?  We still had our vegetable- crispy roasted brussel sprouts- a vegetable that I didn't know I loved until my adult years, but have since made up for lost time.  I thoroughly enjoyed every bite of our meal.  The only bad part was waiting to eat as the house filled with the aroma of what was to come.
    

To The Coast

    Last weekend I was lucky enough to take advantage of the last bit of beautiful Oregon weather before this Artic cold arrived and head out to the coast for a night.  I’ve never lived on the beach, but I think I’m meant to.  My family and I spend a quiet week of vacation on the “Forgotten Coast “of Florida every year, and the trip has become a necessary pilgrimage that sustains us for the year.  There is nothing like the vast ocean and power of the tide to put life back into perspective.
    As different as the Oregon coast is from the gulf of Florida, the first glimpse of waves still makes me feel like I’m finally home.  Not to mention the hour and a half drive is much easier than 18 hours in the car with three brothers. 
    I spent an incredible day walking on the sand, reading as I listened to the crashing surf, and watching the happy faces of people enjoying the unexpected warm and sunny weather.  After a memorable sunset, we went to Local Ocean Seafoods for dinner.  If I lived in Newport, I know I’d be a frequent customer….head over for a quick bite and pick up more fresh seafood to cook at home.  It was small and comfortably casual with a perfect view of the commotion on the docks, rocking boats, and Yaquina Bay Bridge.  It’s easy to eat knowing the food has come from across the street and supports the local community and fisherman.  The best thing we tried was the Roasted Garlic & Crab Soup.  Rich and creamy, but not too thick, with big hunks of soft crab and gooey melted cheese throughout.  I’m already looking forward to stepping onto the beach again, another trip to Newport, and my next bowl of soup at Local Ocean.

Making it Better: Mustard

     I've been pondering the components of a sandwich a lot recently.  The "gourmet, yet casual" sandwich has been getting a lot of attention in the media.  Many chefs and restaurant owners are leaving behind a life of fine dining to reinvent the simple classics that are in millions of lunchboxes out there.  Some folks are going to big lengths to make these sandwiches great.  Spending days, weeks, or even months to confit, brine, cure, age, smoke, etc.  Don't get me wrong, I appreciate and love some of the delicious ways chefs are preparing the all-important meat on the sandwich, but are there not a lot more things to consider?  I think so.
     The meat may be extraordinary, but I firmly believe that what makes a truly memorable sandwich is the fusion of individually wonderful components.  If the bread isn't sturdy enough, or the sauce isn't spread evenly, or the textures disagree, or the meat/cheese/bread ratio is off, then having one great ingredient just isn't enough.  Furthermore, I don't think a sandwich requires a giant list of toppings as long as each item is just done right.  
     So, in the spirit of making the little things better, I made mustard this week.  Sure, it's easy to find specialty mustards on the market shelves these days, but some can be quite expensive.  Other than buying the dry mustard, I already had the ingredients in my pantry.  I have been craving a great Cubano lately, and this mustard would be perfect pressed into soft bread with warm pork, ham, Swiss cheese, and pickles.  The mustard was quick, easy, and better than the commercial variety I already had.  Most importantly, I love the idea of making my own version of a condiment that is so easy to just toss in the basket at the store.

Spicy Mustard
Yield: 16 oz.

2.25 oz dry mustard
1/2 oz sugar
1 tsp salt
6 oz eggs
8 oz malt vinegar
1/4 tsp favorite hot sauce-  I used a very spicy hot sauce made from St. Augustine, FL datil peppers
1.5 oz honey- I used a delicious dark sourwood honey from Savannah Bee Company

1. Combine 1st 3 ingredients. Add eggs and mix until smooth.
2. Whisk in vinegar, hot sauce, honey. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours.
3. Beat in a double boiler until thick and creamy. Cover and refrigerate until cold.
4. Transfer to clean container. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.


For a little experiment I set aside some of the mixture after step one to make pear mustard.  After a trip to Hood River in October, we came back with cases of pears and apples.  One thing I made was a pear and ginger coulis that I froze several containers of.  So, I omitted the hot sauce in this batch and added some of the thawed coulis to the mustard as it cooked in step three. It has a distinct pear taste with the tang of the mustard that would add another great layer of flavor to a sandwich.