GINGERBREAD HOUSE FROM THE NORTH POLE

A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS GUEST POST


As a very special treat for my readers, I decided to invite Mrs. Santa Claus to guest post on Life’s a Feast. In keeping with the Christmas spirit, Mrs. Claus agreed to lend a helping hand. I had a wonderful time baking with her and we spent a fabulous afternoon together in my kitchen laughing and chatting. She’s a hoot, I can tell you that. And quite a woman! To tell you the truth, I think she was a rather relieved to take a break and get away from the North Pole and all those men up there and spend a little quality “girl time”. I was thrilled with the opportunity to get to know her and have her guest post for me. Thank you, Mrs. Claus, and I hope we can make this a regular happening. And with no further ado…. Mrs. Claus!


Well now, I was just tickled pink when Jamie asked me if I would guest post for her. She was a bit worried that I would be too busy at this time of year, but I put her worries to rest right away. “Honey,” I said, “there are just so many fur-trimmed jackets and bonnets one woman can sew, so many little bells to attach to so many tiny elf caps before I scream, so I’d be happy to take a wee break and write something up for your delightful blog!” Once I made sure that no toys had been broken in the brouhaha or inadvertently left behind, Rudolphs’s nose had been shined and Santa was bundled up all cozy, list tucked safely in his pocket, I was as free as a, well, as free as my jolly old man splashing in the Florida waves the day after Christmas…

Now you might think that I lead a pretty glamorous life up here at the North Pole: romantic white landscape, gentle, doe-eyed reindeer, piles of gaily-colored wrapping paper and pretty ribbon as far as the eye can see, but you don’t know the half of it! Being married to the most popular man in the world just ain’t all it’s cracked up to be: and I say Michelle Obama, David Furbish and whoever’s dating that there George what’s-his-name, you know, the cute one, you all ain’t got nothing on fame and popularity. Oh, my man may go under different aliases in different parts of the world: Père Noël, Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle, Weihnachtsmann, Sinterklaas, but everyone knows who they’re talking about. And my man can’t just get his mug shown on tv, leaving all you gals woozy and weak-kneed and all the men steaming, no, he needs to put out. Presents. Presents, presents and more presents. And just ask the others how they feel about their so-called “better half” getting all the attention! Everywhere we turn it’s Santa this and Santa that…


And I, Mrs. Santa Claus, well, I am more than just a pretty face, the woman behind the man. No, I’m moral support, cookie baker, list checker (yes indeed, no matter what that song says, it’s me!), suit sewer, and the list goes on and on. You know how men are! They would lose their heads if they weren’t screwed onto their shoulders! And I’m taking care of a workshop full of them. So I do more than I am ever given credit for. And those Santa’s Helpers? It may be toys that they’re making but it’s not all fun and games what with the thumbs being hammered and the sore backs, those darn elves keep coming to me looking for compensation for work-related injuries!


And keeping them dressed warmly and holding those Man-Colds at bay is a job in and of itself, what with all the chicken soup and hot cocoa I keep on the stove and all those teeny tiny socks to darn, they just don’t take care of themselves! I mean, what would happen to Christmas if they all got sick? And Santa? You know I love him, but keeping him clothed in that silly red and white suit and making sure he stays healthy before the big day is a full time job! Tried putting him on a diet, too, but no…. he thinks being pleasantly plump is part of the package deal, what everyone expects of him. Well, if he keels over from all that extra weight before next Christmas, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Santa, in the fridge all day...

So, Jamie asked me to guest post on her blog. I thought I’d really like the diversion from all the holiday running around. What to make? And when I saw that she had a gingerbread house to make for that Daring Baker’s challenge I said “Well, doll, that’s right up my alley! Why don’t I just help you bake and put that together? I mean, who knows more about candy-covered houses and snow-laden landscapes than I do?” So here I am taking a few out of my busy schedule to give a helping hand. Think all those elves can take care of themselves for a bit?


Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi asked all the Daring Bakers (and me, Mrs. Claus) to bake a homey, traditional Gingerbread House for December 2009’s Daring Baker’s Challenge. Anna offered us a recipe from Good Housekeeping and Y from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as well as giving us recipes for both Royal Icing and sugar “glue”. Very Christmassy indeed!

Well, Jamie and I were both very excited by this challenge and dove right in. Little did we realize how difficult working with the dough would be and not an elf in sight to help out. We chose Y’s Scandinavian recipe and though the dough pulled together a charm, rolling it out proved a true challenge. It crumbled into a million pieces and had to be wet, pressed and beaten into submission. We finally succeeded in rolling out enough of the dough for our template (pattern) cut outs and some fun cookie cut outs to complete the North Pole scene (moose and Christmas trees). We baked it up then Clem, Jamie’s son, did help with the gluing together and decorating with whatever bits and pieces of decorative sugars and candies we found lying around the house, secreted away in drawers (she does have an impressive candy stash!).

I would like to thank both Anna and Y for this fun and festive challenge. I think that next time Jamie will be using one of her own cut out cookie doughs for this, either vanilla or chocolate (although a true gingerbread house dough, Y warned us, is tougher to work with as it is made more for its sturdiness and lng-lasting ability rather than good looks and tastiness). The cooked sugar used to glue the pieces together as well as the royal icing hardened faster than expected so we had to work very quickly to pull it all together, but in the end we were all quite thrilled with the final results. Marty is also truly fascinated and has been trying to climb his way up onto the table to look at the house up close. Maybe it’s Santa’s bulging cock-eyed eyes up there that makes Marty think they’re related!


Thanks to Lis and Ivonne for keeping the Daring Baker’s home fires burning! Thank you Anna and Y and thank you Clem for the help. And a huge thank you for Mrs. Claus for taking time out during this busiest of seasons to guest post for me. You deserve so much more credit than you usually get! Now off you go on vacation to the sun and fun of Florida…. Stop by my mom’s house while you’re down there and say “Ho Ho Ho” for me.

And wonderful Greg of Sippity Sup! has generously nominated Life's a Feast for a Homie 2009 and I would absolutely be thrilled if you would go here and vote for my blog (look for lifesafeast.blogspot.com without the www. in front)! Thanks so much!

GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Scandinavian Gingerbread House (Pepparkakstuga)
From The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas

(Half recipe would work fine for a small house. I got a lot of left over dough)

1 cup (225 g) butter, room temperature
1 cup (220 g) brown sugar, well packed
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground ginger *
3 teaspoons ground cloves *
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup boiling water
5 cups (625 g) all-purpose flour, more if needed

* I omitted the ginger and replaced with 2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until blended. Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and add to the dough along with the flour. Mix to make a stiff dough. If necessary add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Chill 2 hours or overnight.

Draw and cut out patterns for the house, front and back walls, side walls, roof pieces, door which will be cut out of front wall, chimney.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Roll out the dough a little at a time on a floured work surface to a thickness of no less than 1/8-inch. Place the templates on the dough and, using a sharp knife, cut around the templates. Transfer the pieces to cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Cut out any extra pieces using cookie cutters as you like (Christmas cookie cutters of course).


Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes until set and slightly puffed. Remove the baking sheets onto wire cooling racks and allow the pieces to cool on the baking sheets.


ROYAL ICING:
Can be halved

1 large egg white
3 cups (330 g) powdered sugar
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp almond extract

Beat all ingredients until smooth, adding the powdered sugar gradually to get the desired consistency. Pipe on pieces and allow to dry before assembling. If you aren't using it all at once you can keep it in a small bowl, loosely covered with a damp towel for a few hours until ready to use. You may have to beat it slightly to get it an even consistency if the top sets up a bit. Piped on the house, this will set up hard over time.

Simple Syrup:
I halved this amount

2 cups (400g) sugar
Place in a small saucepan and heat until just boiling and the sugar dissolves. Dredge or brush the edges of the pieces to glue them together keeping the pan over very low heat. If the syrup crystallizes, remake it.

Now piece together the walls then adding the roof on by dipping into or brushing the edges of the pieces with the cooked sugar then pressing together. Work very quickly because the sugar glue works fast and well. Use the sugar to glue on the chimney and door.


Decorate with the royal icing, candy, colored almond paste (I rolled out the paste to the thickness desired using a glass, cut out trees with a cookie cutter and the holly leaves using a paring knife ten glued the pieces onto the house using a dab of beaten egg yolk).


Keep it away from the dog.

Now, back to the North Pole...until next year...

Take a bigger bite ...

LAMB GOULASH WITH BISCUITS

WHITE CHRISTMAS
With my excuses to that other Jew Irving Berlin

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the one I never knew.
Where the rooftops shimmer
My eyes do glimmer
As I stare at the lovely view.

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
Where I can stay in and bake all day.
Where Marty snuggles
And Jamie juggles
Mixing bowls and baking trays.

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
With every blog post that I write.
Where the airports shut down
The town’s in lockdown
And we must eat by candlelight.

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
While something simmers on the fire.
Goulash di-vine
He’ll pop some good wine
It’s all that one could so desire.

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas.
And I wish the same for all of you.
May the food be abundant and good!
Wishing all the very season’s best to you!

Crisp, cold weather outside, warm and toasty inside, wonderful aromas wafting from the kitchen, the wine chilling and the cake frosted. Home. This is the perfect winter evening to me. I really don’t need anything else. Oh, we’ve spent Decembers in Florida basking in the tropical warmth, eating oranges off the tree and driving around the neighborhood looking at the fantastic, gaudy array of Christmas decorations. We’ve spent a luxurious, pampered, romantic Christmas at a Palace hotel in the center of Paris overlooking the stunning, frosted fairytale white Tuileries, nibbling petits fours and sipping champagne. We’ve spent family Christmases on both sides filled with laughter and excited children, holiday specials on TV, tables laden with food and gifts. We’ve spent the holidays strolling through Italian street fairs and sharing the food, fun and singing with our adopted Italian family up at the farm. But after all these years, I still think home is the best.


I was in the mood for stew the other night, something rich and warming and flavorful. I loved the idea of a goulash, redolent of tomato and paprika (the sweet from Budapest, the smoky from New York) but craved lamb. And so wanted biscuits. So I put the whole thing together, and how simple it was! By the time JP walked in the door from a hard day’s work and a frosty trip home, the house was filled with the fabulous aroma of goulash, putting a smile on his work-worn face.


Sometimes we want something hearty and succulent, a bowl of goodness to warm our insides while outside it is cold and wintry, yet we just don’t have the time or the desire to spend standing in front of the worktop and stove, what with all the holiday shopping and baking, the piles of gifts to wrap and the cards to fill out and send. We pull on another pair of wooly socks and wrap another sweater around us and all we yearn for is a place on the sofa in front of the fire or an old black & white film, savoring something delicious, something good for both body and soul.


This wonderful Lamb Goulash takes only minutes to put together, then it is simply left simmering on the stovetop, filling your home with an amazing aroma and fairly cooking itself. You can even prepare this early in the day and just warm it up on the burner before finishing the dish in the oven. Whip up a batch of homemade biscuits, roll, cut and layer onto the goulash in a baking dish and bake until the biscuits are fluffy, risen and golden and the goulash is bubbling. A perfect wintertime meal!

LAMB GOULASH WITH BISCUITS

Olive oil
3 – 4 medium onions, cut in half and thinly sliced
1 Tbs sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs sweet Hungarian paprika
1 tsp smoky paprika
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
3 Tbs or 2 small cans tomato paste
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
4 cups (1 liter) chicken stock
2 ½ lbs (1.2 kg) boneless lamb shoulder
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 carrots, trimmed, peeled and sliced into coins
Fresh parsley
6 ½ - 7 oz (200 – 300 g) white mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and cut into chunks
1 - 2 Tbs 15 – 30 g) margarine or butter
7 oz (200 ml) heavy cream or Greek yogurt (Greek yogurt will add a wonderful tang)


BISCUITS:
2 cups (250 g) flour
4 tsps baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
½ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 stick (115 g) unsalted butter, cubed
2/3 cups (165) cold milk, or as needed
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 Tbs water), optional


Prepare the Goulash:

In a large pan or Dutch oven with lid, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions and the sugar and, stirring, sauté until the onions are caramelized. This will take several minutes. Once the onions are caramelized a deep golden brown, add the minced garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute.


Add the sweet and smoky paprikas, the thyme leaves and the bay leaf. Sauté an additional minute, stirring constantly.


Add the tomato paste and stir until everything is well blended. Add the balsamic vinegar, scraping up the brown bits of onion and tomato stuck to the bottom and deglaze. Add the chunks of lamb and the sliced carrots and toss to coat. Salt and pepper. Toss in a handful of freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley.


Add the chicken stock to cover. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes.


Before this cooking time is up, sauté the chunks of mushroom in butter or margarine in a small saucepan until tender and golden on the edges. Add to the goulash at the end of the 1 hour 15 minutes then allow the goulash to continue to simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Once the goulash is off the heat, stir in the cream or yogurt.

Prepare the biscuits:

Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).

Put the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar and chopped fresh parsley into a large mixing bowl. Add the cubes of butter and, using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until blended and the mixture resembles cornmeal or damp sand. Add the milk, a little at a time, mixing with a fork until the dough forms into a (just slightly sticky) ball.

Scrape the dough out onto a floured surface and, working quickly and with the balls of your hands (your palms will heat the mixture and the butter will get too sticky), smear the dough in an outward motion away from you in several movements until you have smeared all of the dough once - this will incorporate all of the butter into the dough. Scrape the dough back into a ball and knead very quickly just until the dough is blended, uniform and silky smooth. At this point you can wrap it in plastic wrap and put it into the fridge for several minutes if the dough is too sticky; this will make it easier to roll out.


Roll out the dough to a thickness of 3/8 – ½ inch (@ 1 cm) and cut out round of dough with a cookie or biscuit cutter. Brush the tops of the biscuits gently with egg wash if you like.

Pour the goulash into a large oven baking dish. Gently place the cut biscuits all over the surface of the goulash.


Place in the preheated oven and bake for 10 – 12 minutes or until biscuits are well risen and just starting to brown around the edges and the goulash is bubbling.

Serve hot.


This is a fabulous goulash and the biscuits are the perfect accompaniment and were a huge hit with the family. But if you like, go ahead and serve the goulash from the pot over fresh noodles or even boiled potatoes.

Take a bigger bite ...

APPLE-CRANBERRY COFFEE CAKE WREATH

GHOSTS OF HOLIDAYS PAST


Hanukkah is swiftly rolling to a dazzlingly bright end and Christmas will rapidly be upon us. As the New Year approaches I think that it’s time to gather round the blazing fire, mug of steaming cocoa in hand, slice the Apple-Cranberry Coffee Cake and settle down for a little sentimental heart-to-heart. Let’s not burden ourselves with pondering over our New Year’s resolutions quite yet, there will be time for that later on; the night is young and we should be merry. Though it is chilly, icy white flakes dance outside the windowpane kissing the glass as they float by, maybe champagne is more appropriate. So break open the bubbly and clink crystal against crystal and let’s take a gentle stroll down memory lane.


Now I won’t bore you with more childhood memories, Saturdays at the swimming pool learning to swim or, later on, gossiping about boys with the girls, sno-cones in hand, or Monday evenings learning to play Mah Jong with my brothers the hour before the ladies showed up, sneaking handfuls of the snacks bought specially for company, or afternoons nestled in the branches of the tree in the front yard, book in one hand, sandwich in the other. We won’t bother with schoolday tales or adolescent woes, nor will I utter a word about Italian street fairs in New York or bounding up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art à la Rocky my first week living in the City of Brotherly Love. No, this is a time to look back over the years and think about all those Decembers lived, the Hanukkahs celebrated, the Christmases come and gone and share a bit of personal lore, those Ghosts of Holidays Past…

original illustration from Charles Dickens Bleak House

So play along and, while you sip your champagne, while you savor every mouthful of this luscious Apple-Cranberry Coffee Cake I’ve made just for you on this unforgettable night, as the fire crackles and glows throwing shadows across the wall, its luxurious warmth washing over you and its flames flickering brightly in your eyes, think about the joy, the wonder and the magic of those oh-so mystical, special holidays long gone, the festivities, the laughter, the old black & white films, the delicacies indulged in and the garlands of tinsel glittering in the glowing lights, the scent of fresh evergreen and the taste of that one perfect kiss under the mistletoe.


Special thoughts rush through my mind each year as the holidays come round again and I try, as we all do, to relive the happy moments, the parties and the meals or, more importantly, the holidays spent with family or close friends, turning memory into tradition. I try and recapture the wonder and magic of childhood or those first Hanukkahs or Christmases with JP and the boys, the Decembers spent curled up on the couch watching my old favorites on tv, the same old black & whites that come round and captivate me year after year, the trees decorated, the windows adorned, the candles lit and the gifts given and received. School Christmas parties and Sunday School Hanukkah plays, the carols most sung and the treats I love the best. And year after year I try and relive as much of these as I can, conjuring up the joy of the season through these little pleasures because no matter where I am or who I’m with these special things always transport me home.


My favorite Christmas movie:
Alone – Christmas in Connecticut
En famille – The Nightmare Before Christmas

My favorite Christmas songs:
Christmas Wrapping (from my college days)
Bruce Springsteen’s Santa Claus is Coming to Town (ah, blasted from the frat houses along Locust Walk at UPenn)
Winter Wonderland (only if we can sing, as we did when we were kids, “Later on, we’ll perspire, as we dream by the fire”)
Eine Muh, eine Mäh – totally silly song with all the animal noises which we sang in high school German class


My favorite holiday foods:
Latkes of course, crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside eaten with homemade applesauce
Roasted chestnuts eaten on a snowy street corner in Milan
Cranberry relish (cranberry almost anything)
Chocolate-covered marshmallow Santas and Marshmallow Peep Snowmen

My favorite Christmas memories:
Decorating the Merrit’s gorgeous tree when their kids had already left home
Getting the whole grade school administration in trouble when, one year, I refused to sing Christmas carols or participate in the Christmas play. Why only Christmas? The following year they added a Hanukkah play to the program.
O Bej O Bej Christmas market in Milan on a cold frosty night
The perfect 48 hours in Paris with JP, the night spent at Le Meurice in a room overlooking the frosty, fairytale white Tuileries Gardens, the days spent visiting our favorite museums and eating at our favorite restaurants

My favorite Hanukkah memories:
Playing dreidl with M & M’s with the family
Watching my boys as they drew and cut out the scene of the great battle between the Maccabees and the Assyrians
Receiving a gorgeous ring from JP totally unexpectedly. Actually that happened twice.

Our holiday traditions:
Lighting the Hanukkah candles in the old family Menorah
Chocolates from Debotté for each of us
Pandoro for Simon
A huge platter of oysters and samples of special dishes from the traiteurs at the market and an excellent bottle of bubbly

And now, let me serve you a slice of Coffee Cake and it’s your turn….


Once again, I would like to send this yeasted coffee cake to Cindystar who is the host of Bread Baking Day #25 with the theme Baking Under the Tree.


And, of course, this coffee cake flies off across the continents to Susan of Wild Yeast and her weekly event Yeastspotting.

APPLE-CRANBERRY COFFEE CAKE WREATH
Well, sort of a wreath

Adapted from a recipe I found on Ilva’s blog Lucullian Delights, originally from The Betty Crocker’s International Cookbook


2 ¼ tsps (8 g) active dry yeast
¾ cup (200 ml) milk
¼ cup (50 ml) water
¼ cup (50 g) sugar
¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 egg
½ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp salt
3 ¼ - 3 ½ cups (485 – 520 g) flour


Mix the water and milk together in a small saucepan and heat gently until warm, not hot. It should be the temperature of your hand when you test it.

Put the yeast in a large mixing bowl. Pour about ¼ cup (65 ml) of the warm liquid over the yeast and stir to dissolve. Add the rest of the warm liquid.

Add the sugar, softened butter and the egg and about 2 cups (300 g) of the flour. Stir to blend then beat with an electric mixer until smooth.


Gradually stir in the rest of the flour by hand until you have a smooth dough that’s easy to handle. I stirred in all except maybe the last ¼ cup (about 40 g) which I used to flour the work surface as I kneaded the dough, thus working in this last amount of flour.

Knead for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.


Place in a large lightly greased bowl, turning once to make sure the dough is greased. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and then a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm, dry place until doubled in bulk, 1 hour to 1 ½ hours.


Punch down the dough on scraping it out of the bowl onto a floured work surface. Roll the dough out into a rectangle of 15 x 9 inches (38 x 23 cm) * . Spread the filling evenly over the rectangle of dough up until about ½ (1 cm) on the top – wide side – and 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) on the other three sides. Roll up tightly jelly-roll style starting on the wide side which should be closest to you. Pinch edge of dough to seal, stretching the dough to even out the tube. Gently lift the roll to a parchment-lined or greased baking sheet placing seam-side down. Shape the roll into a ring, pushing one end slightly into the other open end then pinching closed to seal.


Using kitchen scissors snip slits into the deep into the dough being careful to evenly space the slits and creating an even number of sections (which, sadly, I didn’t do as I was working too quickly). To form a wreath, cut down 2/3 of the way through the ring then turn each section onto its side alternating the sections back and forth, towards and away from the center. Spray the dough with cooking spray or brush with an egg wash as I did (I egg beaten with 1 Tbs water).


Cover once again loosely with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise again until doubled, about 45 – 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Bake the coffee cake until golden brown, 25 – 30 minutes, covering loosely with foil towards the end of the baking if you feel the cake is browning too quickly.


Once baked and cooled, you can sprinkle the coffee cake with powdered sugar or drizzle with white glaze.


APPLE-CRANBERRY FILLING

4 pie apples, like Reine de Reinette or Golden, peeled, cored and cubed
1 cup fresh cranberries
2 Tbs (30 g) unsalted butter
6 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp finely grated orange zest, optional


Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the brown sugar and cook, stirring, until you have a thick, grainy sauce, about 1 minute. Add the apple slices, tossing until all the slices are pretty much coated with the sugar-butter. Cook the apples for about 4 minutes and then add the cranberries, stirring to coat them with the sugar/juice mixture. Continue cooking, stirring, until the apples are tender, the cranberries are popped and softened and the sauce has been reduced to a glaze, about 3 minutes more. Mix in the spices and the zest if using and toss until the apples are evenly coated. Remove from the heat and cool the filling at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours before using to fill the coffee cake.

Optional glaze:
Stir 1 cup powdered sugar with 1 ½ to 2 Tbs water or freshly-squeezed orange juice until well combined into a thick, smooth glaze that drizzles easily. Prepare the glaze just before using and drizzle on the cooled cake.

PERSONAL THOUGHTS ON THE MATTER:

Delicious coffee cake, tender, moist crumb like the perfect brioche only less sweet. But the quantity of dough was much too much for one wreath. Next time I will double the filling recipe and divide the dough in two pieces, forming a rectangle of about the same dimensions but thinner, divide the filling equally between the two rectangles of dough and form two wreaths instead of one. I may also simply cut the circles of filled coffee cake as I did the Chocolate Meringue Coffee Cake before baking only cutting deeper into the dough and filling. Beautiful coffee cake for the holidays. Kept in a metal cookie box, the cake stays moist for a few days.

Take a bigger bite ...

SWEET & SOUR APRICOT GLAZED CHICKEN

AND CHOCOLATE CHIP KUCHEN BUNDT

SWEET AND SIMPLE FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Another year rolls to an end, knee deep in the holiday season, time for a bit of sentimental reflexion. I look back over the past year with a bittersweet tenderness, tears in my eyes. I have suffered great loss, upheaval, life and death. I have welcomed old friends once thought long lost with open arms and 30 long years of confidences, secrets, and joy. I have watched my sons grow up, one find his calling in life, his confidence and his passion, the other just beginning his long road of discovery, still at a standstill, my child still.


I have plunged deep into the murky waters of food blogging, the waters hazy with doubt and circumspection, yet once I got used to the water, snapped the goggles of determination over my eyes and got to know the others splashing loudly or floating lazily along I realized how enjoyable it can be and I allowed myself to be carried along by the current. I have braved the challenges of yeast and French macarons, thrown caution to the wind, risking disgruntled comments and the evil eye by baking far too often, creating more baked goods than one family can reasonably consume, I have dragged my sister kicking and screaming into the realm of the baking addicted.

I have made new friends through food blogging and tightened bonds across the continents, we feel like sisters now. Sisters who have shared courage and secrets, given advice and encouragement, these sisters who have led me by the hand along the sometimes bumpy, occasionally gloomy path of discovery and self-realization towards the warming, comforting shelter of self-assurance and contentment, sharing virtual picnic lunches and laughs whenever needed. Where would I be without them?


We wend our way through life’s realities trying hard not to go all maudlin, balancing out the downs with the ups and shrugging our shoulders, letting a chuckle or a sigh escape momentarily from our lips, laughing out loud as often as we can. We turn our faces towards the future and dream of flying off to somewhere exotic, our own island where we can live out our dreams.


And meanwhile, we live each day as we must, as we can, and I drown myself in my family and friends, enjoy the little pleasures along with the grand, the exciting, pacing our lives from stepping stone to stepping stone. The loss of a beloved brother has, in its place, brought my sister and younger brother and I much closer together. The successes of one son bring comfort that the other will surely find his way. The utter thrill of finding long-lost friends outshines the few who have been lost along the way. The sisters and friends I have made in the world of food blogging have replaced much of the self-doubt and difficulties with challenge and fun.

I approach the end of a very difficult year, a time of emotional turmoil and grasp onto the best of what I have received. I may not celebrate traditional holidays as most of you do, but I try and find something to celebrate in every little thing, every little event. We create our own special occasions, treat ourselves to gifts and pleasures whenever we feel the urge or the need. I find joy in baking, writing, sharing with others and hope to continue sharing these things of the heart for many years to come. Chatting with friends, sending little surprise packages to each other or planning visits, laughing with my sister, curling up with Marty and JP in front of a rugby match or silly movie, enjoying a good book with a cup of steaming coffee and a slice of cake, a successful attempt at a new recipe, these are the little pleasures of my life, what makes each day worth celebrating.


Sometimes the simple things are always the best, and truly, sometimes we just want to kick back and enjoy time with the family, no time for fiddling or fuzz. I offer you two great recipes for the mad holiday season: a wonderfully flavorful Sweet & Sour Glazed Oven-Baked Chicken dish, easy and quick and prepared in advance, and a rather plain yeast Kuchen Bundt coffee cake studded with our favorite, chocolate chips, a warming and comforting treat for the morning after the crazy cooking and festive nights.


I would like to send this Kuchen Coffee Cake Bundt to Susan of Wild Yeast for Yeastspotting.

"Come Now, I'll help you spot the yeast. After all, you've been a good girl this year!"

I would also like to send this bread to Cindystar who is hosting December’s Bread Baking Day #25. She chose the most appropriate theme of “Baking Under the Tree” and this Kuchen is perfect for that early morning snack while the family opens their presents.


SWEET & SOUR GLAZED OVEN-BAKED CHICKEN
Marinate overnight and all you have to do it pop it in the oven and prepare a side dish or two.


2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 largish shallots, minced
½ tsp ground ginger
½ cup (125 ml) red wine vinegar
2/3 cups (160 ml) light soy sauce
1 cup or more (400 g) apricot preserves or jam
¼ tsp both salt and pepper
Chicken pieces for 4 – 8 people



In a small saucepan, heat the oil then cook the shallots over medium heat until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ground ginger until dissolved, then stir in the red wine vinegar and boil until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.

Add the soy sauce and the apricot preserves, the salt and the pepper and stir until smooth and the jam is dissolved. Lower the heat and simmer the marinade, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Place the cleaned chicken pieces (excess fat and skin removed) in a wide shallow bowl or even a large sealable plastic baggy or two. Pour the marinade over the pieces making sure the pieces are covered with marinade. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or seal the plastic bags tightly. Place in the refrigerator for several hours or, at best, overnight.


The next day; preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Prepare a large, shallow baking pan by lining it well with aluminum foil, even overlapping two extra strong pieces of fail and folding over two or three times. Lightly oil the foil (this is important).

Arrange the chicken in one layer on baking sheet then pour the marinade over the pieces. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes until cooked through and beautifully glazed and browned.


I served the chicken with a wild rice risotto.

CHOCOLATE CHIP YEAST KUCHEN BUNDT
Adapted from the original Unusual Old World and American Recipes, the pamphlet that came with my dad’s original Bundt cake pan (@ 1965)
A homey, comforting cross between a bread, a brioche and a cake, perfect with a mug of hot cocoa (with mini marshmallows, of course) or a cup of café au lait on the morning after.

2 packages active dry yeast (4 ½ tsps, 15 g)
¼ cup (50 ml) warm water
¾ cup ( 200 ml) warm milk
½ cup (8 Tbs, 115 g) butter softened to room temperature
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 cup (150 g) flour
4 eggs (I use large)
2 ¼ cups ( 330 g) flour
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips or more if desired. You can also add 1 cup chopped pecans.


Grease your Bundt pan well with softened butter.

Warm the water and the milk together until just warm to touch, body temperature. Dissolve the yeast in the warm liquid in a large mixing bowl. Blend in the 1 cup of flour, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel and let sit until doubled, about 20 minutes.


In a separate mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Add the creamed mixture into the yeast starter and stir well to blend. Stir the spices and salt into the remaining 2 ¼ cups flour then stir into the dough. Fold in the chocolate chips, stirring until the mixture is smooth and well blended.


Pour the batter into prepared Bundt pan, smoothing so it is evenly distributed. Once again, cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour to 1 ½ hours.


Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Bake for 45-55 minutes, depending on the oven. Do not allow to brown too much on top or will be dry inside. The cake should be risen, set and golden.


Remove from the oven and allow to cool before loosening from the sides of the pan and carefully turning out onto a wire cooling rack.


Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar and a hot drink.



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PERFECT BUTTERY CUT-OUT COOKIES FOR CHRISTMAS & HANUKKAH

TIS THE SEASON TO BE DOUBLY JOLLY!


Tis the season to be jolly, according to one well-known holiday song. And it certainly is what with the swags of gaily-colored lights and the glittery garlands strung up and down the streets, the holiday music piped into shops and city squares adding a festive rhythm to your already bouncy step. Candy shop windows have become wonderlands of silver and gold, boxes tied up in plump velvet bows and crystal dishes filled with every chocolate delight. Toyshops greet you with fluffy cotton snowmen and jolly Santas prancing through the snow laden with gifts for all. Friends chattering non-stop about holiday meal preparations, the pies and the cookies, the turkeys and hams, the family flying in from the four corners of the earth to celebrate together amid laughter and seasonal joy.


But if you don’t celebrate Christmas? I know how easy it is to get swept up in the festivities, the bright lights and the wonderful culinary traditions. “I don’t celebrate Christmas” is often greeted with quizzical, confused looks and “Why not?” follows the initial surprise. Christmas for many is simply a universal celebration, a cornucopia of food and traditional delicacies, colorful lights and a bounty of gifts to those who choose to forget or are happy to ignore the religious significance of this holiday. But when raising children a religion other than Christianity one is well aware of this point. And the point can get even more delicate when the children are the product of two different religions, two different cultures. I have always taken care of how we approach this most jolly of seasons, gently trying hard to counterbalance the excitement brought home from school as my boys watched all the merrymaking enviously from afar.

I have tried to raise my children in a Jewish home, yet they have celebrated the odd Christmas whenever they spent their winter holidays with their French grandparents: chopping down, dragging home and then decorating the tree, pulling out tiny figurines and setting up the crèche in front of the fireplace, hanging stockings and receiving Christmas gifts directly from the hands of Jolly Old St Nick (le Père Noël or better known as Tonton Claude under all that cotton fluff of a beard and the red felt cap!), and eating their fare share of Bûche de Noël and marrons glacés. I must admit that we even had a small Christmas tree in our apartment once or twice, a wreath on the front door: maybe to honor their heritage and their grandparents, maybe so they wouldn’t feel left out. We tromped out to the market where we purchased a sack full of whole walnuts in their shells and then to the grocery store where we picked up a plastic tube of empty escargot shells, the seductive swirls so elegant and just perfect for the tree. We went home, stopping along the way for a spray can or two of sparkly gold paint and, once home, plate of cookies never far from small hands, they spray painted all the walnuts and shells gold then strung them and wrapped them round and round the tree. Added to that were a selected few handmade ornaments, gifts from friends or made with love by the boys.

Christmas at Chezy

Clem in front of our tree with homemade ornaments

Yet the real excitement and joy seeped into our house at Hanukkah time. I still have a shoe box filled with tiny cutouts of Assyrian warriors on elephants or standing, legs firmly planted to the ground, helmets on and swords in hand alongside the shabbily-equipped Maccabees with their large blue Star of David emblazoned across their white tunics. Of course the boys also carefully drew and cut out the Holy Temple, the sacred place of Jewish worship that was destroyed by the Assyrians in their attempt to wipe out the Jews, the holy Eternal Light threatened with extinction during the war and destruction. The story of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, swirls around the miracle of the magical duration of the tiny bit of oil remaining in the holy lamp which lasted not the expected one but eight full days until fresh oil could be prepared. Thus was born the tradition of lighting the candles for 8 consecutive nights and the eating of foods fried in oil.


The stories told, the candles lit, the blessings recited and the gifts passed around. Then a joyous holiday meal of fried potato latkes eaten with tangy, fruity homemade applesauce or breaded and fried fish tenders, anything fried will do. But we also love the Christmas goodies to round out the meal, the cakes and the pies and the cookies. I adore giving edible gifts, cranberry-orange breads and pumpkin treats, tiny chocolate truffles nestled in fluted paper cups adorned with red and green poinsettas, and cookies. And how much fun are holiday cookies? I love baking, but I especially love baking during this holiday season. I pull out my wonderful collection of Christmas and Hanukkah cutters, the Santa, the tree and the bell mingle gaily with the star, the menorah and the dreidl as I knead, roll and press the cutters into the most perfect of all buttery cookie dough. Christmas cookies frosted or glazed or all lit up with colorful, bright sugar crystals, most disappearing the first time Simon’s friends visit. And Hanukkah cookies drizzled with melted white chocolate and sprinkled with blue are set out next to the Menorah to be enjoyed while opening the gifts. And this year I decided to use the Lemon Mascarpone Goat Cheese Cream I made for my holiday macarons as the basis for fluffy white snow and build a Cookie Christmas Tree. Beautifully ruffled cookie cutters create the layers, a kiss of bright green pistachio nuts and the fir tree appears. The cookies are layered with luscious lemony snow then sprinkled with a little bit of gold sugar crystals and some gorgeous pink praline, a gift from Pam, for the final festive touch.


HOLIDAY CUT OUT BUTTER COOKIES
Always tender, never crumbly or dry and less cloyingly sweet than your other butter cookie recipes.

2 sticks (1/2 lb, 225 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
¾ cup (150 g) sugar
2 large eggs
¼ tsp salt
1 Tbs Amaretto (optional)
½ tsp vanilla – use 1 tsp if omitting the Amaretto
3 ½ cups (525 g) flour


In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating briefly after each addition just to incorporate.

Beat in the salt, the Amaretto and vanilla and then about a third of the flour until smooth. Gradually beat in as much of the remaining flour as possible using the electric beater, then stir in the rest with a wooden spoon or a spatula.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. If you haven’t stirred in all of the flour you can knead in the rest quite easily. Once you have a smooth, homogeneous dough, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.


Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Working with about half the dough at a time, roll it out to a thickness of not less than 1/8-inch (no less than .3 cm), being careful that the dough is very evenly rolled out. Carefully cut out shapes with your cookie cutters. Gently transfer to a cookie sheet (I use unlined, ungreased cookie sheets with no problem at all). If you want the fir tree effect, just gently lift the cookies one by one, brush around the edges with a beaten egg, then dip in crushed pistachio nuts before placing on the cookie sheets. I also brushed my Hanukkah cookies very lightly with egg wash and doused them with colored sprinkles.


Bake for about 10 minutes. They will be set and appear cooked but they will NOT brown. You’ll know they are done because they will slide right off the cookie sheet when just nudged with a spatula.


Allow to cool. You can now frost them or drizzle with melted chocolate as I have done.


MASCARPONE-GOAT CHEESE LEMON CREAM
This is adapted from a recipe I found on Meeta’s blog What’s for Lunch Honey? And can easily be doubled.

7 oz (200 g) mascarpone cheese, drained
1 oz (30 g) fresh, tangy goat cheese, drained
2 Tbs (30 g) superfine sugar
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp Limoncello

¾ - 1 cup (about 200 ml) heavy whipping cream
Edible decorations (colored sugar, chopped nuts, etc)


To make the Lemon Mascarpone Cream, place the mascarpone, the goat cheese, the sugar, zest, cinnamon and Limoncello in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth and creamy. Chill.


Have the Lemon Cream, the whipping cream as well as the glass bowl and beaters for beating the whipped cream very well chilled before making the “snow”.

When ready to make the Cookies and Cream Christmas Tree, beat the heavy cream in the chilled bowl with the chilled beaters until very thick. Using the same beaters, beat the Lemon Mascarpone Cream briefly (in a large bowl) just to loosen it and make it smooth and creamy after chilling in the fridge. Add the whipped cream to the Lemon Mascarpone Cream and beat briefly to blend and thicken.


To create the Cookies and Cream Christmas Tree:

Simply pile up the various-sized ruffled cookies which had been trimmed in chopped green pistachio nuts from largest to smallest, placing a large dollop of snow/lemon cream carefully in the center of each cookie round before placing another cookie on top trying to keep the green pistachio bits visible. Decorate by sprinkling the snow with colored sugar decorations.



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HOLIDAY MACARONS: POP OPEN THE BUBBLY

MAC ATTACK GOES FESTIVE

Foie gras, fig jam & speculoos macarons and Goat cheese, dark cherry & pistachio macarons

Macarons with Lemon Mascarpone Goat Cheese and Raspberry

Another Mac Attack approaches and I’m in the holiday spirit: glowing candles and brightly wrapped gifts, tall chilled glasses of champagne and platters of oysters. I feel cozy evenings at home among family approaching, celebrations with all the dazzle and glitter of the season. Hanukkah with the boys, one little corner decorated all in silver and blue, leaving pride of place for the old family Menorah. Gifts piled up on my closet floor, all shiny paper and bows, something they want, something they need, a book or two, a silly dvd and always something sweet and special from Debotté, chosen lovingly for each. New Year’s Eve follows swiftly, too fast for us to plan anything more than something at home, watching the icy mist and dark skies from inside the snug, warm apartment, the occasional foray into town, hand in gloved hand, strolling slowly, enjoying the city in all of her holiday finery. Although we usually celebrate à deux, just JP and I, we go the romantic route: yes, the bottle of bubbly and the seafood platter, but also tiny scoops of elegant and tasty tidbits, shrimps in different sauces or special salads bought ready-made at the traiteur, set out on a beautiful tray and carried into the living room where we nestle together on the sofa, Marty curled up at our feet, and we bring in the New Year with good food, quiet chat and dreams of the future.


Once, a long time ago, JP and I went to a New Year’s Eve party; lots of music and noise, food and dancing. It was our first New Year together and, needless to say, we much preferred spending it alone, so after making a perfunctory appearance, showed our faces, made the rounds, we furtively ducked out and disappeared. Since then, we’ve spent each and every New Year’s Eve alone together. And quite happy in this routine.


We have spent Christmases with his family, and I remember my first one as a new bride. A luxurious table was set, the best family china and glasses on the table, decorated tree all aglow in the corner, foie gras and capon gracing the table among the other delicacies and bottles of wine and champagne galore. I brought homemade cranberry relish and guacamole which amazed. My father-in-law couldn’t get enough, to my pleasure and joy, and kept saying “Can you pass me the red stuff? And the green stuff, too?” Later on, the holidays swirled around all the grandkids, two by two they came, 7 boys followed by the lone granddaughter, and what a joy to be around, lots of presents and lots of ice cream cakes, excited laughter and fun and games. Dinners were maybe a lot less fancy, but much livelier.

And since then, just calm, quiet, homey and party-less Christmas and New Year’s Eves. But if I were to have a party, like those parties my mom and dad hosted in the very cool 1960’s where the women all wore either evening gowns and elbow-length white gloves or silk and satin party pajamas and the men all wore matching slacks and banlon polos, where they drank cocktails and nibbled on finger foods and then most likely played Twister… I would pop open the champagne and pass around platters laden with gougères and tartlets and nibblies on toothpicks and sweet and savory macarons. Yes, once again the holidays have rolled around, another turbulent year left behind us, another year beginning bringing bright hopes that we can finally live out our wildest dreams, and I have macarons on my mind. This month for Mac Attack, the monthly Macaronfest – call it Mac Madness if you will - created out of a wild passion (or obsession? craze?) for achieving the perfect French macaron by Deeba and I, I have decided to create a platterful of delightful little bite-sized macarons all decked out in their holiday best, the perfect little succulent treats to be eaten while sipping that glass of champagne. Add to the Christmas festivities or ring in the New Year with a choice selection of the most elegant macarons filled either with a succulent round of mousse de foie gras, its rich, earthy sweetness highlighted by a dab of fig jam or chutney, then rolled in crushed spicy speculoos cookies (a gift from Sophie of Sophie’s Foodiefiles) or a wonderful combination of cool, tangy fresh goat cheese perfectly matched with a sour cherry jam, crushed pistachio nuts adding a Christmassy green and delightful crunch. Or the mellow sweetness of a superbly luscious Lemon Mascarpone Cream, a bright red raspberry and more lovely green pistachios giving it a dash of Christmas spirit.


Easy to make, the first two are simply questions of assembling them like toys on Christmas morning. The Lemon Mascarpone Cream, a recipe adapted from one I found on Meeta’s blog What’s For Lunch, Honey? is a snap to whip together and is so delicious, so sublime I will be using it everywhere! For these macarons apératif, I piped out much smaller shells, 1-inch or so (3 cm) so they could really be picked up off a platter and popped into the mouth with one hand, as the other hand will be cradling a cool glass of champagne, of course.

My entries for December's Mac Tweets Mac Attack!

SIMPLE MACARON SHELLS

90 gr egg whites (about 3) *
30 gr (1 oz, 2 Tbs + ¼ tsp) granulated sugar
200 gr (7 oz, 1 ½ cups + 1 Tbs + 1 tsp) powdered sugar
110 gr (3 7/8 oz, 1 cup + 1 Tbs + 1 tsp) ground almonds

* personally, I have never weighed my egg whites. I use large eggs.
* The egg whites should either be left out in a covered container at room temperature for 24

Prepare 2 large baking sheets. On 2 large pieces of white paper the size of your baking sheets, trace 1 inch-diameter circles (I used the wide end of my pastry tip) evenly spaced, leaving about ¾ - 1 inch between each circle. This will be your template to help you pipe even circles of batter onto the parchment paper. You will be able to reuse these endlessly. Place one paper on each baking sheet then cover with parchment paper. Set aside. Prepare a pastry bag with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809).

Sift the powdered sugar and the ground almonds together into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

In a standing mixer or with a hand mixer, whip the egg whites for 30 seconds on low speed then increase speed to high and whip until the whites are foamy. Gradually add the granulated (with violet) sugar as you are whipping the whites until you obtain a glossy meringue. Mine was just stiff.

Gently but firmly fold about 1/3 of the whipped whites into the powdered sugar/ground almonds. Add the rest of the whipped whites/meringue and fold, using a silicon spatula or the equivalent, turning the bowl as you lift and fold, making sure you fold in all the dry ingredients. When the batter is ready to pipe, it should be flow from the spatula in a thick, smooth ribbon. To test to see if you have folded it enough, drop a small amount onto a clean plate and jiggle it slightly. The top should flatten, not remain in a point. If it doesn’t flatten, give the batter a few more folds.

Fill your pastry bag with the batter. Pipe circles onto the parchment paper, using the traced circles on the template sheets to guide you, holding your pastry bag above each circle and piping into the center. If you want to sprinkle the tops of the shells with either crushed speculoos or pistachios or even a sprinkling of sesame seeds, do so now. DO NOT FORGET TO CAREFULLY REMOVE THE WHITE PAPER TEMPLATE FROM UNDERNEATH THE PARCHMENT PAPER. YOU DO NOT WANT THIS TEMPLATE TO GO IN THE OVEN!

Preheat your oven to 280°F (140°C).

Allow the macarons to sit out for 30 minutes to 1 hour. The top of each shell should form a “skin” (it will feel like it hardened a bit when gently touched). Bake the shells for 15 – 20 minutes, depending on their size (when I touched macs that were not quite done, the top jiggled a bit as if there was still a bit of liquid batter between the top and the “feet” so I let it continue to bake another minute).

Remove the tray from the oven and immediately slide the parchment paper with the shells off of the hot baking sheet and onto a surface, table or countertop. Allow to cool before sliding the shells very gently off of the parchment by slipping a cake spatula under the shell as you lift it up. Be careful or the center of the shell risks sticking to the parchment.

LEMON MASCARPONE GOAT CHEESE CREAM

7 oz (200 g) mascarpone, drained
1 oz (30 g) fresh goat cheese, drained
2 Tbs (30 g) superfine sugar
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp Limoncello

Place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer into blended, smooth and creamy. Place in the refrigerator to chill and firm up before using.


MACARONS WITH LEMON MASCARPONE GOAT CHEESE CREAM


Plain macaron shells
Lemon Mascarpone Goat Cheese Cream
Fresh Raspberries, 1 per macaron
Finely chopped (but not ground) unsalted green pistachio nuts

Pair off shells two by two, top and bottom. Place a teaspoon of Lemon Cream on each bottom shell. Place a fresh raspberry in the center of the cream if desired. Place on top shell and carefully press crushed pistachios into the cream around the sides.

MACARONS WITH FOIE GRAS MOUSSE, FIG JAM OR CHUTNEY AND SPECULOOS
From and idea seen in Macarons by José Maréchal


A slice of foie gras or foie gras mousse, about 3/8-inch (1 cm) thick
Fig jam or chutney
A few speculoos cookies, finely ground

Have the foie gras mousse and the jam chilled before assembling and serving.

Pair off shells two by two, top and bottom. Cut out rounds of the mousse with a sharp knife or cutter and place on bottom shell of macarons. Place a dab of the jam or chutney on the foie gras and place top shell on top. Carefully press ground cookies into the filling around the sides.

MACARONS WITH FRESH GOAT CHEESE, DARK OR SOUR CHERRY JAM AND PISTACHIOS


Fresh goat cheese, well drained
Sour or dark cherry jam – I found dark cherry jam with thyme in my cheese shop
Finely crushed unsalted green pistachio nuts

Have the drained goat cheese and the jam chilled before assembling and serving.

Pair off shells two by two, top and bottom. Scoop out teaspoons of the cheese , press into a compact coin shape the diameter of the macaron shell and place on bottom shell of each pair. Place a dab of the jam on the goat and place top shell on top. Carefully press crushed pistachios into the filling around the sides.

I didn’t give quantities for most of the ingredients as it depends on how many of each you decide to make. And all the leftover ingredients either keep well or will be eaten for lunch or a snack the next day.

Serve with a sparkling wine or champagne!

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HOLIDAY CHESTNUT CAKE

WITH CHOCOLATE CHESTNUT COGNAC CREAM FILLING & CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose…”

- Mel Torme and Bob Wells

NUTS TO YOU!


Nothing means Winter – and Christmas - quite like chestnuts. Yes, yes, you can say that pumpkins start the season rolling, deep orange pumpkins with their jack-o’-lantern grins and afternoons spent kicking piles of golden and red and violet leaves, strolling through the forest looking deep into the lush olive green moss for mushrooms and coming home, hands chilled, noses the color of Rudolph’s, to a steaming bowl of savory sweet pumpkin soup and a slice of homey pumpkin pie. Or you can tell me all about cranberries, that ruby red jewel of the season, all that tangy excitement bursting forth from muffins and coffee cakes, glistening bowls of relish gracing the holiday table, the perfect marriage with that other winter fruit, the orange, a wonderful love affair of tart and sweet. Or strung up by children, wrapped gaily around the tree, adding the jolliness to the otherwise glamorous fir all aglitter with silver and gold.


Dark chocolate truffles nestling in tiny paper cups offered like precious gifts, dusted with icing sugar or dense with cocoa. Or gingerbread men dancing along the countertop, glazed and bespeckled with sugary treats, or shaped like elfin houses decked out in candy cane and gumdrop glory, winter’s first snow of icing sugar powdering a candy-tiled roof. Or pears turned into spicy sweet delicacies, homey and warming after a day in the snow, served up with mugs of hot cocoa or warm mulled wine. Sensuous pears, or maybe even the sophisticated fig, all sugar-and-spice Christmassy, their elegant, coy dew-drop shape dripping with chocolate or drenched in golden cinnamon and nutmeg spiked syrup, caramel or maple, snuggling down deep into a blanket of soft fragrant cake or lavishly adorning an otherwise any-season dessert.


Yes, yes, go on, you can tell me the stories, try and convince me, but truly the simple chestnut, that ugly, lumpy, homely fellow, picked up from the ground, out of the dirt, gathered into baskets on a forest adventure, carried home and steamed or grilled or tossed into the fire truly means Christmas. Or bought at street corner stands, large ramshackle tin drums set up haphazardly on grocery carts or bicycle wheels parked under swags of Christmas lights, drawing you through the icy mist towards some magical Shangrila, the fragrant scent of roasting chestnuts like a welcoming hug. Warm your hands over the woodsy, earthy-scented steam while he scoops the perfect quantity of perfectly roasted chestnuts, skins crackling invitingly, and pours out a measure and walk away cradling a paper cone of Christmas.

Chestnuts added to seasoned cornbread stuffing or tossed with sausages and sage then stuffed in your holiday bird, chestnuts married with apples and sweet potatoes adding their nutty goodness to the sweet. Risottos and gnocchi, soups and breads all thrilled to be embellished by this hearty, rich nut, infusing warmth and all the good things of the earth into an otherwise frivolous dish. Chestnuts just have a way of surprising, jazzing up anything, both the savory and the sweet, adding depth and richness and something so earthy and warming, pulling us into a secret hide-away place of forest creatures and elves hidden under toadstools, sitting us down in front of a blazing fire all cozy and warm on the hearth, feeling as if we are all snuggled up in red flannel jammies clutching a mug of steaming hot chocolate and waiting for Jolly Old Saint Nick to slip down the chimney laden with brightly colored packages, gifts just for us.


I know, I have told you that Hanukkah is my holiday; nary a Santa crosses my threshold, no reindeer prance on my rooftop. No fir tree all dressed up in her holiday best adorns my living room, no holiday meal for the family has me frazzled. We set up our Hanukkah menorah and the scene of the great battle won by the Maccabees that the boys drew and cut out so diligently when they were young on a tabletop and we hang a few blue and silver garlands across the wall. Chocolate Hanukkah gelt is strewn across surfaces and presents are hidden in closets to be brought out one by one after the lighting of the candles over the eight nights of this wonderful, magical holiday. Potato latkes and cheese fritters sizzle away on the stovetop and cookies are cut out in Hanukkah shapes: buttery stars and Menorahs and dreidls all glazed in white and sprinkled with blue. The candle lights flicker and dance in the wintry darkness adding romance and mystery to this simple family holiday.

Yet I love the glittery, shimmering, garish, gay side of Christmas. Who doesn’t? The streets all aglow in lights, shop windows dressed up in their holiday best or full of silly Santas and snowmen. Wreaths hanging on doors and decorated windows beckoning. “White Christmas” and “Winter Wonderland” follow you down the street adding music to the bounce in your step and evening after evening those old favorite black & white Christmas films shown year after year on TV still entertain. And I love all the special festive seasonal treats, boxes of chocolates all wrapped up in gold paper and red velvet bows, golden-fried puffs hidden under a shower of powdered sugar or Bûche de Noël, sumptuous in her holiday finery. And chestnuts. Chestnuts in all simplicity, roasted and eaten one by one, or blended into any dish, savory or sweet. But for all those wonderful chestnut this and chestnut that, the soups and ravioli, the stewed and the sauced, what really goes best with chestnuts? Why chocolate of course!


I fell in love with chestnut flour in Italy and once I discovered this moist, incredibly flavored, dense, delicious layer cake recipe from The Cake Bible, Rose Levy Beranbaum’s fabulous cookbook, I have never looked back. Slathered with the best chocolate buttercream frosting, this is my very favorite recipe using chestnut flour. I recently offered a small cellophane sack of this most precious of flours to my lovely Deeba of Passionate About Baking as she had never had chestnuts before in her life (the chestnut flour along with a can of sweetened vanilla chestnut cream and a vacuum-packed package of cooked chestnuts) and I promised to post my favorite recipe using the chestnut flour. I make this wonderful cake yearly, usually on my post-holiday birthday, but I wanted to offer it to Deeba and my readers for the Christmas holidays. I also added something especially seasonal and festive: layers of chocolate chestnut cognac cream (based on a recipe found in this month’s Saveurs magazine). This fancy yet extremely easy to make cream adds a luscious, very adult, very elegant facet to this beautiful cake. Serve it at the end of your holiday meal with a cold glass of champagne, bien sûr!

Et bonne fête!

CHESTNUT LAYER CAKE
From Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Cake Bible

3 large eggs
1 cup (250 ml) milk
2 ¼ tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups + 1 Tbs (190 g) sifted bread or cake flour
1 cup (110 g) sifted chestnut flour
1 ½ cups (300 g) sugar
1 Tbs (14.5 g) baking powder
½ tsp salt
12 Tbs (170 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (the softer the better)

* I don’t sift my flours and I use French regular white flour which is the equivalent of American cake flour.

Chestnut flour on the left, cake flour on the right.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter two 9 x 1 ½-inch (23 x 4 cm) round cake pans, line with parchment paper then butter and lightly flour. ( For this recipe, I used 3 pans for a 3-layer cake and it worked perfectly).

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, ¼ cup (@ 65 ml) of the milk and the vanilla. Set aside.

Place all of the dry ingredients (the flour, chestnut flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) n a large mixing bowl and, using an electric mixer, blend together on low speed for 30 seconds.

Add all of the soft butter and the remaining ¾ cup (185 ml) milk to the dry ingredients and blend on low speed until all of the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase the mixer speed to medium (high if using a hand mixer) and continue beating for another 1 ½ minutes, scraping down the sides as needed.


Gradually add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for about 20 seconds after each addition to blend. Scrape down the sides and make sure that the batter is smooth and well-blended.


Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans and gently smooth the surface with a spatula. The pans shouldn’t be more than half full. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes depending on your oven until the cake is golden, puffed, set in the center and a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. I baked mine for 20 to 25 minutes as I had divided the batter into 3 pans instead of 2.


If you must bake the layers one at a time – as I do because my oven is just too small – then loosely cover the remaining layer(s) with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake.

Remove the cake pans from the oven to wire cooling racks and allow to cool for 10 minutes before loosening and then turning the cakes out of the pans and letting them cool completely before frosting.

CHOCOLATE CHESTNUT COGNAC CREAM FILLING
From Saveurs magazine Spécial fêtes 2009 issue

6 ½ oz (200 g) crème de marron (sweetened vanilla-scented chestnut cream)
slightly less than 7 Tbs (100 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
6 ½ oz (200 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I used Lindt dessert 70%)
2 – 3 Tbs cognac or to taste


In a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water melt the chocolate and then let it cool slightly.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the chestnut cream with the softened butter until smooth and fluffy. When the chocolate has cooled slightly, whisk the chocolate into the chestnut mixture, then whisk in cognac to taste.

If the cream is too thin to spread between cake layers, simply chill it in the refrigerator until spreading consistency.

SIMPLE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM
(a double recipe of our favorite chocolate buttercream)

12 ounces (350 grams) powdered/confectioner’s sugar
7 tablespoons (100 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
4 tablespoons (50 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons very hot water

* I used 325 g powdered sugar


Using an electric hand mixer, cream the butter and the powdered sugar together. Add the cocoa powder and the hot water and beat, scraping down the sides as necessary, until well blended and fluffy.

Chocolate Chestnut Cognac Cream on the left, Chocolate Buttercream Frosting on the right.

To assemble the cake:

Place one of the cake layers on your serving platted. Slide wide strips of wax or parchment paper under the edges of the cake all around; this will let you frost the cake while keeping the serving platter clean!

Divide the Chocolate Chestnut Cognac cream filling evenly between the bottom layer of cake and a second layer of cake. Using a spatula gently spread the cream over the tops of both layers to the edges. Gently and carefully lift the second cream-coated layer and place on the bottom cream-coated layer on the platter. Now place the final clean layer on top. You now have three layers with two layers of chocolate chestnut cream filling sandwiched in between.


Using your metal spatula frost first the sides of the cake, evenly covering all around the cake. Then finish by frosting the top making sure to fill in all the gaps along the edge.

The frosting smears the wax paper and not your serving platter!

Gently pull the waxed paper out from underneath the edges of the cake and voila! frosted and you still have a clean serving platter. Decorate as you like (I kept some chocolate buttercream frosting aside to pipe a decorative border with then I sprinkled gold candy sprinkles all over the top of the cake.



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VERY CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

KICKING OFF THE HOLIDAY SEASON

"It's starting to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go..."

- Perry Como

Life slides by slowly, lazy days dragging on, time spent waiting for things to happen, the weekend to finally come, a birthday or a new job to materialize. Anxious and impatient, days too long and sleepless nights, the exciting things just never seem to arrive. And then just when we want to savor a special moment, experience an event, live every second to the fullest, all senses alert to the tiniest detail, catch the laughter of a friend, drown in the warmth of a kiss, linger over a delicious conversation, make a weekend simply last forever, time seems to fly by, a carpet pulled out from under our feet and we land with a thud, the moment gone forever. The good times, the exciting moments rush by us, turning to dust in our hands as we try and hold on, we fling our arms desperately around time’s ghostly neck only to have it disappear and we are left with only a hazy memory fading into shadow.

Food Blogger Connect has come and gone, a flash before our eyes, as ephemeral as the light of a firefly, but I am still drowning in the sensations, the thrills of that emotional roller coaster ride. Everyone who attended is still stunned that something so short, that flew by so quickly, could have changed so many lives, upset our routines and affected us so profoundly. We begged the time to stand still, but here we find ourselves a week later back alone in front of our computers, trying to get our lives back on track. Mere spectators of our own lives, we try desperately to return to normal, to that other self that we were before.

Getting into the holiday spirit!

I’ve spent my week typing out posts for the Food Blogger Connect blog, working with The Team on the preliminary planning for FBC 10, trying to reorganize my house and find a place to stow away all the beautiful and yummy gifts I came home with from London and simply catch up on what’s happening here. Every evening and every morning as I lie in bed next to JP and talk with him, chatting and laughing, making decisions and putting things into perspective, I find myself chuckling over a memory of something that happened in London, something funny someone said, thinking of ways I shall change my blog or put to work all the things I learned and I burst forth with stories or talk about someone I spent time with or simply find myself reliving that glorious weekend until JP very kindly says “I am so glad that you had such a great time but can we please talk about something else?”

Enjoying my early Christmas with gifts from Deeba.

I look out the window and see the changing seasons, Autumn sliding into Winter, the holidays upon us and another year rolling to a close. And I am in the mood to celebrate. Maybe it was the magic of Food Blogger Connect, the Saturday meeting all of those wonderful food bloggers or the weekend spent solidifying friendships already created on-line, but the spirit is upon me, pulling me into her radiant embrace, inspiring me to bake. I find myself drawn to all that is silver and gold, shimmering crystal in shop windows, so romantic; or jolly Santas all in red, elves and reindeer prancing through cotton snow making me laugh out loud. The glittering lights hung up and down the main avenue bring joy to my heart and I wonder aloud how it is that we can’t keep the lights shining every day of the year, bringing a little glitzy Broadway, a little of this holiday gaiety to our otherwise dreary lives.


So while the men are tinkering in the garage, while Clem is building models of architectural projects in the heat of his bedroom (he just received a box of tiny figurines to man his models with!), as the ironing pile grows higher and the sink fills with dirty dishes, thoughts of Mac Attack crowd together in my brain along with Hanukkah and Christmas musings, jostling ideas for dinner and the urge to create sweet treats and I am trying to call them all to attention, line them up like excited grade school children who, trying their absolute gold-star-behavior best to stand straight in line, hands pressed hard against rosy lips, muffling giggles, eyes all aglow, bouncing up and down, from foot to foot, trying to order them one after the other so between now and the holidays I can bring you a flurry of spectacular holiday treats, delightful visions of all that is joy and sparkle, recipes to brighten this wonderful celebratory season.


To start the ball rolling, I looked for something simple, not very holidayish in and of itself, but something rich and chocolatey and gloriously good. I recently treated myself to Dorie Greenspan’s wonderful book Baking From My Home to Yours and this simple yet luscious recipe for the most chocolate of chocolate cupcakes with a deep, rich chocolate glaze practically jumped off the page at me. Just a sweet surprise for the family to enjoy while I prepare my shells for this month’s Mac Attack which I host with my sister and friend Deeba of Passionate About Baking.


CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours

For the cupcakes:
1 cup (150 g) flour
¼ cup (30 g) cocoa powder
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
8 Tbs (115 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
¾ cup (150 g) sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup (125 ml) buttermilk – I used fromage blanc 0% fat (like quark)
2 oz (60 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted then cooled to room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with cupcake papers. Or butter and flour the cups.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt until combined. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the softened butter at medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and continue beating for a minute or two until it is light and fluffy.

Add the egg and then the yolk, beating for 1 minute after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Beat in the vanilla.

Lower the mixer speed to low and beat in about half of the dry ingredients, mixing only until just incorporated. Add the buttermilk or fromage frais/blanc and beat until blended, then follow up with the rest of the dry ingredients.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, making sure that all of the dry ingredients have been scraped up from the bottom of the bowl and incorporated in, then add the melted chocolate and blend in using a rubber or silicone spatuala. Make sure the batter is well blended and smooth.

Divide the thick batter evenly among the 12 muffin/cupcake cups and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the cupcakes are puffed, set in the center and springy to the touch.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before carefully lifting each cupcake out of the tin and placing on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.


Frost the cupcakes with your favorite chocolate frosting or ganache or with Dorie’s dark, bittersweet and very adult CHOCOLATE GLAZE:

For the glaze:
3 oz (90 G) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Lindt dessert 70%)
1 Tbs confectioner’s sugar
2 Tbs (30 g) cold unsalted butter cut into 6 cubes


Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl (I use pyrex) and place the bowl over a pan with an inch or two of simmering, not boiling, water. Melt the chocolate, stirring constantly. When the chocolate is melted and smooth, remove the bowl from the hot water and let stand on the counter for 5 minutes.

Using a small whisk or rubber/silicone spatula, stir in the confectioner’s sugar followed by the cubes of cold butter, whisking or stirring until all is melted and smooth.


I found the slightly thin glaze very easy to spread on the cupcakes – you only need a thin coat of the glaze as it is very chocolatey – but if it is too thin for you, simply allow it to stand and cool a bit until the right spreading consistency for you.



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FOOD BLOGGER CONNECT 09

FOOD FOR THOUGHT, SOMETHING TO SINK YOUR TEETH INTO

Who among us wasn’t both nervous and excited? Scared to finally be revealing ourselves, exposing ourselves naked in front of others, wondering if our real up-close-and-personal self was the same as our internet persona. Nervous to be meeting those food bloggers whom we so admire, the friends we tease and laugh with, those talented cooks and writers who share information and tips with us, who leave us drooling in front of jaw-dropping stunning food photos, wondering if our ideal image of whom they are and what they are like will be shattered into a million shards, fragile like a crystal decanter. Yet so excited! Sure in our hearts that the friends we’ve made, those distant friends, will be all that we have expected and waited for, that meeting them face to face will simply confirm the ideas we have formed in our heads and solidify an already strong connection.

I finally got to hug my twin sistah Deeba!

And then it happened. Tumbling into it head first, I found myself standing in the middle of the London City Airport Hall, blue party hat perched jauntily on my head, and Mowie appeared, the first meeting. Both nervous and happy, hesitant at first, but only for a split second, then chattering like magpies, out of control, catching up a lifetime of information in the shortest possible time! After dumping suitcases at his place and meeting “The B”, off we trotted, neither of us able to contain our excitement, to our first meeting point, the “Great Meet Up”, under the Eros statue at Piccadilly Circus. Alessio, then Deeba and Pam, Beth then Hilda, screaming and screeching, arms flailing and arms thrown around necks, it was love at first sight, an absolute electrical current of immediate connection, a lifetime of friendship, and we were off and running!

I couldn’t have been more thrilled or honored to have been involved in the organization of the first Food Blogger Connect with Beth, Hilda, Mowie and Meeta, along with Jeanne and Kang. As the days drew us closer and closer to the magical event, the number of e-mails sent frantically back and forth escalated, morning, afternoon and night, speeches were recited nervously while brushing teeth, ironing, showering or preparing dinner, fingers flying over keyboards clackity clack or pens scratching furiously across the printed version towards that dreamed-of perfection that would sweep our listeners off their feet. As the days rolled forward, spouses slipped by us in hallways, avoiding all eye contact, not wanting to be sucked into the whirlpool of Food Blogger Connect Mania that was washing over us, out of control, as we dashed out in the cold and drizzle to buy that one last gift, as we checked and double-checked hotel and airline reservations, meeting spots and last-minute thoughts and ideas. Suitcases were packed, unpacked and reorganized to fit in those last minute buys, no more space left for clothes. Twitter was ablaze with FBC09, the excitement tangible, contagious. And then, all of a sudden the great weekend was upon us!

Sunday morning food walk: the rain didn't dampen our high spirits! And joined by Papoose!

The Food Blogger Event heard round the world! Indeed, I don’t need to add to the details, evoke the exotic tastes of the Lebanese cuisine, the warm, rich atmosphere or the wonder in the air. I don’t need to recount in detail the amazing speeches, Meeta and Kang, Jeanne and myself and how it all came together, how well we worked as a team to share our ideas, experience, passion and knowledge to a roomful of nodding heads and smiling faces who would later, in turn, teach us their tricks and share their own knowledge and exude their own passion for food blogging; or the energy and vivacity of Beth and Mowie, their talent for energizing and pulling us together towards action, or Hilda’s calming words, reassuring us and making us laugh just when nerves started to rattle, and always with that promise of a peek at Papoose. Nor do I need to repeat the stories others are telling of the time spent finally putting faces to names and blogs, completing the vision of each, the joyous “Oh it’s you!!”s, one after the other, more hugs and laughing, all packed in around the front desk, not daring to move, anxiously awaiting all the others, not wanting to miss one.

Kerrin, Solange & Beth, meetin' and greetin'

First, we ate!

Beth, Queen of the Ball

Meeta

Jeanne & Jamie (not our piece of meat)

Kang

Lucky Ozoz was there to make me laugh! No more nerves!

I don’t need to repeat, as others have described, the pure pleasure, the joy as we discovered the common passion behind each and every food blogger who attended, the passion that binds us together as one. Yes, we realized that we all do indeed share so much beyond that passion for food, the uncontrollable exhilaration we feel as we write about it, the giddiness that makes our head spin as we finally snap that one perfect photograph of the plated dish, the thrill that shoots and shivers up our spine whenever we step over the threshold of a new restaurant. Food Blogger Connect allowed us to realize that each and every one of us who attended the conference shared a wild sense of humor, an interest in everything around us, and as different as we all are as individuals, we meet in the center, this crazy je ne sais quoi pulling us together like a strange, inexplicable magnetism that strengthened our friendships, our commitment to excellence in blogging and a determination to continue along this shared path and better ourselves, better our blogs, drawing not only on everything that we learned from each other in this compressed space and time but on all the encouragement and support that we walked away with, the knowing that we are no longer alone, floating lonely and silent around the foodblogosphere, that this incredible, generous group of bloggers who gathered in London from all over Europe and beyond are truly one huge family and that they are always with us, watching over us, sending out virtual hugs and encouragement along with real-life advice over the waves.

Sexy Culinary Bond Girls ready for action: Jeanne & Jamie & Meeta

Saturday night post-FBC dinner among friends!

Deeba, Nicola, Davina & Sunita at Levant

Alessio, Deeba & Jamie Friday night

Next year’s Food Blogger Connect is going to be even bigger and better, spread out over 2 or 3 days to allow more time for workshops and round tables, talking and sharing. And eating. Have a hop around the blogosphere where you’ll find more write ups on Food Blogger Connect 09 and visit our Food Blogger Connect website for all the news, pictures, videos of the great event as well as all the information about Food Blogger Connect 10, now already in the making. Bigger and better! Onward and upward! Truly something that you will not want to miss! We may even offer a workshop for the spouses: “How to Live With a Food Blogger”!

FBC 10 Planning Committee!

I learned so much from the other bloggers and my fellow speakers that you may see changes, more or less subtle, in my blog over the next few weeks, so don’t be surprised. And if you, too, want and need to know more about optimizing your blog, improving your food styling and photography, finding your ideal writing voice, cleaning up your space and presenting your brightest self to the food blogging world as well as increasing your visibility and maybe even getting published, then keep your eyes open, follow the #FBC10 hash tag on twitter (follow me @lifesafeast) and visit the Food Blogger Connect website for all information and updates and mark your calendar! Be on the alert because spaces will be limited (and coveted)! Can’t wait to see you there!

Nicola, Davina, Sunita

Jeanne, Deeba & Pam

Lovely Mowie & Alessio

Also a quick shout out to Aoife, Ozoz, Sarka, Claire, Kerrin, Davina, Sunita, Sarah and Nic, special ladies along with my great friends who I grew even closer to!

A special thanks to Deeba, Mowie, Sunita, Hilda and Sarah for sharing their pictures!

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THE RETURN OF THE CANNOLI

HOLY CANNOLI, REDUX!

So, I’ve made them before and I’ll make them again, the Italian Cannoli, that delightful little tube of crispy, flaky, delicious pastry filled with luscious, sweet cream, flavored as you like, often studded with chopped chocolate or nuts or candied fruit. My first try at Cannoli was a roaring success, so I was delighted to discover that Cannoli was this month’s Daring Baker’s Challenge. I would have the chance to try a new and improved filling and enjoy this wonderful Italian specialty once again.

My first Cannoli: December 2008

As you know, I fly over a hop, skip and a jump to London today for a foodie weekend!It’s Food Blogger Connect! Food, fun and party with a conference thrown in and, boy, am I excited. I leave my men to fend for themselves and Marty to sniff around the house looking for mom, a confused, quizzical Boston look plastered onto his tiny head, bat ears on the alert, but quickly forgetting about me until I show back up on the doorstep Monday evening. Yup, you heard right, Monday evening. Mowie of Mowielicious, is graciously putting up with me… I mean putting me up for the weekend and what a weekend! Other than Food Blogger Connect all of Saturday where I’ll be meeting and spending time with some fabulous food bloggers and wonderful friends, where I’ll be speaking about writing for a food blog and finding your voice alongside Jeanne, whose own food blog Cook Sister! is a showcase of wonderful food and fabulous writing, as well as learning great tips and advice from other successful bloggers such as Meeta of What’s For Lunch, Honey? and Kang of London Eater, we’ll be spending as much time as we can discovering the secret, hidden food delights to be found in cosmopolitan London! Ok, ok, in other words, we’ll be eating our way through London, most likely stampeding our way through this great city, elbowing unsuspecting citizens and astonished tourists out of the way in our quest to eat all weekend! And just anything won’t do: we want to savor the best food, the best pastries to be found and all in the best of company!

All this just for the weekend?

Ok, finally off to London and Food Blogger Connect 2009!

And now my cannoli. No time to lose, I’m packed and have one foot out the door (“JP, let go of my coat! I promise I’ll come back! Let go!”) so no time to wax eloquent about cannoli, no time to glorify with seductive, passion-inspiring words the delicate texture of the shell, so flakey and tender with just an adult hint of chocolate and wine, no time to eulogize the smooth, luxurious, sensual creamy filling, chocolaty rich and oh so divine, bursting with flavor in each sexy, luscious mouthful. No time to extol the cool, elegant pistachio sauce, scoop up a spoonful with each bite of cannolo and savor the combination of pistachio and chocolate mingling intriguingly on the tongue, the nutty sweetness of one off-setting and highlighting the deep chocolate richness of the other. No, no, no, don’t ask for I haven’t got the time, I really must dash, must make sure I have everything I need as I brush crumbs from the front of my jacket and dab away the chocolate mascarpone cream that somehow found it’s way smeared across my cheek. Must check for ticket and passport, where are my presentation notes? Gift for Papoose? How in the world did my suitcase ever get so heavy? A last, breathless kiss, a warm Boston nuzzle in that soft spot behind his ear, and off I go!

Hello, London! Yeah, baby!

This month’s Daring Baker’s Challenge was chosen by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives and she had all of us jumping up and down with joy. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book. How great are Cannoli? We were required to follow the recipe Lisa Michele presented to us for the shells but the filling was up to us. As I have said, I made Cannoli for the first time a while back and though we all gobbled them down and thought they were fabulous, we felt that the traditional ricotta cheese filling was a bit heavy, a bit too cheesy. So this time I decided to make a cream using mascarpone that I lightened with lots of whipped cream and flavored with, of course, chocolate. To lighten it up, I made and served it with a Pistachio Cream Sauce, a pistachio-infused pastry cream lightened, again, with whipped cream. Perfect!

Cannoli Redux: filled with Chocolate Mascarpone Cream and served with Pistachio Sauce

CANNOLI SHELLS
Lisa Michelle’s recipe

2 cups (250 grams/8.82 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 Tbs (28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 tsp (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/2 tsp (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 Tbs (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 tsp (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand *
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk) **
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)

* I used white wine.
** the white is used to seal the dough around the shell


In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor or (as I did, by hand), combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.


Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.


Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.


In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer's directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.
Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly. (Don’t forget that the shells continue to brown once removed from the hot oil, so don’t leave them in past the 2 minutes thinking that they are underdone).

Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes (I slightly twist as I pull) with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.


Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in more dough. Allow the shells to completely cook before filling with cold cream.

CHOCOLATE MASCARPONE CREAM
This would also be wonderful used to frost a cake

10 oz (300 g) mascarpone
3.5 oz (100 g) bitter or semisweet chocolate, chopped
Chopped chocolate, mini-chocolate chips, chopped pistachio nuts, or any chopped candied fruit you like to fold in. (optional)
1 – 2 cups (250 – 500 ml) heavy cream
2 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs Amaretto or more to taste


Melt the chocolate and allow to cool.

Beat the heavy cream with an electric beater, gradually adding the sugar as you beat, until stiff peaks form.

Beat the mascarpone until light, fluffy and creamy. Beat in the Amaretto.

Working quickly, fold the chocolate and the chopped chocolate into the mascarpone until blended. Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mascarpone until blended and smooth. Add the extra cup of whipped cream beaten until stiff if you want a lighter cream. Fold in any other nuts or candied fruit as you like. If not filling the shells right away, cover the cream with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator.


PISTACHIO CREAM SAUCE
Without the addition of whipped cream, this is a fabulous pastry cream

2 ½ oz (70 g) green, unsalted pistachio nuts
1 Tbs Amaretto or kirsch (optional)
3 egg yolks (save the whites for your Mac Attack macarons!)
3 oz (85 g) sugar
2 Tbs (25 g) cornstarch
1 1/3 cups (300 ml) milk
2/3 – 1 cup (150 – 250 ml) heavy cream, depending on how light you like it


Grind the pistachios as finely as you can, into a paste if possible, mine were fine dust. Set aside.


In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the cornstarch until smooth. In a medium-small pan over medium heat, heat the milk until it comes to the boil. Carefully pour some of the milk onto the egg yolk/cornstarch mixture, whisking constantly to keep the eggs from cooking, then whisk in all the hot milk. Pour this back into the pan and return to a medium-low heat and, stirring constantly, bring just to the boil. Once the cream comes to the boil, allow to continue boiling, whisking, for one minute.


Immediately remove from the heat and pour into a heat-proof bowl. Cover the pistachio cream with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic down onto the surface of the cream to keep a skin from forming and refrigerate until cool.


Once cool, remove the pastry cream from the refrigerator, beat or whisk until cream, then fold in the ground pistachios.


Before serving, whip the heavy cream until soft peak form, or just a bit more. Fold into the pistachio cream. Add as much whipped cream as you like until desired consistency, thicker or thinner. Serve chilled.

To fill the shells:
Using a pastry bag fitted with a wide tube, pipe in the mascarpone cream, filling each shell. The easiest way is to have someone hold the shell upright for you (here is where kids come in handy).


You can also dip or brush the ends of the shells with egg white and coat with ground or finely chopped pistachios before carefully filling with the chocolate mascarpone cream.

Serve with the Pistachio Cream Sauce. Dust with a fine powdering of icing/confectioner’s sugar or cocoa powder.



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