Posts Tagged holidays

Weekly Roundup: Holiday Cookie Edition

December 11, 2009 at 7:37 am · Filed under DC ·Tagged , , , , , ,

Gingersnaps

It's cookie time. Now that's my kind of time.

What is it with the cookies? With the exception of an ice cream recipe (I can never resist a good ice cream recipe) all the recipes I want to try this week are cookies. I think that the holidays are just cookie time – people bring them to parties, they give them as presents, they put out plates of them at the office. Hell, even I posted a cookie recipe this week for salty and sweet chocolate thumbprints (which you should make because they’re a-mazing), and usually I’m more of a cake girl.

And no, in case you’re wondering, I haven’t done my holiday shopping. I haven’t even really thought about it. Is it acceptable to give one’s marathon-running sister and theater-loving brother trays of cookies for Christmas? No? I didn’t think so.

Recipes I want to try, as found on the Internet this week:

  • Polenta ice cream, from David Lebovitz. Can I just move to Paris and become his ice cream taste tester? Please?
  • Chocolate creme de menthe bars, from A Measured Memory. These seriously look like these mint brownies I used to get from Humble Bagel, this bagel shop across the street from my middle school. God those were good. And God, these look good too.

And in other news:

  • The Tipsy Baker shares her thoughts on “Cleaving,” Julie Powell’s new memoir about her obsession with butchering, and her extra-marital affair (and yes, that’s the same Julie Powell of the Julie/Julia Project).
  • The Arugula Files is asking for your input about what she should make from the farmer’s market.
  • Micheal Voltaggio wins Top Chef. It feels weird that that means nothing to me, after recapping Top Chef last season (I was rooting for Carla Hall, by the way). The Voltaggio brothers, both of which were Top Chef finalists, have launched a new Web site where you can keep tabs on the brothers. So you can . . . stalk them? Via Top Shelf.
  • The Washington Post published an investigation into Founding Farmer’s food sourcing (the restaurant has built its brand on the image that they get their food from small family farms). What did they find? Well, some of the food comes from small farms, but a lot if it doesn’t. It’s an interesting look at the difference between a brand promise and the reality of running a restaurant. And I’m still planning on going there with Miss. Nonnka, by the way.
  • The Washington Post publishes their holiday cookie guide. See what I mean? It’s cookie season.
  • Lemmonex posts her 500th post. It is a cause for celebration. And interviews.

Happy Friday!

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Holiday Appetizers: Savory Parmesean Black Pepper Crackers

December 11, 2008 at 6:16 pm · Filed under baking, entertaining ·Tagged , , , , , ,

Crackers

These Parmesan Black Pepper Crackers have a crunchy, cookie-like texture, but a salty, savory flavor.

For those of you who love to bake, but don’t feel like adding to the plethora of holiday sweets, then consider adding this savory cookie-like cracker to your baking arsenal. These Parmesan and Black Pepper Crackers are a tried-and-true Ina Garten recipe and make a great appetizer. We served them with a goat cheese spread, but they would go equally well with a sliver of Parmesan or cheddar on top.

This recipe was very easy to mix up—just cream the butter and stir in the rest of the ingredients. I did have to add a couple teaspoons of water before I could handle the dough, since it was very dry. Still, this may have had more to do with the climate than the recipe—the water content of your dough can vary from day to day depending on the weather. I ended up shaping the dough by rolling it up in a piece of wax paper and twisting the paper into a cylinder.

The crackers weren’t quite as perfectly circular as I wanted, but they still tasted excellent. These crackers have a crunchy, buttery, cookie-like texture, and the thyme and pepper compliment the savory saltiness of the cheese. They would be a perfect addition to any holiday appetizer spread.

Cracker ingredients

Ingredients: Grated Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, thyme, flour and butter.

Parmesan Black Pepper Crackers
Ina Garten recipe, from the Food Network Web site.

Ingredients
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 ounces grated Parmesan
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until creamy. Add the Parmesan, flour, salt, thyme and pepper and combine.

Dump the dough on a lightly floured board and roll into a 13-inch long log. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes to harden.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the log crosswise into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick slices. Place the slices on a sheet pan and bake for 22 minutes.

Crackers 2

The finished crackers on their serving plate, garnished with a few sprigs of thyme.

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Thanksgiving Reading For Your Peace of Mind

November 13, 2008 at 1:16 pm · Filed under cooking, entertaining ·Tagged , , , , ,

2006 Thanksgiving - 5.jpg
Thanksgiving Meal, courtesy of xybermatthew on flickr.

Thanksgiving will soon be upon us, which means that food sites and publications have been churning out recipes, full-fledged feature pieces, and all-inclusive guides to this great American meal. These articles are supposed to be helpful, but they make cooking Thanksgiving dinner out to be a Herculean task on the scale of nuclear disarmament.

I’ve only made the Thanksgiving feast once during my first winter in Washington, and I can say from experience that you don’t have to have gone to culinary school to whip up some stuffing. I didn’t have any vacation time that year, and I couldn’t make it home for the big day. Instead, friends came down from New York, Nonnka came over from Georgetown, and we celebrated Thanksgiving orphan-style. It turned out to be one of my favorite Thanksgivings ever. And even I, an untested Thanksgiving novice, was able to make the meal—turkey, stuffing, and all.

Was it a lot of work? My God, yes. But was any of it really beyond the skill level of basic cook? Hell no. The hardest part was getting the timing right, and I think that’s something you have to learn from doing it over and over again.

So stop looking at those scary Gourmet Menu Guides that call for you to make a billion starters from scratch, and put down the Bon Appetite Complete Guide to Thanksgiving Kitchen Tools (the only tools you need are a good sharp knife and some pots and pans).

Instead, I’ve dug through the deluge of Thanksgiving articles to find something to really be thankful for: peace of mind. These articles will calm your soul, they will soothe your worried Thanksgiving consciousness, and they will let you know that you don’t have to spend a fortune to have a nice meal.

Simplifying the Turkey, Well-Priced Menus, and Holiday Wines on the Cheap

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